Herbert picked his way through the woods, guided by the thirty-year-old Boy Scout pocket compass which had been around the world with him. As he did, he kept track of the distance he covered by counting the turns of his wheel. Each complete revolution was four yards. While he made his way, he also tried to make sense of the neoNazis' trip out here. They couldn't have radioed a police ally for assistance, since other officers would have heard. This was the only way to do it. But why did they need help? The only thing he could think of was that they needed someone to find him. That sounded grandiose, he knew, but it made sense. The neo-Nazis had fled at the siren, feared he might be able to I.D. them, and wanted to get to him if he went to the station to file a report. A police officer would know who he was and where he was staying.

Herbert shook his head. It would be ironic if he found the girl here. He'd gone to Hanover to try to get information, and these jerks might have led him right to her without even knowing it.

He smiled. Who would have thought that a day which began in a coach-class airplane seat would grow old with him trudging through the wilds, hunting a lost girl, pursued by neo-Nazis?

After a few minutes more, Herbert arrived at the tree where Alberto thought the girl might be. It was unmistakable: tall, twisted, and dark. The tree was three hundred years old at least, and Herbert couldn't help but think about the tyrants it had seen come and go. He felt a flash of shame as he thought how foolish their antics must seem to this stately life.

Reaching down, Herbert removed the flashlight from the footrest. He shined it into the tree.

"Jody," he said, "are you up there?"

Herbert felt a little foolish calling up a tree for a young woman. But he looked up into the leaves and listened. He heard nothing.

"Jody," he said, "my name is Bob Herbert. I'm an American. If you're up there, please come down. I want to help you."

Herbert waited. Again, there was no sound. After a minute, he decided to go around the tree and have a look up the other side. But before he could move, he heard a branch snap behind him. Herbert looked back, thinking it was Jody. He was startled to see a large figure standing in the shadows beside a tree.

"Jody?" he asked, though he could see from the hulking shape it wasn't her.

"Mein Herr," said a deep, masculine voice, "please raise your hands."