Stating the obvious. You can't take the least bit of criticism and you can't take rejection. That spells insecurity to me, and it's the last thing I'm looking for in a man. Contrary to what you choose to believe, I don't need you, Peter. I'll be heading back to Boston in a month. It's been nice, but it's over."

He wasn't sure he believed her. After all, he was the best Tucker had to offer, even for one last month. "Are you annoyed because you didn't come?"

She shot a sound of exasperation at the ceiling. "Listen to me. It's over. We've had some fun, but the fun is done. Don't even think of coming here again. If you do, I'll prosecute."

"Prosecute?" he asked. "Prosecute what?" He wasn't getting tripped up in that one. "What happened just now wasn't rape."

"Maybe not in the end, because, you're right, you know the buttons to push. But another time you won't be getting near the buttons. I'll call the cops first." She shifted her hands on the obelisk. "Now leave."

Peter gave her a last, long look. She was attractive, but far from the best lover he'd had. He didn't need her, not by a long shot.

Let her finish her work and go back to Boston.

He could function just fine without her.

With a shrug, he opened the door. "It's your loss," he called over his shoulder as he trotted down the steps. With the slam of the door above him, another small chapter in the book of his loves ended, which didn't bother him in the least. Another would begin. He was a big man in town, an important man, a respected man. Women loved that. He wouldn't be alone for long.

NOAH WAS AMAZED AT HOW WELL HIS PLAN gelled.

He wasn't sure whether the credit could be laid to the plan itself or to the fact that he had any plan at all. Mount Court had been stagnant for so long. The prospect of someone doing something new and untried created instant enthusiasm.

Permissions arrived by fax from each of the parents involved, along with more than one encouraging phone call. The equipment was donated by a graduate who had gone into the business of orienteering and was curious, given the reputation of the current Mount Court student body, to see how it would be used. Noah called on old contacts to provide two professional climbers, a young married couple who would offer him badly needed backup in exchange for a welcome, albeit small stipend.

He picked his group with care, selecting the thirty students and four faculty members he felt most needed the challenge. The male-female split was even, as was the division among sophomores, juniors, and seniors. He included Sara in the group for the same reasons that applied to the others, plus several more. The mountain climb was, first and foremost, an exercise in group cooperation and trust. If all went as planned, there would be a bonding among the participants. He wanted her to experience that. He also wanted her to see that her father wasn't the bad guy everyone thought, but that he was experienced, knowledgeable, and adventurous.

The night before the trip, he called the faculty members to his house and told them his plan. They were resistant, but he had been expecting that. The four had the same kinds of attitude problems as the kids, which was precisely why he had included them.

UKatahdin?" one asked. "That's ambitious, for a group that's never climbed a mountain before."

Another shook his head warily. "If the new emphasis here is on discipline and academics, missing classes is a big mistake."

"Taking those kids is the mistake," a third warned. "Your list includes some of the worst troublemakers in the school. They're apt to go on a sitdown strike halfway up."

"They won't," Noah said. "They'll be too scared of being left behind.

We'll leave tomorrow afternoon, immediately after class.

It's a four-hour drive to Baxter State Park, which means that we'll reach the base camp in time for dinner."

"Are there decent restaurants nearby?"

Noah slowly shook his head. "We cook." "You four, plus two guides, plus thirty kids, plus me. Everyone helps, everyone eats.

We'll spend the night at the base camp and set off from there before dawn."

"Before dawn."

He ignored the echo. "All we'll have to carry are small day packs.

The vans will meet us at the other side of the mountain tomorrow night to drive us back here, so we'll only miss a day of classes."

"Why go during the week and miss any classes at all?"

"Because I don't want this mistaken for any old weekend hike. It's serious stuff. An impromptu part of the curriculum. It's as important as any class they have."

"But if it's a four-hour drive from here to Baxter State, we could be getting back in the middle of the night. How can you ask the kids to go to classes on no sleep?"

The question came from Tony Phillips, a math teacher, football coach, and ex-player who was the laziest one of the bunch. Noah wasn't surprised that he would be worrying about sleepand not about the kids'

sleep, either.

He was thinking of himself, no doubt about it.

"Kids can push themselves when they want," Noah said with a confident smile. "They'll sleep like logs Friday night.t "But we have practices Friday afternoon and games Saturday."

Noah nodded. "Right, and the kids will be grumbling about that, which is why I need you all to be upbeat and encouraging. They can do it all, climb Katahdin and still make practice and their games, and they'll be feeling on top of the world. The point of this is to give them a sense of achievement."

Abby Cooke, who taught history, made a dubious sound.

"What?" Noah asked.

"Nothing," she said.

"It didn't sound like nothing. Do you have reservations about the plan?"

She hesitated, then said, "Actually, yes. I do. These students have no appreciation for mountain climbing. They couldn't care less.

There won't be any sense of achievement."

"Maybe not," Noah admitted. "Then again, they just might. I'm not looking to kindle an interest in mountain climbing, just give them a taste of success. I've been with groups like this before. Even the most reluctant are usually touched in some way."

There was silence, then, "What's the weather forecast?"

Noah shrugged. "Whatever."

There was another silence, then, "When will the kids be told?"

"They'll get notes at the end of their last class asking them to report to the auditorium.

You four and I will be there to explain what's happening and give them a list of the things to put in their day packs. They'll have half an hour to get ready, then we leave. I already have the okays of their parents. Any other questions?"

"Just one," said Gordon McClennan, who taught Latin. "Can we opt out?"

Noah shook his head slowly.

Gordon looked around. "But why us?"

Because you four are lazy and bored, he thought. Because I'd put money on the fact that none of you has ever tried anything like this before, because you've all been thorns in my side since I took this thankless job, and because you could use the exercise.

Diplomatically he said, "Because you have better rapport with the students we're taking than some of the others. You're right, this is a difficult group. These kids aren't used to roughing it. They aren't used to exploring the great outdoors, or functioning as a group, and they sure aren't skilled in survival techniques, which is why I have two hired hands to help teach. Not that we'll be in any danger, assuming everyone pays attention and follows either their lead or mine, but Katahdin is no snap. The operative word is challenge." That's what this is about."