Chahda saved them the trouble. The Hindu boy appeared on a bale of abacá and waved both arms until they saw him, then he motioned them to the left and ran down the dock. Scotty swung the MTB past the dock and saw a smaller dock where a few pleasure boats were tied up. In a moment they were alongside. Chahda caught the line Rick threw and hauled the bow in. The Hindu boy jumped aboard as soon as they were tied up. "You early," he greeted them. "We could have been here last night, but we decided to take it easy and not risk running into vintas and things in the darkness," Rick replied. "It was a fine trip," Scotty added. "We met some friends." "Friends? You meaning purposies?" "Porpoises," Rick corrected. "Not exactly. He means pirates. They took some shots at us." Chahda's wide eyes took in the bullet holes. He muttered to himself in Hindi. "We were a little surprised," Zircon added. "We're not even sure they were especially after us. They might have been waiting for any craft that came along. We can't imagine how they could communicate so rapidly, unless they had advance notice of our plans." Chahda shook his head. "Smarter than you think, these Moros. Sometimes use strange way to get letter far distances. I amazed." "What is this strange way?" Zircon asked. "You know there plenty parrots here? Moros teach birds to talk, then tell message and say, 'Okay bird. You go now and tell Charlie.'" Rick and Zircon stared at the Hindu boy incredulously, but Scotty had been the object of Chahda's humor often enough to recognize it first. He grabbed the lithe brown boy and held him out over the muddy harbor waters in spite of his struggles. "Take it back!" he demanded. "Is took!" Chahda yelled. He straightened his shirt as Scotty hauled him in again, and looked at the dark-haired boy accusingly. "That plenty good yarn. You just scooptical, that's all." "Skeptical," Rick corrected. "Is so. Anyway, if parrots don't fly, pigeons do. Sometimes my Indian friends use pigeons for messages to islands with no radios. So why not pirates?" Why not? Rick thought Chahda very likely had the answer. Carrier pigeons would serve a useful purpose in a remote place like the Sulu Sea, and one could have reached the channel from Zamboanga after they departed. "Let's go into the cabin," Zircon suggested. The boys followed him and took seats on the bunks, waiting expectantly. "Let's start with Chahda. Learn anything?" The Hindu boy nodded. "Little. Some peoples here think pirates took plenty boats now missing. Not many hear of pirates, but more than in Davao." "Any guesses on their hideout?" Scotty asked. "None good. Some say far to south, maybe near Tawi Tawi. Plenty small islands, no people." "I agree," Zircon added. "I've studied the chart, and that seems to be the most likely area. We can go right on to Borneo, if need be. It's only about a hundred and twenty-five miles from Jolo. It's even possible the pirate hangout is off the Borneo coast."