Chapter 1

Twelve year old David waits nervously for the moment when he is to make his escape from the prison camp where he was born and grew up. Narration describes the opportunity prepared for him by a nameless man (see "Quotes", p. 5-6) who told him where to find a particular tree where there would be water and a compass, and to use the compass to find his way first to the coast, then to Italy, and finally to Denmark. Narration also describes how David asks the man for only one thing - a bar of soap, which the man gives him. When the time comes, David escapes the camp, crosses an open field, and makes his way into the woods, convinced the whole time that he is going to be shot and surprised when he isn't. He finds the tree, discovers that bread and matches have also been hidden for him, and sets off on his journey.