Ross River Fever

by Christopher Cummings

  After tea they changed and walked to the shopping centres at Nathan Street. It was a typical Thursday night with a slightly festive atmosphere and quite a crowd of shoppers and sightseers. Many were young people like themselves, walking around in groups and seeking excitement.

  By arrangement they sat in the centre and waited till Letitia and Martin joined them. Their parents had dropped them off.

  “We are being picked up at nine thirty,” Martin said.

  Letitia nodded. “And we have been told to be careful and to keep out of mischief,” she added with a giggle. She now wore jeans and T-shirt. The type of bra she wore made her breasts very prominent and she was the object of continual stares from males of all ages. Andrew watched this for a while and made a face. ‘She knows it and is showing off,’ he decided. Into his mind came a comment Letitia had made about ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it.’ He shook his head and wondered if he really liked her at all.

  What he could not deny was that he was unable to stop looking at her. That annoyed him as he liked to think he had strong will. Letitia sat and began to openly flirt with him, asking him how his leg was.

  At that moment Jill and Mark appeared among the crowd. Andrew waved when he caught sight of Jill. “Hello. We were starting to wonder if you were going to come,” he said.

  Jill gave him a big smile and shook her head. “We had to persuade daddy to drive us.”

  “I’m glad you did,” Andrew said. He drank in her beauty, only dimly aware of Mark’s compressed lips and Letitia’s frown.

  Mark asked: “What are we going to do?”

  “Just walk around and see the sights,” Letitia replied. She stood up and pulled Andrew to his feet. Before he could stop her she had gripped his arm to her side and began walking. She held him in such a way that his arm was pressed against the side of her left breast. He flamed with embarrassment and felt a rush of resentment at her presumption. He looked around.

  Jill looked angry but followed with Mark. Martin and Carmen stood up and followed in their wake. Letitia walked slowly, talking the whole time and pointing into shops or gossiping about people. Andrew found that a bit unsettling as sometimes she would say things about people while they were within hearing.

  For twenty minutes they strolled around the arcades. Andrew found it both interesting and embarrassing. There were loads of pretty girls to see and he was mildly stimulated by Letitia’s touch. The thought came to him that if Jill wasn’t there he would be enjoying himself. ‘I might even be able to get Letitia away on her own.’ He suspected that could be quite an experience. No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he rebuked himself. ‘That would be two-timing if I try to make a pass at Jill.’

  He was not very pleased with himself for having such dishonourable thoughts and shook his head. Then he gently eased himself free of Letitia’s grasp on the pretext of picking up a book in the newsagents.

  Carmen caught at his sleeve to attract his attention. “Andrew! There are those bullies,” she said.

  Andrew looked. It was the bullies alright; and not just the four they had already clashed with. This time there were five boys and three girls. The gang was walking slowly along, laughing and teasing each other and annoying passing people and shop owners. At that point the gang had not seen the friends and for a second Andrew considered suggesting they turn and hide. Then his pride rebelled and he bit back the idea.

  No sooner had he done this than his eyes met those of Forman across the crowded arcade. Their gaze locked as Forman recognized him. A sneer crossed the bully’s face and he called to his cronies and pointed to the friends. Andrew felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach which he recognized as fear. Awareness of it helped steady him. He looked away and pretended to ignore the bullies.

  “Oh no! They are coming this way,” Jill said, plucking at Andrew’s sleeve. Andrew turned to watch. Forman and Troy just pushed their way through the crowd, elbowing several elderly women aside. The friends halted in a shop doorway, unsure of what to do next. Forman and his cronies came to a halt in front of them, their thumbs hooked in their studded leather belts. Andrew swept his eyes over them, his heart now beating rapidly in some alarm.

  Forman spoke first: “Well, well. If it isn’t our friends who like boating on the river.”

  None of the friends replied. Forman flushed, then turned to his mates. “Not very friendly are they Shaun? I suppose they are ashamed of themselves because they are too weak to paddle fast.”

  Carmen stepped forward. “You are a thief and a bully. Why don’t you go away and leave us alone?”

