had been hurt, or even roughed up particularly. That wasn't
the purpose. "So they won't get us in a public place, huh? Well, if
they'd wanted to do damage, they could have." He added, "And we couldn't
have done a thing. But all they wanted was the cat."

Scotty nodded agreement. He brushed dust off his trousers. "Might as
well go back to the hotel. I'm hungry. Anyway, they know now that you
don't have the cat on you--and that I don't, either. So what will they
think?"

"Either that it's at the hotel or the project, or that we've put it
somewhere for safekeeping. They searched the hotel room. Suppose they'll
try the project?"

"It's possible, I suppose. Anyway, if they want us they can get us.
Notice that no one saw the ruckus? The timing was perfect. A few feet
sooner and we'd have been within sight of the museum's ticket office. A
few feet later and we'd have been on the street. As it was, shrubs
shielded them. Pretty good operating, I'd say."

Rick thought so, too, and it worried him. "I have an unhappy idea
buzzing around. If I were the big boss, and really determined to get the
cat, I'd pick us up and make us talk."

"The language is a little mixed, but the thought is clear as air. We'd
better keep our guard up at all times."

"Meanwhile, what do we know about anything? Nothing. If only we knew why
the cat is valuable!"

"If it wasn't before, it is now," Scotty replied. "It's a genuine museum
piece. But if the cat is gone, we have three lovely kittens."

Rick chuckled. "What's the problem everyone has with kittens? It's
finding a home for them. I wish we'd had one of the kittens a few
minutes ago. There would have been one less homeless orphan."

"The kittens' turns will come. And it's our turn to eat. My stomach is
quivering in Morse code. 'Send food. Send food.'"

Rick pointed to the hotel, just ahead. "Okay, chow hound. Lunch ahead.
And lay off that hot-pepper stuff or that stomach of yours will be
sending distress signals."

"I hear you talking," Scotty said feelingly. One dish, served at dinner
the previous night, had required enough water to put out a three-alarm
fire before the burning sensation stopped.

Hassan was waiting after lunch. He drove the boys to the project, where
they looked into the control room long enough to let the scientists know
they had arrived, then went at once to look at the kittens. Three
identical statues, almost perfect replicas of the original, were sitting
in the sun