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THE EGYPTIAN CAT MYSTERY
A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY
BY JOHN BLAINE
GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC., 1961
NEW YORK, N. Y.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
_Printed in the United States of America_
[Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not discover a U.S.
copyright renewal.]
[Illustration: _The room had been searched inch by inch. Someone wanted
the cat!_]
Contents
I THE WINSTON PLAN
II THE EGYPTIAN CAT
III CAIRO
IV EL MOUSKI
V SAHARA WELLS
VI THE CAT HAS KITTENS
VII THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM
VIII THE MIDNIGHT CALL
IX THE UNINVITED VISITOR
X THE GREAT PYRAMID
XI THIRD BROTHER SMILES
XII THIRD BROTHER STOPS SMILING
XIII THE SPACE MYSTERY
XIV THE BROAD SAHARA
XV THE CAT COMES BACK
XVI THE HOWLING JACKALS
XVII ISMAIL BEN ADHEM
XVIII THE FIGHT AT SAHARA WELLS
XIX THE CAT'S SECRET
XX THE SIGNAL VANISHES
List of Illustrations
_The room had been searched inch by inch. Someone wanted the cat!_
_A snub-nosed revolver was pointed at Rick's midriff_
_Hands pulled Rick from the saddle_
THE EGYPTIAN CAT MYSTERY
CHAPTER I
The Winston Plan
The date was December twenty-third. The time along the Greenwich
meridian, from which all world times are measured, was 8:15 P.M. At
widely scattered points around the globe, four voices were raised
simultaneously.
Even an experienced observer could not have found a connection between
the four voices and what they were saying, yet each voice started
actions that would soon be interwoven into a single pattern--a pattern
of danger, adventure, and mystery that would culminate in sudden
violence within sight of one of the seven wonders of the world.
In Chicago, it was 2:15 in the afternoon. At the edge of the city a man
spoke into the telephone in the office of a small plastics factory. "The
cat is ready," he said.
In Paris, a phone rang. The man who answered noted in the log that his
overseas call had gone through at exactly 9:15 p.m. He picked up the
phone and spoke crisply. "_Monsieur l'Inspecteur? ... _Bien._ This is
Interpol. We have a relay for you from the United States. Monsieur,
this will please you--and it most certainly will amaze you. Message
begins..."
In Cairo, the time was 10:15 P.M. A famous Egyptian astronomer walked
into his office and called to his associate. "Hakim! Good news. He can
come. Now we can find out what that accursed hydrogen-line impulse
means."
On Spindrift Island, off the coast of New Jersey, it was 3:15 in the
afternoon. The island was quiet under a blanket of snow. The long, gray
laboratory buildings, where so many dramatic scientific developments had
taken place, were deserted. Only in the homes of the scientists was
there activity, and all of it was in preparation for Christmas.
In the big main house on the seaward side of the island, Dr. Hartson
Brant, director of the world-famous Spindrift Scientific Foundation,
walked to the foot of the stairs and called to his son.
"Rick, can you come to the library in five minutes? Bring Scotty with
you."
Rick Brant, a tall boy with light-brown hair and eyes, paused in his
gift wrapping long enough to call an affirmative to his father, then he
made sure Don Scott, whose room was next door, had heard the summons.
Scotty had. He came through the connecting door. "What's up?"
"Don't know. Maybe Dad has some Christmas chores for us to do."
Scotty, a big, husky boy with black hair and brown eyes, was an
ex-Marine who had originally joined the Spindrift group as a guard
during the adventure of _The Rocket's Shadow_. Since then, he and Rick
had become the closest of friends, and the Brants had accepted him as a
full-fledged member of the family.
"I'm willing, whatever it is," Scotty told Rick. "I'm so full of Yuletide
spirit I may bust a seam from sheer joy."
Rick grinned. He felt exactly the same way. He continued wrapping the
present for his sister Barbara, a pretty girl a year his junior. Barby
had a definite talent for sketching and painting and Rick had bought her
a complete artist's kit, hoping it would encourage her natural skill.
"She'll be tickled pink," Scotty remarked. "Come on. Let's go down."
"Go ahead. I'll be right with you." Rick finished taping on a spray of
evergreen, then he carefully put the present out of sight under his
workbench. Barby's lively curiosity was subdued at Christmas time, but
it was better not to take chances. He surveyed the bench to see if he
had left anything out. Usually it was cluttered with apparatus, tools,
and parts, because Rick was an inveterate experimenter, but it was clear
now, in preparation for the holiday.
