their office. Suddenly the phone rang. Sam picked up the receiver and said, "Hello.'' The person at the other end sounded disturbed and said that her name was Stacey. She asked Max and Sam to come over to her house to see her.

Sam said, "Sure, we'll be over there in a little while.'' The two friends hopped into their car and drove to Stacey's house.

When they arrived they saw Stacey sitting outside her door crying. She introduced herself to Sam and Max and then took them inside to meet her mother who was sitting in the living room. Stacey told the detectives that someone had stolen their very expensive Siamese cat.

Max took out his notebook and asked Stacey's mother to describe the cat. She said that it had cream fur, black eyes and a tail about six inches long. She said that the cat was about eighteen inches long and about twelve inches tall.

Sam asked her when was the last time she had seen the cat and she told him that it was yesterday. She said that the cat had been chasing a ball of yarn around the house. Sam made some notes and then told the woman that they would begin their investigation that night. Sam and Max liked to work at night because then no-one saw them. Stacey's mother replied: "Just knock softly and I will let you in when you return.'' Sam and Mac got into their car and drove back to the office. On the way they talked about who might have stolen the cat. Later that night they drove back to Stacey's house. They waited in the car until ten o'clock and then knocked softly on the door. Stacey's mother saw Sam and Max and she opened her door to let them in. When they entered the house they started to spray the ground with green spray. Then Sam and Max put on glasses which helped them so see where there might be any footprints that showed up in the green spray. They were lucky, there was a clear trail of footprints and Sam and Max followed them.

The footprints led them out into the garden and then into the woods behind the house. They walked until they found an old abandoned mine. The entered the mine and saw lit candles in the holders on the walls. Max and Sam then knew that someone else was in the mine. They kept walking and suddenly heard, "Meow, meow, meow'' coming from ahead of them. Max started to walk towards the sound. Then they heard something behind them.

They turned around but the didn't see anyone. They began walking again.

Suddenly they were surrounded by cats. They came from everywhere. Then out of nowhere they heard a voice that Sam recognised. It was the voice of his evil twin brother, Ben. Ben was laughing and telling them that they would never escape. As they listened someone came up behind them and hit Sam and Max over the head. They fell unconscious onto the cold ground.

Later, when Sam and Max regained consciousness they realized they could not move. They had been put into a sack and tied up in a sitting position. The two friends had been put into a small cart that was on the tracks leading down further into the mine. Ben showed up and told them that he was going to take off the brake and let the cart roll faster and faster and faster until it got out of control and smashed into the wall at the end of the mine. He laughed again and then pushed the cart. It gained speed and Max and Sam tried to move about so sway the cart off the track but it did not work. Max began to bite his rope. He managed to loosen the knot and then he untied Max. They both jumped out of the cart just before it crashed.

Max pulled out his cellular phone and called the police station. He told the police where they were and what was happening. Then they sat and waited. soon they heard the sirens and the sounds of the police arriving. They slowly crept out of the mine and saw Ben being led away into the police van. They looked at all the cats and realized they were all pure bred cats. They were worth a lot of money. Max and Sam looked around carefully and saw a cat just like the one that Stacey's Mom had described. They picked it up and took it with them back to Stacey's house. Stacey's Mom looked at the cat and said it was hers. She was very pleased and gave Sam and Max $200.

The Police took Ben to court and the judge convicted him of stealing more than 50 cats. All the cats were returned to the people who owned them and Ben was sent to jail for two years. Everyone was happy, except for Ben of course.

PATRICK PHILLIPS Age 10 P6 Heron Bay School