Colonel Rojas listened without interruption, then shook his head. "I can't understand it. The pirates didn't want you and Dr. Shannon. They wanted the Torres boy. Why didn't they simply kill the two of you?" Tony Briotti shrugged. "It wasn't simple humanity, believe me. They have none. I think they realized that Pete Torres had to be returned alive. His father is too important a man in this country for Pete to be harmed. It would mean that the entire armed forces of the country would be turned loose to hunt the pirates down. So, if they planned to send Pete home after getting the ransom, they also had to return us." "Because young Torres would have reported your deaths, and the Philippines armed forces would probably be augmented by American warships," Colonel Rojas finished. "That's as good a reason as any. We'll accept it for lack of anything else." Rick spoke up. "There's one hole in Tony's reasoning. They also had to assume that once the prisoners were released, the authorities would have a description of the island. So it would only be a matter of time before the pirate hangout was located." "Sorry, Rick," Tony corrected. "None of us had the remotest idea of where we were, or what the island looked like. We were brought in by night, blindfolded, and taken to the cliff cave. From there we could see only the western shore. Why, we didn't even know we were on the side of a volcano until you took us off." "That gives your reason even greater acceptance," Zircon boomed. "Actually, what puzzles me is why the pirates kept you so long. Usually, if ransom isn't forthcoming pretty fast, the victims are never seen alive." Rojas answered, "That's generally true, I'm sure. But we have to remember the distances and lack of communications in this part of the world. Also, the ransom was a million pesos. No one has that much in cash, even a wealthy man like Torres. He had sent word that he would pay, but that it would take many days to raise the cash in small bills. His deadline was the day after tomorrow." The ransom would never be paid now, Rick thought. Cables had been sent to Manila and Spindrift the very first thing, while Shannon and Torres were being moved to the gunboat's sick bay. Zircon waved a big hand. "Anyway, it's all over now, and reasons become less important. My question, Colonel Rojas, is what are you going to do about these pirates? I'm sure you can wipe out the main island, but there are groups on many other islands." The constabulary officer smiled grimly. "We will strike Shan just before dawn tomorrow. I assure you that my men and the sailors of the patrol will take pleasure in breaking up that little nest. As for the other groups, that is a more difficult problem." "You need spies," Chahda stated. "We do," Rojas agreed. "However, once the main island is taken, the local groups will have no central leadership. I might add that Paulo Lacson has already broken up the Davao gang." "So fast?" Scotty asked incredulously.