Airship Over Atherton

by Christopher Cummings

  “I don’t think it is the right tree,” he said as they hovered close to it. “The tree was a bit further down the slope and nearer to the road.”

  They all looked that way, but no large emergent was visible.

  “You sure?” Sergeant Carmody asked.

  “Yes I am. We could just see over this crestline. I could see Tinaroo Dam,” Roger replied.

  They flew down the slope for several hundred metres and searched likely trees but the only one which really stood out was nearly half a kilometre from the area, off to the west. After circling it and finding no Willy they flew back up to the crest and along it for several kilometres in each direction, looking in every large tree which even poked above the jungle canopy.

  By this time they were all upset in varying degrees. Roger felt sick and miserable. The pilot turned to him: “Are you sure this is the right mountain?”

  “Positive,” Roger replied, although he had begun to have doubts. “I don’t understand. It was such a big tree and it was just near that road. We crossed it just before we snagged on the tree.”

  They proceeded to search the crestline on the other side of the ridge and continued searching every emergent fruitlessly for the next half hour. Roger began to feel dizzy and broke into a cold sweat. Bile rose in the back of his throat.

  At last he had to give up. “Please. Can we land for a bit? I think I’m going to be sick and I’m getting cramps,” he asked.

  “I think we’d better,” Sergeant Carmody agreed. “I need to talk to Kirk and Bronsky again I think.”

  Reluctantly Willy’s father agreed to this, although he was emphatic they were searching the right area.

  The helicopter turned and headed back to Atherton. Five minutes later it landed at the High School. By this time the school grounds were clear of people, except some of the media and the friends. Roger was helped out and again placed on a stretcher.

  “Hospital this time,” Willy’s mother insisted. Roger protested, but only feebly. He now felt very sick and utterly exhausted. Peter gripped his arm; “Well done Roger!” he said. Graham grinned and nodded. Roger’s parents insisted that he be taken away at once and Roger was placed in the ambulance a second time.

  After the ambulance had driven off Sergeant Carmody convened a second conference. “Young Roger has had enough flying for one day I think,” he began.

  “Enough for his whole life I reckon,” Graham added.

  They laughed, but only to relieve the tension. Sergeant Carmody went on: “I will take Kirk, Bell and Bronsky with me this time. Are you three up to flying?”

  “You bet!” Graham replied enthusiastically.

  “Good. And one of the parents. Which would like to go?”

  Willy’s mother and father exchanged glances. Mrs Williams said: “You go dear. I will stay here and help.”

  “Fine,” Sgt Carmody said. Then he pointed to the airship. “OK, I want this contraption packed up. It can be stored at the station temporarily.” He turned to Stick and Noddy. “Can you two do that?”

  “Yes sir,” Stick answered, his face indicating jealousy and disappointment at not getting a flight in the helicopter.

  “We all will,” Marjorie said. She looked very pale and drawn but was holding her tears in check.

  Sergeant Carmody then organized several police vehicles and an ambulance to drive to the Lamb Range. The others were told to have breakfast and wait.

  Graham was put in the front of the helicopter and the others in the back. As they took off Sergeant Carmody explained what he wanted.

  “We will fly to this bloody rock with the unpronounceable name and you can point out the place you reckon you last saw the airship. We will then fly towards it following your compass bearing.”

  The pilot agreed with this. Graham thought it a sensible plan. The boys were delighted at the opportunity for the ride in the helicopter. Graham kept his maps out and looked out eagerly, noting landmarks and enjoying the view. He looked down on the huge tangle of jungle-covered valleys and ridges and marvelled at how large an area they seemed to cover.

  Lambs Head and Kahlpahlim Rock looked even more rugged and majestic as the helicopter flew close alongside them. Graham described how Roger had slipped and had grabbed at the mooring rope to save himself.

  Sergeant Carmody shook his head. “Bloody silly kids!” he growled. “It’s a miracle he didn’t break his bloody neck.”

