Hills End by Ivan Southall

frightened for herself—not then, anyway—she was thinking of her mother and her father and her baby brother. She felt destitute. Her whole world had vanished, because if that was what Paul thought it must be right. Paul was so sensible, so level-headed, and she was such a scatterbrain. Paul wouldn’t have said it if he could have held it back any longer.
    Little Harvey sat quite still, his eyes full of tears, his mouth open, drawing great shuddering gulps of air. All he wanted to do was to howl and suddenly he couldn’t stop it. Frances dashed to him and held him tight, but couldn’t bring herself to judge Paul too harshly, because she had been the one, yesterday, who had told Paul to face facts and admit them. Probably it was best that they should get it over and be done with it, because Paul and Adrian were surely right. Something terrible must have happened.
    She was wiping Harvey’s tears away when she looked up sharply and found that she was not the only one who had become alert. The boys, too, were looking to the sky, keenly aware of the sound that she herself had heard.
    â€˜It is!’ Paul cried. ‘It’s an aeroplane!’
    â€˜Where?’
    â€˜Can’t see it. Can anyone see it?’
    They crowded towards the lip of the ledge and Adrian had sense enough to bellow. ‘Easy. You’ll have us over the side.’
    â€˜I can’t hear an aeroplane.’
    â€˜And neither can anyone else. You’re making too much noise.’
    They listened again and it was unmistakable—the roar of a big aeroplane somewhere, flying high.
    Gussie squealed. ‘There it is!’
    She pointed high into the north-east and one by one they picked it up, flashing in the sun.
    â€˜What sort is it, Adrian? You know all about aeroplanes.’
    â€˜I think it’s a Lincoln.’
    â€˜One of the bombers?’
    â€˜Yeah. That’s what it is, all right. A Lincoln. The Air Force.’
    â€˜Golly! What would the Air Force be doing away out here?’
    â€˜How should I know? I wish we could make a signal or something.’
    â€˜How could we make a signal? We’ve got nothing that’ll burn.’
    â€˜And no matches, anyway.’
    â€˜And he’s miles and miles away. He’d never see.’
    â€˜He’s turning, isn’t he?’
    â€˜Yeah. And I can’t hear his engines any more. Can you?’
    They listened again and they could hear them, but they were burbling, making a funny sound.
    â€˜Ooh!’ said Harvey. ‘He’s going to crash.’
    â€˜He’s gliding, stupid. That’s what he’s doing. Coming down! ’
    â€˜Are you sure, Adrian?’
    â€˜Of course I’m sure. You can see for yourself. He’s circling round and round.’
    Maisie shouted, ‘We’re going to be saved. Hooray! Hooray!’ And then her voice faded. ‘Are we? He couldn’t see us, could he? He’d never see us. He’s miles and miles away.’
    â€˜Too far away all right,’ said Adrian. ‘You know where I think he is? I think he’s going down to look at the town.’
    Paul grunted breathlessly. ‘That’s what I think, too. And it’s never happened before, has it? It’s never happened before because nothing terrible has ever happened before.’
    They were very quiet again and they watched the aeroplane come lower and lower until it passed from their sight, until they heard its engines roar again, until they knew that it was circling the town at a very low altitude, going round and round and round.
    One by one they sat near the lip of the ledge, and they were pale and frightened and unhappy. They knew now beyond the last doubt that something was wrong with their town, because the aeroplane went round and round and round and they didn’t see it again for nearly half an hour. Then it rose up above the forest and went down through the valley in the south, no more