Excerpt: ...boy!" Dismal leaped high and landed again with four feet bunched on Rick's stomach. Rick's shout died into a gurgle. Not that the pup was heavy, but he had landed while his master was in the midst of a breath, with muscles relaxed. Scotty put the cat into the hall and closed the door, trapping Dismal in the room. Then he turned and laughed at Rick's discomfort. "Next time you arrange a fight for your personal entertainment, you'd better have a referee on hand." "It was a draw," Rick said ruefully, "except that the innocent bystander lost. Whatever got into Dismal?" Scotty was dressed. Apparently he had already been downstairs. "The cat went too far. Dismal found him drinking from his water dish." Rick grinned. That was adding insult to injury, all right. He stripped off the blankets and examined his stomach. Shah's claws had dug right through blanket, sheet, and pajamas, but had not drawn blood. "It was time to get up, anyway," he said philosophically. "Gangway, Scotty. I'm going to shower and dress. We've got work to do." "Uhuh. The passengers are waiting downstairs," Scotty said. Rick blinked. "What passengers?" "Jan and Barby. They want to go." 107 The boys had decided the evening before that they would start the search with a flight in the Sky Wagon. After a quick inspection of the area, which probably wouldn't disclose much, they planned to go into Whiteside for a talk with Jerry and Duke at the newspaper office, and with Captain Douglas of the State Police. Rick considered. He didn't mind taking the girls around on pleasure junkets, but this was business. "Why do they have to go?" he demanded. Scotty shrugged. "They don't. But Jan is plenty upset over Dr. Marks, and Barby is starting to worry about Dad and the others. If we leave them here, they'll just stew. If they go, it may take their minds off things." "I suppose that's right. Anyway, they can't get in the way much. We'll stick 'em in the back seat." "Come on, then. Let's eat and get...