Barefoot and Lost

by Brian Francis Cox

  Chalky says that two are monks, Christian brothers he called them, but I don’t know which two as they wear ordinary clothes. I thought monks wore habits, tied up by rope just like the monk in The Talisman, but maybe that was during the crusades.

  When Rachel is not helping Christine, and I’m not helping Chalky, we just sit at the front of the ship, on a little seat beside a ventilator that forces fresh air down into the ship. We just sit and talk about our past and our future we know that both, of us are going to Melbourne but will we be living near each other. Neither of us knows how big Melbourne is, it could be as big as London, we don’t know but whatever, we will definitely keep in touch.

  Once again I wake to find the ship has stopped, looking out of our porthole I can see we are in a harbour, the sun is shining, and there are many little boats alongside. Because our cabin is just above water level, I find myself looking into the face of a black man, he is wearing a white hat that doesn’t have a brim, just some blue embroidery around it, I am so surprised to see him there, startled, I jump back with a shout. ‘What’s wrong Phil?’

  ‘There’s a man outside our window’

  Billy and I rush up onto ‘A’ deck only to be stopped by a soldier with a black face. On his head is a little, red round hat with a tassel hanging down from the top, on his shoulder he is carrying a rifle, he takes one look at us and steps aside so we can pass. Several passengers are leaning over the rail, shouting to the men in boats below, which are, in fact, floating shops, some large, some small, but all seem to carry all the merchandise under the sun: bags, baskets, watches, table cloths, sheep skins, all sorts of things. One man in a boat is shouting, ‘Mr. Churchill, how much you geeeve?’ Another is holding up a bag shouting, ‘Meeeester, you want very good bag, very cheap?’ Everywhere they are calling some have thrown a string up to the deck, the items for sale are placed in a basket that is attached to the string by the men in the boats, the purchasers are pulling the article up onto the ship to have a good look at it, shouting down their offer. The boatman, naturally, is shouting back what he wants, and so the bargaining continues until both agree. Billy and I don’t want to buy anything; we don’t have the money, even if we wanted to. A roaring trade is going on and most of the passengers are buying something. There are at least twenty Egyptian soldiers patrolling the decks, I’m not sure why they are here, perhaps to prevent the boatmen from getting on board, or maybe to arrest people who don’t pay their money to the boatman, whatever it is they don’t look very happy.

  We are fascinated by the teenage boys, diving for coins off the deck of a big sailing boat. Their eyesight must be excellent, as they seem to know instantly, whether the coin thrown into the water is copper or silver. They don't bother much about diving for copper coins, some younger kids do that, but the teenagers are in like a flash for the silver ones.

  A ships officer, dressed in his gleaming white uniform, stops us. ‘You should go and see the Ghillie-Ghillie man; he’s on the quarter deck.’

  ‘Who’s he when he’s about?’ Billy asks.

  ‘Go and have a look and see for yourself.’ The man is enormous, dressed in a nightshirt like the men in the boats, over it he is wearing a little red jacket, and on his head he has a red hat like the Egyptian soldiers. There is a large group of passengers gathered, watching him as performs his magic tricks. He has in front of him, a cardboard box with about twenty baby chickens in it, all of them tweeting loudly, he grabs a couple in his hands then, with a wave of his arms the chicks disappear, he then walks to a boy or girl, producing the baby chicks from their ears or pockets or some other part of their bodies. The Ghillie man has just put his hand up one boy’s shorts “ghillie, ghillie, ghillie” he shouts as he pulls a chick out of one leg, then another from the other leg, much to the kids embarrassment, he is going red, turning to scarlet, as we all laugh.

  His show is almost over he has taken off his hat and is holding it out for the passengers to put money in, I would like to but I don’t have any but I think he has collected quite a lot, bowing and saying “Shukra, thank you” he takes a cloth about the size of a small table cloth, throws it over the chicks in the box, then picks up the covered box, gives it a shake, removes the cloth, the chicks have disappeared. Then he folds the cloth and puts it in his pocket, and tucks the empty box under his arm. Billy looks at me both of us amazed. ‘Where did they go?’

