"Huh? But it can't breathe—"
"It's wearing a spacesuit. And it's wandering all over the ship, snooping around. I caught it in the drive section and up front with the charts. I don't like it, Chief."
"No. Neither do I." I was wide awake all at once. There had been something fishy about this pet business all along and now I was suspicious. Suppose the pet were a little smarter than a cat? Suppose it was snooping around innocently enough—and actually soaking up vital secret information about the workings of a Terran spaceship?
But I didn't know what to do. My orders stressed the fact that I had to handle the Ambassador with kid gloves—but on the other hand, was I supposed to let that creature roam all over the ship?
"Get me a hookup with Home Base," I said. "And in the meantime keep an eye on that cat. Don't let it catch wise but try to follow it around. And don't stop it from roaming. These aliens may be touchy about the funniest things."
I got in touch with Home Base in jig time. Commander Mahoney was the man I spoke to.
"How's that Ambassador, Martin?"
"That's why I'm calling, sir. You see—the Ambassador's pet is creeping all around the ship. It's sort of a cat but I wonder whether maybe it's doing a very neat job of spying on us."
"Have you taken any action yet?"
"No. I wanted to check with Home Base."