Coasts of Cape York (37 page)

Two minutes later he was on the beach at the memorial. ‘I was right!' he thought. From there he could see most of the river- but there was no sign of any small boat. He had to shield his eyes against the glare of the afternoon sun as he was looking almost west but he could only shake his head in annoyance. The man had vanished. ‘Did he go to one of those anchored boats?' he wondered.

Then another unpleasant thought crept unasked into his mind and he stared hard at the distant black shape of the flying boat. ‘Did he go to the
Pterodactyl
?' he wondered. ‘Is he working for Mr Jemmerling?' It hurt even to think such thoughts.

Willy waited a couple of minutes but no boat appeared. Then he shrugged and turned to make his way back up to the footpath. Once there he turned left and began walking towards the wharf, wiping perspiration from his face. He found that the sweat was literally dripping from him- from his finger tips and his face and even trickling down his back and legs. ‘Bloody hell, it's humid!' he thought. Seeing from his watch that it was nearly a quarter to six made him shake his head. It seemed that the blazing summer sun would never set and there was no breeze at all.

Even when Willy reached the wharf five minutes later there was only a whisper of wind. He hurried towards the
Wewak.
As he did he glanced along to his right and got another surprise- the
Dyfken
was no longer there. Climbing quickly aboard the
Wewak
he hurried aft and climbed quickly up from the tank deck to where his anxious parents, his friends, Mr Beck and Norman, and most of the crew of the ship were gathered under the awning.

“Well?” his father demanded, an anxious look on his face.

“He got away,” Willy answered. “He got in a dinghy and went off up the river.” He gestured in that direction. As he did one of the
Pterodactyl's
motors spluttered and then burst into life. The sound carried loudly to them over the still water. “I wonder?” Willy said, moving to the starboard rail and staring up the river. The flying boat's other engine started and both engines began what was obviously a take-off test.

“Do you think he went to the flying boat?” his father asked.

Willy bit his lip. “I don't think so,” he said. “He might have but I didn't see him.”

“Oh, I'll bet he did!” Stick blurted out. “That Jemmerling has been spying on us all along. I'll bet that man works for Jemmerling.”

Andrew squinted at the flying boat. “There is no sign of any dinghy there. Could they get it on board?”

“Not easily,” Willy replied. He felt very guilty at even having hinted that Mr Jemmerling was involved.

The sound of aircraft engines increased in volume and they all turned to look. The
Pterodactyl
began to move. “She is taking off,” Willy said, quite unnecessarily.

Once again he shielded his eyes to look upriver. It was almost straight into the setting sun. The sunset reflected off the water in shards that were painful even to squint into. It was a relief when the flying boat moved forward to pass across the stern of the ship. Willy made his way aft along the side of the superstructure until he stood at the stern. From there the sun was side on and his heart skipped a beat at the sheer beauty of the aircraft as it began to surge across the flat water. In spite of everything he still thought it was a great machine.

By the time the
Pterodactyl
was astern of the
Wewak
she was leaving a long, creaming white wake and was lifting onto her chine. With the sun no longer blinding him Willy could admire the whole thing. He found all his emotions in turmoil. Was that black-painted flying boat the carrier of evil? Or was it just coincidence.

To raise his emotions another notch he saw an arm extend from the cockpit of the now skimming flying boat. It waved and Willy could tell it could only be for them. ‘Or is it a signal to someone on the
Wewak
?' he wondered, hating himself for his dark suspicions.

Mr Beck was annoyed. “He's waving to us. The cheeky bugger!”

“I suppose he thinks he's won,” Stick said gloomily.

The flying boat raced on, the sun now on it and behind the watchers. Willy wished he had his camera as it was a beautiful and dramatic scene: the creaming white foam, the black flying boat, the green and blue shades of water and beyond the dramatic landforms of the distant mountains. As the flying boat reached the mouth of the river it began to encounter waves, each one throwing up a shower of spray as it was struck by the racing bow. It made Willy think of the awful take-off when they had rescued Jacob.