  Forman flushed again. “Don’t call me names ya slut! I’ll belt ya one if ya don’t watch ya tongue.”

  Carmen stood her ground and Andrew braced himself for the fight which now seemed inevitable. He eyed Troy who was lining himself up opposite. Behind Troy stood two tarty looking teenage girls.

  Martin now stepped forward. “You took my model submarine. Give it back.”

  Forman sneered at him. “You callin’ me a thief too?”

  Andrew glanced anxiously around. The last thing he wanted was to be involved in a brawl in the shopping centre. He noted Mark edging forward beside him, fists clenched and obviously ready to fight. Jay faced him and Andrew noted him lick his lips nervously. ‘Well, at least one isn’t keen on a fight,’ he thought. He studied the one next to Shaun, noting that he was about his own age and wore a black T-shirt with a bleeding skull on it.

  Forman now transferred his attention to Jill. His eyes showed his appreciation and he gave a twisted smile. “Well, well! Aren’t you the pretty one! I’ll bet you are good in bed.”

  Mark pushed forward angrily at this. Jill sneered and retorted: “You’ll never know, you crude animal!”

  “Oh won’t I! Call me an animal would you? I’ll teach you!” Forman raised his fists and confronted both Mark and Jill. Andrew tensed himself ready.

  “No fighting,” Carmen said to them all. “If they cause any trouble we will just call the police.”

  “Ya gutless moll!” Forman sneered. He stepped belligerently towards her but Carmen stood her ground, even though he was now within arms reach. Andrew braced himself for action. His breathing increased and his vision seemed to narrow down so that all he could clearly see was Troy. He clenched his fists and half raised them, ready to strike if Carmen was hit.

  At that moment two policemen and a security guard stepped through the ring of curious onlookers. Forman took one look and instantly turned and ran. His cronies did likewise, leaving their three girls gaping after them. The bullies barged their way through the crowd, knocking an old man to the ground and roughly pushing several small children aside. The police called on them to stop but were ignored.

  One policeman began talking on a radio. The other stepped in front of the friends. It was Constable Fort. “You lot again eh? What is going on?”

  Carmen told him. The constable listened and smiled. She smiled back. The second policeman joined them. Carmen then went on: “They were just being bullies, trying to show how tough they are.”

  Constable Fort nodded. “Yes, they are real troublemakers. We had already received three complaints about them. That is why we are here,” he explained.

  The second policeman nodded. “I wish we could get some solid evidence to pin on them,” he added.

  Carmen pointed to Martin. “They stole Martin’s model,” she said.

  Letitia nodded. “And took money off the kids down at the river,” she added.

  “Oh yeah? Tell us about it,” Constable Fort said. Carmen did. The policeman took notes and Andrew smiled at the way the young constable’s eyes kept straying to Carmen’s face. The second policemen pretended not to be looking but Andrew could see he was ogling Letitia.

  When the story had been told Constable Fort said: “That is a help, but we need to find the model or we have no solid evidence. Now, I suggest all of you go home, and be careful doing so. Get your parents to pick you up if need be.”

>   “Yes constable,” Carmen replied. She lowered her eyes and smiled. He smiled back at her. Martin nudged Andrew, who also smiled. A radio crackled. The second policeman listened, then said: “Come on Geoff, they are out in the car park causing trouble.”

  The two policemen hurried away. The friends stood in a group to discuss the incident.

  “So what do we do now?” Jill asked.

  “Stay together, then get driven home,” Carmen answered.

  “How will we get home?” Andrew asked.

  “We will walk,” Carmen replied.

  Jill shook her head. “That’s not a good idea,” she said. “Why don’t we all walk with you to your Aunty’s. We could phone our parents from there. They are coming to pick us up anyway so it won’t be much out of their way.”

  Carmen nodded. “Yes I suppose so,” she agreed.

  The group made its way to the nearest southern entrance to the shopping complex. Mark grumbled a bit as they walked out into the steamy darkness. “I don’t like this. It is a bit like running away,” he commented.

