The seven- year-old woke with a start; his senses were suddenly alerted to the strange noise. Frightened, it shook him loose from his deep slumber. He looked around in the dimness of the room. The cuckoo clock chimed a few times and he knew it was three o´clock in the morning. His little sister in the next bed stirred restlessly. Very quietly, he slipped into his slippers and gingerly walked across the floor to the window. Moving the curtain open, his eyes glued to the glass pane, he stared into the darkness. The noise was coming closer; there, straight ahead,...