“
He guessed Jesper was feeling the same. He glanced sideways at his companion and realized that he could make out details on the log—he could see individual branches and the waterproof packet tied firmly to their makeshift raft. He twisted to look over his shoulder and made out the tiny red flag five meters away. As they rose on a wave, he could momentarily see the next flag. But there was no sign of the Heron anywhere on the horizon. Time passed. The light strengthened, and soon the sky in the east was streaked with the red glow of the rising sun. Then that faded as the light hardened. There was no sign of the town now. No sign of land. No sign of the Heron. No sign of anything but the sea. Finally, Jesper gave voice to the fear that was growing in both of them. “They’ve missed us,” he said. His voice was flat, defeated. Hal shook his head. “They’ll find us,” he said, trying to sound as if he believed it. “I’ll give it another ten minutes or so, then I’ll light the signal fire.
”
”