  ‘I haven’t got a clue Billy, it’s pretty amazing, I’ve never seen anything like that before.’

  ‘I reckon he has em stuffed up his shirt.’

  ‘They could be in his hat.’

  ‘No, it’s too small you’d never get all themens in there; he’s bound to do another show, let’s follow him and see where he gets em from.’ The Ghillie man walks slowly along the deck

  ‘I reckon he’s walking slowly so they don’t fall out of his shirt.’

  ‘I’d say it’s because he is very fat and can’t walk any faster.’

  The Ghillie man starts to call, ‘Ghillie, ghillie, ghillie’ he places the box on the deck, we stand there with our mouths open, unable to speak, the chicks are already in the box. Billy and I look at him in amazement, he smiles, gives us a big wink, and says, Ghillie, Ghillie.

  A large boat is pulling up to the gangplank, two members of our crew grab it with hooks and about twenty men get off and climb to the deck below me. No sooner has that boat departed when another one pulls alongside; during the next two hours Billy and I count ten boats.

  ‘Phil, I make that about two hundred men but no women, who do you think they are?’

  ‘I don’t know, maybe men going to Australia to work, or maybe soldiers going home I don’t know but if I get a chance to speak to one of them I’ll ask.’

  ‘I wonder where they will stay, the ship already seems full?’

  ‘I have no idea Phil but, for sure, they are not sharing our cabin.’

  At five o clock the small boats have all gone, a tug is working alongside, moving us away from the jetty to the entrance of the Suez Canal. As we swing into it I can see, on a huge wall, a green statue, and plaque in honour of Ferdinand De Lesseps.

  It is so hot it is impossible to sleep in the cabin, so Chalky has allowed us up on the deck, but we have to stay as a group. We are passing lots of tents, it looks like an army camp, and I can see soldiers on guard duty. I have also seen soldiers on camels, but now it is dark, all there is to see now are lights and the occasional headlights of a car or lorry. It is such a pity we are not going through the canal in daylight. I can hear Christine laughing almost unable to speak, ‘How much did you pay for it?’

  ‘Two pounds ten seemed a bargain at the time but now it’s broken I’m not so sure.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s guaranteed, why don’t you take it back maybe he will change it.’

  ‘Chris, it’s bad enough wasting my money, I don’t need you to take the Mickey.’

  ‘Sorry, don’t get on your high horse but who in their right mind, would buy a watch from a man in a boat, an Arab at that; I don’t know Chalky, you can be so clever and then you do something stupid like that.’

  ‘Probably why you like me because, I’m human and trusting.’

  ‘Yeah, maybe.’

  The sun rises to show we are in open water, I can still see land, but it is in the distance. Chalky says we are in the Red Sea, doesn’t look very red to me. As the sun gets higher the breeze gets hotter, maybe the red refers to the temperature, its red hot, forcing us to find shade. The day gets hotter, the metal parts on the ship are too hot to touch, but thankfully the darkness brings a slight cooling.

  Aden, many people are getting off for sightseeing but we kids are not allowed to, they have told us that it is too dangerous, but when I asked what danger no one could tell me.

  Chalky is a bit annoyed because he wants to go ashore but can’t, because he has to stay and look after us. Rachel has been told that the girls can’t go ashore because they may be abducted, and the boys can’t go because it wouldn’t be fair
to the girls, so we are stuck here, but it’s not that bad because we are allowed to go to areas of the ship which, so far, have been out of bounds to us. Rachel and I have spent most of the day in our special place watching the ships coming and going and boats darting about. As darkness falls we watch the boats, coming back with those that went ashore.

  I have been asleep for what feels like a considerable time and wake to feel that we are on the move again. A devilish thought comes to my mind, should I wake Chalky and ask him the time, but I push it to the back of my mind, it would be too cruel; he has not mentioned to me, or anyone else other than Christine, about his bad purchase, he is probably too embarrassed, but not enough to stop him wearing it because, as I peer over at him, I can see its luminous dial glowing in the dark.

