"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 sunshine.
"Except for being a little rougher, they're our own dear little mysterious pet," Rick said. "Are they dry yet?"
Hassan passed the question on in Arabic to the workmen who had helped make the kittens. He reported, "They okay. You can take now."
"Ask him if we can give him a present for helping us," Scotty requested.
Hassan did so, then shook his head. He grinned, his teeth white in his pleasant black face. "He say making statues fun, not work. He help you yesterday, so he not have to fix plaster. All even."
The boys laughed at the explanation and shook hands with the workman.
"Now," Scotty asked, "what do we do with the children?"
"One goes in my pocket," Rick replied. "I feel lost without a friendly little feline weighing down one side of my coat. We can leave the others here in a safe place, maybe inside one of the control cabinets."
"Good idea. Going to tell Winston and the others about this morning?"