We were close enough to the farm buildings that marked the end of the orchard for me to see the ghostly shapes of wagons crowded into the open space beyond them. I could not hear any voices, but I drew the padded hood of the coat over my head and decided I would simply walk through the campsite. As long as I kept my head down it was likely that anyone happening to see me would think I was merely one of the inhabitants of the wagons going to relieve myself in the area set aside for that function. I was worried about Gahltha, though, for he was too fine a horse to go unremarked if anyone had seen him leaving Obernewtyn. I only hoped he had taken care to offer some innocuous excuse for his absence. Certainly once it was discovered that I was not at Obernewtyn, anyone would guess he had been coming to join me.

I moved up beside Maruman and crouched down. We stayed that way for so long that my leg muscles began to twinge, but at last I heard the sound of a door closing and a figure moved away from the nearest building carrying two buckets. It was Louis Larkin humming tunelessly as he worked. A moment later the mist swallowed him up. Instantly Maruman sprang up and ran lightly out between the sheds. I followed, walking as quietly as I could, but instead of moving between the wagons, Maruman simply slipped around the building and darted back into the wilderness that lay between the outer wall of Obernewtyn and the orchard wall.

I thought at first that he only meant us to conceal ourselves until he could be sure the way was clear, but he continued through the dense undergrowth until we were moving parallel to the outer wall, heading back towards the main front gate. Was this circuitous route merely a reflection of the old cat’s tortuous mind or was there a reason for it?

A solitary bird gave a thin piping call, a prelude to the morning chorus that would erupt when the sun rose. It was hard to tell the time because of the mist, but a sense of urgency began to creep over me, potent as a premonition. The undergrowth was less thick and tangled as we neared the front of Obernewtyn, for most of the trees were older firs and the ground beneath them was flat and cushioned with fallen needles.