ould not last
long."

"He's a fine fellow," Rick said without heat. "Good night, Hassan."

"_Leltak s'aeeda_, Rick. Good night to you."

The boy curled up in a ball, knees tucked into stomach, head resting on
one arm. He covered up as much as possible with the short coat, squirmed
until he had a depression for his hip in the sand, and closed his eyes.

On the nearby dune the little jackal peeked over the top at the two
prone figures and sang his vast displeasure to the moon. From faraway a
friend or relative joined in the serenade. It was the last thing Rick
heard.

* * * * *

Hassan shook him. "Rick! Awaken, please! Camels coming."

Rick came back to reality from a dream of emptiness and loneliness in a
darkened desert. The moon had set and false dawn was burning on the far
horizon. He shook his head blearily. "What? Who's coming?"

"Not know. I woke and saw camels on the sky."

"In the east?"

"Yes. Against sky."

Rick shivered in the biting chill of early morning. He doubted that any
legitimate travelers came this way. Youssef would not have left them
near a caravan route. He could only guess that the thief himself was
coming back, and he grew colder at the thought. Perhaps Youssef had
decided not to wait to soften Rick up. On the other hand, there was a
remote possibility he had the cat. If he was a thief with honor, he
might simply be coming to take them back.

The idea seemed unlikely. Scotty wouldn't give up the cat, except in
exchange for the two of them. If Youssef had found it himself, it was
hours ago. He wouldn't have waited to search Hassan's car, if he had
ever intended to search it.

An inner voice urged, "Tell him where the cat is. It's not your cat, and
there's no reason to believe that Kemel Moustafa has any more right to
what's inside of it than Youssef has."

But there was a deep streak of stubbornness in the Brants, which Rick
had inherited. He knew he wouldn't give in until he absolutely had to.
When that time came he would tell Youssef the truth, that he had hidden
the cat in the Egyptian Museum. What he would not say was that the cat
had been recovered and that he had left it in Hassan's car.

False dawn had faded. It was nearly black, except for myriad stars.
Hassan lay with his ear to the ground. Rick held perfectly still and
waited.

Finally Hassan sat up. "Close now," he whispered.

Rick wondered briefly if they shouldn't put up a fight, bu