  Graham peered down the seemingly bottomless cliff and silently agreed.

  The helicopter hovered directly above Lambs Head and then turned and Graham pointed out which mountain he thought the airship had been blown to. The pilot agreed that was on the magnetic bearing they had given so they flew towards it. As they got closer the pilot spoke again.

  “This is the same mountain the other kid took us to: Mt Haig.”

  “That is the road we came up,” Graham said.

  “Sure?” Sergeant Carmody asked.

  “Yes!” snapped Graham. He was very proud of his navigation.

  “Which side of the road was the airship on?” the pilot asked.

  “That side, the west,” Graham answered, pointing.

  “Positive?”

  “Very. I was sitting on the right side of the car looking out the window when we saw it,” Graham replied.

  However his certainty melted as they began to search every tree, with no sign of Willy.

  The pilot spoke to Sergeant Carmody with irritation in his voice: “This is the same area we searched before. We’ve looked in all these trees.”

  “Then we will search them again,” Sergeant Carmody replied.

  “I’ll have to go back for fuel soon,” the pilot answered.

  They flew up and down for ten minutes before the pilot said: “It must be some other mountain, or the kid has climbed down and is in the jungle.”

  “It is this mountain,” Peter insisted. “We are sure it is. We watched the airship all the way across the valley.”

  “OK,” Sergeant Carmody said, after another five minutes searching along both sides of the mountain. “Take us back. You can then go and refuel. We will drive up and start a ground search. Get back as fast as you can.”

  The helicopter swooped down the mountain and across the shining waters of Lake Tinaroo. As soon as the helicopter landed in Atherton and they were clear of its rotors Willy’s mother and Marjorie ran over to them, anxiety in every line of their faces.

  “Where’s Willy?” Marjorie cried.

  CHAPTER 29

  WHERE’S WILLY ?

  “Where is Roger? We need to talk to him,” Graham answered.

  “But where is Willy?” Marjorie persisted.

  “We don’t know. We can’t find the tree,” Graham replied.

  Marjorie looked sick and her face crumpled into tears. “This is awful!” she wailed. Mrs Williams hugged her and struggled to hold back her own tears. Mr Williams hugged them both and tried to comfort them.

  “Come on,” Graham urged. “We need to get more details from Roger.”

  Sergeant Carmody nodded and agreed: “Yes. We will go to the hospital and see if he can provide more information.”

  By this time the airship had been deflated and dismantled. The parts lay in piles beside the school. Mr Williams turned to Stick and Noddy. “Would you boys mind staying here for a few hours to look after all this till I can arrange to have it moved back to the farm?”

  “No sir, we don’t mind,” Stick said.

  Shona took over comforting Marjorie. There was a general movement to the vehicles. The Range Rover and car had both been moved there so they climbed into these and followed the police car to the hospital.

  At the hospital they were blocked by a sister. “He’s only just dropped off to sleep. He should be allowed to rest,” she insisted.

  Sergeant Carmody accepted this. “Right Sister, thanks.” He turned to the group: “OK, while we wait for the helicopter to return it would be a good idea if we all had a bite to eat and got the mess at
this end sorted out. We are setting up a Search HQ at the road junction at Robsons Creek on the north shore of Lake Tinaroo. It would help if you drove to there as it would cut down the flying time considerably.”

  Willy’s father agreed: “Yes. We will do that. First we will find a cafe and have some food and I will arrange for a carter to collect the airship and move it back to the farm.”

  So they trooped out of the hospital and drove down to the main street. Breakfast in a cafe was a gloomy affair, although it lifted their spirits a bit. But they were glad to leave as they were objects of curiosity to the locals who all wanted to know what was going on. A newspaper reporter began to pester them and was told rudely by Stephen to ‘bugger off, or else.’

  At about 10 O’clock they returned to the school with a truck and its driver and collected Stick and Willy. Satisfied that the driver knew where to take the airship the group helped load it onto the truck and then set off for Lake Tinaroo.

