of them up from Borneo. Crude rubber. Gems from Siam. He
used to run guns, but the supply ran out. They were American war surplus
guns, stolen by the truckload after the war and sold to smugglers like
Nast. Now there are no more."

"What's Lazada's tie-up with Nast?"

Angel shrugged. "This is gossip. Lazada has a yacht. Who would search
the private yacht of the great Assistant Secretary? Even though it was
well known that the yacht had been to Macao or Hong Kong and was loaded
with contraband?"

Rick swiftly outlined the events of the morning to Angel. "We must find
Dr. Briotti," he concluded. "What do you suggest?"

Angel thought it over, now and then raising a hand gingerly to his
bandaged head. "Everything Nast wants is in the Ifugao country, no? He
can only want the gold, and it is there. When Dr. Okola told me of this
golden skull you seek, I was afraid, for there are still many bad men in
the Philippines who want gold. Now Nast is after it. Maybe others. I do
not think Nangolat wants gold, but he is an Ifugao. Also, his interest
is in the Ifugao country. It can be nowhere else."

Angel's English sometimes had a queer, rather formal phrasing, but it
was clear. And so, apparently, were his thoughts. Rick accepted his idea
about everything pointing to the Ifugao country.

"Then we should go to Ifugao."

"You have a plane. We should fly over the road to Bontoc and look for
the truck and the sedan with Dr. Briotti. If we see them, we can come
back to Baguio and telephone. The road to Bontoc is one way only. Only
one car at a time can travel."

"One way?" Scotty inquired. "You can't mean that. How would people get
back and forth?"

"I am not clear," Angel apologized. "What I mean is the road is too
narrow for cars going both ways. So the road has been divided in parts
by gates. Maybe a car is going to Bontoc. It arrives at Gate One. The
gatekeeper lets it through, then he calls Gate Two and says he has let a
car come north. Maybe another car is going from Bontoc to Baguio. He
reaches Gate Two, and the gatekeeper makes him wait until the car from
Gate One reaches him. Then he lets the car to Baguio go through and
calls the gatekeeper at Gate One and says a car is coming. Then he lets
the car going to Bontoc go through his gate and he calls Gate Three and
says that a car is coming."

"I see," Scotty nodded. "One gate at a time. A car might be able to go
through three or four gates, and then have to wait for a