Coasts of Cape York (62 page)

‘I am!' Willy thought. Feeling very pleased he allowed himself to be dragged and pushed into the boat. He then helped hoist in the diving gear and then Andrew and Carmen. As soon as they were aboard Mr Hobbs opened the throttle and headed back towards the ‘Catalina'. Willy noted with a shock that the sun had almost set and the whole sea now had a purple look.

“That was fantastic!” he enthused.

“It was, wasn't it?” Andrew agreed.

Then more sober thought s came to Willy and he said, “Was it horrible in the launch?”

Carmen nodded. “Bit gruesome. Gator was all battered about and tangled in ropes and clothing.”

“Sorry, but I had to know,” Willy said.

“So did I,” Carmen agreed.

They arrived at the door of the ‘Catalina' to find an angry Mr Jemmerling. “What the devil were you bloody kids playing at? It's nearly dark.”

“We were looking at the ‘Dornier',” Willy explained.

Mr Jemmerling's face at once transformed. ‘Ah!' he exclaimed. “Yes, well, we can always come back and look at it tomorrow. Now get aboard.”

They passed the gear up and climbed aboard. The boat was hauled through the door and deflated. As they stowed the gear and then stood there in their dripping clothes Mr Jemmerling said, “I hope you didn't touch anything or go inside the wreck? We could be in trouble with the law if you did.”

“We didn't,” Carmen assured him. “And we didn't need to. But I think Gator or Corey did. Where's the case?”

“In the saloon,” Mr Jemmerling said. He led the way to where Jacob and Harvey were already seated. Mr Hobbs, the pilot and the co-pilot crowded in behind them until there was barely room to move in the small compartment.

For a minute they all just stood and stared at the slimy, battered case. Mr Jemmerling then gestured to Jacob and said, “You open it young van de Heyden. This was all your idea.”

Very gingerly Jacob reached forward and touched the trunk. But it had already been forced open before so all he had to do was prise up the lid. This caused something to snap and more water trickled out but the lid was able to be swung back. Willy leaned forward to look in and was disappointed. Inside was just a mush of black, rotting material of some sort and a collection of sea shells and weed.

Even more gingerly Jacob reached in and grasped a long object that was just visible. He lifted this up, slime and ooze slithering and trickling off it unheeded onto the table. Willy stared with fascination. It was a sword. As Jacob brushed at it he saw that it was a curved sword with a brass or copper scabbard. Set in the brass were dull coloured objects of blue, green and red which he then realized were precious stones. The haft, he noted, appeared to be made of gold and was also studded with jewels.

“The sword of state!” Jacob breathed in awe.

“They will be glad to get that back,” Carmen observed. She gently took it from Jacob and wrapped it in a cloth, then began to very gently rub at it.

Jacob dug into the slush and extracted a metal box the size of a shoebox. It was very rusty and the old steel crumbled in his hands. Onto the table cascaded dirty water, mud and a trickle of diamonds. It was a necklace. Then a huge ruby with a pin fastener dropped out, followed by a dark green emerald brooch, the jewel the size of a hen's egg.

As the jewels were laid out on a towel. Willy could only gasp in aware and shake his head. ‘The Makassang crown jewels! We have found them!'

There were pearl necklaces and earrings, diamond clasps, a starburst arrangement of diamonds that Willy later learned was a Turkish ‘Chelingk'; rings, gold ornaments and gold and silver buckles and buttons. These were all emblazoned with the Komodo dragon emblem of Makassang.

By the time they had finished looking at the jewels, darkness had all but set in. Mr Jemmerling was the first to notice this and set things in motion. The jewels were wrapped in cloth and the aircraft took off.  They lifted off and climbed into a sky, which showed only the last glow of the sunset to the west.

“We are not going to try to land on the sea in the dark,” Mr Jemmerling said. “We will go to Cairns.”

So they did. Along the way the teenagers dried themselves and the jewels were all cleaned and then they were photographed holding them. Mr Jemmerling sent several more long radio messages and made a couple of phone calls on his satellite phone. He was very careful not to mention where the wrecked ‘Dornier' was except that it had crashed in the sea. “We must protect it from looters,” he explained. Carmen and Willy were allowed to phone their parents to warn them they were coming. Mr Jemmerling then radioed
Wewak
and
Bonthorpe
with the news.

By then Willy felt utterly drained. He slumped in a seat and felt overwhelmed by the experiences of the previous week. But it was not over. When the
Pterodactyl
rolled to a standstill on the tarmac at Cairns Airport Willy saw that there was a crowd of TV camera men and media reporters, plus police, and various official looking persons. ‘Mr Jemmerling getting publicity,' he thought with a wry smile.

But he had underestimated Mr Jemmerling again. Mr Jemmerling certainly took some of the publicity but it was Jacob that he thrust to the front to tell his story and he helped him negotiate to sell it to several newspapers and magazines. Willy was just glad to see his mother and to watch.

The crown jewels were taken off by several armed Commonwealth Police and a couple of officials. There were questions for Andrew and Carmen about what they had seen in the capsized
Saurian
, and then they were allowed to go with their parents. Mr Jemmerling again cautioned them not to tell where the wreck was and then asked them to keep in touch.

