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Updated: May 12, 2025
Rick searched until he saw what Scotty's quick eyes had spotted. It was partly hidden behind a clay jug. An Egyptian cat! Closer inspection showed that it was not the mate to the one he carried. The museum cat was darker, obviously older. It was more stylized and slightly larger. There was no identifying card. The Egyptian cat returned his gaze with dark stone eyes.
Quickly he led the way out of sight of the barbershop windows. Rick looked at him curiously. "See something?" Scotty's forehead wrinkled. "I think so. But it's so unlikely that I'm not sure. Rick, I thought I saw the barber from Washington the one with the massage machine!" Rick's mouth opened in astonishment. "You're kidding!" Scotty shook his head. "I'm not. I said I wasn't sure.
Bill's mustache was nearly pulled from its roots, that day but that is not important to the story, which has to do with Ford Campbell, sometime the possessor of a neat legacy in coin, later a rider of the cattle ranges, last presiding genius over the poker table in Scotty's back room in Sunset, always an important factor and too often a disturbing element in any community upon which he chose to bestow his dynamic presence.
"How about checking in for us?" Rick asked. "Then we could get right into the water. No need for all of us to go to the hotel." The scientists agreed, and at Scotty's suggestion hailed a taxi. As the car rolled off toward the boat where their luggage was stored, Scotty grinned. "This was the only taxi in sight. Wonder how our friend will manage to follow us?" He had his answer at the pier.
Five minutes passed, and then the voice of Mitchell was heard again, uninterrupted by the clatter of tinware. It said in impressive tones: "It would not be a bad idea for some of you chaps that camp in the bunks along there, to have a look at your things. Scotty's bunk is next to Tom's."
Even after such depravity as chasing the Allan girl's pet cat, stealing a neighbor's dog-salmon, or attacking an inoffensive Cocker Spaniel, he had seen Tom so meek and pensive that no one could suspect him of wrong-doing who had not actually witnessed it; and he had seen the Woman, when she had actually witnessed it, become a sort of accessory after the fact, and shield Tom from "Scotty's" just wrath, which was extraordinary and confusing.
Gordon, who had been at work on a secret rocket project in the far west, had wired: ARRIVING TOMORROW. NEED RICK AND SCOTTY FOR SPECIAL WORK. URGE THEY BE READY TO DEPART IN THREE DAYS EQUIPPED FOR EXTENDED STAY AT DESERT BASE. Rick's eyes met Scotty's as he finished reading. "Desert base," he repeated. Scotty grinned his delight. "John Gordon's rocket base is in the desert.
Rick ran, too, but Scotty's fast reaction had carried his pal beyond reach. He saw the husky ex-marine stoop into the flames, pick up the fallen fireman, and literally throw him across the trench to safety. Then Rick was at his friend's side, slapping at the burning places on his clothes, rushing him away from the spreading propellant. But Scotty wasn't through.
The room had been searched inch by inch, and by someone in a hurry. Rick's hand went to the Egyptian cat in his pocket. "They wanted the cat," he said slowly. "I can't see that anything is missing. But why is the cat so important?" He drew it out of his pocket and stared at it. Then his eyes met Scotty's. His pal shrugged. Neither of them had even the slightest clue. The Cat Has Kittens
Since Rick knew the approximate position where he had tied it to the projecting stump, he led the way toward shallow water, hoping to intercept it. The water shoaled rapidly as the boys approached the shore. Scotty's hand suddenly gripped Rick's, and Rick felt the line. At the same instant, Rick was aware of bubbles in the water, a trail of faint phosphorescence shooting downward past his mask.
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