Peter nodded and resumed walking, followed by Joy, Gwen, Megan, the two knights and Mr Jones, with Graham and Stephen bringing up the rear. Their pace at once slowed down as they had to thread their way between and around trees. The trail deteriorated to just a faint foot pad.
Only the local kids or a pig hunter would ever come here, Peter decided.
He walked on, his eyes questing ahead in the shadows both to find the easiest way, and for any sign of trouble.
After a few minutes the trail led down into long grass right beside the water. They were able to see a long way along the river in both directions. Almost directly opposite a large creek joined the main river, flowing between jungle clad banks and over white sand banks.
Pointing to it Peter said: “Little Mulgrave River.”
“It looks lovely. I wish we could stop and have a swim,” Joy commented.
“So do I,” Megan agreed. “How much further do we have to go?”
Peter wasn’t sure. He studied his map as he walked along but all it told him was that it was about two kilometres to a farm. The place they wanted to get to was on the other bank and he began studying the river to see if it was possible to cross.
That section of the river was quite deep. Peter noted that the other bank was now low and covered with tall guinea grass. His map told him it was the bottom end of an old gravel quarry. The trail now petered out and they had to walk right on the edge of the water. In several places they had to even climb around trees or wade in shallow and muddy spots. This did not bother the cadets who wore army boots but was obviously not enjoyed by the two knights in their civilian leather shoes. Sir Richard in particular did a lot of muttering.
For a few hundred metres they walked along a rough track through waist high long grass beside the water. Then the track seemed to disappear altogether and they had to walk along the forested slope, taking what looked like the easiest route between the trees and vines. Selecting the best path put stress on Peter but he kept on going with barely a pause. However their rate of movement slowed down considerably as they had to weave around trees, logs and exposed roots. Much time and effort was spent in climbing up and down steep little parts of the slope.
Peter checked his watch and was surprised to see that it was 3pm.
This is no good, he thought. We are supposed to be meeting Capt Conkey at Little Mulgrave in the next hour or so. He slowed down even more, partly to allow the others to keep up, and also to study the river for a possible ford.
The other bank was again covered in trees and the river in between started to noticeably shallow and increase in speed. Rapids showed further upstream.
We might get across there, he decided.
Just above the rapids was where they had crossed during the cadet exercise.
Megan called from well back: “Peter, slow down. We can’t keep up.”
Peter stopped on a steep slope and waited. Sweat chilled as he waited and he noted that the sun had gone off them. The trees on both banks now shaded them almost completely. The others came puffing along to join them. Only when Peter saw Graham and Stephen did he resume his slow progress.
At once Megan groaned: “Oh how much further? I’m sick of this.”
“I’m looking for somewhere to cross,” Peter explained. He indicated the rapids they were now passing.
“That looks a bit fast,” Joy observed.
Peter nodded. “It is. There might be somewhere better a bit further up.”
Gwen stopped and pointed. “There are people over there,” she said.
Peter stopped and stared. The other bank was now only about fifty metres away. Directly opposite them, across the rapids, two men sat on the river bank. A white four wheel drive was parked under the trees behind them. For a moment Peter was alarmed. He was also angry with himself for not seeing the men sooner. He stared hard at them and bit his lip with anxiety. Were they just ordinary people having a picnic?
By then the others had caught up. Peter wanted to warn them not to make any noise but he was too late. He saw that the two men on the other bank had seen them. Both stood up and stared back. Peter was relieved to note that both held ‘stubbies’ of beer in their hands.
Sir Miles wiped sweat from his face. “What’s the matter?” he asked. He had to raise his voice to make himself heard over the noise of the rapids.
Peter pointed. They all looked, then Mr Jones said: “Good heavens! I think one of those men is the person we are supposed to contact.”
“Are you sure?” Sir Richard asked. He moved to look at the two men.
The two men resumed their seats and one of them, a bearded man in his forties pointed upstream and called: “It gets shallower up there if you are looking for a crossing.”
Peter waved. “Thanks!” he called back. He started to walk along the river bank again. Progress was even more difficult now as the bank became higher and steeper as they went and the undergrowth seemed to become thicker with more vines to snag their boots and webbing.
A hundred paces further upstream Peter saw that what the men had said was true. They were opposite a section of the rapids which had several bent over trees sticking out of the water, which here flowed in a rapid tumble. Twenty metres upstream of this, at the top end of the rapids, the water appeared much shallower and the current looked much slower.
Peter waited till all the others had closed up. “We could cross here,” he suggested.
“Do we need to?” Gwen asked.
Peter shook his head. “Not really. We can keep on along the river bank for another kilometre or so and we will come to a farm where there is a bridge.”
“Then we should do that,” Megan said.
Peter again shook his head. “If we do it at this rate it will probably take us another hour,” he replied. “It is half past three now and that means it could be nearly dark by the time we walk back to Little Mulgrave.”
Graham moved to the edge of the water. “This river bank is getting steeper all the time,” he said. “I think we should cross. This is where we crossed during that Senior Exercise.”
Peter shook his head. “But the Navy Cadets ferried us across on their rafts that time,” he replied.
