Shai was feeling the closest thing to peace that he had felt in a long time. He was alone at the top of the world, high up in the branches of an elm tree, one of many at the edge of the hotel grounds. From his perch he could see the hotel, sprawling elegantly in its envelope of green, green lawn. He could see some of the colorful flower beds that lined the lawn, and the two boys playing ball near the flowers.

He recognized the boys as Pinny and Ari Katz. Part of him longed to jump down from his solitude and throw a ball with them, but another, stronger part, wanted to hide away from all of them. Even his foster parents. Especially his foster parents. He stayed where he was.

If he turned his head to the right, he could just catch a glimpse of the drive leading up to the hotel from the country road. The two F.B.I. agents, the sandy-haired one and the dark one with the big shoulders, strolled in a bored way along the drive. There weren't many cars coming up the drive today. The scientists and their families had already arrived, and there was no room for new guests this week.

Shai thought about the differences between Israel and America - or at least the tiny part of America he'd managed to see so far. Everything was bigger, for one thing. Much bigger. The airport and the cars and the buildings seemed to swallow up the ones he remembered from home. The Druckers had taken him on a whirlwind tour of New York City on the way up here. Talk about big! In the face of that vastness, Shai felt even more lost than usual. New York was no place for a scared and lonely boy to be. Up here in the country it was a little better. He was still lonely, but not so scared.

A sound came to his ears: a soft shuffle. Someone was walking below his tree, his footsteps muffled by the cushion of pine needles that covered every inch of the ground. Through the leaves, Shai saw a dark head, bent as if to read something. After a moment, the man crumpled something in his fist. He dug a small hole in the ground with the toe of his shoe and tossed a piece of paper in, then kicked some pine needles over it. He passed along beneath the shadowy trees and vanished from Shai's sight.

Who was he? And what had he tossed away? Grateful for something to alleviate the morning's tedium - he'd been sitting still for what seemed like hours - Shai climbed down the tree until he stood on solid ground again.There was no sight of the man. The woods were very quiet. He peered at the place where the man had thrown the crumpled paper. A tiny edge of white stuck out from beneath the carpet of needles. Shai crouched down and caught it between his finger and thumb.

It was a plain scrap of white notepaper, the kind the hotel offered in each of its rooms. Printed in tiny letters on the paper were a few words. Shai's English reading skills were not especially good, buy even if they had been, the message was too cryptic for him to fully understand.

Meet south entrance midnight. Bring our little friend.

It was signed, Mr. B.

He wasn't sure what "entrance" meant, though he was pretty sure "midnight" was the same as chatzot, the middle of the night. Shai studied the note for another moment and then, shrugging, made to toss it away. At the last minute, remembering how littering was frowned upon in his tiny Israel, he put the crumpled note in his pocket. He'd throw it into a wastebasket later.

"Shai! There you are!" Pinny Katz burst into view, breathing hard from his run across the grounds. "Your father's looking all over for you."

Shai refrained from repeating that Dr. Drucker was not his father. Suddenly, he was sick and tired of explaining his life, and even more sick and tired of being alone in the great, echoing woods.

"Okay, I'm coming," he said. Thrusting his hands into his pants pockets, he started walking as if he didn't care whether Pinny came with him or not. Pinny was encouraged. At least Shai wasn't running away from him this time. For a fleeting second, he wished Shraga were there. What to say?

He debated on several approaches, until sheer curiosity conquered him.

"If the Druckers are not your father and mother," Pinny asked carefully, "then who are they?"

Shai glanced at him coolly, though his dark eyes smoldered. "That," he said, "is none of your business."

And then he did start running.

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