‘Look, we’re still three miles out and it’s getting dark.’ He raised his voice partly in anger, partly so he could be heard over the rushing wind and the crashing branches of the trees above them. ‘James can hardly walk and the rain’s so bad I can’t even see the path anymore.’

Mr Stevens wiped rainwater from his glasses and frowned. He was finally starting to look worried, Matt thought, but not nearly as worried as he should have looked.

Mr Stevens unslung his rucksack and pulled out his own map. He crouched down and placed it on the flat surface of his pack, then brought out a compass from the front pocket of his coat and laid it on the map. He frowned some more, stared around at the trees, and cleared his throat.

‘Okay, I think we’ll have to set up camp here,’ he said at last. ‘You’re right, Matthew, we’re not going to make it to Creek Lane in these conditions.’

He rummaged inside his pack, pulled out a ziplock bag with a phone in it, opened it and turned the phone on. He studied the screen as the boys looked on in silence, then shook his head and put the phone back in the bag.

‘Nothing,’ he muttered.

‘You said we’d make it to Creek Lane before night fell,’ said Matt. ‘You said we’d be able to get help, and now we’re stuck here.’

Mr Stevens returned the compass to his top pocket, then packed the map away slowly. He zipped up his bag and stood up, and there was something in his face that made Matt take a step back.

‘I’m doing everything I can to get us help.’ That strict edge had crept back into Mr Stevens’ voice. He stared at Matt without blinking, his face an expressionless mask. ‘I can’t control the weather, and I can’t help the fact that James has been injured.’

No, but you could have planned a route that didn’t involve us walking 10 miles away from the nearest road, Matt thought, but he kept his mouth shut. There was something in Mr Stevens’ eyes that suggested he wouldn’t react well if Matt said what he was thinking out loud.

‘We’re in a bad situation,’ Mr Stevens continued. ‘And the important thing now is we bed down for the night, get some rest and keep warm. It’s dry in here so we can make a fire, at least.’

Matt nodded and didn’t say anything else. He glanced at Tim and saw the skinny boy watching him with something like concern on his face, but when Matt met his gaze Tim looked down at the ground.