fugao," Tony replied. "I caught a glimpse of
his head structure as he jumped onto the rail. Besides, the haircut is
distinctive. It looks as though a bowl had been put on the head and all
hair removed that it didn't cover."

Rick knew that an Igorot was a primitive native of the Philippine
Mountain Province. All of them had received a series of lectures on
Philippine ethnology from Tony before leaving home. The Igorots bore
roughly the same relationship to the regular Filipino as American
Indians do to the white American. Ifugao natives were much like the
Igorots, but with a slightly more advanced culture. They, too, lived in
Mountain Province, the objective of the Spindrift expedition.

The trip had grown out of an earlier expedition to Kwangara Island in
the western Pacific. Dr. Anthony Briotti had helped translate the
tablets found in the sunken temple of Alta Yuan, and had discovered the
connection between the early people of the Philippines--of whom the
Igorots and Ifugaos were the descendants--and the white dragon
worshipers of Alta Yuan.

One plaque from the sunken temple had described the Ifugao rice terraces
of Mountain Province in unmistakable detail, and also had described a
skull of gold which was said to have magic properties.

Tony Briotti had been so enthusiastic about locating this fabulous
skull, and proving the connection between Alta Yuan and the Philippines,
that Hartson Brant, head of the Spindrift Foundation, had made
arrangements for the small expedition. None of the other Spindrift
scientists could be spared, so Tony Briotti had only Rick and Scotty as
assistants. Chahda was to join them in Manila. The boys thought that was
help aplenty. No other helpers were needed.

"I don't believe it," Tony stated. "It is simply beyond possibility that
an Igorot could have boarded this ship with the express intention of
killing me. More likely, he boarded the ship to steal, thought he was
discovered, and headed for the rail where his banca was tied. I was in
the way. That's all."

"No one saw the banca approach," the ship's captain said, "but of course
it could have. We've been traveling at only a few knots, and the banca
could have approached from the stern, thrown a line over the rail, and
tied up. Dangerous, but a clever native could do it. They're like cats.
Make fine sailors." He added, "Never heard of it being done before, but
there's no reason to think it was an attempt at murder. Thieves in the