WE WERE ABOUT THIRTY FEET FROM THE HOUSE BEFORE ANY OF US SPOKE. “NAZI FILTH,” JOSEF SPAT, PUTTING HIS ARM AROUND HIS SON’S SHOULDERS.

“Our coats are back there, Papa; our money, our papers. Everything.”

“Don’t worry about that now, Yeshka. I felt so powerless when they hit you! I wanted to —”

Petr interrupted him. “You did the right thing, Josef. One word from any of us would have resulted in a beating. Or perhaps even death.”

“Whoever thought little Ivan and his letter would have saved us?” Yeshka asked, attempting a smile.

“Only for the moment,” Petr said seriously. “They don’t see us as humans. If they don’t kill or starve us first, they’ll soon decide whether we could be useful as slaves and send us to Germany to work in their factories.”

“Really?” I was incredulous, never having heard of such a thing.

“Unless they think we’re partisans,” Josef said. “Then they’ll just kill us and save themselves the trouble of having to send us anywhere.”

“Ivan,” Petr said, “go to Polina’s house until it’s time for you to go back. Have her show you the maps and hiding places like we talked about. Josef and Yeshka, go to my house. Josef, take the western route, Yeshka, the eastern. I’ll go to Galina’s, wait fifteen minutes, and then follow you to the cabin. There are warm clothes in the closet; help yourselves.” Yeshka and Josef left us and went in separate directions. They looked so cold and vulnerable without coats on.

Petr turned around suddenly and, in a loud, raspy, urgent whisper, called, “Josef! Josef!” He must not have heard him because he continued on his way west as Petr had instructed. When Petr turned back to me, there was a look in his eyes I couldn’t read. Frustration? Anger? Alarm? I wasn’t sure. “Let’s walk a little faster” was all he said.

“I can’t believe my letter helped us!” I said proudly. “They’re scared of Axel, you could see it.”

Petr put his hand on my shoulder. “I know. You did the right thing. It got us out of there before they could ask us more questions. The problem is,” he said with a sigh, “that now they’ll remember you. They’ll repeat the story to their comrades. You’ve been marked, not only by Axel, but by those men.”

I was confused and a little scared by his comment. “So what if I have? The only reason I’m at headquarters is to learn whatever I can for the partisans. Isn’t that worth being marked?”

“Yes,” Petr said slowly, deliberately. “But it makes your time there limited. Whatever good you’re going to do for our cause is going to have to be done very, very soon.”

“How soon?”

“Five, six, seven days? You’ve seen how volatile Axel is. And although I’m sure your concertina playing is amazing,” he said with a small smile, “he’ll tire of it soon and be done with you. The novelty will have worn off.”

Even as I listened and recognized the good sense in what he said, I kept thinking about the dogs. I dared not mention them again just yet. “If I have only days …” I took a breath as the strange truth of that sunk in. “… then you’d better figure out how I can help, and fast.”

“There’s someone I’m going to talk to. His name is Lev; remember that in case he approaches you directly or you find him at my house. He’s a brilliant partisan leader, one of our best. If he tells you to do something, do it. Understood?” I nodded. “If only you were older,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. “Oh, the things I’d have you do to Recht!”

“Isn’t there money we can steal from him? Think what a help it would be to the partisans who live in the woods. Blankets, food, weapons … or if we had intelligence that arms were arriving, we could intercept them.”

“If you spoke German, you might be able to overhear something like that. Chances of Axel sharing that information with you in Russian are zero.”

We turned a corner, and Polina’s house came into view. “When will I see you again?” I suddenly felt a rush of anxiety, not knowing when I’d be able to get away from Axel.

Petr stared at the snow-covered ground. “I don’t know. Take every opportunity to get away, but nothing foolish, nothing that would make him suspicious. In the meantime, I’ll talk to Lev. There’s got to be something….”

The faces of Zasha and Thor came into my mind so strongly, it was as if they were right there in front of me. It made me find my courage. “Petr, I’m twelve,” I said. “Which means I don’t really know how to use a gun, and even if I did, I don’t think I could kill a man.” I paused. “But I am fully capable of injuring Axel in another way. I really think you should reconsider my idea about —”

“The dogs?” he interrupted me, sounding impatient.

“Please, listen to me. It’s not just about hurting Axel and preventing the dogs from being wrongly used — it’s about helping the partisans.”

We were just a few houses from Polina’s. Petr surprised me by saying, “What would you do with these dogs?”

“I’d take them up to my uncle Boris’s cabin.”

“Even assuming you could steal his dogs out from under his nose, how would you get the dogs out of Vilnov without being seen?”

“I know someone with a sleigh who I’m pretty sure we could count on.” I was thinking of Vladimir, of how he’d helped the partisans, of his invitation to visit him. “He lives near Kobona.” I rushed on. “I know what you’re thinking: Why risk so much just to steal two dogs? Isn’t there something more important we could do? Think of it this way: First, it would make Axel so mad, it would distract him from his other duties. Distracted men make mistakes, lose their tempers, miss important details. Second, we could breed them to help the partisans; train them to send messages, sniff out bombs and soldiers. They’re the best alarm system in the world. If the enemy was approaching a partisan camp, the dog would know about it long before they arrived.” I’d said most of this before, but there was something different this time. Petr slowed our pace to extend our conversation.

“There are many potential problems, and you can’t do it alone.”

“I have to. I wouldn’t want anyone else to be in danger.”

“Don’t play the hero, Ivan. It will get you killed. If you do go north with them, I’ll be going with you.”

“But what would the others do without you here?”

“I’d be back as soon as you’re settled at the cabin. Someone else would be in charge when I’m gone. I’m not saying yes. You are not to do anything until I give the word.”

I nodded nervously. “I couldn’t do anything anyway. I don’t have a plan yet.”

He sort of laughed. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“There would be so many details to work out.”

“I’m aware of that, too. If I do get approval from my higher-ups … I have to admit it would give me great pleasure to stick a knife in Axel Recht’s heart this way.”

“I’m not sure he has one,” I offered.

“You know what, Ivan? I almost wish you hadn’t thought of this.”

“Why?” We were in front of Polina’s and couldn’t linger together without drawing attention to ourselves.

“Because it’s just so tempting. Saving those poor animals, hurting Recht. And it really is a clever idea to breed dogs for the partisans. It might take a while in the beginning, but this war could drag on for a very long time.”

After my initial pride and happiness at having come up with the idea, I suddenly felt the full weight of the terrible consequences if something went wrong.

“That’s right, Ivan,” Petr said, as if reading my mind.

“What’s right?”

“There can be no mistakes.” He walked on toward Galina’s and never looked back.