probably will find him, but I don't
think that matters. Now that we know him, he's less dangerous. We can
treat him like any other bandit."

Rick and Scotty agreed. As they drew nearer the goal, both of them were
increasingly anxious to get to Chahda, to hear from him some of the
answers to their questions, and finally to get down to the business of
finding the heavy water that was the reason for their quest.

Although they hadn't discussed it, Rick was worried about Chahda.
Normally, he had full confidence in the Hindu boy's ability to take care
of himself. But this time Chahda was far from the kind of people he
knew, among unfriendly strangers. Was his friend hiding somewhere in the
mountains around Korse Lenken? Or had he found a hide-out in the village
itself?

They would soon know.

After breakfast, Rick, Scotty, and Sing surveyed the scene of the
ambush, leaving Zircon to guard the Chinese and to direct the repacking
of their gear.

There were definite signs of the enemy's presence in the woods below.
One area was pretty well trampled, indicating to Scotty's trained eye
that the ambushers had departed in a big hurry. The Chinese guide
pointed to where ants were swarming around a section of ground.

"Someone was hit there," he said. "Ants find bloodstains fast in this
country."

"We were aiming low," Scotty said. "Probably a leg wound. Sing, where do
you suppose Ko's mules are?"

The guide shrugged. "Pretty sure to be far away. The men who attacked us
wouldn't leave mules behind. They're too valuable."

Scotty led the way down the trail to where the first shots had been
fired. The three moved cautiously, just in case the attackers were
waiting a little distance away. Scotty's rifle was ready for instant
use.

"I was right here," Sing said. "Ko's mules were ahead of me, just a few
yards away. Let's go ahead some and take a look."

The trail wound through the woods for a little distance and then broke
into a clearing. Rick saw gear littered over the ground and pointed to
it. "Looks as if they left something behind!"

In a moment they were looking through what was evidently Ko's entire
luggage. Sing kicked at a pile of cooking utensils. "They took the mules
but left everything else."

"Funny they'd do that," Rick said thoughtfully. "After all, Ko was the
boss. He must have arranged the ambush. Unless we're wrong about him."

"I don't think we're wrong," Scotty denied. "You hit it on the nose when
y