fter the long, rattling ride on the dirt road, Robin’s house came into view, just as Julian remembered it. The chickens were pecking at the dirt in front of the lattice where he and Robin had hidden. The window boxes were blooming with new flowers and Molly was pushing Jo–Jo on the tire swing.

By the time the engine stopped, Jo–Jo was running to the car shouting, “Julian! Julian!” and Robin had appeared on the front steps with another girl who Julian figured must be Ariel. Her thin legs stuck out from a pair of cut–off overalls. She had a dreamy, crooked smile. White–blond bangs nearly covered her brown eyes, and a long braid hung down her back.

The girl squinted at the two boys as they climbed out of the backseat. “You must be Julian,” she said as Jo–Jo climbed into his arms.

“And you’re Danny, right?” the girl said, pointing.

Danny bowed. “At your service. You must be R.E.L.” he said. “And you, madam, must be Robin Hood.”

Robin linked her arm through her friend’s. “It’s AIR–ee-ul, not R.E.L.” She looked Danny over thoughtfully. “You know what? You’re exactly what I thought you’d be like.”

“I’m famous!” Danny cried. “My reputation precedes me!”

Nancy came out of the house, smiling like it was the best day of her life. She hugged Julian, holding him tight until Jo–Jo climbed out of his arms and into hers.

Popo, who had been looking about with a reserved air, stepped forward. “I want to thank you so much for taking the boys. I know Julian’s been looking forward to this so much. You made quite an impression on him.”

“And he made quite an impression on us,” Nancy said warmly. “You must be very proud of your grandson.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Julian saw Bob ambling over from the work shed, his expression friendly and open; there was no trace of the angry mask he’d worn when Julian had last seen him. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting Julian’s loyal friend,” Bob said, shaking Danny’s hand. Then he put an arm around Julian’s shoulder and said, “Welcome back. We’re glad to have you.”

Julian looked down and watched the patterns of dappled light flutter across the dry grass. He was himself again, not that boy. Not a stranger.

When Popo’s blue Toyota had rattled down the road and out of sight, Danny turned to Julian with a huge grin. “We’re here! You happy now?”

In reply, Julian gave him a sunny smile.

“Mom,” Robin said, “can we show Julian and Danny the tent? We got it all set up and they can put their stuff there.”

“I don’t see why not. You two have earned the afternoon off.”

The boys grabbed their bags and Robin and Ariel led them around to the back, where a bright yellow tent with a gray rain tarp had been set up under the oak trees. Molly and Jo–Jo traipsed behind them.

Glancing back, Robin shouted, “Molly, you’re supposed to be watching Jo–Jo. Ariel and I watched him all morning.” She turned to Jo–Jo and said sweetly, “Don’t you want Molly to push you on the tire swing?”

Jo–Jo nodded.

Molly glared at her sister indignantly. She bent down next to Jo–Jo and said, with equal sweetness, “Don’t you want to go with Julian? Don’t you want to go in his tent?”

“I wanna go with Julian. I wanna see the tent!” Jo–Jo cried.

Molly looked disdainfully at Robin.

“You think you’re so smart!” Robin said. Turning to Julian, she whispered, “We’ll show Danny Big Tree instead. We can plan there.” She unzipped the tent flap and threw the boys’ bags inside. Then they all set off down the trail to Big Tree.

“You are so mean, Robin Elder!” Molly cried, standing by the tent with Jo–Jo’s hand in hers. “You’re the meanest person on earth!”

“Is she mean?” Julian could hear Jo–Jo saying. “Is she mean to you? Is she not your friend?”

Julian felt bad leaving them behind. But maybe Robin was right. They couldn’t take the chance that Molly would report everything back to her parents.

Mercifully, Robin showed no inclination to race that day, and Ariel dawdled along, stopping every few minutes to pick up a pinecone off the forest floor, examine a banana slug, or just watch the river where it ran along the trail.

“I love being back here,” she said, sniffing the forest air. “Oh, look at that cute little chipmunk!”

“Where?” said Danny.

“Over there. On that log.” Julian looked, but all he saw was a log. “They don’t have any chipmunks in Phoenix. It’s all roads and houses and cats and ugly little dogs.”

At the river, the girls crossed first. Julian watched Danny hesitate just a moment before walking nonchalantly across the tree trunk bridge.

“Look,” Ariel said. “There’s that big burned–out tree we used to play in. Remember, Robin? We’d pretend it was our house and your mom would make us a picnic and we’d bring the bunnies and feed them little carrots?”

“And then one of them ran away and we spent the whole day looking for it?”

“We had so much fun.” Ariel sighed. “I’d give anything to move back here.”

