s had.

It suddenly occurred to Rick that he had asked no questions himself.
"Where's the cat?" he demanded.

"At the project," Scotty replied. "I was going to turn it over to Ben,
but he said to leave it there."

"It might be uncomfortable at the station," Ben added with a twinkle.
"After all, it's a well-cared-for pet."

Rick grinned. "We've grown fond of it," he admitted. "Second question:
can't you just pick up Youssef on a kidnapping charge?"

"We could, if we knew where to find him. But Youssef is a hard man to
locate when he goes underground. We've been trying to get something on
him for years, and we know him well. This time he's over-played his hand
and we've got him. It's only a question of time."

"How about Moustafa?" Rick asked. "Is he guilty of anything?"

The police officer finished his coffee and rose. "Not yet," he said.
"But he will be. Now, stay together at all times. Ride with the taxi
driver who will be waiting for you in the hall. Otherwise, go about your
business as usual, and have a good time."

Scotty saw him to the door, then turned to Rick. "Moustafa isn't guilty
of anything yet, but he will be. That's interesting."

Rick thought so, too. "Isn't it pretty careless, leaving the cat at the
project?"

"Seems so," Scotty agreed. "But I think Ben knows what he's doing."

"I guess you're right," Rick said soberly.

After more coffee and a shower, he felt like himself again. There was
work to do at the project, so the two boys picked up the police driver,
who was keeping an eye on their door, and rode to the project.

The scientists greeted Rick happily. "We were pretty worried for a
while," Winston said, and the Egyptians echoed him.

"We don't usually treat tourists this way," Farid said jokingly, but
behind the smile Rick sensed that the Egyptian scientist was embarrassed
by what had happened to a guest.

"I got myself into it," Rick pointed out. "If we had gone to the police
about the Egyptian cat that first day, there would have been no
trouble."

Dr. Kerama put a hand on his shoulder. "It is very kind of you to try to
save our feelings. But we were so involved in this fascinating problem
that we simply didn't pay enough attention. Otherwise, we could have
advised you to see the police."

"How is it going?" Rick asked.

"Very well," Farid said. "We're exchanging reports constantly with the
other radio telescopes and it's clear that we have something
extraordinary. We're tr