suffer in silence. Cameras began to snap, recording for the folks back
home the undignified ride of the lady tourist on the ungainly camel
before the ancient, majestic pyramids and the changeless, unsmiling
Sphinx.

The three got back into the little car and Hassan took a road that
curved gradually around a hill, past a hotel that he identified as the
Mena House, and up to the largest pyramid, once the tomb of Khufu and
still the greatest monument in all the world.

On a line into the desert were the slightly smaller pyramids of Kefren
and Mankara. These, with the Sphinx, were among the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World.

Later, Rick promised Scotty, they would explore Giza and its wonders
inch by inch. But now they were due at Sahara Wells. Hassan sped around
the Khufu pyramid and pointed. There, on the horizon, was a strange
contrast to the monuments of the Pharaohs. The steel-and-aluminum shape
of the great, steerable dish antenna, designed for modern astronomy, was
silhouetted against the sky.

Rick was excited. He enjoyed new sights and experiences more than most
people, and here, within sight of each other, were unique objects of
almost equal interest, but entirely different.

The way led past a single large building surrounded by shabby tents, and
a sign in English and Arabic that proclaimed that this was Sahara Wells.
Then the blacktop road curved out into the desert to the great radio
telescope.

Hassan drove into a parking lot before the main project building in the
shadow of the antenna and Dr. Hakim Farid came out to greet the boys.

"Welcome to Sahara Wells," he said cordially. "How do you like our
baby?"

Rick looked up at the huge dish. "It's a good mate for the pyramids," he
said.

"Pretty impressive," Scotty added.

"We hope its performance will be impressive, too, once we get this bug
ironed out. Come on in. Winston and Kerama are hard at work."

The boys followed him into the building, while Hassan squatted in the
sun next to his car. The door opened directly into the main control
room, a bewildering confusion of panels, instruments, and controls.
There were several scientists and technicians clustered around Winston
and Kerama. The group was studying Sanborn tracings, continuous graphs
showing the lines traced by the incoming signals.

Farid introduced the boys to the staff, then took them on a quick tour.
He showed them the controls for the great dish. They were fully
automatic. The