“Look! See those redwood saplings?” Robin pointed to a group of small trees, the tops bent down and broken. “That’s a bear marking its territory.”

“Great! That means we’re in its territory!” Danny said.

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” The girls linked arms and started skipping along the path.

The broken saplings were higher than their heads. Danny picked up a stout stick and they hurried to catch up to the girls. There was safety in numbers.

Julian was just glad to be back on the path to Big Tree again, bears or no bears. He walked confidently up the switchbacks that had seemed so steep when he’d first raced Robin. At the spring, the girls put their heads under the faucet and drank the sweet water.

Danny looked on dubiously. “Do you know where that water comes from? How do you know it’s not toxic?”

“It’s a mountain spring,” Julian said. “In a bottle, it’d cost you two bucks.”

“Doesn’t it have dirt in it? And who knows what else. Squirrel pee?”

“Suit yourself.” Robin wiped her wet chin with the back of her hand. “This is what you’re drinking all week.”

Danny took a long drink, then grabbed his throat and keeled over. Robin raised her eyebrows, and they all started off down the trail, leaving Danny sprawled along the path.

A moment later, they heard his footsteps racing after them.

“Hey! I could have been dead back there!”

“Hah!” Robin said.

“It’s possible! An allergic reaction to some rare mineral.” Danny shook his head. “This is one tough crowd!”

After about fifteen minutes, they crossed the river again and hiked down the trail to the heart of Big Tree Grove. They were all quiet for a moment. The giant redwoods stood silent. The afternoon sun barely filtered through to the forest floor.

“I can’t believe anybody would cut down these trees,” Ariel said at last. “This is the best forest in the world. It’s what every forest would be if it could.”

“Wow! This place is awesome!” Danny walked up to one of the largest trees. “All four of us together couldn’t reach around this tree! It’s like Muir Woods without the little fences.”

“That’s what I thought!” Julian said.

Danny grinned. “You’re glad we’re here, huh?”

Of course he was glad, Julian thought. “Aren’t you?”

“Come on! Let’s show Danny and Ariel the tree house!” Robin said impatiently.

They tramped through the forest, across the fallen tree, and then stopped, peering at the tree house. “So, tell me how we’re going to get up there again?” Danny asked skeptically.

“I’ve got everything in the shed,” Robin said. “Ropes, carabiners, a halter. My brothers got it all organized. Then once I’m up, I set up the pulley seat and we’re ready to go. Tomorrow afternoon, if we can get away from Molly, we’ll carry everything out here.”

“So, what’s the plan? What else do we need for Operation Redwood?” Danny asked.

“Mainly food, I think. We’ve got to have supplies. Julian said he was bringing PowerBars. Did you guys bring anything?”

“I brought dried apricots,” Ariel said.

“Candy bars!” Danny shouted.

“That’s good. We’ve got boxes of cereal in the pantry. And apples in the basement. We could live for a long time on that.”

Ariel was wandering all around, examining every tree and plant. “Look at all these ferns. There’s not a single fern in Phoenix. I can bike from my mom’s house to my dad’s house and there’s not one single pretty thing to look at.”

“Well, that’s why we’re here. To try to save this place, right?” said Robin. “OK, Operatives! Here’s the plan of action. The next task is to get the equipment out here tomorrow. Once we’re up, we’ll start collecting food and other supplies. Operation Redwood has officially begun.”

But they had no time to go to Big Tree the next afternoon, or the next. True to their word, Bob and Nancy had a long to–do list for the children to work on. And even the regular chores—feeding the goats and chickens, weeding the gardens, and harvesting the fruits and vegetables for meals—took a big chunk of each day.

Julian found his box where he’d left it on the workshop shelf. He was pleased by his tomato plants, which were as tall as his waist and covered with small green tomatoes. Bunny the goat was twice as big as she had been before, a feisty kid who wouldn’t sit on Julian’s lap anymore. Julian was put in charge of training Danny to milk Aphrodite. Danny, however, refused to cooperate. “I am not touching those things,” he said, inspecting the goat’s underside. “Anything else, but no goats.” Julian eventually gave up and did the milking himself.

But Danny was happy to help with repairs and building projects. Bob had never gotten around to completing the deer fence he and Julian had begun in June. With the three of them working, it was done in two days. As Danny put the finishing touches on the gate latch, he actually began to whistle. It was almost like he was putting on a show.

The children had almost given up hope of ever returning to the tree house when Nancy announced after lunch on Tuesday, “I’m taking Molly and Jo–Jo into town to buy new shoes and pick up some groceries. If you all would just clear up the dishes, you can have the rest of the afternoon off. We’ve been working you pretty hard.”

