-c- 2008 Mcgraw-hill Ryerson Limited May 2026

“Where did the biologist find it?” Elias asked.

Elias drew his rifle, then felt stupid. What would he shoot? A ghost? -C- 2008 mcgraw-hill ryerson limited

They sat in silence as the light faded. In the distance, a loon called—three notes, rising and falling. Elias thought of the compass at the bottom of a vanished river. He thought of Tivon Arkell, still walking somewhere in a valley that no longer existed, following a needle that pointed to nothing at all. “Where did the biologist find it

“So is a ninety-year-old map turning up in a pile of rocks.” August’s eyes were the pale blue of glacial meltwater. “But there it is.” A ghost

Elias stood on flat, empty tundra. No valley. No cabin. No compass. Just him, his backpack, and the distant hum of a floatplane engine.

Elias held up the compass. The needle pointed northeast across the tundra.

He raised the rifle. His hands shook. “You’re not real.”