ream blended into his thoughts. He was the hunted. He was sane,
but the truth would brand him as insane. Or was he sane? Had anyone
vanished? Was his father at home, sitting in his chair in his study,
expounding his theories to his colleagues? Was his mother at home, in
the kitchen, preparing dinner?

His lip trembled. Homesickness welled up in him.

He was near a bus line that went to the outskirts of the city. He shut
off the siren and slowed down. After a few blocks and two turns he felt
safe in ditching the car. He pulled quietly to the curb. He tied his
shoelaces, buttoned his shirt, combed his hair. Then he got out. No one
paid any attention to him.

He walked to the corner. Two minutes later the bus stopped.

* * * * *

The night sky was clear. The moon was a lesser sun whose light made
things visible and somehow unreal and mysterious. In the ditch to the
right of the road two bright points of light blinked on, held for a
moment, and vanished. A cat.

A silent dog appeared out of the gloom, wagged its tail and half of its
body in friendliness. "Nice doggy," Fred said nervously. It sniffed his
trouser leg, lost interest, and moved off into the darkness.

It was after midnight. How long after, he didn't know. Once a police
car had come speeding by, its red lights ogling insanely, its spotlight
weaving into the bushes at the side of the road. He had lain very still
in the ditch until it passed. It hadn't slowed down. Later it had come
back and he had again pressed his body into the earth beside the road.

Off to the right now he saw the silhouette of the giant tree that had
been the landmark of the picnic spot. A few minutes later he could see
the gate that led to the meadow.

He squeezed through it and picked out the path worn by the cars the day
before. Some winged creature dipped down, shied away from him, and swept
off into the darkness.

A soft gurgling sound became audible. The brook. The spot where his
mother and Curt had vanished, was ahead.

He reached it. He wasn't quite sure until he studied the ground and went
back in memory to check on little details. Then he was certain.

He had reached his goal.

He knew why he had come, of course. Here he was closer to his mother
than anyplace else. Here, in some unguessed way, he might get to her.

What would he do when morning came? He sat down and pulled his knees up
under his chin, wrapping his arms around them. Morn