Part 30 (2/2)

The pursuit had organized, apparently, because both Nast and Lazada were barking orders Rick kept yelling, but he was now in the brush Scotty was yelling, too

Rick pushed his way through the brush and eed on the bank of a river or estuary of some kind Beyond, on the opposite bank, were rows of wooden forms that marked the outline of salt pans Water was let into the square pools in the earlyits salt behind

For a tensefollowed

Perhaps they had followed Scotty Then he heard the brush snapping and knew they were on his trail He had to keep going He stepped into the water and went right on until it was over his head He spluttered, his eyes stinging from the salt The water was brine, already partially evaporated and ready for the salt pans

A few strokes took him to the opposite bank He cli and his shoes soggy He ran

He was almost across the field of salt pans when a shot whistled past

He bent low and ran faster, re that Nast carried a 38 in a shoulder holster

The second shot was closer, but not close enough He reached the field beyond the salt pans and headed for a coconut grove about three hundred feet ahead The field was covered with a loing vine of soot to his feet again, looking back over his shoulder Apparently the pursuers were looking for a way across the water He couldn't see therove and stopped, glad of a chance to wring out his clothes He did so, a gar his trail In a few e from a far corner of the salt pans and start across For a rinned

There was pretty complete darkness He could see and be seen in the open But under the palms he would be invisible from a distance of twenty yards He need not run; he could wait until the pursuit passed, then walk leisurely to the airport, get a cab, and go hoht he had heard the jeep engine start Even if pursued, Chahda could get away all right The jeep was faster than the lih roads

Scotty's fate was less certain If two men were after Rick, the other two probably were after Scotty They had scattered just for the purpose of splitting the eneet the jeep underway

As Rick watched, the two e of the salt pans One produced a flashlight and they walked along the edge of the salt pans shi+ning the light at the ground

Rick wondered Surely they weren't looking for foot-prints Both the salt pans and the field were perfectly dry He wasn't particularly afraid of the flashlight He would wait until they were close to the palrove, then round The light couldn't pick hireat distance

The e of the salt pans until they reached the place where Rick had left the pans and entered the field, then, as surely as blood-hounds, they followed the route he had taken

He stared, amazed How had they tracked him? Then, suddenly, he knew

Makahiya! The sensitive mimosa! The field was covered with it And where he had walked, the htly!

Rick turned and ran through the grove, trying to be silent He used a beacon frouide, and in a rove It was the field They were boundary lights

He saw instantly that he was in a bad spot The only way to go was straight ahead, across the open airport He would be seen instantly when his pursuers erove, and fro else to do but go on He clihts of the ad a th and wind he kept his pace to a dogtrot He crossed one paved strip and cast a look behind in time to see the pursuers climb the fence A yell told hi a bullet His spine tingled and there was a crawling sensation between his shoulder blades But when the shot did coive an instinctive duck

So ready to take off, the pilot was checking his hts as he ran and saw them over a mile down the field It was a Strato-cruiser, probably bound for America Then he saw the runway ahead and realized that it would be a race to see whether or not he got across before the plane reached that point The lights told hithened his stride

He had a choice He could stop and wait until the big plane passed, or he could run for it and hope to beat it If he stopped, it would give his pursuers a chance to catch up

He ran faster, still breathing easily But there were signs that his as giving out He cast anxious glances down the field The big plane was rolling, its engines roaring He tried to gauge the point where it would be air-borne, but it was too hard It should be in the air by the time it reached him, but he couldn't be sure The runas only yards ahead now He sprinted

The plane roared down at hi that he would not be across in ti plane lifted The wheels were only a few feet above hi again, weak froo that he was done for But the ad was only a short distance away now, and he found the strength to keep going

He ran past astonished airport personnel, ht off, and leaped into a taxi just ahead of the Filipino gentle!” he panted ”Hurry!” The driver responded with a burst of speed that snapped Rick back against the cushi+ons He turned and watched through the rear , but he couldn't see his pursuers He had made it!

CHAPTER XX