"No Jane. I said behind them. Behind the boat following us."
At first she saw nothing but the dazzling suntrack across the water back there. Then, dancing on the suntrack as if belonging to it, scores of silver midges. But a while ago, the single boat pursuing them had looked like a silver midge.
"Boats," Jane said.
"Boats. A whole fleet of them."
"What can it mean, Sid?"
"Beats me. I can guess, though. Jane, maybe we're going to be in on the kind of ending we'd rather see."
"I don't understand."
"It's a fleet of evacuation craft, probably. Making a last attempt to get the Mandmoorans off their island. Maybe they had some word from the sun-worshipping chief out there, I don't know."
"Should we wait until they land?"
"Not on your life," Sid said. "We've broken a law, Jane. They'd take us into custody until the whole operation was over. We'll beach this boat like we planned, and then my equipment—"