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It's Jason, coming back with the water. You set the page down, but you're not quick enough. "Do you want to jinx this book for me?" Jason asks, annoyed. "No!" you say. "But I had to read more. You see, you wrote down exactly what a man said to me on the bus." Jason's dark brows furrow. "Show me," he says. "There!" you point to the page in the typewriter. "You even knew Isaac's name! It's almost as if you have some psychic power!" Jason shrugs. "Coincidence. I know Isaac Cairns. I just borrowed his name for the book. His father and his grandfather had the same name. And with so little snow runoff from last winter, the natives of this area all know the fire danger." "Will you tell me about the Spirit Tree?" you ask. Jason looks at you, irritated. "Did you read the whole thing?" "No," you say. "Just some of it. Did you make it up?" "The tree? Good heavens, no! I heard it from Henry Madokawando, an old Indian who has a cabin by the road" "Henry used to be a friend of Isaac Cairns!" you say. "Did he tell you the ending? What happened to the young Indian?" "Forget the tree!" Jason snaps. "It's dangerous!"



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