had to grab Briotti and Shannon,
too!"

"Exactly right. Tony and Howard didn't even know who he was. They hired
him in good faith. Then, when the pirates showed up in the Bagobo
village, they tried to defend the boy and got taken, too. They were
brought here in the rented sailboat, along with the Torres boy. The
sailboat was repainted and taken into Indonesia to be sold. Now, Tony
says, the pirates are getting restless. If the ransom for the Torres boy
isn't forthcoming in a few days, they may all vanish for good."

Rick swallowed hard. There must be a way to get that guard! He looked at
Scotty. "Could you bean that lookout with a stone from a sling?"

Scotty shook his head. "Angle and range are wrong. I might be lucky, but
I might not. If not, there goes the ball game. Of course I could make a
sling easily enough."

The boys referred to the ancient variety of sling, rather than the
modern slingshot. Both were adept in its use, although Scotty was the
better shot.

Scotty continued, "Why does a bowshot have to be lethal? You've got some
blunt arrows."

The moment the words "blunt arrows" were spoken Rick's mind went into
high gear. The arrows in the quiver wouldn't do; at that range, with so
powerful a bow, even a blunt arrow in the head would kill. But if he
could somehow give the arrow a broader and blunter head, so the impact
would be spread over a greater area, it could stun without killing.

"Professor, get the details on when the lookout is changed and anything
else that might be useful," Rick said quickly. "I think I've got an idea
that will work, thanks to Scotty's comment."

He hurried below, went forward, and rummaged around in the rope locker.
He moved to the paint locker and examined everything within reach. There
was nothing suitable. Disappointed, he went on deck and examined the
superstructure. A wooden barrel plug would be ideal, but they didn't
have a barrel aboard. There was only a fifty-gallon steel drum used as a
spare fuel supply. If worst came to worst, he could fashion a head from
a piece of the fender board. Then his eyes suddenly fell on the
flagstaff astern and he let out a yell of delight.

Scotty and Zircon watched as he unshipped the staff from its holder and
pulled it down. It had a gilded sphere about the size of a baseball on
top. Rick tested it anxiously. It was glued tightly.

"Scotty!" Zircon bellowed. "There's a saw in the tool chest, and I
believe I saw a brace and bits."