"Stern," he said. "John Arthur Stern. But that doesn't explain why you're here."
The smile left her face. "We're all exiles here; the Group is composed entirely of exiles. We keep tabs on the prison ships that bring new offenders here, and we try to meet each one and tell them what's going on on this planet."
"And who are you?" he asked.
"Elizabeth Kirk is the name I was given. And as far as we are both concerned, that's my name."
"Very well, Elizabeth. Now, would you kindly explain what's going on?" He didn't trust the girl.
She stopped a few feet away, evidently realizing his suspicions. "Several hundred of us have been exiled here in the past few years," she explained. "We have been able to contact each other for our mutual protection. We help each other to learn to get along with the native Earthmen."
"Is that all?" He felt that the Group—whatever it was—must be doing more than that.
"Come with me," Elizabeth said. "I'll take you to the Group. They can explain everything. Our leader will tell you all about it."
Yorkan—no, Stern. He'd have to think of himself as Stern from now on—Stern followed the girl out of the wooded area. There was an automobile parked near a winding ribbon of road. She got behind the wheel and started the engine. The turboelectric motor whirred softly, and the car started down the highway.
"We're near Suffern, New York," the girl told him conversationally. "It's about an hour's drive from New York City itself."