It was a long, depressing evening. When it was bed time Willy lay under his mosquito net but was quite unable to sleep. For hours he lay awake, brooding and feeling bitter. He found it a relief to be out on guard duty (‘Watch’ as Andrew and Carmen called it.). From 0100 to 0300 he stood out on the beach with a big torch, turning it on occasionally to check that no red eyes were gleaming from the water. For the first hour he shared with Andrew and for the second with Norman.
But nothing happened. The sea was calm, with only a faint breeze blowing offshore so that there was no surf, just a gentle lapping. The lights of the Wewak shone brightly, reflected on the water. The moon was almost full so there was plenty of light. When Andrew walked off along the beach to do a pee Willy could still see him clearly at a hundred metres. Apart from the occasional squark of some night bird and a few splashes from the ocean there was no sign of life.
When Willy lay down after being relieved by Stick he again fidgeted and sweated. But this time he dropped into a restless sleep.
It was so hot and humid that Willy slept only fitfully and woke feeling drained out and grimy. Even in the grey before the sun came up he found he was perspiring. He hoped there might be a breeze when the sun rose but there wasn’t. The camp came slowly to life. Marjorie sat up and Willy thought she looked a real wreck. Her face was puffy and her hair had its usual morning ‘rat’s nest’ appearance. Seeing him she said, “I am not enjoying this. I want to go home.”
That was how Willy felt. ‘All that effort for nothing!’ he thought bitterly.
Breakfast was eaten almost in silence. Mr Beck looked pale and ill and shook his head. “I’m getting too old for this sort of caper,” he grumbled.
“Do we go home?” Willy asked.
“Nothing else to do,” his father replied. “No point in hanging around another three days.”
“Can we go on the Wewak?” Stick asked. “I thought it was contracted to do some other job for a couple of days.”
“We can ask,” Willy’s father answered.
Andrew pointed. “There’s a boat coming ashore now,” he said.
Willy looked and saw a small dinghy leave the side of the LCT. “It’s not heading for us,” he observed.
“No. It’s making for Mr Jemmerling’s landing place,” Carmen said.
Norman raised binoculars and studied the small boat. It had three people in it. “Capt Kirk is in that boat.”
Willy’s father stood up. “Let’s go and talk to him then,” he said.
Willy stood up with the others, even though he did not feel like seeing Mr Jemmerling again. Just the thought of the previous day made him feel bitter and angry.
Marjorie sensed his mood and slipped her arm through his. “Cheer up Willy. It will be alright,” she said.
But Willy wasn’t in the mood. Knowing that he was being difficult made him feel even more sulky. He wished Marjorie would let go but she kept on walking with him. As they walked along the beach his mood got rapidly worse. The catalyst was the appearance on the beach of the big truck carrying the ‘Kittyhawk’ wreck. It came out of the dunes and stopped half way down the beach. A white 4WD followed it. Several men got out and stood on the water’s edge waiting for the small boat.
As he got closer to the vehicles Willy saw that Mr Jemmerling was one of the men. Another was Mr Jenkins. By the time Willy and the others arrived the men had finished talking and stood watching the new arrivals. Mr Beck and Norman came from behind on one of the ‘Four Wheelers’. They arrived almost at the same time.
Capt Kirk called to Mr Beck as he dismounted. “Hello Mr Beck. How are things going?”
“No good Captain. Mr Jemmerling here has beaten us to the aeroplane. We have come to ask if you can take us back to Cooktown or Cairns today.”
Capt Kirk nodded. “Yes, he was just telling me that and organizing to load the plane on the Wewak.”
“Our aeroplane!” Willy cried, his anger rising along with his suspicions.
“Willy!” his father called warningly.
“It is ours! He’s tricked us out of it,” Willy cried. He turned to Capt Kirk and said, “You shouldn’t take it sir.”
“Why not?” Capt Kirk demanded. “I have been contracted to carry cargo for Mr Jenkins today and his money is as good as yours.”
Willy was stunned. Several comments he had heard now fitted into place. “He has contracted you? Or was it Mr Jemmerling?” he demanded.
Capt Kirk looked annoyed and replied, “I am not at liberty to disclose information that is ‘Commercial-in-Confidence’. As long as the cargo is legal then I will carry it. I have a business to run.”
