eyes. "No. Don't
you?"

"I have a definite interest in cats, but not in this one. Come, shall we
go to the outside? I think you have probably had enough of Khufu's tomb
by this time, eh?"

The pistol motioned to the outstretched Arabs. "This carrion will not
bother us. I told them the first man to step outside the pyramid before
an hour has elapsed would be shot."

To Rick's astonishment the man tucked the pistol into a capacious jacket
pocket, then turned and walked toward the outer entrance. Rick, Scotty,
and Hassan followed.

In a few moments they stood blinking in the sunlight. Their rescuer gave
them a polite bow. "You are probably wondering who I am, and how I
appeared so opportunely, eh? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kemel
Moustafa."

The brother of Ali and Fuad! Rick remembered the words of the hotel
intruder who had taken the first kitten: The Moustafas were known for
the largest mustaches and noses in the United Arab Republic. Well, the
description fitted.

"I'm Rick Brant," he said. "This is Don Scott, and our guide, Hassan."

Kemel Moustafa shook hands all around. "I am thirsty," he announced. "We
will exchange stories over coffee, eh? The Mena House is close by, and I
have a car."

"So do we," Rick said. "We came in Hassan's car."

"Then let us drive down in our separate cars and meet there. We have
much to talk over."

That was an understatement, Rick thought. He wondered as Hassan drove
them to the hotel below the pyramids: had the business in the pyramid
been staged so Kemel could come to the rescue? If not, that meant two
different groups were interested in the cat.

The way Kemel Moustafa had looked at the broken kitten was revealing,
too. One glance and he had rejected it. How had he known? He put the
question aloud to Scotty.

"Maybe it didn't break like plastic," Scotty guessed. "Or, it's possible
the original is unbreakable."

Rick didn't think either of those answers could be the right one. "Could
there be something inside the cat? Kernel would have seen right away
that the broken one was solid."

"There's a hunk of lead in the cat, according to Bartouki. But suppose
you're right, and it isn't lead? What could be valuable enough to cause
all these wild goings-on?"

"Diamonds. Rubies. Maybe a radium needle in a lead shield. The
possibilities are endless."

"Uhuh. Only one thing bothers me a little. Why use a plastic cat as a
container to smuggle things into Egypt? There