government had to impose,"
Farid explained. "Mostly, they are people who had things pretty much
their own way before the Republic was formed. They used to get special
treatment from government officials who were in their pay, and they grew
rich. Now, that's impossible. So they plot revolution to bring the bad
old days back again--bad old days for most Egyptians, that is. The
Moustafas and Bartouki used to be pretty powerful. I suppose they wanted
that power back."

Dr. Kerama added, "This is probably not the last try at revolution the
police will have to stop. But our country grows more stable all the
time, and the would-be revolutionaries grow older and perhaps wiser."

"Time goes on," Rick agreed. "Things change." He thought of Kemel
Moustafa the revolutionary, the only one of the three brothers they had
met--and he thought of Hassan's saying. He added, "The little jackal
barks, but the caravan passes."

Hakim Farid laughed outright. "We'll make a good Egyptian of you yet,
Rick."

* * * * *

The time along the Greenwich meridian, from which all world times are
measured, was 9:30 P.M.

At Spindrift Island, it was 4:30 in the late afternoon. Barby Brant sat
with her close friend, Jan Miller, before the roaring fire in the
library.

"I'll bet Rick and Scotty are having a marvelous time," Barby said.
There was no envy in the statement. She always protested volubly at
being left behind, but that was more a matter of principle than anything
else. Once the boys had gone, she always simmered down enough to be glad
they could go, even if she could not.

Jan, a slim, attractive dark-haired girl, said, "I'll bet they're glad
you suggested that Rick deliver the Egyptian cat, too. It was an
introduction to a real merchant, right in the bazaar."

Barby smiled. "They probably made a lot of new friends from just that
one thing!"

It was 5:30 in the afternoon on a tiny island off the coast of
Venezuela. Two elderly men looked up from their inspection of a hot
spring. The smaller of the two shrugged. He spoke in Spanish.

"I will keep watch. If new signs develop, I know where to go for help.
It is the Spindrift Scientific Foundation. If anyone can help us, that
group can. If they can't--well, we are doomed."

In Cairo, it was 11:30. Rick Brant hauled himself to the top of the
great pyramid of Khufu. Scotty and Hassan joined him.

The view was magnificent. Cairo sparkled like a million je