Every morning the tents were wetter than before. Every jug, every bowl that had been left outside had water in it. The story of how I had saved Neelata spread. I was allowed to return to work in the red tent. I no longer wore a cloak, but neither did I wear the shell tunic in which I had disguised myself. Put was with me to carry the jugs. Shem, Japheth, and Ham admitted us without a work, were startled by my nakedness, and hurriedly closed the tent curtain. I took care of them the way I used to. Put helped me. He was high in spirits. He was enthusiastically rubbing oil into Japheth's buttocks and thighs, spilling an unnecessary amount. I pointed it out to him, but that did not help, he was nervous and excited, unable to control the flow.

When the dwarf came out of the Builder's quarters, Put and I tried to carry on as unobtrusively as possible. A smell of fermenting fruit hung about him, and for a moment it looked as if the wine had clouded his vision so much he would walk past us. But he recognized me. As he went by, he whispered with a sweaty smirk, "Hey, you! What's happened to your disguise? Have you had your beating yet?

Put stood between us and could not restrain himself. The first secret, the spring in the cave, he had been able to keep. The second, our hiding place on the side of the cliff, he had given away out of friendship for Neelata. This secret was altogether too big. He was confused, not able to order his thoughts and see the larger picture. He turned to the dwarf and said in the same whispery tone, "We are not going to drown. There is a heidey-hole, that's where we're going to be!"

At his words, I felt the same relief he must have felt: At last a response the hairy dwarf could not counter, at last he was reduced to silence. That triumphant feeling did not last long; everything around us had suddenly become immobilized. Not a canvas, not a tent pole moved.

"What did you say?" asked Japheth.

"A hidey-hole," Put answered weakly. He had twisted the cloth in his hand so tightly around his finger that its tip turned white.

"And who has built that hidey-hole?" Put could not utter a word. Japheth had to repeat his question, and then once more, his teeth clenched.

"The man who knows how to build boats," said Put. The dwarf fled outside, leaving a smell of wine behind him, his head down between his shoulders. Ham sat there, rigid as stone. Japheth got up. "Is that so?" he asked me. I bent my head. He started dressing, laughing, he seemed strangely excited. It took a long time to get his clothes right.

Shem too got up and dressed. His clothes were more elaborate than his brother's. His girdle consisted of a number of thin strands linked together with pearls. As if he wanted to demonstrate how it is done, he was ready in a flash. He went out without waiting for his brother. Japheth went after him, his skirts undone.

Excerpted from IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARK © Copyright 2004 by Anne Provoost. Reprinted with permission by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic. All rights reserved.