Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (90 page)

             
"
We
'
ll
carry
out
the
survey
in
two
parts.
The
two
cutters
will
do
the
initial
Plane
Table
work
with
the
boats
anchored
a
cable
apart.
You,
Mister
Heron,
will
translate
the
results
into
a
rough
chart.
Have
you
the
means
to
make
sketches
of
the
shore
from
each
of
the
Base
Points?
Good,
"
Lieutenant
Rae
said
as
Harry
affirmed
his
readiness.
"
We
'
ll
have
to
work
quickly
as
we
do
not
have
an
indefinite
amount
of
time.
The
most
important
part
is
the
entrance
and
the
main
channel.
I
will
use
the
barge
to
take
soundings
once
you
have
produced
the
working
charts
for
us,
Harry.
"

             
"
Aye,
aye,
sir,
"
Harry
acknowledged.
The
work
interested
and
excited
his
creative
abilities.
And
the
expedition
had
the
added
pleasure
of
being
among
people
he
liked
and
respected
and
away
from
the
constant
harassment
of
the
Gunroom
bully.
It
was
a
very
thin
line
he
trod
daily
aboard
between
incurring
punishment
for
defying
the
discipline
and
refusing
to
be
cowed
into
supine
submission
and
despair.
This
expedition
at
least
gave
him
an
'
independent
'
command
and
a
task
he
knew
he
excelled
at.

***

             
The
survey
work
proceeded
slowly,
the
pair
of
launches
having
to
sail
to
the
selected
position
and
then
anchor
by
the
bow
and
the
stern.
With
the
boats
a
cable
apart
this
gave
them
a
'
Baseline
'
of
six
hundred
feet
and
their
bearings
on
each
feature
of
the
shore
could
be
recorded
carefully
on
the
paper
stretched
over
the
surface
of
a
Plane
Table
set
up
exactly
amidships.
Then,
once
the
bearings
had
all
been
done,
the
boats
moved
to
the
next
pair
of
designated
anchorages
and
the
work
began
again.
Each
evening
it
fell
to
Harry
to
marry
up
the
information
from
each
such
sheet
and
form
one
chart.
One
map
covering
the
whole
area.
Here
his
sketches
helped
immensely
since
he
could
now
plot
their
exact
position
and
fill
in
a
vast
amount
of
detail.

             
Each
morning
the
barge
set
off
with
several
leadlines
and
returned
in
the
evening
with
Lieutenant
Rae
'
s
neatly
pencilled
notation
of
the
depths
to
be
found
in
the
area
covered
by
the
chart
taken
that
day.
The
estuary
proved
even
more
extensive
than
they
had
first
thought.
A
number
of
deep
water
channels
branched
off
to
the
North,
South
and
even
to
the
west
as
the
main
channel
snaked
inland,
first
turning
south,
then
twisting
north
to
where
their
base
had
been
made
on
the
island.
Just
west
of
this,
the
channel
divided
again
into
three
large
leads.
These
had
to
be
individually
explored
before
it
became
evident
that
they
were
not
the
main
channel.
Beyond
this
it
twisted
northward
again
before
sweeping
sharply
to
the
south
and
branching
into
three
separate
channels.
The
steep
sided
banks
were
covered
in
trees
and
scree
which
made
climbing
difficult
and
dangerous.
But
this
had
to
be
attempted
in
order
to
obtain
further
bearings
and
for
Harry
to
make
sketches
of
landmarks
and
headlands.

             
There
was
much
merriment
when
one
of
these
expeditions
encountered
a
small
bear-like
creature
living
in
the
trees.

             
"
Cor,
"
exclaimed
a
seaman
known
as
Jacko
to
his
mates.
Look
at
them
fings
–
there
up
yon
tree.
"

             
"
Them?
Ain
'
t
they
whut
folks
'
ere
calls
Koolie
or
Kola
bears
or
sumfing?
"
asked
another.
"
Geordie
reckoned
they
could
be
et
.
"

             
"
Bet
they
'
m
easy
to
ketch
like,
"
said
Jacko
eyeing
the
smooth
surface
of
the
eucalypt
the
bears
occupied
and
full
of
the
confidence
of
a
topman.

             
"
Go
to
it
then,
"
said
the
Master
'
s
Mate
as
he
looked
across
to
where
Harry
and
Tom
sat
atop
a
promontory
fifty
yards
away
busily
measuring
angles
with
a
sextant.
"
T
'
Mids
is
busy
wit
'
their
measurin
'
.
"