him an opening and I fell into it.
Meanwhile, you put Ali in jail, then Fuad. Youssef got into the act
through the clerk. So then we had Kemel Moustafa and Youssef on our
trail. Why didn't you put Kemel in jail, too? And how about Bartouki?"

"We had no evidence that would stand up in court against Kemel, although
we were convinced he was in the act with his brothers. That's why I
waited until he tried to take the cat by force."

Rick exploded, "You used us and the cat for bait!"

"It worked," Ben pointed out mildly. "We got both Youssef and Moustafa,
although the trap was only for Kemel. And you were never in any real
danger, except for a stray bullet. I've been in the unfinished barracks
with my men since noontime. The senior scientists knew it. That's why
they were willing to leave you alone. Two of my men mingled with
Youssef's gang as soon as they arrived, and weren't detected. Any sign
of real danger to you and they'd have bailed you out fast. But we were
holding off, because I had a radio message that Kemel was on his way
with a gang of his own."

"You certainly had things taped," Scotty said admiringly. "I guess we
ought to be mad. But you'd have an equal right to get mad because we
tried to go it alone."

"We'll call it square," Ben agreed. "About Bartouki. We needed the
evidence of the cat, and a statement from you that he had handed it to
you. That was the only sure way of tying him in. Tonight we'll send a
message via Interpol to the New York police."

So far, everything had been circumstantial evidence. Rick wanted to see
if their guesses were correct. "Open the cat," he begged.

"Get the saw," Ben said.

Rick jumped to his feet. There was a toolbox in the closet. He brought
it to the inspector.

Ben handed the cat to him. "Saw away."

Scotty held the cat firmly on a chair while Rick wielded the saw.
Plastic sawdust flew from under the blade.

Rick felt the blade hit metal and stopped. "Hit something!" he said
excitedly. "Metal, but soft. Like lead."

Scotty groaned. "Do you suppose Bartouki was telling the truth?"

"We'll soon know." Rick moved the saw blade to a different angle and
began cutting around the cat, changing angles each time he hit the
material on the inside. Before long, the Egyptian cat had a cut around
its middle and Rick put the saw away. There were a hammer and screw
driver in the toolbox. He inserted the tip of the screw driver into the
saw cut and tapped the handle with