The Operatives exchanged quick glances and sprang into action. Robin jumped up and offered to braid Molly’s hair. Danny cleared the table, and Julian found Jo–Jo’s striped shirt on the bathroom floor and coaxed him into it.

Nancy watched her daughters affectionately. “You see, Molly, it’s not true that Robin is always mean to you.”

Molly, who was studying her hair in the mirror, said nothing.

“She only notices when I’m mean,” Robin complained. “The ninety–nine percent of the time I’m nice, she’s oblivious.”

“See, even you admit you’re mean,” Molly said.

“One percent of the time! Tops!” Robin twisted the last hair tie around Molly’s braid. “You look gorgeous. Note: a compliment.”

When the truck reached the end of the long driveway and pulled out of sight, Robin led the operatives to the shed. Five minutes later, loaded down with supplies, the four operatives were on their way to Big Tree Grove.

The tree house looked a lot higher than Julian had remembered.

“You’re going to get all the way up by yourself?” Danny asked dubiously.

“Well, the only really tricky part is getting the rope up over that beam, the one sticking out.” Robin grabbed a length of thin, black cord out of their equipment bag and tied it to a stick. She threw the stick high into the air, where it made a graceful arc, then banged into the trunk several feet below the beam.

“Let me try,” Danny said.

“No, give me another chance.” Robin picked the stick off the ground and untangled the cord. “My brothers did it easy.” But this time, the stick was even farther off the mark. Julian tried, and Danny tried twice, coming within a few feet of the beam on the second try. Ariel’s attempt went several feet wide of the tree.

Robin threw the stick up two more times, and then they all sat down, discouraged. “Anyone got any other ideas?” she asked.

“Let’s just kidnap Preston instead and hold him for ransom. ‘You leave these trees alone,’” Danny said in his Mafia voice, “‘or your boy’s wearing concrete shoes.’”

Julian glared at him and Robin scowled. “We can’t throw away the whole plan because of one little obstacle. We almost got it.”

“Well,” said Danny, “there are other ways to get a rope over a tree.”

“Like what?” Robin asked.

“Slingshot. Bow and arrow.” Danny was enjoying displaying the fruits of his tree–climbing obsession. “Crossbow—now, that would be the ultimate. Or a throw weight.”

“What’s a throw weight?” Robin asked.

“It’s like a beanbag,” Julian said.

“I’ve got a plain old beanbag. Only it’s back at the house.”

Danny tried the stick again, and again it fell several feet below the beam. “Well, it looks like we’re never going to get the rope up this way. Maybe somebody should go get the beanbag.”

Robin pointed her chin at Ariel. “She’s the fastest.”

Danny almost choked. “You’ve got to be kidding me! There’s no way Ariel’s faster than me. Or Julian.”

Robin shrugged. “How much do you want to bet?”

“A candy bar to the winner!” Danny said jubilantly.

Ariel leaned against the tree to stretch her legs. “Where is the beanbag exactly?”

“It’s in the dresser in my bedroom. Inside the top right–hand drawer.”

“All right. Let’s go,” said Ariel and she sprang away from the tree and up the slope, with Danny close behind. Julian watched in astonishment. Danny loped along with his usual athletic grace, but Ariel looked like she was running in fast forward. They disappeared over the top of the ridge, and he could hear Danny calling out, “I’m going to get you! There’s no way you’re getting my Snickers!”

Robin sat with her back against the tree. “She’s going to win. She’s the fastest girl on earth.”

Julian laughed. “It’ll be good for Danny. Keep him humble.” He paused. Here, in the warm afternoon light, the forest was so silent—silent a thousand years ago, silent a hundred years ago, silent a month ago when he was sitting alone in his uncle’s house.

“Can you believe we’re all here?” Robin said at last. “I thought it would never happen.”

“How’d you get your parents to let us come? You know, when I saw the sheriff car, I thought it was all over. I thought your dad would never want to see me again. Ever.”

“Yeah, me too. I don’t really know what changed his mind. Maybe it was your aunt! She didn’t win any popularity contests here! I think my dad felt sorry for you. It’s not your fault Sibley Carter’s your uncle.”

“So you told your dad you sent him that e–mail?”

“I had to. I mean, once they knew you were Sibley Carter’s nephew. I had to explain that!”

“And you told them I was in his office? And how I opened Sibley’s e–mail?”

“I just told him you found the e–mail by accident. Dad didn’t really ask for details.”

Julian felt himself breathe a little easier. At least Bob wouldn’t think he was some kind of sneak.

“You must’ve been glad to see your grandmother,” Robin said. “When’s your mom coming home, anyway?”