  “It is just being sensible,” Jill replied. She moved to walk beside Andrew. Letitia moved to be on his other side.

  “We’d better hurry,” Martin said. “Or we will get rained on.”

  The streets were wet as it was, water from a recent shower reflecting in the streetlights. It was very humid and still quite hot. As they walked along Andrew began to perspire and became even hotter, largely because both girls kept bumping and touching him. He was glad that Mark, Carmen and Martin were in front.

  ‘They both like me,’ he marvelled. ‘But which one should I choose?’

  CHAPTER 9

  THE ISLAND

  The friends reached Aunty Beth’s house without incident and with only a mild soaking from a rain shower. Once they were there parents were rung and the teenagers sat around discussing the incidents of the last few days, and plans for the following day. While they talked Andrew studied Jill and Letitia as covertly as he could. Both were very attractive to his eyes, but in quite different ways.

  Letitia aroused a deep lust he had not suspected lurked in him. He found this quite disturbing as he thought of himself as an honourable and moral person and it was a shock to find he could so easily be tempted into lascivious thoughts.

  Jill, on the other hand, seemed to be a person of delightful personality who was witty, charming and bright, without appearing to be overbearing or intelligent. Andrew knew she was very intelligent but that did not disturb him. ‘She is prettier than Letitia too,’ he observed. ‘Even if she hasn’t got the same outstanding attributes.’

  Letitia and Martin’s parents arrived first. The incident in the shopping centre was not relayed to the adults, by common agreement, lest it curtail their activities. Andrew suspected that Letitia wanted to kiss him good night, judging by the sultry looks she gave him, but the presence of the adults and Jill deterred her. They said goodnight and rushed to their car as another rain shower arrived.

  Jill then monopolized Andrew’s attention, to the open displeasure of Mark, who became gruff and surly and sat to one side on his own. That made Andrew feel very uncomfortable but he couldn’t help responding to Jill’s jokes and bright chatter. In a way it was a relief when her father arrived to take her and Mark home. As they left, Jill gave Andrew what he took to be a ‘meaningful’ look and said: “See you tomorrow,” in a way that made Mark scowl.

  After they had gone, Carmen made a face. “Be fair little brother. You can’t have both. Make your mind up and put everyone out of their misery.”

  “I won’t put Mark out of his misery if I choose Jill,” Andrew replied. “I think she is beautiful.”

  “She is very nice, but you are right- and selfish. It is a bit hard on Mark to flirt and steal his girlfriend, then to trot back up to Cairns,” Carmen observed.

  “So you think I should pick Letitia?” Andrew asked.

  “I’m not sure you could handle her. I think you could get badly burnt if you aren’t careful,” Carmen replied seriously.

  “Rot! She’s just good fun,” Andrew snorted.

  “Oh well, who am I to say?” Carmen replied. “I’m tired. Bed for me.”

  Andrew had trouble sleeping that night. He had a bad dream about falling off the bridge and drowning in the weeds. Then he lay awake and thought about Letitia and Jill. He became fearfully aroused and that tore at his conscience. In the end he drifted into a fitful sleep.

  After breakfast the next day Carmen and Andrew set off to go to the Schipholl’s. They decided to walk, rather than inconvenience their uncle and aunt. As they went down the stairs, laden with bags full of towels, bathers and assorted items needed for a day of canoeing, Andrew suggested they try to get to the Schipholl’s another way. He took out the street map and pointed to it.

  “Here is that other weir, the first one we visited; the one downstream from Martin’s. It looks closer to their place than the bridge,” he said.

  “Can we walk across it?” Carmen asked.

  “There were people crossing it yesterday,” Andrew replied.

  “What’s its name?” Carmen replied, leaning over to study the map.

  “Aplins Weir,” Andrew replied. He quickly selected a route and led the way along the footpath.

  They made their way to Thompson Street and followed this to its southern end. This was a gate on the levee bank built many years before along the edge of the built up area. The levee was an earth mound about five metres high. It stretched out of sight in a curve in both directions. As they reached the top the pair stopped. Ahead of them a dirt track led down to a wide, flat grassy area about two hundred metres wide and half a kilometre long. Trees fringed the far edge and the river glinted in the sun beyond that.

