Book excerpt: Hamid rubbed the light from his eyes and looked again. He was not dreaming; it was his stepfather! The man watched Kinza as a snake might watch a baby rabbit at play, waiting for the moment to strike. And for one breathless moment Hamid was sure that he would reach out and snatch her away. Hamid does not want his little blind sister, Kinza, to be sold to a beggar by their stepfather, so he decides to rescue her. Together they escape from their mountain village to a town where there may be a new home for Kinza. But this is only the start of their adventures. Will Kinza be safe? What will happen to Hamid, who dares not go back home? Set in North Africa, readers will be delighted by yet another of Patricia St. John's exciting, freshly edited novels.