Mr Jemmerling held out his folder. “We have a permit to remove the wreck Captain.”
Willy felt really betrayed and let down. He cried, “Maybe, but I’ll bet you don’t have a permit to bulldoze all that bush in the National Park there!”
Mr Jemmerling gave Willy a hostile look but did not reply. Willy turned to Capt Kirk and cried, “Oh sir! You are helping our enemies! You are letting us down.”
This time Capt Kirk frowned. “Don’t you talk to me like that boy! I am just running a shipping business. As it is I am going out of my way to help, giving your group special rates. If you speak to me like that I will charge the full charter cost, even if you go back early.”
Once again Willy’s father called on him to be quiet. But Willy was really upset. “But it’s not fair!” he shouted.
Capt Kirk scowled and snapped back, “Listen lad, it costs thousands of dollars a day to run a vessel like the Wewak. I have a family to feed and a business to look after so I can’t do this as a charity. If you keep on like this you will not be welcome on my ship. Then you can find some other way to get back to Cairns. And you can find another ship for your next trip.”
Willy’s mother now pushed forward. “Willy! That is enough talk like that! Capt Kirk is right. He is only doing his job and he has employees to pay. So stop this silly talk.” She turned to Capt Kirk and said, “I’m sorry Mr Kirk. It is just that Willy has been looking forward to finding the wreck and is now very disappointed.”
Willy was, but he was also appalled at what he had said. The thought that he might be responsible for his parents and the Becks paying many thousands of dollars to hire the Wewak for several more days- and that the LCT might not be available for the trip after Christmas- quickly calmed him. He swallowed and bit back tears, then said to Capt Kirk, “Sorry sir. I’m just a bit upset.”
“Humpf! Well, yes. Thank you. Now, let’s get things moving. Mr Beck, you said you would like to have your party transported back today?”
“That’s right,” Mr Beck said.
“You will have to travel with Mr Jemmerling’s driver,” Capt Kirk said.
“That’s alright,” Mr Beck replied. He gave Mr Jemmerling a hard look and then turned to check that the others had no problem with that.
Willy wanted to say that he would rather be marooned than travel in the same ship as Mr Jemmerling but he managed to hold his tongue. Instead he turned and walked away, deeply embarrassed and upset. One of the reasons for leaving quickly was that tears had sprung into his eyes and he did not want anyone to see them. Marjorie hurried after him and he quickly wiped his face and tried to pretend he was alright.
The group returned to their camp and packed up. Capt Kirk went back to the Wewak and conned the LCT in to the beach on the incoming tide. By 10:00 the barge was ashore and the truck was driven aboard. By then the camping gear had been loaded on the 4 Wheelers and they were driven along the beach and up the ramp onto the LCT. The others walked along, carrying their bags.
By the time they arrived at the landing craft they were all sweating and Willy was getting a headache from the fierce glare off the sea and sand. He saw Mr Jemmerling talking on a radio in the white 4WD and looked away, still feeling deeply angry at the man. He made his way up onto the tank deck and walked aft past the truck. In the tank deck it was like an oven and he found it a relief to climb u
p to the main deck level.
As Willy dropped his bag under the canvas awning just forward of the superstructure his ears detected the unmistakeable hum of aero engines. He moved to the rail and looked out. Into view from the south came a dark, twin-engine aircraft. Willy recognized the distinctive silhouette of a ‘Catalina’. ‘The Pterodactyl. Maybe Jemmerling isn’t travelling with us?’ he thought.
He wasn’t. The ‘Catalina’ landed, sent a boat crewed by Mr Hobbs ashore and picked Mr Jemmerling up, took him out to the flying boat which then took off. Mr Jenkins drove off in the white 4WD and only one of Mr Jemmerling’s men, the truck driver, a solid looking middle-aged man name Al, boarded the Wewak.
As soon as the truck was secured by chains and turnbuckles the Wewak reversed off the beach. This time Willy noted that the LCT had dropped a stern anchor on the way in and a winch attached to its cable helped haul the barge off the sand. But Willy wasn’t really interested. He just stood at the port rail and sulked.