  The next few days are spent looking at vast stretches of ocean, dolphins swimming alongside; there are also endless schools of flying fish. At first they are a novelty but, after watching them for a couple of hours, even they become boring. The phosphorous in the water at night fascinates me, as it slips by the hull it is mesmerizing, purple, green, yellow, and blue lights flashing, as though some giant creature with a searchlight is under the waves, trying to light up the ship.

  Colombo, Ceylon, we are allowed ashore today, but I’m not sure I want to be here, it looks very dirty. We have come ashore in boats and are now standing on the dock, waiting for a bus to collect us. In front are some warehouses painted white but the front of them is streaked by red stains, even the road in front is the same. I asked Chalky what the red was, he didn’t know but one of the nuns answered me much to Billy’s annoyance. ‘It is spittle, the locals chew beetle nut and spit out the juice, a disgusting habit.’

  ‘How horrible, why do they do it?’

  ‘Why do people smoke? It’s an addictive habit once they start they can’t stop.’

  The buses arrive, we are split up, boys on two and the girls on the other two, it feels funny walking on dry land, on the ship you sometimes put your foot down to find the deck is not there, but on land the ground is always there. I think Billy has taken the huff because I spoke to the nun, I wish I could understand his problem, it just doesn’t make sense to me. I have found the way to deal with it, ignore him; eventually he comes around and starts to talk to me as though nothing has happened.

  The area around the docks is dirty, with rubbish lying around. The bus has all of the windows open allowing the dust and the flies to come in, the dust is choking and the flies will not leave me alone, they are crawling on my arms, my legs, and keep buzzing in my ears. Twice now I have slapped myself hard across the ear, attempting to hit them. There are two escorts on our bus, Chalky and one of the other men. I can now see he is wearing a collar like a vicar, just like the Reverend McGuire wore.

  The vicar stands up and shouts, ‘Silence, listen to me,’ the chattering stops, ‘We are going to the Colombo Zoo for a couple of hours, then we are going to a beach called Mount Lavinia, where we will have a snack and a drink. This coach will split into two groups, that is mine and Mr. White’s, there will be no fraternization, you will stay strictly in your own group is that understood? Those of you who have been selected as prefects are to assist, do as you are instructed and we will all have a lovely day; okay enjoy yourselves.’

  Driving through the streets of Colombo is fascinating, some of it is so poor, but there are also some very beautiful buildings with green lawns in front. There are very few cars the traffic is mostly bicycles and carts drawn by donkeys. I have even seen an elephant, pulling a broken down lorry with its bonnet up. Hundreds of people are criss-crossing the road, our bus driver is constantly blowing his horn but no one seems to take any notice.

  The entrance to the zoo is surrounded by palm trees; we walk down a long avenue under the trees, completely in the shade. There are beautiful coloured birds, not only in the cages but flying around as well. In one cage is a tiger, but he doesn’t seem interested in us, he is just laying in the shade with his paws in the air, just like Jet used to do. We come to a large area with tiered bench seats under a canopy. When we are all seated music starts to play, and then eight elephants, some larger than the others, come into the area dancing. For the next half an hour they perform all sort of tricks, like stepping over a man lying on the ground even playing football. For me the show ends too quickly, we are then taken back to our bus for the twenty minute drive to Mount Lavinia. Everyone is talking about the elephants even Billy has forgotten his gripe and says to me ‘Wot about themens, elephants aint they great?’

  ‘Fantastic. Billy, bloody amazing’

  Mount Lavinia seems a strange name for a beach, there is not a mountain in sight. We pull up beside a large bungalow, inside there are tables laid out with plates covered by linen napkins under each are four sandwiches and two small cakes, beside the plates are glasses, down the centre of the table are six jugs filled with what looks like lemonade. The beach of pure white sand curves in a bay and slopes down to the waves that are breaking two hundred yards out and come crashing onto the beach with a roar. Very tall palm trees line the bay, with their branches hanging over the beach. I can see coconuts high up in the leaves. I so wish I could go for a swim but we are only allowed to look, we are not even allowed onto the beach it’s not fair.

