Your best plan, you decide, is to try to make a getaway with Bill in Ling's boat. That night you climb down to the shore, carrying a flashlight in your hand and the boat and its motor in a back- pack. Meanwhile, Ling starts off alone for the power plant. "Good luck," you tell her as she sets off. "And to you," she says. "I hope we meet again." The boat inflates easily, and you have no trouble attaching the motor. Your watch says 9:47 as you shove the little craft into the waves. There is not much time. Ling explained to you earlier that she would blow up the steam pipes at exactly ten o'clock. There's no moon tonight, but the stars are bright, and high above you the volcano glows an ominous red. When your watch reads ten, you look up, ex- pecting to see the flash of the explosion. But as far as you can tell, nothing has happened. You hope that Ling has succeeded- and that her act will not cause the island to blow up. Continue to the next page...