  To their right the levee was simply an earth mound with a vehicle track along the top. It reminded Andrew of photos he had seen of earthwork fortifications thrown up during the American Civil War. To the left the levee led in under trees. Brother and sister turned and walked in that direction.

  Almost at once the river bank below them changed. A fairly dense growth of trees and ferns grew along the flat just below. Then a weed-choked channel curved in from the river to just below the levee. Beyond it was a tangle of long grass, bushes, weeds and trees. Andrew realized he was looking at the overgrown island he had noted from the river.

  Walking along the levee was easy. Glimpses of the river and the houses on the south bank showed beyond the overgrown island. On their left the buildings gave way to a soccer field. By then they were approaching the bottom end of the island and were able to see the weir a few hundred metres ahead.

  A disturbance down in the long grass of the island attracted Andrew’s attention. He stopped to look. Into view burst three boys. They splashed into the weed choked channel and floundered across through waist-deep water.

  “It’s those grubby little urchins,” Andrew observed.

  Even as he spoke the leading boy, ‘Maggot’, the thin, pale one, looked up and saw them. A look of real alarm crossed his face, to be replaced instantly by relief when he saw who it was. Behind him were Rat and Toad. From inside the tangle of long grass and bushes came angry shouts and threats.

  The three boys scrambled frantically up out of the water and came running up the bank through the long grass. Andrew noted that Maggot was limping badly. At the same point where the boys had appeared another person came into view- one of the bullies. Andrew had to think, then placed him as Shaun of the ‘Megadeath’.

  Shaun screamed at the three kids and waved a large sheath knife. “You bloody kids come onto our island again and I’ll cut yer guts out, ya hear!”

  At that moment Shaun caught sight of Andrew and Carmen. He stopped on the edge of the water. He was clearly undecided and angry. Then he recognized them and made a crude gesture. “Same goes ter you two. Mind yer own business and yer won’t get hurt.”

  With that Shaun turned and pushed his way back into the long grass and was gone from view
instantly. Andrew was astonished that the grass could be so high. The three boys scrambled up to join them. Andrew now saw that Maggot was limping badly and had blood streaming from a cut in his foot. The three boys wore only shorts and were covered in scratches. They were sweating and gasping for breath.

  “What was that all about?” Carmen asked.

  “He was chasin’ us,” Rat gasped. He looked fearfully around, his chest heaving.

  Maggot sank down and lifted up his foot to look. Andrew was appalled at the amount of blood seeping out. It was almost a gush. He at once knelt and gripped the boy’s ankle to look at it.

  “How did this happen?” he asked.

  “Booby trap,” Maggot groaned. He was on the edge of tears and shaking like a leaf. His eyes constantly strayed back to the island.

  “Booby trap!” cried Carmen in astonishment.

  “Yeah,” Maggot replied. “A pit with spikes in it. I stepped into it. Ah! Oh! Oh do something please, it hurts!”

  Maggot now closed his eyes in pain but tears came trickling out. The boy started to sob. Carmen knelt with Andrew to look at the wound. Rat said to Toad: “You keep watch Toad, just in case the other bullies turn up.”

  Carmen studied the wound and tried ineffectually to stem the flow of blood. She shook her head. “This needs proper medical attention. Did it go in far?”

  “Yeah. A long way. Ah!” moaned Maggot. “It nearly went right through me foot.”

  Carmen shook her head and clucked her tongue. “Come on. Let’s find a phone and call the ambulance,” she said. She helped Maggot to his feet and Andrew held him up while he limped along.

  “What was going on? What are the bullies doing on that island?” he asked.

  Rat answered: “That’s one of their hideouts. They go there durin’ the day; an’ sometimes they camp there.”

  “Did you see their camp?”

  “Nah. Maggot got spiked before we found it,” Rat replied.

  Carmen frowned. “Taking a bit of a risk weren’t you?” she asked.