He's still alive! He's still alive!" whispered Ikemi when she heard Hiru's voice over the radio. "Max! Hurry up!"
Max did not say anything. It was very difficult to fly the plane so close to the water, and the wind was so strong it was hard to keep it straight. And now that he knew that Hiru was waiting for them, he wondered just how he was going to land on those terrible, hug waves below them. And even if they landed safely, how was he going to get close enough to the Elizabeth to get Hiru off the boat and onto the plane? And even if he did that, how was he going to take off again in the huge waves? It had been hard enough to take off in the much calmer water near coast-now they were out at sea and the waves were huge. Max suddenly felt very cold. He realized that if he tried to land, the manatee would break up. Both he and Ikemi would die, as well as Hiru. He felt sick. What could he say to Ikemi? "Well, Ikemi, I'm terribly sorry but I can't land here, it's too stormy, and I can't save your father, and I was mad to think that I could. But we can get a good look at the Elizabeth sinking from the air.
Suddenly, through the rain, he could see a bright white light.
"Look! There it is! There's the flare! Over there! He's over there! shouted Ikemi.
He looked quickly at her. She was smiling and her face was alive with hope. She seemed to be quite sure he was going to save her father. Max looked back out into to the rain.
How could he tell her that he had brought her here just to watch her father die?
On the Elizabeth Hiru hearted the sound an engine. Thank God! It was the boat! Soon he would be safe! The boat was coming to save him! He took out another flare and fired it. Great cloud of bright red smoke lit the darkness. He waved the flare. The sound of the engine got nearer. He looked for the boat but could see nothing. Then, Suddenly, out of the wind and the rain a seaplane appeared. A plane? The pilot must be mad! He couldn't land the plane in these waves. It was impossible. Completely impossible! What was the pilot trying to do? Kill himself? Hiru stopped waving the flare. The flare died and he threw it into the waves. His hope died, too. This was the end. He was going to die.