‘But does that make it sound more like it’s a joke?’ Ben pointed out.

‘I think it makes us sound funny,’ Jack tried. ‘In a good way,’ he added. ‘Like we’re good people, worth rescuing.’

Alexa cocked her head to one side and dabbed her paintbrush in the pot of paint again. She hovered it over the cardboard, then, after a moment’s deliberation, added a message to the bottom of the sign.

This is (sadly) not a joke … SOS!

She leaned back, and gave her handiwork a satisfied nod.

Jack agreed that, on the basis of this sign, he’d definitely try to rescue the people stuck in the attic.

‘OK, so how are we going to hang it?’ Alexa had already moved on. ‘There must be something in here we can use?’

Again, Jack got there first: he spotted a long coil of electrical cable nestled near the bottom of some stacked dining-room chairs. He pointed, ‘What about that?’

‘Perfect.’

Pleased, Jack collected the cable.

Meanwhile, Ben had found a 10kg kettlebell, which he held aloft. With a little effort, he bored a hole in the sign with the handle of one of the paintbrushes, pulled the cable through it, and tied the whole thing to the weight. Jack, Ellen and Alexa followed him to the window as he suspended the sign from the skylight. They watched its jerky passage down the front of the house.

‘Do you think the right side is facing out?’ Alexa asked, suddenly stricken.

They all contemplated this.

‘Well, if it’s not, it’ll probably sort of spin round,’ Ben replied, hesitantly. ‘I mean, either way, someone will see it.’

They all stared at the coil hanging from the window. The hustle and bustle of a shared project over, the new calm felt slightly mournful by comparison.

‘Well, I guess someone should keep watch,’ Alexa said, finally.

‘I will!’ Jack stepped forward and offered a sort of salute, which he regretted almost instantly. He could tell that Ellen was trying not to laugh.

‘Good man,’ Ben said.

‘Are you sure, Jack?’ Alexa asked. ‘We’ll take it in turns, of course.’

‘Yeah. I’ll do the next stint.’ Ben now had his arm slung casually around Alexa’s shoulders.

She looked very small beside him.

‘No problem,’ Jack said. ‘It’s nice to get the fresh air anyway.’

‘And Jack, remember, if anyone sees the sign, shout down to them.’ Alexa looked grave now, and Jack frowned, immediately anxious that he’d do something wrong.

‘Thanks, Jack.’ Ellen raised her eyebrows. ‘We’ll be over here, if you … need us. Or anything.’

He watched as they shuffled back to the area near the door.