That reminded him of the
Dyfken
and he glanced to his right to check that it was no longer berthed at the wharf. Then, as he shifted his gaze back to the flying boat, his eyes detected a tiny dot of white out to sea to the North East. A thin black line against the sky indicated a mast.

And then the flying boat lifted off. Willy smiled with pleasure to watch the ‘Catalina' lift and climb away. As it did it turned to port. “Going north,” he commented.

“Oh no! He will beat us to the plane,” Marjorie cried. She turned to Capt Kirk. “Can't we get going? We don't want them to beat us,” she pleaded.

Capt Kirk smiled but shook his head. “Sorry. We will sail when the tide lifts us off and that won't be for another hour or so yet.”

Willy suddenly felt depressed. He watched the flying boat continue to climb and turn until it was silhouetted against the reddish tinge of the sunset to the North West. Seeing the black shape, a sudden, vivid image sprang into Willy's mind, making him think that it really did look like one of the giant flying reptiles of the dinosaur age. The image it conjured up made him give a sudden, involuntary shudder. Once more dark suspicions clouded his mind.

As the ‘Catalina' dwindled to vanish in the distance Willy turned and stared at the distant vessel to the North East. “Is that the
Dyfken
?” he asked.

Capt Kirk answered. “If that is the little yacht that was berthed here then yes it is. She got under way about an hour ago,” he said.

The cook now interrupted, saying that dinner was ready. They made their way into the saloon to get out of the sun, which even as it began to sink below the hills inland was still scorching to the skin. Willy sat beside Marjorie but found he had almost no appetite. He was so irritated by the escape of the man, and of the worries and suspicions that seemed to suddenly surround them that he did not want to eat at all. His mother made him, insisting that he drink plenty of cordial.

As they ate dinner the sun sank below the hills to the west and darkness set in. With dusk came a swarm of sand flies and mosquitoes. Once the meal was over the crew, including Andrew and Carmen, went to work to make ready for sea. Capt Kirk asked the others to stay out of the way.

Willy made his way out to the stern with Marjorie. He actually wanted to be alone to think but could not find it in himself to tell her to go away. A slight breeze had sprung up by then and he leaned on the railings and looked down at the swirling, gurgling water: a murky dark green in the lights near the hull but rippling black further out. Up the river he saw that the anchored vessels had mostly turned on mooring lights. A single moving light caught his eye and he knew that at least one boat was heading down river.

Marjorie wanted to snuggle up but Willy was still perspiring in the humid tropical night and felt all sticky and knew he must smell of sweat. He was actually pleased when his mother came out. “You had better have your showers you two,” she said. “That will keep you out of the way while the ship leaves harbour.”

Willy agreed. Underfoot the deck was now trembling as the engines revved and he saw water swirling away along the sides as the propellers were put into reverse. Shouted commands from forward, accompanied by the splash of mooring ropes being cast into the water all told Willy they were backing away from the concrete hard.

After collecting a change of clothes, towel and toilet bag from his kit Willy made his way up one deck to the male shower. As he reached the door of the shower he found it closed and a knock revealed that Stick had beaten him too it. With nothing better to do Willy stepped through the door that led aft onto the small deck above the stern and looked out. He saw that the
Wewak
was slowly reversing out into the estuary. This was so wide that they had ample room to turn safely.

As he stood there Willy noted a light moving seawards. It was over near the far side of the estuary. He presumed it was the boat he had seen moving a few minutes earlier. ‘A fisherman?' he wondered. But it was too dark, and too far away for him to tell. There was certainly no danger of the
Wewak
going anywhere near it.

Stick came out of the shower, rubbing his wet hair with his towel, just as the
Wewak
stopped moving astern and began to turn. Willy found the manoeuvre interesting so he leaned out to watch. It took longer than he expected and required the LCT to go slow ahead, back towards the wharf. Willy found it very hard to judge distance in the dark and marveled at the skill of Capt Kirk and sailors like him as he watched the bow seem to slide sideways well clear of the fishing trawler at the wharf. The many lights, both on shore and also flickering ones on piles on the water all made it even more confusing for Willy.