He walked down the corridor to the stairs, smiling to himself. Christmas
at Spindrift was fun. The entire scientific staff and their families
joined in, first in cutting their own trees from the stand of spruce at
the back side of the island, then in decorating the big tree in the
Brant library. On Christmas Eve there was a Yule log to be brought in
and presents to be exchanged, although the Brants waited until morning
to open their gifts to each other.
Hartson Brant and Scotty were waiting in the library, standing before
the great fireplace in which logs crackled merrily. Seated in the
leather chair next to the Christmas tree was Parnell Winston, one of the
leading staff scientists.
Winston was a big man, with jet-black curly hair and great bushy
eyebrows that hid merry blue eyes. He was an expert in cybernetics, the
science of electronic computer design, and his contributions to the
theory of computer operations, and to advanced electronic control
systems, were known to scientists around the world. Winston had
originally joined the staff to supervise the design and construction of
a "thinking machine," the Tractosaur.
Hartson Brant, an older version of his son, greeted the boy. "Come in,
Rick. Parnell, the floor is yours."
Winston motioned the boys to chairs. "Sit down. I called this meeting to
make a proposal. But first, how are your bank balances? Fat or thin?"
Rick considered. Most of his income, including his small salary as a
laboratory assistant, went into his education fund. However, the salary
he had earned for working at the Nevada rocket base during _The Scarlet
Lake Mystery_ had been put into his "ready" fund. "I'm in good shape,"
he said, and Scotty echoed him.
"Fine. Now, the Egyptian Astronomical Society has just finished
constructing a new radio telescope. It's a first-rate instrument from
which we expect great things. Your father and I were in at its birth, so
to speak. We consulted on the initial designs during a meeting of the
International Astronomical Union."
Rick knew that was one of the many world-wide private scientific
organizations operating under the International Council of Scientific
Unions. He also knew of the growing importance of radio astronomy, but
he hadn't known the Egyptians were in on it.
"Apparently some unusual trouble developed during the tuning of the
instrument," Winston went on. "Earlier this afternoon I had a phone call
from Cairo, and a request to help our Egyptian colleagues iron out the
bugs. I accepted."
Rick sat upright in his chair. Winston going to Cairo? How did this
concern Scotty and him?
"My proposal is this," Winston concluded. "The Egyptians are short of
technicians and we may need help. I'll leave the day after Christmas,
returning within ten days. If you two can pay half your expenses, and
help me half the time, I'll take you with me."
Both boys jumped to their feet. Rick looked anxiously at his father.
Hartson Brant smiled. "According to Parnell's schedule, you'll be back
just in time for school at the end of the holidays. _If_ you want to go,
of course."
Rick let out a wild yell of exuberance that brought his sister Barby
running to the library. She looked at the group with wide eyes. "Rick!
Was that you?"
He grinned at her. "It wasn't a wounded buffalo, Sis. Guess what? We're
going to Egypt!"
Barby's pert face lengthened. "I don't suppose I can go, too?"
Parnell Winston walked over and ruffled her blond hair. "Not this time,
Barby. But I'll make you a promise. The next field expedition under my
supervision will include my wife, you, and Jan Miller."
The prospect of an expedition that included Jan, daughter of one of the
staff physicists and her dearest friend, cheered Barby at once.
"I don't suppose you could promise to leave Rick and Scotty at home?"
she asked.
"Can't promise." Winston chuckled. "We might need them to carry your
luggage. Girls can't travel without a dozen suitcases each, I'm told."
The scientist turned to the boys. "Start reading up on the country, and
I'll arrange for you to get some additional background by meeting some
Egyptians. It happens that an Egyptian physicist is arriving in New York
today for a lecture tour of American universities. There's a reception
for him tomorrow. We'll drive to New York. You can meet him and some of
his countrymen, and we'll go to the consulate to obtain visas. Are your
passports and health cards up to date?"
Fortunately, all was in order because the boys had spent a part of the
summer in the Sulu Sea region, where they had helped to locate and
rescue two staff scientists.
Barby asked wistfully, "Couldn't I meet some real Egyptians, too?"
As Scotty had once said, if Barby ever got wistful while fishing, the
fish would knock themselves out trying to climb into the boat to cheer
her up. Winston replied quickly, "No reason why not. I'll check with my
host, but I'm sure it's all right, so you can plan to come with us."
Rick's eyes met Scotty's. He shrugged. He was glad in one way that his
sister could go, because he always hated to have her unhappy about being
left behind. On the other hand, Barby was unpredictable. He couldn't be
sure of what she might do or say, but he could be certain her curiosity
and enthusiasm would stir up something.
If Rick had been enough of a prophet to see all the events his pretty
sister's helpfulness at the reception would get him into, he would have
handcuffed her to the Christmas tree before ever allowing her off
Spindrift Island.