The Cadet Corporal

by Christopher Cummings

  At the fire Graham was relieved to see Carnes sitting staring into the flames. Lt Standish was there as well, plus five other cadets including Beverly Berry from Stephen’s section. Mrs Standish looked surprised when Graham walked into the firelight. “Are you sick Graham?” she asked.

  “No Miss. I was just bringing Cadet Carnes’ gear over,” he replied.

  “His gear?” Mrs Standish queried, giving Carnes a quizzical glance.

  “Can I explain in private please Ma’am?” Graham asked.

  Mrs Standish stood up and walked away from the fire into the darkness. Once they were out of earshot of the cadets she asked Graham what the problem was. Graham told her the story and handed her the kitbag. “I don’t think he will run off now Ma’am, but he is a miserable poor bugger. Something must be done to help him.”

  Mrs Standish was very thoughtful then nodded. “Yes, you are right. Thank you for that.”

  “Can I catch up with the company now please Ma’am?” Graham asked. He had noted one of the vehicles stop out at the junction with the Canning Road where it turned its lights off. What made him anxious was the unit rule that nobody should be walking around the bush on their own, particularly at night.

  “Do you know where to go?”

  Graham nodded. “Out on the Canning Road Ma’am.”

  “What if you get lost? Or hurt yourself?” she asked.

  “Oh Miss! I can see one safety vehicle from here and I will just walk along the road to the other one. And I’ve got my radio,” Graham replied. His pride in bushcraft and navigation were both slighted by the comment and he could not keep the annoyance out of his tone.

  “Oh, alright. But you stay on the road,” she replied.

  “Thank you Miss,” Graham said. He turned and started walking as fast as he could.

  It took him five minutes to reach the vehicle at the Canning Road. Lt Maclaren was there and shone a powerful torch on him, then directed him left along the road on Bare Ridge. Another five minutes of fast walking had Graham at the company. They were easy to find. He could hear them talking and Lt Hamilton’s Land Rover was again parked near the big tree.

  Instead of reporting to CSM Cleland Graham sought out Sgt Grenfell and told him he was there. By the time he had found his section CSM Cleland had called for silence and Capt Conkey had started briefing them. Graham found Roger at the head of 4 Section and quietly squeezed in next to him.

  Capt Conkey explained that they were now going to practise what they had been taught during the day. “This is a fieldcraft exercise,” he said. “It is individual training and you may do it on your own, or in groups. It is to get you ready for a major inter-unit exercise in four days time.”

  That sounded very interesting to Graham and he wanted to know more but Capt Conkey went on to explain that the lantern (dimly visible through the trees) was both the objective and a navigation aid. The lantern was located on the gentle ridge running down from 2 Platoon’s camp to the highway. To reach it they had to cross the shallow valley and the two small dry creeks.

  “The guards are there to make you do the right thing,” Capt Conkey explained. “If you are trying to use proper fieldcraft and they see you they have been told to let you go past. If not they will send you back. There are no guards within fifty metres of the lantern. Good creeping and crawling is what is needed for this exercise. I will now show you where the guards are.”

  Capt Conkey turned and called on his radio. Immediately about twenty torches came on across the valley. They flashed back and forth. There seemed to be an awful lot but Graham noted they were in three quiet distinct lines, the first near the bottom of the valley, the next beyond the second creek and the last back near the lantern.

  Capt Conkey then explained the safety rules and the fact that there was to be no running in the dark and no physical contact or throwing things. He also pointed out the boundaries: the Flinders Highway, Canning Road, Sandy Ridge vehicle track and the 2 Platoon ridge. He then sent CSM Cleland off to join the ‘defenders’.

  During the short wait Graham had another drink. As he was putting his waterbottle away Roger nudged him. “What happened?” he asked. “Where did you get to?”

  “I went looking for Halyday and Andrews and found Carnes hiding in a gully,” Graham whispered back. “I’ll tell you the details later.”

