"Maybe it came loose on its own," suggested Remo.
"The adhesive power of Sinanju Masters' saliva is legendary," said Chiun. "This hair was pushed aside by an intruding hand. I must count my scrolls to see if any are missing. Meanwhile, it is your duty to inventory the treasure. "
"And what shall I do, Master?" asked Pullyang.
"You sit in the corner, facing the wall. Your carelessness may have cost Sinanju a priceless relic. I will decide your punishment later."
"Hey, don't be so hard on him," said Remo. "It sounds like he had a good reason for going."
Chiun simply glared at Remo.
"Why don't I check on the treasure?" Remo said, slipping out of the room.
When Remo returned to report that the treasure seemed intact, Chiun nodded absently.
"It is as I thought," he said. "Nothing was taken. Not treasure, not scrolls. But some of the histories of Sinanju have been read, for the ribbons are not tied correctly."
"What do you make of it?" Remo wanted to know.
"Tulip has been here."
"Yeah, I guess we can assume that. Let's get Pullyang's story. "
Old Pullyang squatted in a dark corner of the House of the Masters, his face to the wall.
"Arise, wretch, and face your Master," Chiun commanded.
Pullyang got to his feet and faced Remo. He trembled. "No, not him. I am Master here," spat Chiun. Pullyang turned like a dog. "Yes, Master."
"Your story," Chiun demanded.
And Pullyang babbled a long, convoluted tale of the devil herons which had come down from the stars because poor old Pullyang had foolishly looked up at them. He told about their leathery purple wings and their baleful green eyes and how they perched on the Horns of Welcome, casting no shadows, and how the villagers fled their gaze. All but poor loyal Pullyang, who waited and waited until at last the birds were gone and it was safe for the villagers to return. But the villagers did not know that, and so Pullyang had to go and seek them out.
"I was gone but a few minutes," he finished piteously.
"In which direction did these birds fly away?"
"I did not notice, O Master."
"If they stared at you, and you at them, how could they depart unseen by you?" Chiun demanded.
"It may have been that I closed my eyes momentarily, for their gaze was awful. It seemed to freeze my very soul. "
Chiun placed his hands on his hips and turned to Remo. "What do you make of his prattling?"
"I don't think they were herons, Little Father," Remo said.
"Of course they were herons. This man knows herons when he sees them."
"They were too big for herons," muttered Pullyang.
"Then what were they?" challenged Chiun.
"I do not know," Pullyang quavered. "I have never heard of birds such as these, even in tales of old."
"Nor have I. Therefore they must have been herons-very large herons."
Remo shook his head. "He wasn't describing herons. He was describing pterodactyls."
"I have never heard of birds called that," Chiun countered.
"Pterodactyls aren't birds," said Remo in a strange voice. "They are lizards, I think. But they have wings, like bats."
"There is no such thing in all of Sinanju history," snapped Chiun.
"Were they like bats?" Remo asked Pullyang.
"Their wings, yes. But they had heron-demon faces. I did not know what they were."
"Whatever they were," Remo said, "they sure didn't sneak into this place while the villagers were up in the hills. That means somebody sent them-probably to scare everyone off so he could slip in unseen and go through your scrolls. "
"There are no such birds as you describe, Remo," Chiun insisted. "I think Pullyang is making this up."
"Didn't the villagers admit they saw the birds too?"
"It is a conspiracy, then. The villagers themselves stole in to read the histories. And they will all be punished," added Chiun, looking at Pullyang severely.
"I don't think so," said Remo.
"I say again, there are no such creatures as this wretch describes."
"That's the weird part, Little Father. Pterodactyls don't exist anymore. They haven't existed in millions of years. They're dinosaurs. They all died out before Sinanju came along. "
"If that is so, how would you know of them?" demanded Chiun.
"I read about them when I was a kid. Every American kid knows about pterodactyls and dinosaurs."
"My ancestors would have mentioned such creatures if they existed," said Chiun with finality. "But just to be certain, I will look through my histories for mention of these terrorbirds. How do you spell the name?"
"Got me. But it starts with a P," Remo said.
"P?" sputtered Chiun. "You mean a T, do you not?"
"No, it's P, then T. The P is silent."
"You are making this up, aren't you?"