OAD, GO TO YOUR CAR, AND HEAD FOR BAGUIO, I WILL DO
NOTHING.

He searched for a weight and found his emergency fishing kit, a war
surplus item which he carried in case he might someday find himself at a
good fishing spot without tackle. From the kit he extracted a heavy
sinker. A piece of fishing line completed the rig. He lashed the sinker
to the folded paper. Now to toss it out so it would land among the
attackers. He swung low over the road, gauging his distance. When he saw
the peak rushing at him he released the weighted paper, climbed swiftly,
and saw one of the attackers run to get it.

Apparently it made sense to the three men. They talked among themselves
for a moment, then carried their rifles to the middle of the road and
went to the car. Scotty and Angel realized that something was going on,
but prudently remained under cover. Not until the ambushers' car roared
past on the way to Baguio did they emerge and wave at Rick. He waggled
his wings, then turned and made a beeline for the city. He wanted guns
and ammunition, and there was no time like the present to buy them!

CHAPTER XI

Warriors Three

Rick got guns, but it took time. There were no sporting goods stores in
Baguio. In fact, there were no stores that carried rifles. A few carried
pistols, mostly Italian and English makes. But Rick knew that a pistol
is better for morale than for actual use. Few people can hit anything
with a pistol, and fewer still can hit a moving target.

He supposed that Scotty and Angel had picked up the rifles of the
ambushers, but since he didn't know the calibers, he couldn't get
ammunition for them. What he finally procured were a shotgun, 12-gauge
with an ample supply of shells, and a United States Army carbine, with
about ten clips. These were private purchases from a store owner who was
willing to sell his personal arsenal.

It was late when Rick got started for Bontoc. He watched for Scotty and
Angel on the road but failed to catch up with them. They had reached
Bontoc before him, as he found when he circled to land. They cleared the
road and stood by while he brought the Sky Wagon down.

Angel had already hired two Igorots to guard the plane. They were
tough-looking customers who wore hard-rock miner's helmets, a sign that
they had mined gold in Baguio.

The Sky Wagon was pulled off the road into a field and the Igorots sat
down next to it, short spears handy to their reach. The plane would be
al