  Capt Conkey then gave the order to start. There was an immediate rush of running figures which drew an angry bellow from Capt Conkey. “This isn’t a bloody race! There’s no need to have a stampede! Slow down and creep. You have an hour and a half.”

  The running stopped but not the talking. As the cadets moved away there was continual discussion on which was the best way to go and whether to move in groups or not. Graham would have preferred to do the exercise on his own but he found Roger beside him and three others trailing along behind. Lucy and Dianne vanished with Pat. Kirsty moved up to walk on Graham’s other side. That both pleased and peeved him.

  The other two were Halyday and Andrews. Graham stopped and hissed at them, “Where did you two get to after tea?”

  “Just over to Four Platoon,” Halyday answered, but to Graham he sounded defensive.

  “You weren’t smoking I hope,” he said.

  “No. We were just telling jokes and listening to the Hutchie Men,” Andrews replied.

  “What were they doing?” Graham asked.

  “They had just come back from their patrol to watch the other units arrive,” Halyday replied.

  Roger asked, “Did they see them?”

  “Yeah. They are camped over the other side of the army camp in the bush. Ziggy thinks one lot went further over to some airfield,” Halyday replied. He began to embellish the tale with the exploits of the Hutchie Men. Graham cut him short as a torch was flashed in their direction from the first creek.

  “OK, tell me about it later. Let’s see if we can creep right up to the lantern without being caught.”

  Having said that Graham continued on. The others followed in a bunch till he hissed at them to spread out. Now he was sweating with anxiety. On his own he would have enjoyed the exercise but with most of the section following he felt real pressure. ‘I’d better pick the best covered route,’ he thought. Thinking about that slowed him down and he soon stopped and lay down to try to detect the weakest part of the defenders line.

  The others lay down with him. There was almost no grass or cover of any sort and Graham could see the black silhouettes of dozens of cadets crawling forward ahead of him. There were more on both sides. The defenders were now starting to shine their torches on the faster, less careful ones.

  “The sergeants are the front line of defenders,” Roger whispered.

  Graham nodded He could tell that by their voices. He watched the pattern for another two minutes then decided. “Down closer to the road I reckon,” he replied.

  Roger nodded so Graham got up and began to ghost walk forward, aiming for a gap in the groups of torches. ‘Yeldham and White,’ Graham identified, ‘and Bates and Brookes down near the highway.’

  Several times he dropped flat as torches came closer but the group was able to reach the first creek and drop into its dry bed without being detected. Graham then began a process of crawling and walking to get across the flat to the second creek. Luckily there were a couple of big trees, some bushes and a log which he could use for cover. The others followed one at a time, moving from cover to cover as the guards moved away, then hiding as they came back.

  The gap was just big enough and Graham reached the second creek without being seen, although dozens of other cadets on either side were spotted and ordered back. As soon as Roger joined him Graham headed up a small dry gully which led up into the next ridge. They were well past the first line of defenders by then and Graham began watching the torches ahead through the trees, trying to pick out who it was and what patrol pattern they were using. ‘Headquarters,’ he decided. Then he heard Lt McEwen call out to his right front. ‘And some of the officers.�
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  Someone crawled up beside him: Kirsty. Graham didn’t know whether to be annoyed or pleased. Halyday and Anderson followed. “Spread out more and don’t make so much noise,” Graham ordered.

  “Isn’t this near where we saw that big golden snake today?” Halyday asked.

  A chill of fear gripped Graham. He had quite forgotten about snakes and he was crouched in the dry gully near some tree roots which could easily harbour one of the reptiles. However he tried to reassure them. “No. That was in another gully a hundred metres over to our left,” he replied.

  With that he continued on. Much of the time he walked at a crouch until they got closer to the head of the gully. Then they used a monkey run. As they moved closer to the next line of defenders Graham saw torches moving to cross their front and told those with him to get down and wait. He lay flat in a small washout and felt Kirsty squash in against him. That got him anxious and he raised his head to see where the others had gone but could only just make out a huddle in a small side washout to his left.

