by John Muir
CHAPTER 32
THE CHOIR SINGS IN LINAMON
Linamon - Day 8
The barrio of Linamon was like all the other small roadside barrios or villages. There were houses of various constructions and designs interspersed with sari sari stores, and an open market, where fruit, vegetables and fish were sold. The other seemingly standard shops were also there, the chemist, tailor, vehicle repair shop with petrol pump, and general store. Several of the same style shops were on some of the side streets.
Marivic's group of three including Henry got out in the town proper. The jeepney with the remaining two groups then stopped again two hundred metres further on where Joven had last seen the kidnapper. Nilo's group of Rangi and Joven got out at the top of the road the kidnapper appeared to go down.
The driver continue a further hundred metres before stopping and watching Pater get out with his two companions. Then turning the jeepney around the driver returned to the town centre to wait.
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All the groups began to walk very slowly down the first of the side street they had each been allocated. Rangi could see the shoreline about 250 metres away. The huts and houses on either side of the narrow bitumen covered lane generally had large gaps between them with small copses of banana and coconut trees. The lane was just over one car width with a strip of about a metre of road gravel each side.
He cleared his throat with a couple of forced and self-conscious coughs, then, started to sing the Australian National anthem.
"Australians come let us rejoice, for we are young and free......" He had to stop several times because of the loud noise from trucks passing on the main road. Then he would re-start. During each pause he would curse that he could not sing the songs he wanted to sing. He understood that the songs themselves were chosen to elicit some hoped for response from T.A., so he would follow orders and sing those songs.
Nilo took over the singing for a few minutes. Rangi was wishing there was some other way he could think of to attract T.A's attention to the fact that there might be help nearby. The hope was always that T.A. could somehow respond. They all knew that T.A. could be gagged, maybe even drugged or unconscious. This idea was the only one that Pater had, so Rangi knew he had to carry it through. When they reached the first cross- lane, they stopped at the corner as had been pre-arranged and looked to their left and right. In the distance, some one hundred metres to the right was Marivic's group. To their left, about the same distance, was Pater's group.
A quick wave and they started to move into the next block. It had taken nearly 15 minutes to cover the first 100 metres. They had to stop regularly and pause in their singing to listen for any response. The wave from the others indicated nothing to report.
As they began the second block, Rangi looked at the shoreline only 150 metres away. The thought of a quick swim crossed his mind. If he stripped down to his underwear, he could carry them wet. He did not need underwear under his shorts. He would have bathed nude, but the locals might cause trouble.
Nilo started singing again. "Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, under the shade of a coolabah tree.........." All three would join in the chorus. "Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.....," then they would pause for a few seconds between each line, hoping for a response.
It also took nearly 15 minutes to reach the second cross lane. Again a glance to the left and right, again the waves from each group indicated no response or hoped for reaction from T.A.. Rangi's thought of T.A., who he had never met, being tied up and unable to respond kept coming into his mind, yet somehow the vision did not seem quite right.
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T.A. had only been giving the girls their English lessons for a few minutes when Omar returned. Zahra was still sleepy. Siti had only left being by his side about 45 minutes before. T.A. was surprised at Omar's early return. It would barely have been an hour after sunrise, maybe as late as 7:00 A.M.
Omar nodded to the girls and they quickly left the room.
"You look like you're happy. Was you wife pleased to see you?"
Omar grinned. "Happier than she's been for a long time."
"Good fishing?"
"Yes. Even though I was late getting started, the fish swam onto my hooks with pleasure and I caught more in ten minutes than I normally catch in two hours. You know how it is when you're married. Easy to stay in bed for a little extra time. But the fish, they knew." Omar grinned again.
"More work on your project then?"
"Yes. Thanks to your help, I think I can probably put out a set-line this afternoon."
"I'll help any way I can."
Omar called out to the girls. "Food for the workers girls, and make it quick"
"Tomorrow I think I'll have caught a big load of fish."
“I hope so,” T.A. nodded. In the distance he could hear music. Then he realised it was someone singing.
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