ven less suspicious,
wouldn't it?" She scanned the three faces eagerly, then sighed. "All
right. I knew it wasn't any use."

"Never mind, towhead," Rick said. He always hated to see Barby's wistful
expression when he and Scotty were going somewhere. "Maybe next time."

"Not if next time is another job like this," Hartson Brant disagreed. He
studied his pipe stem, his forehead wrinkled thoughtfully. "I'm not
quite sure why I didn't object to Rick and Scotty going."

Rick demanded swiftly, "You're not going to object, are you, Dad?"

"No, Rick. If we hadn't been on other expeditions and in some tough
spots together, I surely would. But I know you two are able to take care
of yourselves. And so is Zircon. Only keep in mind that you may be
dealing with an entirely new breed of cats, unscrupulous men who
wouldn't hesitate to put you out of the way without a moment's
hesitation. So be careful. Be very careful. Don't take risks that aren't
essential to your job. And do what Zircon tells you to without
hesitation. He's knocked around in some pretty rough corners of the
world, and I don't know a man who is better equipped for this kind of
job, unless it's Carl Bradley."

The warning sobered Rick even more. Apart from what his father had said,
he knew it was also what the information could mean to the security of
the country that had prevented the scientist from making a single
objection to their going.

"We'll take no risks we don't have to," he promised. "We'll move as if
we were walking on eggs, Dad."

And Scotty echoed the promise.

* * * * *

Nothing remained but to wait for Zircon and make definite plans. Steve,
who had risen early in order to get to Spindrift first thing, walked out
to the orchard with Dismal for company and stretched out under a tree
for a nap.

Rick and Scotty couldn't possibly have napped, so they went up to Rick's
room and began to pack. That took little time, since they would travel
by air. Scotty took his rifle out of its protective case and cleaned it,
then tried on the infrared telescope. He removed from the 'scope the
masking bits of cardboard Rick had used to convert it to a camera view
finder, thus making it a telescopic rifle sight once more. It fitted
perfectly.

"You taking the movie camera along?" he asked.

Rick thought it over. "Guess I will," he said finally. "Tourists are
supposed to have cameras. I'll take the movie instead of the speed
gra