iginally his own, turned to gold by the very power of the hero's
magic. After his death, of course. At first it was an ordinary skull,
then it turned to gold."

"Then the skull has something to do with head-hunting?" Rick asked.

"Indeed it does. It is apparently the chief object to which heads are
sacrificed--or was, before it was lost. The golden skull is _almaduan_,
the very soul stuff of the Ifugaos."

"How was it lost?" Scotty inquired.

"In a war," Okola said, quite seriously, "between the _kabunian_, the
gods of the sky world, and the _dalun_, the gods of the underworld. The
_dalun_ won. They took the head and disappeared into the ground
somewhere in Banaue. Behind them, they left a great taboo. If an Ifugao
tries to follow them into the underworld to reclaim the skull, great
misfortune will come. An earthquake will destroy the terraces. The
people will starve. They will be haunted by the _dodingerot_--ghouls who
dwell in tombs and bite the faces of intruders."

"Then the Ifugaos will take a dim view of our hunting their golden
skull," Rick guessed.

"They might if they knew about it," Dr. Okola said. "Actually, what I
have just told you is almost forgotten lore. I doubt that the Ifugao man
in the street--or, properly, man in the rice terraces--has ever heard of
it. A few old priests may remember."

Irineo Lazada clapped his hands and rose. "Coffee in the living room,
gentlemen. You know, I begin to have some hope for this golden skull. I
had not really taken your expedition seriously until Dr. Okola's
recital."

Tony Briotti picked him up quickly. "Then that is why you have failed to
issue our permit?"

Rick stopped in his tracks. Was there trouble about their permit? He had
wondered about the reason for this dinner with the Assistant Secretary
of the Interior. Perhaps it was to persuade him.

Lazada smiled. "The government doesn't want to stir up trouble among the
mountain tribes. We do not have enough constabulary for police duty in
the mountains. A small detachment at Baguio is the best we can do."

"I assure you that we will not stir up trouble," Tony Briotti said.

"Of course not. And so I will issue your permit."

"Thank you, Mr. Secretary," Dr. Okola said. "This will mean a great deal
to the Philippines. Dr. Briotti assures me that Spindrift will not ask
for anything to be removed from the islands. The golden skull, if it is
found, will remain right here, perhaps at the university's museum.