“Ascolta!” snapped Antonella, cutting him off. “Listen to what I say! If you want to help Giorgio, if you want to help us all, you will stay close to the village and look after those two.They want to help, and I am proud of them for that, but they are city boys. It is dangerous up there, and they won’t know what they are doing. Keep them safe down below, on the lower part of the mountain. And don’t look so disappointed. I meant it when I said there is just as good a chance of finding my husband there instead of way up on top.”

“But Antonella—”

Antonella seized his hand.

“Carter, listen to me,” she pleaded. “Forget your pride, and do this for Giorgio. Help take care of his family.That is what he would want you to do. Do you understand? Will you do that for Giorgio? Will you do it for me?”

Carter did not answer, but gave a sigh and bowed his head.

When the men of Castelalto left the piazza at daybreak and started up the mountain, Carter reluctantly kept to the back with Nunzio and Michele. At an early juncture, the three broke off from the others and began their search of the lower part of the mountain. It did not take Carter long to acknowledge Antonella’s wisdom in keeping her sons-in-law close to the village. The two had shown up at the piazza with no backpacks and no provisions whatsoever for the hike. Worse, they were both wearing casual dress shoes, which might have been appropriate for strolling through a shopping mall but were of little use when it came to trekking across rugged terrain. It was a rare five minutes that passed without one or the other of them losing his footing or stumbling over a rock.These minor mishaps grew in frequency as the morning wore on, and the two began to tire. Although he admired their tenacity, Carter feared that it was only a matter of time before one of them turned an ankle or fell and broke a wrist. As much as he would have liked to push ahead harder, he was forced to keep the pace slow and steady.

The hours passed.