  Kirsty pressed so close that her hair touched Graham’s face. It felt very nice but was also quite alarming. ‘If that is Lt McEwen coming she might get the wrong idea,’ he thought. But he didn’t know how to ask Kirsty to move away. By then it was too late. The torch beam swept over them and settled on a group of figures Graham had not seen about twenty paces ahead. It was Cpl Rankin and the two notorious unit tarts: Magda Mollwitz and Erika Goltz.

  They were ordered back and came grumbling past to vanish somewhere near the second dry creek. Lt McEwen and Sgt Gayney then turned and headed back towards the highway. Even so Graham remained under cover as two other torches were now heading across from the left. There was a scuffling of people hurrying up the gully behind Graham and the new arrivals dropped down beside them.

  It was Pigsy, Waters and Moynihan. “Who’s that?” Pigsy hissed. “Oh it’s you Kirk. Who’s that with ya? Kirsty Weldon eh? Is she well done yet?”

  Graham flushed with anger and embarrassment and felt Kirsty stiffen and press closer. He made no answer, which annoyed Pigsy. “What’s wrong sook? Did we interrupt your little cuddle session? Move aside you useless dork and let us have a go. She might appreciate real men.”

  “Don’t be crude!” Graham retorted angrily. As he did a torch beam from the left began questing about the area.

  “Move over and let us into that gully,” Waters snarled. He was too late. The torch beam swept over them. Graham and Kirsty lay flat while Pigsy and his mates got up and started running.

  “Stop that running!” shouted CSM Cleland. His torch beam transfixed the trio, who reluctantly stopped. “Go back to the creek and try again,”CSM Cleland ordered.

  Pigsy and his mates all grumbled and swore but CSM Cleland was adamant. The three bullies came walking back. As the got close Graham braced himself in case they deliberately stepped on him or kicked him. Instead they just called crude insults.

  “Sniveller Kirk! We’ll get ya, and we’ll tell the officers we seen ya pashin’ your little girlfriend too,” Waters said.

  Anger seethed in Graham at the unjust accusation and he flamed with embarrassment. He was about to speak to Kirsty when there was a thud and Moynihan cried out in pain.

  “Hoy! That hurt!”

  “What?” Pigsy replied.

  “Some bastard hit me with a rock,” Moynihan said.

  “Bloody Kirk for sure,” Pigsy said. “Let’s sort him out.”

  To Graham’s dismay the three bullies turned and came walking back. So as not to be kicked he quickly stood up and told Kirsty to get up as well. Just as the bullies arrived there were more thuds and the sound of a stone hitting a tree trunk, then a cry of pain from Waters.

  “That came from over there, to the left,” Pigsy cried.

  At that two figures sprang up and raced off down towards the creek. Pigsy shouted, “After them!” and the three bullies dashed off in pursuit, Moynihan tripping and falling in the process.

  ‘Andrews and Halyday,’ Graham thought. He wondered whether he should join the pursuit to help his two cadets but then decided the three bullies weren’t likely to catch them. At that moment a torch beam swung their way.

  “Down!” he hissed, dragging at Kirsty’s sleeve. They dropped into the shallow washout and huddled low. In the process Kirsty again pressed hard against Graham’s right side. ‘She is doing that deliberately,’ he decided. That idea got him interested and excited. Her hair was in his nostrils and it smelt a lovely ‘girl’ aroma.

  To his relief the torches turned and went away. Graham raised his head to watch and found himself looking into Kirsty’s eyes at very close range. The reflections from the torches made them glisten. ‘Gosh, she’s pretty!’ Graham thought. Without conscious will he found his head moving closer to hers. She closed her eyes, and parted her lips. ‘She wants a kiss!’ he thought, both astonished and afraid.

  Natural desire got his heart thudding and his body tingling and he moved to lean across to kiss her. But even as he moistened his lips his racing mind told him not to do it. ‘It will be nice but could lead to disaster,’ he thought. So he hesitated and glanced anxiously around, looking at the same moment for a way out of the situation that would not set her against him and to check if anyone could see.

  Kirsty opened her eyes and gave him a quizzical but friendly look. Then she whispered, “You are nice.”