Graham shrugged. “So we wade. It doesn’t look all that deep.”
“We will get wet,” Megan answered.
Stephen snorted. “Huh! You wanted a swim didn’t you?” he rejoined.
Megan muttered but Peter sided with Graham. Sir Miles now joined the discussion: “I would like to cross. If that is the man we have to contact I don’t want to lose touch with him now.”
Gwen frowned. “Can’t you just call out and get him to tell you what you want?” she asked.
Sir Miles shook his head: “We have to check he is the right person; and he will want to be sure of who we are. He probably won’t say a word within your hearing. In fact he will be very worried about you. I don’t think he has realized that we are with you.”
Peter found this very intriguing. His curiosity finally overcame his reticence, prompting him to ask what the two knights were looking for. “Why are you here sir? What are you doing in North Queensland?”
Sir Richard answered in a very frosty tone: “We cannot tell you. It is a secret.”
That made Peter even more curious. However another thought crossed his mind and he voiced it: “What if those men do know you are with us and what if they are Devil Worshippers? This could be another trap. They have had plenty of time to drive around to there to get ahead of us.”
“Oh I doubt it,” Sir Miles replied.
“Why?” Gwen demanded. “You walked into a trap on your first day back at Gordonvale; and somebody obviously knew your movements well enough today to set another trap back at the Mulgrave National Park.”
Sir Miles looked very serious. “I suppose you have a point. I have been thinking about that and have come to the conclusion that there is a traitor in our organization who is passing information to the Devil Worshippers.”
Joy
let out a gasp. Gwen looked very worried. Peter felt cold dread clutch at his insides. He looked hard at the river and said: “So, if this is another trap we could be gunned down while we are wading the river.”
That caused more gasps of consternation from the girls. Graham nodded and said: “Could be. So we do this as a tactical river crossing, the way Capt Conkey has taught us.”
“How is that?” Sir Miles asked.
“We deploy under cover and send two scouts across first to check the far bank for ambush,” Graham replied.
Peter made a face: “Good in theory, but whoever goes across will only have a pistol and they won’t get much covering fire from two pistols on this bank.” He was thinking hard about that rifle with the telescopic sights.
“Then we keep on going,” Gwen said.
Graham shook his head. “They know where we are now. If we go on we still have to cross the river over a bridge. It won’t get any safer and they will have time to set a proper ambush. I think we should cross here.”
Megan let out a little cry, then said angrily: “Stop all this silly talk about ambushes and guns. You are frightening me.”
“It isn’t silly,” Stephen replied. “You didn’t see the dead bodies. We did. I believe there is real danger.”
Joy put her hand to her mouth. “Oh this is awful!” she cried. “I am getting a horrible feeling of being hunted.”
Peter had to agree with her, although it wasn’t quite what he was thinking. He said: “So let’s get it over with. I will go across and check while you others wait here under cover ready to give me covering fire.”
Joy cried out again: “Oh Peter! Don’t take the risk. Can’t we do something else?”
“Yes, but I think this is something we have to do. Anyway I am going across.” With that he began undoing his webbing.
“I’ll come with you,” Graham added, starting to remove his own pack and webbing.
“We should go,” Sir Miles said. “It is our quest and we are both armed.”
Graham shook his head. “No. You cover us,” he replied firmly. “We can always swim for it, then take to the scrub.”
“At least take a gun,” Gwen said.
“OK. Steve, give me that revolver,” Graham said.
Stephen did as he was told with a shake of the head to indicate he thought the idea crazy. In spite of his fear Peter had to smile.
Good old Graham! He is enjoying this. Like a pig in mud!
“OK, get under cover,” Graham instructed. “If shooting starts, cover us, then make your way uphill and along to the next farm to phone the cops.”
“Aren’t you going to take off your boots?” Megan asked as Graham stepped down to the waters edge.
Graham shook his head. “No fear! And nor will you. Wet boots don’t matter, but you can easily break a toe if you walk on rocks in water in bare feet.”
Peter had made no move to remove his own boots, knowing this from hard experience. He added: “You have no chance of running either over the rapids or through the scrub in bare feet.”
Megan accepted this and moved behind a tree. Graham made his way down to the bank carrying his staff in one hand and the pistol in the other. As he reached the waters edge he shoved the pistol into his shirt pocket. Then he stepped down into knee deep water.
Peter followed. As he stepped into the water he was surprised at how cold it felt. He placed his staff firmly on the bottom upstream of himself and started crossing. The water quickly became deeper and the current stronger. Within ten paces it was thigh deep and he began to wonder if they had miscalculated. There was a very real possibility of them being swept off their feet and being washed down the rapids.
That thought did not particularly worry Peter as he was familiar with such environments and was a good swimmer. What was causing him to anxiously scan the trees and undergrowth along the far bank was the thought that if someone wanted to shoot them from under cover they were sitting ducks.
After a deep breath he took another step and shifted his staff further out. Then he took another step.
Chapter 12
LITTLE MULGRAVE
For another two tense minutes Peter waded slowly across the river. Graham moved faster and soon reached the other bank. He at once scrambled up and moved in among the trees. Peter heaved a sigh of relief.
