“Not in a long time, I’m afraid,” said Giancarlo. “Which is why, in a way, I’m showing it to you now. I remember your saying that you were once a Boy Scout, yes?”

Carter nodded his head.

“Good, then I’m guessing that you are a trustworthy sort.”

“Well, it is the first point of the Scout Law,” replied Carter, quickly reviewing in his mind the other eleven points just to make sure.

“Very good,” said Giancarlo. “In that case, I have a small favor to ask of you.”

“Sure,” Carter told him. “What is it?”

“As you saw that day when we looked at the map,” he began, “Roccasale, where you plan to go, is not so terribly far from Castelalto.”

“I remember,” said Carter. “It was only about an inch and a half away,” he quipped.

“Yes, well, perhaps a little farther than that,” said Giancarlo, clearing his throat. “In any case, I was hoping, since you will be so close, and if it would not be too much trouble, that you would take this watch and deliver it to someone there for me.You see, I don’t care for sending such things through the mail, so I’d feel better if it were in your hands.”

Carter did not need to think twice. He had long been curious to know more about Castelalto but had been hesitant to ask, for it seemed his professor had little patience for questions about his hometown or his past.

“Of course I’ll do it,” he said without hesitation. “It won’t be any trouble at all. Just tell me how to get there and who to bring it to.”

Giancarlo carefully tugged a sheet of paper from his pad.

“I have it all written here,” he said, sliding it across the table.

Carter looked at the name at the top of the sheet.

“Giorgio Rosa,” he read aloud, his face lighting up. “Hey, is that a relative?”

“He is my brother,” said Giancarlo softly, a faraway look in his eyes.

“No kidding,” said Carter, intrigued by this revelation. “You never mentioned you had a brother.”

“I’ve not seen him since I left Italy,” his teacher replied, his voice betraying no emotion, “so there really was no need to mention him till now.”

“Since you left Italy,” Carter said to himself. “Wow, that’s a long time ago.”

“Almost thirty years.”

Carter regarded his teacher for a moment with questioning eyes.

“Um, so I’m guessing that you two aren’t particularly close,” he said with some hesitation.

Giancarlo gave a shrug.

“I came to America, he stayed in Italy,” he explained. “It happens. But it’s nothing to concern you. Trust me, you will be very well received when you go there. All you need do when you arrive in Castelalto is ask anyone you happen to meet for the house of Giorgio Rosa. It won’t be hard to find.”