  As they drove along they discussed the search. Graham studied his maps and shook his head. “I just don’t understand it,” he said. “Our bearing was right, but Willy isn’t there.”

  “He must have climbed down,” Peter said.

  “Or fallen down,” Noddy added.

  “Thanks Noddy,” Stephen said wryly.

  At 10:45 am they arrived at the junction of the Mt Edith Road and the Danbulla Forest Drive to find the place a hive of activity. Several tents had been erected and a dozen vehicles were parked there. A portable toilet had been placed beside the road. Orange clad SES members and blue clad police were busy preparing for the ground search. Even a mobile kitchen had appeared and was dispensing hot drinks to the searchers. The TV and radio people were there as well and immediately descended on the group as they climbed out of the vehicles.

  The teenagers escaped from the media by the simple process of being rude or sarcastic. Peter kept asking them questions such as whether an ornitherinchus was an amphibian; or what year William the Conqueror crossed the English Channel. Mr and Mrs Williams were better mannered and more stressed so had more difficulty with them.

  The teenagers seemed to be ignored by the adults so they sat on the grass beside the lake and talked. Willy’s parents shook off the media and went off to the Search HQ, which was in one of the tents. Vehicles filled with searchers roared off along the forestry road until the picnic area was almost deserted.

  Then the helicopter returned. It settled on the open ground across the road and was at once filled by police and SES people. Within minutes it had lifted off and went buzzing up the mountainside.

  A few minutes later Willy’s father came over to them. “I am going to drive up to the top of the mountain to join the ground search. Who would like to come?”

  They all did but he only had room for four. Peter then complicated the plan by saying: “Sir, would it be possible for Graham and me to get a lift back over to Davies Creek to collect our packs.”

  “Of course. I’m sorry for forgetting them,” Mr Williams replied.

  “It’s not that important,” Peter added hastily. “We won’t need them until next time we want to go camping, but the wild animals might damage them if they are just left lying in the bush.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Mr Williams answered. “I will buy you new ones if there is a problem.”

  “Thank you sir.”

  They were about to get into the Range Rover when Sergeant Carmody came over to them. “I would like you kids to go in the helicopter again for another look. It is on its way back now.”

  “I was going to drive them up to the top of the mountain to join the search,” Mr Williams said.

  Sergeant Carmody looked doubtful. “Oh, I dunno. I don’t want to have to go looking for more lost kids.”

  Graham bristled. “We won’t get lost sergeant. We can navigate. We hike in the jungle almost every weekend. I’ll bet I am better at it than you are.”

  Sergeant Carmody gave him a hard look, and then nodded. “Yes, you probably can. But what about these others?”

  “We will stay together,” Graham said. “Peter and I both have maps and compasses. We are both corporals and are trained at jungle navigation. Our cadet unit does a lot of it.”

  “Alright then. We will meet you on top Dr Williams.”

  “Who goes in the helicopter?” Marjorie asked.

  “Kirk and Bronsky and me,” Sergeant Carmody replied.

  “Can I come if there’s room?” Marjorie asked. “Please!”

  Sergeant Carmody thought hard for a moment then nodded: “Yes, OK.”

  Thus Stick, Noddy, and Stephen climbed into the Range Rover. Shona said she did not want to go and would stay with Willy’s mother. Mr Williams drove off up the mountain.

  As the others were strapped into the helicopter Graham asked: “Which way are we going sir?”

  “Same as the last time,” Sergeant Carmody answered. “Across to Lambs Head and then back on your compass bearing.”

  “When we finish could drop us off on Lambs Head,” Graham suggested. “We could collect our gear and walk down to the road easily then.”

  Sergeant Carmody asked why and they explained that they had left their packs up on the mountain. The pilot listened in and suggested they could pick them up when they got there if they weren’t far away. The crewman chipped in and suggested he could go down on the winch if it wasn’t unsafe.