Once her bow was facing seawards the
Wewak's
engines rumbled to ‘full ahead' and she began butting her way out into the smaller waves of the river mouth. Willy watched for a few more minutes as the lights of Cooktown quickly slipped astern, then he made his way into the shower.

Twenty minutes later he stood next to Andrew and Carmen in the wheelhouse. The mate had the wheel and Capt Kirk stood near him, eyes moving from the radar screen to the dark sea outside. Willy could see several flashing lights and Andrew explained they were automatic warning lights on reefs and rocks. “It's a dangerous bit of coast,” Andrew explained, showing him the chart.

Willy looked outside again. In the starlight he could now make out the rugged, flat-topped mountains a few miles to port. He noted that the sea was slightly rougher than earlier but that mostly the landing craft just slid across it with a gentle twist and roll motion. Only occasionally did the flat bow strike a larger than normal wave. When it did she shuddered slightly and there was an audible ‘thump' and a few seconds later droplets of spray would splatter on the windows.

Capt Kirk frowned and bent to look at the radar, tapping it a couple of times. Then he picked up his binoculars and made his way out onto the port wing of the bridge and stared ahead. Carmen moved to look at the radar screen so Andrew and Willy joined her. Carmen pointed. “I think it is this little blip he is worried about,” she explained.

Willy studied the greenish picture with interest. He saw that the shape of the coastline was clearly visible. So were a couple of pinpoints that were small reefs with beacons on them. Andrew pointed to a distinct blip several miles ahead. “That is a boat,” he said.

Suddenly Capt Kirk came to the door of the wheelhouse and called, “Bring her round to starboard two points Lester, there's something ahead there.”

The mate did as he was told, spinning the wheel, then steadying the LCT on the new course. No sooner had he done this than Capt Kirk let out an oath and shouted, “Bloody hell! Hard a-starboard.”

Willy followed Andrew out onto the starboard wing of the bridge as the
Wewak
began to swing into the waves. “There!” Andrew cried, gripping his arm and pointing across to port. Willy glimpsed a dim grey shape which he then realized was a small motor launch without any lights on. For a second he held his breath, fearing there would be a collision. Then he saw that they would miss. The motor launch suddenly rolled violently and turned sharply away. The sound of a frightened ejaculation carried across the waves.

Capt Kirk bellowed at the motor launch through a loudhailer, telling the people on it they were bloody fools and should have their navigation lights on. There was no reply but Willy saw patches of white which indicated that the launch had increased speed and was powering away, heading inshore.

As the
Wewak
turned to starboard the launch vanished from Willy's view behind the superstructure. He and Andrew hurried back into the wheelhouse but did not go out onto the other wing of the bridge, where an angry Capt Kirk was fuming. “Bloody idiots!” he snapped. He turned to look back into the wheel house and ordered the LCT to turn back onto her proper course. Then he shook his head and said to the mate, “I wondered what that blip on the radar was. It was so small I thought it might have been a defect on the screen. I couldn't see any lights. Just as well I went out to look or we would have run that silly bastard right over.”

“No survivors then,” the mate replied grimly as he steadied the landing craft back on course. “If they didn't get killed in the collision, or drowned in the wreckage, they would have been minced up in the screws.”

Willy was appalled and winced at the mental image of the ships propellers slashing and slicing into people. Knowing that the
Wewak
was brightly lit with all the regulation navigation lights, plus lights in the superstructure, he wondered how the near collision could possibly have occurred. He said, “Surely they could see us coming?”

Capt Kirk, who had again stared out to port, lowered his binoculars and gave a sad shake of his head. “You'd be surprised how rarely people in boats keep a lookout astern.”

“Still hasn't got any lights on,” Andrew commented.

“Can you still see him?” Capt Kirk asked, again raising his glasses.

“No sir,” Andrew replied.

Only then, as Willy stared through the window at the dark sea and darker coast beyond, did the thought occur to him: ‘I wonder if that was the man we followed making his escape from Cooktown?'