  “I think you are nice too,” Graham murmured. But he resisted his urges. Again he battled with desire but by an effort of willpower he held back. By then he was quite aroused and really struggling to control himself. Then a shout nearby made him look up in alarm. By swivelling his head around he could make out running figures fifty paces to his left rear and torches flashing near them. Then he received another shock when he saw a person lying in the gully ten paces away. It was Roger. ‘Strewth! I hope he hasn’t seen us,’ Graham thought.

  But that concern melted into insignificance within seconds as two powerful torches came on twenty paces to his right front. Their beams swept towards him as he and Kirsty both ducked. Then Graham heard Lt McEwen’s voice just as he became aware that the torches were now fixed on them.

  ‘Oh no! What will she think?’ Graham thought.

  “Who is that there?” Lt McEwen called, walking towards them.

  CHAPTER 11

  FRICTION

  Graham froze in fright, very conscious of closeness to Kirsty. Apprehension at the probability of being disciplined caused his emotions to surge and he felt panic and embarrassment. In anticipation of the worst he tried to think up some reasonable explanation. But he knew it would sound hollow and he felt sick.

  Then, as Lt McEwen strode in his direction, her torch beam moved on.

  “Who is that there?” she called.

  Graham was about to answer when he was surprised to hear Roger’s voice. “Lance Corporal Dunning Ma’am.”

  “You need to keep down more,” Lt McEwen said.

  There were scuffling noises further down the gully and the distinct sound of breaking sticks. Then someone fell. Graham raised his head and, as he did, slid away from Kirsty. He saw that Lt McEwen now had her torch beam aimed at three more cadets: Pigsy, Waters and Moynihan.

  “You three go back out of sight and get down,” she ordered.

  There was muttering and grumbling from the three bullies but they did as they were told. Graham then expected Lt McEwen to moved closer to him but, to his relief, she moved on down the gully twenty paces then was distracted by more cadets further over.

  “Now’s our chance,” he whispered to Kirsty.

  “What for?” she replied mischievously.

  “To get away from here. Come on,” Graham replied. He stood up and began to walk as quietly as he could, glancing back continually to check on where Lt McEwen and her companion were. Both Kirsty and Roger followed. Graham found he was both relieved and irritated by Roger’s presence. ‘At least I can’t misbehave if he is there,’ he thought. But it was with sharp r
egret and he knew that he really wanted to kiss Kirsty.

  After fifty paces Graham stopped. His heart was still beating fast, but with excitement rather than lust. The scare had ended his arousal. Now he concentrated his efforts on the fieldcraft. Ahead were two more groups of two torches, CUO Grey and CUO Mitrovitch in the group on his right front and CUO Masters and CUO McAlistair in the other. They were the last guards before the lantern.

  It was 2035 by then. “Twenty five minutes to go,” Graham muttered. “And about a hundred metres. I think we should crawl.”

  With that he got down and began inching forward, sometimes on hands and knees but mostly on his stomach using toes and elbows. It was, hard slow work but they drew steadily closer to the lantern and the pattern of the CUO’s patrolling became clear. There were other cadets crawling forward on both sides and more behind. In the light of a torch Graham recognised Halyday and Andrews twenty metres to his left. He was amazed. Halyday had even blackened his face and was right down crawling properly.

  There were noises behind as a group of cadets came hurrying forward. A torch swung towards them. Graham lay flat behind a small log. The group kept on hurrying forward and out of the corner of his eye Graham recognised Pigsy. As he went striding past Pigsy swerved and gave Graham a good kick in the thigh. It happened so fast that Graham was unable to react and it took an effort not to call out.

  CUO Masters did though. His torch picked out the three bullies, who had gone running on ahead. “Stop running and go back you three!” he ordered.

  Pigsy and Co at first disobeyed but CUO Masters raced over to them and repeated the order. With bad grace and much muttering they did as they were told, CUO Masters and CUO McAlistair walking back down the slope with them. In doing so they passed fifteen metres to Graham’s right.