Just as they were approaching Sandwick the lorry stalled. Alec could not start it again. He swore. Sandy and Will had been waiting outside Sandwick. Will had a large rucksack and his guitar and seemed out of place standing by the road. He could have been any student, hitching a lift back to college.

“It’s no good,” Alec said. “This bloody thing is only fit for the scrapyard. I’ll go back to Buness to get the car. If you want to start walking, I’ll pick you up if I see you.”

Just get me out, Will thought. I’d walk all the way to Baltasay to get away from this place.

They climbed down from the cab and stood in the middle of the road looking at the lorry.

“Someone should go to the post office and tell Kenneth Dance that we’ll be late collecting the mail,” Sandy said, “otherwise he’ll make a fuss. You do that, Will. You can leave your stuff here and Alec will collect it.” He spoke quietly, but he was in charge. His only daughter had died but he would not allow his grief to give Alec an excuse to take control. “Go on down to the harbour, Jim. Start loading up. There are a lot of gas cylinders. I’ll just go in and tell Agnes what’s happening. She can telephone to the post office in Baltasay and tell them we’ll be a bit late.”

“Do you still want to come?” Jim asked Sarah.

“Yes. I can help you load the gas cylinders.”

She knew that he was about to say that they would be too heavy for her or that he could do it alone, but he said nothing. He’s trying very hard, she thought. She took his arm.

In Kell James was making tea. He was always up early. Although Alec could supply milk for the whole island with his cows and his smart new milking parlour, they still kept a cow at Kell for hand milking. Before, Melissa had looked after the animals on the croft, but now he did it all, even the women’s work of milking and egg collecting. He would not have minded if it had made her well. He would have liked to go to watch the boat off. He had been a member of the crew once, but had given it up when Melissa started being so depressed. He had been afraid of leaving her alone all day. He poured tea into a special cup which he kept for her, and took it into the bedroom. He had to light the gas light. Outside there was low cloud over the hill and it was still dark. She woke up when he went in.

“I was having a lovely dream,” she said. He was still thinking abut the boat.

“The Ruth will be getting ready to go now. The children are going back to Baltasay to school today.”