On sultry afternoons，when the air quivered in the cool and fading light of early evening，I used to stand here by the old oak and look out across an interlude of scrub and swamp from which several miles away，a hill emerged.As a hill it was insignificant enough.Below its bare summit an abandoned pasture lay dotted withground juniper and outcroppings of granite.Yet something about that hill drew me，beckoned to me，across the miles.I could not bear to take my eyes from it;I knew only that before summer ended I must go to it，make my way over the pasture，up and up past shrub and granite until I stood on the very summit.It was something I had to do.I could not explain why.I did not even ask myself.
Not that it was easy to get away from camp.Morning and afternoon，our activities were recorded in a counselor’s notebook.We had to be swimming or rowing or playing tennis or baseball or practicing a track event or going off on nature walks or making some gadget in the carpentry shop-just so long as we did something.But to do nothing，to climb a hill for no reason，that was outside the rules，against the“camp spirit”。
Saturday afternoons，with their influx of parents and visitors，brought a certain relaxation，less accountability.On one such blue and vivid afternoon I slipped away to get to my hill.From the great oak，I could see its summit ahead of me，unknown，inviting.Inconspicuously，I edged along the baseball field，then slipped into the underbrush.
It was hard going，hard to keep a sense of direction in such a tangle of vine and thicket.I stumbled over rotten logs，stepped into anthills.Marsh hillocks gave way under my feet，dead branches snagged me，prickly seeds worked into my wet sneakers.The air was stagnant.With mosquitoes droning and hover-flies circling and darting，I plodded on，losing myself and losing track of time.
I must have been struggling on for at least an hour.Suddenly I came to a clearing，an open grove of ash and maple，and as the sunlight filtered through theleaves.I saw in front of me a cluster of ornate diminutive houses.Brightly painted in a variety of colors，trimmed with scrollwork and cusps and scalloped shingles，with narrow，high-pitched roofs，each was no more than an arm’s length from the next，and all were empty.There was no sign of any living being.