The sound of a woodpecker rang out like a distant jackhammer. “Later this month,” Julian said. “I’m not sure exactly when. I haven’t really talked to her.”

“What do you mean? You haven’t talked to her since you were here in June?”

Julian looked up, surprised at the outrage in her voice.

“There aren’t any telephones in China?” she asked.

“Well, she sent me some postcards. She and my grandmother have talked a few times.”

Robin just stared at him in bewilderment.

“She’s busy,” Julian said.

It was true, he couldn’t imagine Nancy heading off to China for the summer and not calling home once. Or Danny’s mom. But they were in a whole different category of mothers: normal mothers who gave you chores and made you do your schoolwork and sit down to dinner.

His mother was not like them. She was young and beautiful. A free spirit. In fact, she was always joking to her friends about how he was more responsible than she was.

“She’ll be back soon,” he said. “That’s just the way she is.”

Robin’s dubious expression made Julian uncomfortable, and he decided to close the curtains on this conversation. There was something else he’d been waiting to tell Robin. “You know the article about the IPX hackers?”

“Yeah. What a weird story.”

“Well, you know who the hackers were?”

Robin shook her head.

“It was us. Me and Danny.”

“You’re lying!” Robin said. “You and Danny couldn’t do that!”

“No, we did. We waited until everybody was gone and Danny spoke Spanish to the cleaning crew so they wouldn’t suspect anything and we wrote the fake press release and everything. It was the perfect plan. Too bad it didn’t actually work.”

The look he’d been waiting to see on her face finally appeared: awe. She was impressed. “I can’t believe you guys did that!” she said. “I didn’t think you had the guts.”

“We have more guts than you think.” Not exactly the best retort, Julian realized, after the words came out. “But don’t tell Danny I told you. Because he really wants to keep it a secret. He’s worried about his parents finding out.”

He felt a thud on the side of his head and looked down to see a beanbag about as big as his fist, made out of a blue bandana. Danny and Ariel were laughing.

“You guys need to be on your guard,” Danny yelled. “An entire army could sneak up on you and you wouldn’t notice.”

“Who gets the candy?” Robin said.

Danny kowtowed before Ariel. “What can I say? She’s amazing. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. She’s like the Road Runner.” He grabbed the beanbag and quickly tied it to the thin rope. “OK, eef I make eet dees time,” he said in a Spanish accent, “I weel be a man again.” He did an exaggerated windup. The beanbag sailed up and soared over the beam and down the other side. “Oh, yeah!” Danny cried, doing a touchdown dance.

Robin waited for Danny to regain his composure before handing out directions. They tied the black cord to the thick, white climbing rope and pulled until the rope was over the beam and its two ends were dangling in front of them. Robin pulled the harness up to her waist and stepped forward with a shorter piece of blue cord in her hand.

“First, you need to tie the climbing rope to the harness with a Blake’s hitch. Like this, see? Then you tie a foot loop.”

She labored at the knots. Julian and Danny tried to follow the movement of the ropes but she was too fast.

“John and Dave made me practice these two knots all week.” She checked all the knots again. “OK, now you put one foot in the lower knot and that kind of scoots you up.” As she said this, she rose about a foot into the air. “Now you pull up here,” she said grabbing the higher knot, “and you just keep going.”

She looked like a caterpillar, bending in the middle and then stretching out again. With each stretch she went higher and higher until her bare feet were dangling above their heads.

“We’ve got to learn how to do that,” Danny said to Julian. “We could climb the TransAmerica Building.”

“How’s the weather up there?” Ariel shouted.

“It’s nice. Nice and breezy!” Robin kept inching her way up while the others made encouraging comments. Finally, she was level with the platform. She stepped into the tree house and threw her arms in the air. “Ta–da!”

They gave Robin a round of applause and watched as she unhooked her halter from the rope and walked to the opposite end of the platform. In the distance, they heard the dull gong of the dinner bell.

“I’m not going to be able to set this up today,” Robin called down. “But it’s all ready to go.”

“Are you serious?” Danny said. “We don’t get to see the tree house?”

“Well, at least we got Robin up,” Ariel said.

“Yeah! Good job, Robin! See ya later!” Danny turned and walked away jauntily.

“Don’t worry! I can get down no problem. That’s the fun part.” Robin clipped herself back to the rope and placed her foot inside the loop again. Then, stepping off the platform, she pulled against the upper knot and whizzed down in little fits and starts. Julian watched her graceful legs and bare feet stretched out below her cutoffs, and for a fleeting moment he had the same sensation he’d had the first night at Huckleberry Ranch. Life was full of surprises. This girl, this tree–climbing, knot–tying girl, had been here all the time. He’d discovered her out of six billion people, and now they were friends.