Once well clear of the shallows Wewak started moving slow ahead and turned to port. Once she was facing east and parallel to the beach the engines were moved to cruising speed and the homeward journey begun. Willy stood staring out to sea but hardly noted the distant islands and clouds. Only when he was called inside for lunch did he move.
The voyage back was not a happy cruise. Willy brooded and mostly stood at the starboard rail and watched the coastline slide by. He was annoyed that both of his parents quite happily spoke to Mr Jemmerling’s man. Willy knew that he was being churlish about the situation and that fuelled his anger. The man was only doing his job and had not even been aware of any rivalry so was blameless. But Willy still thought of him as being a member of the enemy camp and ignored him.
In the evening, as the Wewak came south past Cape Flattery, Willy sat outside with Marjorie. She snuggled up and tried to comfort him but he wasn’t in the mood. Not only did he intensely dislike the feel of sticky skin on sticky skin but he did not want the ‘We-know-what-ya-doing!’ looks from the others. His rejection put her in a bad mood and she also began to sulk.
“It’s not the end of the world!” she cried, clearly miffed. Then she went off inside, leaving him to his dejection.
What didn’t help was being able to look at the truck and its tarpaulin covered cargo. It was almost as though it was being flaunted as a trophy to irritate, although he knew this wasn’t so. What was also worrying Willy was the thought that Mr Jemmerling might also beat them to the second wreck, the ‘Beaufighter’. He was deeply bothered by the fact that Capt Kirk had said in Mr Jemmerling’s hearing that the group planned a second trip. Now he was sure that Mr Jemmerling knew that there was another wreck.
CHAPTER 27
ANXIOUS HOLIDAY
For Willy the journey back to Cairns was a time of anxiety and dejection. During the night he slept badly, experiencing dreams of pushing endlessly through scrub and swamps only to always arrive too late. By daylight the Wewak was abeam of Cape Tribulation, having by-passed Cooktown. For the next eight hours Willy grouched and brooded until both his mother and his father separately told him to snap out of it.
“But Mr Jemmerling might beat us to the ‘Beaufighter’ too!” Willy snapped back.
“So what?” his father replied. “Just think of it as a race and enjoy the competition.”
Willy knew that was sound advice but he found it hard to do. At the back of his mind was the constant niggling worry that it would not be a fair competition; that Mr Jemmerling was spying on them. ‘He may even have a paid spy in our ranks,’ he thought unhappily, Stick’s face flitting across his mind.
At 2:15 pm the Wewak turned into the main shipping channel at Cairns. Willy stood with his friends at the starboard rail and watched the city grow larger as they got closer. The weather had been building up and the bow of the barge was thumping into waves continually, making her shudder, as well as roll and twist. That got Marjorie feeling woozy and Stick looked unhappy. For Willy it merely meant hanging on. Now he just wanted to get home.
Andrew came past and smiled. “Won’t be long now,” he said cheerfully.
“Can’t be too soon for me,” Willy said.
Andrew shrugged. “I think it’s great. I’m really looking forward to next week.”
“What happens then?”
“We are taking cargo to Thursday Island,” Andrew replied. Then he grinned and added, “The mate tells me it will mostly be a load of beer. He says the nickname for T. I. is ‘Thirsty Island’.”
Willy knew that both Carmen and Andrew were staying on as crew members of the Wewak. He asked, “Will you be home for Christmas?”
Andrew nodded. “Just. We are due back on the twenty third. That will give us time to do some Christmas shopping,” he said.
“Oh! Christmas shopping!” Willy groaned.
Marjorie squeezed his arm and snuggled against him. “Ooh! I like shopping. What are you giving me for Christmas Willy?” she asked.
Willy felt trapped. He had not yet decided. “What would you like?” he asked.
“You know what I like,” she said with an impish grin.
“Apart from that!” Willy cried. Then he blushed when the others all laughed and teased them. “You know what I mean!” he said in exasperation.
“We know alright!” Stick teased, causing Willy to blush some more.
Andrew shook his head and moved on aft. The conversation moved to what else they could do during the holidays seeing they were finishing the expedition five days early. Carmen came past and heard this. She grinned and said, “You could always go looking for that crashed plane in the jungle up behind Castor.”