If anyone was going to shoot they have left it too late, he decided.
A minute later he also crouched behind a tree on the far bank. Graham lay behind a bush and was carefully scrutinizing the surrounding forest. The bank was low, only a couple of metres above the water level, and was obviously covered by any floods. Along this flat ran a vehicle track which wound its way among the trees. Ten metres beyond was a higher bank covered with forest and undergrowth.
Graham quickly scouted downstream towards where the vehicle belonging to the two men could just be seen. Smoke drifted into view from a campfire. Peter went the other way, his heart beating fast and his mouth dry with fear.
There was no sign of any lurking ambush so he returned to the crossing point. Graham came back and gave a thumbs-up. “You get the others across. I will cover you from further along the bank here,” he said.
Peter nodded and went back down the bank and waded out into the shallows. He waved his arms and gave a thumbs-up ‘All clear’. Within seconds Stephen and Gwen appeared. They moved down from behind cover and began wading across. Peter started re-crossing to collect his gear.
Now that the fear was subsiding he paused to enjoy the water. He splashed it over his face and arms and felt instantly refreshed. He also felt slightly foolish.
Maybe we are just imagining all of this and scaring ourselves, he thought.
Stephen met him in mid-stream. “Where you going Pete?” he asked.
“To get our gear.”
“No need. The knights are bringing it,” Stephen replied, indicating where the remainder of the party were making their way down out of the trees.
Peter remained where he was and washed his face more thoroughly. He guessed that, if he found the crossing difficult without his gear, then Joy would have a problem. In this he was right. Stephen, being experienced, made it easily, as did Gwen, but Joy and Megan both found themselves in difficulties.
Peter was able to grab Joy as she lost her balance. On her the water was waist deep and she was having trouble keeping her feet. He showed her how to swing her staff forward so that the current pushed the tip down among the rocks upstream of her. That helped as she was then able to lean on it. Peter helped by grabbing her pack and taking it off her.
Gwen had sensibly insisted that all cross with their packs and webbing undone and slung loosely over their shoulders so he was able to lift the pack off, just as it began to slip into the water. Joy smiled her thanks and let him support her arm. Peter could tell that she was scared, and he admired her attempts to hide this.
Two minutes later they were across. Peter at once went back to help Megan, who was also floundering and stumbling. Sir Miles held her till he arrived. Peter took her pack and webbing and returned once more to the far bank. By now he was soaked from the waist down but the water felt good and he was much more relaxed.
When all were across the gear was sorted out. Graham moved back to join them. “What do we do now?” he asked.
Sir Miles pointed downstream. “We are going to talk to those two men,” he replied.
“What do you want us to do?” Peter asked.
“I think it would be best if you stayed here. If there is any trouble or a trap you then have a chance of escaping,” Sir Miles replied.
Graham looked at his watch. “We are supposed to go to Little Mulgrave to meet Capt Conkey,” he added.
Sir Miles began unbuttoning his shirt. “We will change back into our own clothes now thanks.”
The knight’s clothes were extracted from packs and handed to them and they moved away behind trees to change. A few minutes later they returned and the uniforms were handed back and packed. Sir
Miles held out his hand.
“That is twice you have saved out lives. Thank you again.”
Gwen took his hand and shook it, followed by the others. Mr Jones added his heartfelt thanks and Sir Richard nodded and also put out his hand, although it seemed to Peter that he did so with ill-grace.
Sir Miles then said: “We will say goodbye now. We have to talk to these men and it is private business.”
“That’s alright. We understand,” Gwen replied. Sir Miles turned and led the other two to one side.
“What do we do?” Megan asked.
Stephen pointed to the vehicle track that led up over the high bank a hundred metres away. “Go to Little Mulgrave I suppose,” he replied.
Peter also checked his watch. It was now 4:30pm. “We can wait a few minutes,” he said.
“Why don’t we go now?” Megan queried.
Peter shrugged. “I’m just curious to know what is going on.”
“They won’t tell you,” Stephen said, indicating the two knights, who were deep in conversation with Mr Jones. The three men started walking towards where the two men waited.
“So let’s go,” Megan grumbled.
Gwen shook her head. “I’d like to know what is so important that all this secrecy is required,” she put in. “I want to stay and watch. A few more minutes won’t matter.”
Megan looked stubborn. Joy supported her. “What if Capt Conkey is already there? He will get worried won’t he?”
That made Peter feel uncomfortable. “Perhaps a couple of us could go on to Little Mulgrave?”
Graham shook his head. “No. Not a good idea. But I’m sure a few minutes won’t matter. Let’s walk closer and find the track out of this place at least. Then we can say goodbye and get going.”
The others accepted this. They hoisted on their packs and followed the two knights and Mr Jones along the vehicle track.
The two men had a white 4WD which was parked ready to drive up a steep, narrow dirt track which led up over the bank through the trees. The men were seated on folding chairs beside a smoky fire where they were barbequing meat. They looked quite non-descript working class types. Both wore old shorts and the tubbiest wore a stained singlet. Both had ‘stubbies’ of beer in their hands.
The Word of God Page 14
