"Don't worry!" it said, "reports false," "Roy Blakeley safe," "Roy safe," "Blakeley alive." He said it all kinds of different ways.
Once Artie came up coughing and choking and watched a few seconds to see if the wind was blowing the smoke away as fast as the signs were made, because that was important.
"It's lucky we have that wind," he said, and then went down again in a hurry.
Pretty soon we could see some searchlights far away and I guess they were on the ships.

But ours was different and nearer to Bridgeboro, and people would be sure to see it, only maybe they wouldn't understand it and that's what made me worry.

I'm good on reading smudge signals, even though I never sent many and I never have to have the handbook when I read the code, that's one thing.

And I didn't pay much attention to all the talking and yelling, only kept my eyes up in the sky, watching that long smoky column.

It beat any searchlight you ever saw.