The Golden Skull Part 21

A hand grabbed him by the ankle! He yelled and kicked. Angel appeared right over his head and dropped a rock. The rock brushed Rick and found its target. There was a wild cry and the grip on his ankle was gone. He moved laterally along the wall until he could move upward again. Angel and Pilipil caught his arms and pulled him to the top. Chahda arrived at almost the same moment, then Scotty appeared.

Rick unslung his rifle. "Let's go! Make a run for it."

Scotty called, "Angel! Chahda! Go get the jeeps started."

They had Chahda's jeep as well as their own. Rick caught Tony's arm.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. Fine. Where do we go?"

"Follow Chahda. Scotty and I will bring up the rear."

Ifugaos poured over the terrace edge and were met by Pilipil and Balaban. Scotty and Rick joined in, rifles flailing, and in a moment the terrace was clear again. The temporary victors took to their heels before the next wave of Ifugaos could arrive.

Ahead, they heard the jeeps' motors. They would make it all right.

A spear arched overhead and stuck quivering in the road. Rick s.n.a.t.c.hed it out of the ground as he pa.s.sed. Then there was a gasp from Pilipil as a spear caught him in the thigh. Instantly Scotty knelt, rifle blazing.

Rick and Balaban helped Pilipil while Dog Meat yanked the spear free.

They rushed the wounded Igorot to the waiting jeeps.

"Let's go," Chahda yelled. "What's the delay?"

"Lend a hand," Rick called, and willing hands helped lift Pilipil into Chahda's jeep. Rick tumbled in behind him.

"All aboard!" Scotty yelled. "Take off!" he fired a last shot at the oncoming Ifugaos, then jeep wheels spun in the dirt, headlights flashed on, and they were on their way.

Not until they had climbed to the safety of the mountain peaks overlooking Banaue did they pull to a stop. Pilipil's leg was their first concern. They examined the wound in the glare from the jeep's headlights. It was ugly, but not crippling, and it was already starting to clot. Rick bound it with a clean handkerchief. Then, their wounded taken care of, the boys took time to exchange notes with Tony.

"I walked right into it," Tony said. "Literally. I walked to the airport, expecting that I could ride back with Angel. I had a grave suspicion, of course, that he was Nangolat, but I'm afraid it didn't occur to me that there was any danger in charging him with it."

Rick shook his head. "Did you expect him to give up without a struggle?"

"I'm afraid I did. However, he wasn't there. There was no one on the field at all, except a couple of workmen on the far side. I went over to see if the plane was all right, and a sedan arrived. Nast was in it. He didn't waste words. He just thrust a pistol at me and ordered me in."

"We have an idea of what happened then," Scotty said. "From Chahda. He was following Nast."

"I hoped he was," Tony said. "I was afraid that unless Chahda knew my whereabouts I probably would be completely cut off from help. Well, time enough later for the rest of the story. You know I came from Baguio in our own truck?"

"We know," Rick said. "Chahda again. Now Chahda is going to lead us to the truck, and we're going to get our equipment back."

"Do you know where the truck is?" Scotty asked Chahda.

"Dog Meat does. Nangolat drove it to a village on the north side of the valley. Nangolat is there now. Maybe we meet him on the road, maybe at the village. We make flying raid, okay? Swoop down, take truck, and leave."

"Sounds good to me," Scotty said. "We'll use one jeep to attack, with the other standing by as a flying reserve. Angel, take the reserve jeep with Pilipil and Balaban. No, I've a better idea. We have too many men.

We need the extra jeep in case of a breakdown, not for the men it will carry. Pilipil and Balaban should stay here. The rest of us split up between the two jeeps. When we find the truck, I'll drive it, with Chahda as guard. That will leave Rick and Tony in one jeep, and Angel and Dog Meat in the other. Sound all right?"

It sounded fine. Angel spoke up. "I'd rather be in the first jeep, in case we meet Nangolat."

Scotty shook his head. "Not tonight. Your turn will come later, Angel.

The first thing is to get the truck back. Pilipil, will you be all right here until we get back?"

"I be fine. You go."

They loaded into the jeeps while Pilipil and Balaban moved into a clump of brush and prepared to wait.

"Don't bother about silence," Scotty said. "We'll just hit and run. If they hear us coming it won't matter, because they won't be sure what we're after."

"How about those Ifugao natives from the village?" Tony asked. "They're probably swarming over the road like flies."

"We not go near them," Chahda replied. "The truck is a different way.

Come on, load rifles. We go."

Rick was driving the lead jeep, Chahda on the seat next to him. Tony and Dog Meat were in the rear seat. Scotty was with Angel in the other jeep.

The road was reasonably good, although narrow and winding. Rick roared down into the valley as fast as prudence and Newton's laws of motion allowed. Had he gone any faster the jeep would have tipped over on some unexpected corner.

"Soon we there!" Chahda shouted.

Rick kept a sharp watch ahead. The yellow cones of light seemed lost in the vast darkness of Banaue. There were no other lights.

"Watch for fork in road, go left," Chahda relayed Dog Meat's instructions.

The fork appeared. Rick swung left--and almost bashed into the truck. It was parked with lights out, close to a village.

Both jeeps slid to a stop. Scotty and Chahda jumped out, rifles ready, and ran to the truck. "The keys!" Rick yelled. "Are they in it?"

"Don't need keys!" Scotty yelled back. "Turn around, quick!"

Angel was already turning his jeep. Rick followed suit, and his headlights swung in an arc across the Ifugao village and reflected from spear tips. The natives here had been alerted!

The truck roared into life. Rick pulled to one side and motioned Scotty by. Then, as the truck went past, Rick triggered off a half-dozen shots, aiming high. Tony did the same with the shotgun, sending loads of bird shot whistling through the red leaves of the dangla bushes.

A screaming madman leaped at them, spear extended. It was Nangolat, face distorted with hatred and fury. He thrust at Tony, but the archaeologist knocked the spear aside. Then, as Nangolat's thrust carried him close, Tony let loose a roundhouse that caught the Ifugao squarely on the jaw, whirled him sideways, and dropped him like a log in the dust of the road. Then Rick let out the clutch and the jeep leaped ahead. A spear went through the winds.h.i.+eld and showered gla.s.s on him, but he only squinted his eyes against the flying splinters and fed the jeep more gas.

Ahead were the red taillights of the truck and the other jeep. The plan had worked, all right. He didn't know whether or not their supplies were in the truck, but they would soon find out.

"I'll say one thing about being a Spindrift scientist," Tony said from beside him. "It is never dull. Do you wild Indians go in for this sort of thing often?"

"Only when necessary," Rick said. "Of course it has been necessary pretty often. So we're in practice, you might say."

Tony chuckled. "I'm grateful. You know what Nangolat is working up to, I presume?"

Rick didn't, and said so.

"He planned to force me to locate the golden artifacts with the earth scanner. Then, the find was to be celebrated with the sacrifice of a head. That was the part I objected to most. You see, the head was to be mine!"