ted a s and icons in tood Lucravel in jackets and so .

    quot;Aniday, get up and get dressed. Youre coming ;

    quot;Morning?quot; I rubbed t;Its t.quot;

    quot;time. Youd best be quick,quot; Luchóg advised.

    e stole along trails t, leaping like rabbits, scrambling t speed and no pause. Clouds passed beneat rail led across empty roads, our feet sounding on t. e darted talks t rustled and  a barn big against ttis. In all, a co our fleeting presence. A dog barked once. Past tcrees, anotream from t of a bridge. On to a ditc paralleled ts cover. to ligo a deep violet. An engine cougruck passed by on the road above.

    quot;e started too late,quot; Igel said. quot;o be more careful noest o being one of us.quot;

    Looking doruck stopping at a dreary bungaloskirts of to door stood a small general store  front. te, descended from  to turning briskly ies t clinked against t up in t to follo not ten yards from tation, and ting in dire conspiracy. t of desire began to take s. Atop te beacon.

    quot;Go get t cup,quot; Igel ordered. quot;Dont be seen.quot;

    t, and any ation on my part risked discovery. It ask to sprint across t, grab to our hiding place. Fear held me back.

    quot;take off your s; Igel advised. quot;t;

    I slipped off my brogans and ran to ts red-ourned to go, o t. Glass on glass. I imagined tation oecting a peculiar motion at to stop me. But no sucrotted back to my comrades, riumph.

    quot;You done tle treasure.quot;

    quot;;—Igel stared do;I  a;

    ttle  s, and ing ttled into my stomaco sch.

    At midday, o toeps, ing at t of any people. Stopping only at places t appeared to be empty, ed. tone ole armloads of fruit from a pear tree. Eace  sin, and ook far more t. I ed to abandon t ossed most of to to rot in took a clean, fres, and I ser for Speck. Luced one sock from a ;tradition.quot; . quot;tery of t;

    As dayligs slocer came tomobiles. e ed for sundoer t, ligs out. Good-nig goodnigo darkness like bubbles in a craying per midnigful bactlefield general, Igel studied time before  into treets.

    Years  looked torefront oy s to ot I could not pass by a single place  experiencing a flood of associations and memories. At tes of tin raised by a pom cionless candy cane in front of t back smells of cines and birture of creaming out by ts doubledoors, screaming for summer. For all ty, reets unsettled me  corners and straig of itive arcecture bore doions—StOP, EAt V—did not illuminate any mystery, but only left me indifferent to reading tant messages. At last, o our target.

    Luco a  seemed mucoo small and narro lookout until  click of t lock; airs to t. As ousled ly,  tine and Bosco, cereal in brigables, fruit, fis. Every neempted me, but Igel  allo;come  no; ttom roip, dipped it in tasted it.

    quot;Ba;

    ed the procedure.

    quot;orse ... sugar.quot;

    quot;t stuff ; Luchóg said.

    quot;Excuse me,quot; I interrupted, quot;but I can read.  are you looking for?quot;

    Luc me as if tion  preposterous t;Salt, man, salt.quot;

    I pointed to ttom s even  t of language, one migure of trail of salt. quot; Rains, It Pours,quot; I said, but to take my meaning. e loaded our rucksacks  tore by t door, a deflating departure, considering t reacil daybreak. t, as I er discover, o preserve meat and fis at time, I felt as if o port  filled h sand.

    er, Specks eyes . Sattered jersey sed ter over  of tled me, and I looked a, curled up tom, and bade me sit beside her.

    quot;tell me, O Great er, about your visit to t your misory.quot;

    quot;t muco say. e  to tore for salt. But I sale of milk.quot; I reaco my pocket and broug a soft, overripe pear. quot;I brougoo.quot;

    S t;tell me more.  else did you see? ;

    quot;Like I ting at time. epped into lampligimes several s once outside t;

    quot;Youve seen ser lig;

    quot;It is a strange ligraig is unreal and a bit scary.quot;

    quot;ts just a trick of your imagination. rite your impressions in your book.quot; Speck fingered ter. quot;Speaking of books, did you see t;

    quot;Library?quot;

    quot; see t;

    quot;I ten all about it.quot; But as alked, I could recall tacks of  men and intent aken me t;I used to go t me take  a paper card and signed my name on a slip at t;

    quot;You remember.quot;

    quot;But I dont remember e. I didnt e Aniday.quot;

    Sed it for soft spots. quot;Get me a knife, Aniday, and Ill cut take you to to see t;

    Rat as before,  of camp at noon on a crisp October day  so mucrail into to ook our time, as if strolling t ing to reacreets until dusk. A broad o  for a long break in traffic. I scanned t t mig our vantage point oo far from to make out any of the drivers.

    At tation on toracing lazy arcs, enjoying t fun in t sunlig before I could see , o t. I  in my bones sensed tric approacorm. A moments indecision, and  our advantage. Springing from ted, quot;Run!quot;

    teet to c after Luced tooo t. rees, s I  off turned and faced t for  sepped to t by t into t landed, and scrambled to its feet in great pain and confusion. Looking back over its s tucked ail between his legs and slunk away.

    Coming doion, trotted alongside Lucime pet. topped as one in front of us, and ts tail and licked Luc;Do you remember t c;

    quot;Youre not supposed to mention—quot;

    quot; old lullaby our man used to sing.quot;

    quot;Guten Abend?quot;

    ;Guten Abend, gut Nac Rosen bedac; and troked t;turns out music dot.quot;

    quot;Breast,quot; s;te is: Music o soot.quot;

    quot;Dont tell ; Luc out. quot;Auf iedersezi. Go on ; trotted off.

    quot;t ; I said.

    Feigning noncte. quot;Could ;

    quot;If  somebody, play dumb,quot; Speck instructed. quot;tell us to go on alk and dont say a ; I looked around ty streets, er, but all to be inside, at dinner, batting ready for bed. In many ed from hin.

    tted stately in tree-lined block. Speck moved as if simes before, and ted. Luco a staircase and pointed out a gap he main wall.

    quot;I dont t t. My oo big, and Im not t skinny.quot;

    quot;Luc; Speck said. quot;atc;

    old me t of softening ones bones. t is to t, simply realizing ones oy. quot;It  time, lad, like every good t trick to it. A matter of faitice.quot;

    o t sig narroemples took o er softening myself, I o remember to keep my muscles tense for a ice, squeezing became second nature.

    Underneatruck a matcouco a candle a  smelled of must and kerosene. Eacion brougures of to s on a slig trancee comfortably, rising to te ting. I cant tell you imes I bumped my  far ally, a sort of ion to t did not rest on tion, tter tside during ter. By lamplig someone ouc corner, a sort of easy cs. Lucte pouc, if  smoke. Grumbling, ed the crack.

    quot;So  rustic, but still ... civilization.quot;

    quot;Its grand.quot;

    quot;You  seen t part. t you ; Speck motioned me to follotled up to turned out a knob, and a panel dropped from ted  on t, ing for urn, looking up ty space. All at once, he frame.

    quot;Are you coming or not?quot; she whispered.

    I follo from our ced in t I could still make out—my  leapt at t—roer roy of books. Speck turned to me and asked, quot;No;