  “Come on!” Marjorie urged. “Stop talking about stupid camping gear. Let’s get going.”

  The helicopter took off. It flew low up over the mountain, searching as it went, then direct across the next valley to Kahlpahlim Rock. Five minutes after take-off it was hovering over Lambs Head. The crewman was told where to find the packs and was winched down through the trees. Within another five minutes the packs were aboard the helicopter and the crewman was winched up.

  As they turned to resume the search Peter spoke up: “Can I suggest that we fly low following the forestry road, just on the right hand side?”

  “Good idea son. That is what we will do,” Sgt Carmody agreed.

  They flew across the valley and over the crest of Mt Tiptree and then down into the valley at the head of Emerald Creek. Once they reached the road they turned left and flew slowly up the mountain, searching every likely tree. As the top of the mountain drew closer their hopes began to fade.

  “Not a sign of him. I just don’t understand it,” Graham said.

  “Then you must have made a mistake,” the pilot said. “Your compass must be out or something.”

  “It’s not!” Graham replied hotly.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Sergeant Carmody cut in. “We will land on the road there on top of the range and you kids can get out.”

  The helicopter came down on a sharp curve right on top of the mountain where it could get safely in with no danger of the rotors striking a tree. Several vehicles, including the Range Rover were parked nearby. The group got out. Sergeant Carmody also got out after briefing the pilot. Several SES men got in and the helicopter lifted off again and flew off to the west.

  “It is this ridge. It was just near the track junction to Mt Edith.,” Graham insisted as they walked along to where the others waited.

  Mr Williams looked at them, trying to keep his disappointment from showing. He looked very tired and drawn. “Where is Mt Edith?” he asked.

  Graham turned and pointed to a prominent jungle-covered peak that stood up a kilometre to the North East. “There.”

  “You are sure?” Mr Williams asked.

  “Yes sir. I’ve been here a couple of times. There is a foot track leading off from this road just back around that bend. There are World War Two trenches on top.”

  Marjorie looked surprised. “World War Two? I didn’t know they fought any of World War Two here.”

  Graham shook his head. “They didn’t. The troops did jungle training here before they went to fight the Japanese in New Guinea. So I am sure where we were last night.”

  They discussed
the situation for a few minutes before Graham said: “Let’s drive down the road to where we saw the airship last night. Then we can take another compass bearing from there. It should be just back down there a bit.”

  “How will we know it is the right place?” Mr Williams asked. “It was very dark and there were no landmarks visible.”

  “It is still worth a try,” Marjorie insisted.

  As they had no better plan they agreed to do this, rather than stand around doing nothing. So those who had travelled in the Range Rover the previous night climbed in and they drove back down the range. As Graham had predicted they passed the junction of the foot track to Mt Edith after only a few bends. After that they went very slowly, searching for a place where their wheel tracks showed they had reversed. But in this they were unsuccessful. Several other vehicles had driven down the road since then, obliterating and confusing their tracks.

  “Turn around and drive up very slowly and try to find the place anyway,” Graham urged.

  They tried this and at a point where Graham could see out over a small valley towards the crest of the main range he called on them to stop. “I’m sure this is the place. The airship was just over there. That matches what we worked out on the map as well,” he said.

  They all got out and looked at the trees and studied the map. Graham took a compass bearing and plotted where he thought they were. He was certain he was right, but the others weren’t as sure. They got back into the vehicle and drove slowly back up to the crest.

  “What do we do now?” Peter asked as they reached the parked vehicles where Sergeant Carmody was.

  “Get out and join the search I suppose,” Mr Williams said.

  But Graham wasn’t ready to give up yet. His pride had been hurt and he wanted to vindicate himself. “I know! Remember we saw a vehicle parked beside the road, a brown Land Cruiser? If we can find where that was we will know we are in the right place. It was quite close to where the airship was.”