This suggestion drew cries of mock horror. More sensible suggestions followed: swimming, picnics, parties, shopping. The conversation continued in a desultory way until the Wewak had passed the main wharves, navy base and bulk sugar terminal. Off the mouth of Smiths Creek the Wewak was met by a tug and manoeuvred so that its bow ramp was placed on a concrete ramp. The tug was necessary as the tidal flow would have otherwise kept swinging the LCT’s stern around.
While this was going on the lashings securing the truck carrying the ‘Kittyhawk’ were cast off. As the driver climbed into his cab Willy’s father said, “He is driving it all the way to Mr Jemmerling’s museum in New South Wales.”
When the bow ramp was lowered the first person Willy saw standing on the shore was Mr Jemmerling. He had several photographers with him and that peeved Willy even more. ‘He is big-noting himself with the press,’ he thought sourly.
The 4 Wheelers and the truck were driven off and then the bow ramp winched back up. The tug, which had been pushing sideways against the stern, tooted and backed away, then the LCT reversed back out into Trinity Inlet. A few minutes later it was heading up Smiths Creek to Portsmith, proceeding slowly against the outgoing tide. As they came opposite the wharf at Portsmith Willy saw Graham, his sister and mother standing there. Graham waved and he gave a half-hearted wave back. The Wewak did some manoeuvring with one screw pushing forward and the other aft until the vessel had done a 180 degree turn and was facing back down the creek. She was then edged in against the wharf and tied up.
As soon as the gangway was in place farewells were said. Willy now felt so ashamed of how he had spoken to Capt Kirk that he avoided him but he did thank the other members of the crew. As he made his way down onto the wharf he hoped his omission had not been noticed but inside he did not feel good. ‘I should have been brave enough to do the good-mannered thing,’ he told himself. Despising himself for being a weakling he made his way back aboard and sought out Capt Kirk.
“Thank you sir, and sorry for my rudeness,” he said.
Capt Kirk gave him a hard look, then nodded and accepted the outstretched hand. “Don’t be so quick to rush to judgement young man,” he said. Then he smiled and said, “See you next voyage.”
Feeling much better Willy made his way ashore. “Hello Graham, how are you? How did your promotion course go?” he a
sked.
“OK,” Graham replied.
Kylie snorted. “OK indeed! He topped the warrant officers course Willy.”
“Hi Kylie. Well done Graham. How did your mates do?” Willy asked.
“Pete topped the sergeants course; Steve came ninth, and Roger came seventeenth out of two hundred on the corporals course,” Graham replied.
Willy really wanted to ask how Barbara had done but Marjorie had now joined him so he did not dare. Instead he said, “We didn’t get the plane. Mr Jemmerling beat us to it.”
“I know,” Graham answered. “Dad told us.”
The reference to Capt Kirk made Willy feel embarrassed. To keep the conversation going he said, “What are you planning to do for the holidays?”
Graham made a face and so did Kylie. Graham gestured to the Wewak and said, “Acting as voluntary unpaid crew on the Bounty with Captain Bligh,” he grumbled.
Mrs Kirk heard this and said, “Graham, don’t speak about your father like that. You know it is necessary.”
Graham made a wry face. Willy said, “Unpaid?”
Graham nodded. “That’s right. The whole family is going to sea. Mum takes over from the cook and us kids become deckhands. Alex is already at sea on the Malita.”
Willy was surprised. “Is that necessary?” he asked.
Graham’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “Yes. It is the only way dad can afford to allow the crew to take annual leave. It’s getting worse every year. As the roads in Cape York Peninsula get better there is less trade for the coastal shipping. So the family have to help out.”
“But Andrew and Carmen get paid?” Willy asked.
Graham nodded. “Yes, but as apprentices on junior wages.”
“Rather you than me,” Willy said. He was about to add more but was interrupted by a teary eyed Marjorie. “Marj. What’s wrong?” he asked.
M.. Mum. .and (sniff) dad, have (sob) have decided we can go to Brisbane to Aunty Ethel’s (sob) straight away. They said we can (sniffle) l…l..leave the d..d…day after to.. tomorrow. Oh, boo hoo!” she cried.
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