Willy was whisked away by his mother. At home he found he was shaking and could barely stand. Shock and exhaustion had worn him out. After a hot bath his mother gave him a sedative and bundled him into his own bed. Just being in the familiar surroundings of his own room was extremely comforting to Willy, even though it felt unreal. He closed his scratchy, tired eyes and slipped into a deep sleep.

He slept for twelve hours.

 

*****

 

When Willy woke he found that his father was home. Mr Jemmerling had sent the
Pterodactyl
to pick him and the Becks up. “The plane took some police divers and officials up to look at the
Saurian
and the ‘Dornier; wreck. They recovered Gator Smith's body,” he added.

Hearing that made Willy have vivid flashbacks to the terrifying waves during the cyclone and he shivered as he imagined Corey's body being tumbled in the surf on the reef and then drifting in the sea, rotting and being torn apart by the fish. It was very morbid and depressing stuff and he wished he had Marjorie there to help take his mind off it. The best he could do was talk to her on the phone.

Willy also found that the discovery of the ‘Dornier' wreck and the Makassang crown jewels were headline news. Because of his involvement in the chase by the murderers he was also named and the local news media wanted to interview him. His parents allowed this but sat with him to protect him.

The hardest thing Willy found was to keep his mouth shut when the reporters asked him where the ‘Dornier' wreck was located.

The next day, at Mr Jemmerling's invitation, the family was flown to Crab Reef. Andrew and Carmen came with them. Mr Jemmerling had hired diving gear and his own diver and underwater cameras and the two wrecks were explored and extensively photographed. This time Willy was happy to go snorkelling and he even dived down to touch the tip of the sunken flying boat's middle propeller blade.

Pterodactyl
then flew them to Bathurst Bay where Capt Kirk was just completing the salvage of the barge
Oura.
The barge was dragged off the beach at high water and the tow secured.  Andrew, Carmen and Mr Jemmerling's diver then did a survey of the barge's bottom to check for damage. Luckily the barge had not been holed. Once that was done
Bonthorpe
set off, towing it south to Cairns.

Graham was quite jealous that he had missed out on being there when the treasure was discovered and more so at not having seen the wrecks. As he was still required to work on the
Wewak
, which was remaining to try to collect as many of the 44 gallon drums as possible, Willy felt sorry for him. When both Carmen and Andrew volunteered to stay and help with the work Willy felt he should as well.

He asked his parents and they looked doubtful. “You have your cadet promotion course in six days,” his mother reminded him.

“I know. I will be alright Mum. I will feel bad if I don't help,” Willy replied.

When Capt Kirk assured his parents that they would be back in Cairns in time for that they said yes. So Willy spent four extremely hot, sweaty days helping to roll empty drums down the beach, tie them into rafts so they could be towed by a boat to the
Wewak,
then helping to roll them up the LCT's ramp and stack them in the oven like heat of the tank deck. But he became fitter and stronger and was glad he was helping his friends.

The promotion course at Garbutt RAAF Base in Townsville came next and after that promotion to the rank of corporal. With the start of school he was, along with his friends, a minor celebrity. This was reinforced from time to time by articles in aircraft magazines about the aircraft wrecks, particularly that of the ‘Dornier'.

But the biggest event to climax the adventure was being flown to Makassang in February. Mr Jemmerling took him and his father, plus Andrew and Carmen and their mother, Graham and his father, and the van der Heydens. They flew there in
Pterodactyl
for a dedication ceremony for the crown jewels by the Rajah. They were only there four days but as it was Willy's first overseas trip he was very excited. They were the guests of the Rajah in the famous pink coral ‘Sun Palace' atop the equally famous five hundred ‘Steps of Heaven'.

The Rajah was a young man, dressed in a western suit and a Malay kopiah. He had been educated in England and greeted them warmly. The people also welcomed them as heroes and saviours. It was brought home to Willy that the crown jewels had a sacred and mystical significance that greatly strengthened the legitimacy of the Rajah's rule and the tenuous independence of the tiny country. The Indonesians, who claimed it as part of their territories, were not pleased.

When Willy had watched the elaborate public processions and ceremonies and seen the Buddhist culture that set the island apart from Moslem Indonesia, he was also pleased to have helped. The fact that he had to sit through several hours of entertainment by bare-breasted dancing girls helped.

Before they left to return to Australia there was a final audience at the palace. At this the Rajah pinned on each of them a tiny replica of the sword of state. These were made of gold and with an inlay of tiny diamonds. On the back of each badge was a Sanskrit inscription that said they were the friends of Makassang and honorary citizens.

“You have made my throne secure. I number you among my friends,” said the Rajah, shaking Willy's hand. “If you ever need help, just ask.”

 

 

THE NAVY CADETS SERIES

 

 

Davey Jones's Locker

The Navy Cadets: Book 1

Christopher Cummings

 

Fourteen year-old Navy Cadet Andrew Collins enrols in a SCUBA diving course on the Great Barrier Reef to impress Muriel, the girl of his dreams. There's only one problem: Andrew is terrified of diving, not to mention the sharks, eels, and every other dangerous critter inhabiting the Coral Sea.
Despite his fears, Andrew inadvertently stumbles onto an old family mystery: the mysterious disappearance of his grandfather, lost at sea many years before. The deeper they delve into the mystery the deeper they are caught in a deadly web of lies and danger.

Andrew must face some agonizing choices and do battle with his worst nightmares.