s not revenge. He was sure of that.

Youssef had said that he had no sentimental attachment to the cat. He
had also said he disliked unnecessary violence. Rick wondered what the
thief considered "unnecessary."

What else could he recall of Youssef's talk? He had said that the cat
was not important, that it had elements of value to some people, and
that he never lied. If one took his words at face value and believed
him, then the cat itself was not important. What did that leave? Rick
could see only one thing: that it was important only because it
_contained_ something. Youssef's words simply reinforced the conclusion
he and Scotty already had reached.

"Elements of value to a few people," Youssef had said. That might mean
only a few people knew what the cat contained. If you didn't know, it
was only a plastic cat. If you did know what it contained ... well,
Youssef knew, and he wanted the cat badly enough to risk a kidnaping.

Rick wondered where the cat was now. He had no idea of what had happened
to Hassan's car. If it was left on the road and not searched, Scotty or
someone from the project would recognize it. Scotty would certainly
search the car, and he would find kitty. It was what Rick would do, and
he and Scotty thought alike on many things.

Hassan finished his recital of a trip to the Valley of the Kings with
his American employers and Rick took advantage of the lull to borrow a
match. He lighted it and looked at his watch. It was nearly midnight.

Had Scotty met Kemel Moustafa at seven? Rick thought he probably had,
and wondered what Third Brother's reaction to his mysterious
disappearance had been. If Scotty had the cat, had he delivered it? Rick
thought not. Scotty would keep the cat, for bargaining purposes.

He found himself yawning. "Hassan, when do you think Youssef will come
back?"

"If he wants us alive and able to talk, maybe day after tomorrow. If
not--_la samah Allah!_--maybe longer."

"What's _la samah Allah_?" Rick stumbled over the pronunciation.

"God forbid," Hassan said grimly.

"Amen," Rick echoed.

He shifted position. "We'd better get some sleep. Should we go into the
crypt or stay out here?"

The crypt was only a cubic chamber of rough stone, partly filled with
drifting sand. Desert winds had been alternately covering and uncovering
it for centuries.

"Stay out here until morning. Then we go in out of sun, like today.
Youssef good to us. With no shelter from the sun, we w