  Our next port of call will be our destination, Fremantle in Western Australia. Two days out of Colombo the biggest event of the voyage is to take place, the Crossing the Line ceremony. Prior to landing in Colombo it was announced, over the Tannoy, that there would be a fancy dress party when we crossed the equator into the southern hemisphere, it was suggested that the passengers purchase items in Colombo to make fancy dress outfits. We never got near a shop when we were ashore let alone be able to buy anything. Billy and I have been racking our brains to find something we can dress up as, but nothing comes to mind.

  Wednesday, the seventeenth of September, the day we are scheduled to cross the line has arrived. It is estimated that the crossing will be at eleven, the hottest time of the day, so a canopy has been put up over the whole area, a portable swimming pool has been erected on the quarter deck and filled with sea water ready for the ceremony. Members of the crew have dressed up as King Neptune and his courtiers. Some of the courtiers are carrying buckets of flour and water paste to use as shaving cream. Others have a large paint brush that they use to slap all over the faces of unsuspecting spectators who have been pulled from the crowd; they are then shaved with a very large, wooden cut-throat razor and thrown into the pool. With sixteen hundred passengers it is impossible to carry out the complete ceremony with everyone. I am disappointed that I haven’t been chosen but it has been a great day and everybody has enjoyed it. Those that weren’t shaved can queue up to receive a certificate, stating they have become one of King Neptune's subjects, entitling us to visit Davy Jones' locker whenever we wish. When I get to my new parents I’m going to hang my certificate on the wall of my bedroom. I wonder if I will have my own room, or will I have to share with my new brother, I hope it is my own.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Monday, September twenty second, it is early Billy, me and dozens of other passengers have been watching the lights of Australia get closer. An hour ago there were just one or two blinking, fifteen minutes later we could see the lights in the buildings, but they have now gone out as day light takes over. The pilot boat is alongside, I see a man, wearing naval uniform, leap from the boat onto the gangplank platform, where two of our crew grab him, he then makes his way up the steps as the boat speeds off back to shore. Rachel has joined us, ‘How long have you been up here?’

  ‘Since about half past four; what’s the time now?’

  ‘Eight-o-clock, second sitting breakfast has been called, you had better go and get some you never know when we will eat again.’

  “Will you always look after me like this?’

  ‘I will if I get the chance, will you look after me?’ Rachel slips her hand into mine and gives it a squeeze.

  ‘I p
romise, if we get split up I promise I will come and find you.’ Rachel squeezes my hand again, that flutter returns to my stomach.

  Come on Phil, if we are going to get breakfast you don’t have time to stand there goggle eyed.

  ‘Coming Billy;’ Looking around me everyone is too interested in the approaching shore; giving Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek I follow Billy below.

  All of us kids have been assembled in the aft dining room for the past hour; we have our suitcases with us and are ready to go ashore. I asked Chalky, did he know why we are waiting. He said he wasn’t sure but it would appear that they are disembarking the paying passengers first.

  Eventually our turn comes, we are being organized into groups, brothers, and sisters are being split up, a lot are crying. Some are screaming and refusing to move, but they are being physically dragged away and shouted at, it is bedlam. Chalky and Christine are having a terrible row with some people that I have not seen before; the result is that they are ordered out of the room. They are refusing to go.

  Now two men in uniform have arrived, one has his hand on Chalky’s shoulder, he shrugs it off and attempts to walk over to where we are standing, but he is held back. They are now speaking to Christine; she appears to be reasoning with Chalky. As they walk towards the door Chalky turns to us and shouts, ‘I’m sorry, I am so sorry, I have done my best,’ he looks like he is about to cry Christine is dabbing her eyes.