t met
his eyes.

The Morrisons' cat, whose name was Shah, was crouched on one of the
dining-room chairs. Dismal was sniffing around beneath the chair,
obviously looking for the cat. As Rick watched, Dismal gave up the
search and walked from under the chair. Instantly he was batted on the
nose from above by a paw that moved with supersonic speed. Rick
laughed as Dismal gave a cry of pure frustration and headed for the
kitchen at a trot. The cat had been playing, since the blow was struck
with claws sheathed. If Shah had wanted to hurt the pup, raking claws
could have torn deep furrows.

Rick stroked the silky fur and Shah purred hoarsely. He hadn't had
much experience with cats, but he liked this one. The Persian had a
sense of humor. Rick went into the kitchen and consoled Dismal, after
bidding good morning to his mother and Mrs. Morrison. The pup rolled
over on his back and played dead, his only trick. The boy scratched
Dismal's stomach until the pup's hind leg flailed in delighted
ecstasy.

"Am I too late for breakfast?" Rick asked his mother.

"Of course not. We'll be ready in ten minutes."

Rick wandered out to the screened front porch that was the Brants'
summer living room. The ocean was calm this morning. He searched the
horizon for some sign of the Coast Guard cutter. There was none, which
didn't surprise him. Steve was too old a hand to attract attention to
Spindrift by having a government craft waiting offshore.

Barby, Jan, and Scotty were walking from the long, low gray laboratory
building on the southeast corner of the island, past the place where
the Sky Wagon, his plane, usually was staked down. His landing strip
ran along the seaward edge of the island, from the lab building to the
front of the house. However, the plane still carried the pontoons
with which it had been fitted for the Virgin Islands trip, and for the
time being, it was drawn ashore at Pirate's Field.

Presently the trio joined him on the porch. Jan smiled and said good
morning in her soft voice. Scotty said, "I thought you were going to
sleep all day."

Barby came to Rick's defense. "He was tired. After all, it's hard work
to get wonderful ideas like the one he had last night."

Apparently Barby had told Jan all about it, because the girl asked,
"Can I be a member of the Megabuck Mob?" There seemed to be just a
touch of wistfulness about the way she added, "You always seem to be
having adventures of one sort or another at Spin