The Pirates of Shan Part 14

It was obvious that even pistol and rifle fire could not keep the pirates from boarding. Rick jumped to the controls and started the engines. If they could only slip the anchor, it might be possible to ram through the pirate craft and find safety in the open water. But even as he borrowed Chahda's kris and started to run to the bow to cut the anchor rope, the first vinta slammed into the torpedo boat.

Dark figures swarmed up the sides with piercing yells. Rick ran to meet them, swinging the kris.

He realized vaguely that the pirate yells had turned somehow to screams that seemed anguished, but his thoughts were occupied only with getting the Moros off the deck. In the faint scattered light at the side of the searchlight beam he saw that they were dancing, wildly, like Indians in a TV horse opera!

Scotty joined him in the wild rush up the deck and the two boys. .h.i.t the Moros at the same instant. Rick swung the kris like a flail, while the b.u.t.t of Scotty's rifle slammed into bodies and heads.

The Moros turned with one accord and went over the side!

Zircon yelled, "Another boat back here!"

But Rick and Scotty had troubles of their own. Moros were pouring onto the deck from the bow, where another vinta had tied up to the anchor rope. They ran to meet the new attack, and were astonished to see the pirates go into the same screaming dance. Then they were fighting again, Rick wielding the kris with deadly effect, too frantic even to wonder why the Moros weren't fighting more fiercely.

From the stern came a wild yell from Zircon, a great bellow that had overtones of pain. Rick's breath caught. Had the big scientist gone down?

But the bellowing roar continued and he knew Zircon was still alive.

Rick could do nothing at the moment anyway, except to swing the kris until his arm felt as though the muscles were on fire. Next to him, Scotty slammed home a b.u.t.t stroke that lifted a pirate high off his feet and threw him outward into the water. It was an instant before Rick realized the deck was clear, then he turned and ran to the stern while Scotty reversed his rifle and shot the vinta clear of pirates in the glare from the searchlight. From the corner of his eye Rick could see the Moros from the bow vinta scuttling through the water toward other boats, and toward land.

At the stern Zircon towered like a mighty champion of mythology. Rick saw him lift a pirate bodily, pluck the barong from his hand, and throw him against two other pirates. At the scientist's side Chahda fought valiantly with his left hand, his flying barong glittering in the scattered back light of the searchlight. By the time Rick reached his friends the deck was clear.

Chahda ran and swiveled the searchlight, and Rick saw that the vintas were pulling away, amidst yells of rage from the pirates. Up on the bow, Scotty was shooting as fast as he could aim and pull trigger, with pauses only to slap a fresh clip into the rifle. The return fire continued, but without order or enthusiasm, and in a few moments it stopped altogether.

"They're gone," Rick said with relief. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Little bit," the Hindu boy answered. "When is time, maybe could use bandage."

Scotty joined the three on the stern. "I'll get the first-aid kit.

Professor, are you hurt?"

"Like fire," Zircon answered grimly. "I'll never be the same again." He sank down on a convenient seat and began to examine his feet. "But let's get out of here and attend to Chahda when we're under way. They may attack again, if they can find shoes."

The comment baffled Rick, but he didn't stop to question. He hurried forward to pull in the anchor, and found a vinta still attached to the rope. For a moment he debated about cutting it loose, then realized that it would only be picked up by the pirates and used against them. He untied the vinta line from the anchor rope and temporarily hitched it to a bitt while he hauled in the anchor.

The vinta was light and easy to tow. He hauled it to the stern of the MTB and attached the line to a cleat. Scotty was already at the wheel.

"Go!" Rick commanded.

Scotty shot the searchlight beam toward the entrance to the harbor and put the engines in gear. The MTB moved with gathering speed, following the clear path indicated by the searchlight. Once the light picked up a vinta, but off to one side. Scotty gave it a wide berth.

As they cleared the bay, Rick got the first-aid kit and took Chahda down into the cabin. The Hindu boy's shoulder was covered with blood. Rick hurriedly cut way the clothes, afraid of what he might find. Zircon joined him, watching anxiously.

"Is not bad," Chahda said. "Just made me stop fighting for a few minutes."

Rick saw that the boy was right. A bullet had creased his right shoulder, digging a deep furrow from which the blood welled. It was painful, but at least they weren't faced with the problem of getting the bullet out. He sterilized the wound and bound it tightly with gauze pads. Then he washed Chahda clean of blood and put him to bed with a blanket over him in case of shock.

"How about you, Professor?" Rick asked. "You said something about being wounded, but I don't see any blood."

Zircon chuckled grimly. "Not much blood, anyway. How did you happen to be wearing shoes?"

Rick explained that he and Scotty had awakened before the attack and had gotten partially dressed to go on deck.

"Then you don't know," Zircon said. Suddenly he put his head back and roared with laughter. "Did you ever see anything weirder than those pirates dancing? I thought they'd gone insane in wholesale lots!"

Rick stared at the scientist. "I noticed," he said. "I wondered about it, too."

"But you don't know the reason!" Zircon pointed at Chahda, who grinned weakly from his bunk. "There's the cause of it all. He routed the enemy with minimum help from us, even after he was wounded."

Rick turned to stare at Chahda. "What's he talking about?"

The Hindu boy shook his head. "I was sleepy, and I afraid maybe fall asleep, which big disgrace. So what I do? I fix things to hurt pirates, but also I hurt Professor Zircon, for which I plenty sorry."

"But how?" Rick demanded.

"Oh, I remembered that in Jolo I never see Moros wear shoes. Not very many, anyway."

Zircon had mentioned shoes, too. Rick groaned with impatience. "What have shoes to do with it?"

Chahda grinned. "I borrow the professor's cannon ammunition. All around edge of deck I sprinkled, so when pirates come, they dance, and soon they have plenty."

Rick got it then. He sat down and laughed until Scotty had to stick his head in to see what was going on.

Rick pointed at Chahda. "The Hindu wizard!" he roared. "You know what he did? He sprinkled the deck with tacks! No wonder the pirates danced!"

CHAPTER XII

Search the Wide Seas

There was an atmosphere of rising excitement on the _Swift Arrow_. Rick felt it, and knew the others did, too. Little by little they were narrowing the search. With only a few island groups remaining, he felt sure it would not be long before the pirate stronghold was located.

The _Swift Arrow_ had poked its sharp bow into nearly every port in the vast Tawi Tawi Group, and had put into the port of Dungun on the main island to refuel. Since the pirate attack of two nights before, the Spindrifters had practically eliminated the Tawi Tawi islands as possibilities for the pirate hideout.

Hobart Zircon, checking their progress on the chart, called the boys together.

"There's only one island group remaining in this immediate area," Zircon pointed out, "and I'm not even sure it's in Philippines waters."

Rick studied the place on the chart indicated by the big scientist.

There were only three tiny islands in the Datu Amman Group.

"They're pretty far to the southeast," Rick commented. "Just about on the border of Indonesia and the Philippines. Do we head for them next?"

Zircon poked a big finger at the chart. "I think we'd better. Then, if we find nothing, we can head southwest toward Sibutu Island."

"These Datu Amman islands aren't very big," Rick pointed out. "But that's the general direction from which the pirates have been coming. We have to eliminate every island in this area before going on to Sibutu and Borneo."