Me and Them

by S G Read

  'Yes we have some humdingers out here!' Sarah replied as they stepped out into the sunshine, she turned off the lights.

  We served food to them and fruit for afters and put more on to cook as they had a few tins on board the boat. It was a long time since we had eaten baked beans although I was not looking forward to tonight in the bedroom.

  'What happens now?' Ashley asked as Natasha took her plate to wash it in the shower.

  'Well if they are coming tomorrow, supposedly to find Carter dead and buried and the fight taken out of you three, I think they will be a bit miffed and I expect them to search the island. They might even go past this rocky inlet so we will have to add a few green creepers to our house just to make sure it isn’t seen. Tash, you and Charley pull some creepers from the rocks to hang down the front as we have neglected to water the ones we planted!

  'They were watered King Walter.' Natasha replied. 'I don’t think they like it there.'

  'Well we’ll add to them anyway until the boat has come and gone!' I replied. 'I think they will search the island and then set off in pursuit, which is the shortest way to land Carter?'

  'Northwest.' He pointed past the front of the house and I guessed the line crossed the back edge of the horseshoe bay.

  'So they will go after the boat, thinking somehow you took it back or they have been double crossed. When they do not find you they will come back and look again.'

  'They unloaded fuel from her so that we could not get away even if we escaped.' Carter declared. 'I am not sure but I think they were going to sink the boat in deep water.'

  'What a waste.' Charley complained.

  'Maybe a boat like that can be traced.' I replied. 'We have some fuel left here, if we add to your fuel you might make it but you cannot afford to go where they think you might have gone.'

  'I could go-'

  'What’s with the I?' Ashley asked.

  'I was going to leave you here where you had a chance and make a run for land to get help for everyone.' Carter answered.

  'We will leave the children here to keep them safe but it is a two man boat and I have helped you enough to be of use, you are my husband and where you go I go!'

  'But Ashley-'

  'No buts, it is decided. If you try to go without me I will swim after you!'

  He turned to me. 'She would too!' He said contritely.

  'Fine, we will fuel you up so that when they go away you can go the other way. While they are here, we will do nothing and go nowhere, is that understood?'

  'Yes King Walter.' The girls replied.

  'Fleur, you and Campbell have a say in this but I think you should stay here for reasons I would rather not go into right now.' I suggested.

  'I have been talking to Charley and I know what sort of turn my life was about to take.' Fleur answered. 'I will stay with you amazons!'

  'I’m still only twelve,' Alex declared, 'can you be an Amazon at twelve?'

  'If you can, you are!' Fleur replied.

  Campbell sat surrounded by the girls, all in shorts and tee shirts; they were all wearing their contest clothes now.

  'I don’t mind staying.' He said, as if it meant nothing to him.

  I just looked at Carter as if to say 'now why doesn’t that surprise me'

  'I’ll be as quick as I can.' He promised.

  'I’ll have the radio, to see if I can’t get it going.' I volunteered.

  'Be my guest, it’s no good to me. It’s amazing, I can afford to buy a stack of radios on the mainland, out here your money is just a mill stone round your neck. A bit like a placard, here I am I’m rich!' He complained. 'I’ve never met such a group of lowlifes in my life.'

  'There’s less lowlifes now.' Charley retorted.

  'And I thank you for it!' Carter answered. 'When I get to a bank you will have a reward.'

  The girls laughed.

  'What’s so funny?' Ashley asked.

  'She is Princess Charlotte, Elizabeth and I didn’t get the rest,' Tammy answered, 'and believe me she doesn’t need money, a better mother perhaps but not money!'

  'Are you all princesses then?' Ashley asked.

  'No only two of us.' Charley answered. 'This is princess Delphine, Georgina, Conzuela-'

  'If you list all mine I will list all yours.' George said testily.

  Charley stopped speaking.

  We sat and talked as darkness closed in. We made up three beds downstairs for the men and the girls had made an extra bed upstairs so that the two girls could sleep up there.

  Day 152 on the island.

  During the night there had been a procession of girls to use the toilet but they were awake early and downstairs as the sun came up. I sent out two patrols with orders not to be seen. We lit the fire inside to cook the food before the boat arrived but the patrols were back very soon.

  'They’re here!' Natasha hissed when she saw me.

  I was using very dry wood to make less smoke and cooking meat ready to eat later. As soon as it was all cooked I doused the flames. We took up our positions; Carter, Ashley, Fleur and Campbell were in the house out of sight. The girls were strategically placed around the compound hidden but able to do something if one of them discovered our hideaway.

  We kept quiet all day and heard voices, both on the beach near our back gate and on the track by our front gate but no one discovered us. I was glad of our camouflage on the house when the big boat went past. I assumed it was the same one I had seen in the darkness. We watched in awe, it was a big boat! I read the name on the side, it was Coral Dancer.

  We kept up the silence until evening and then I went out to see who was about. The big boat was moored outside the horseshoe bay as it could not get inside and be able to turn round to go back out. They could have reversed in but chose to stay outside. On the beach they had a big fire and I could see a motorised dinghy. There were seven men there, three more came back down the track and passed me and my two shadows but they did not see us. They all climbed into the dinghy and it raced out to the Coral Dancer. I watched them board and saw the boat lifted on board, then the Coral Dancer moved off. We watched it go until it was out of sight. They had gone northwest, just as Carter had assumed. We returned to the house.

  'They went just where you thought the might.' I announced. 'When do you want to leave?'

  'We’ll go in two hours, just in case they have radar on board and see us go.' Carter answered.

  'I’ll start the girls loading then.' I said and started to get up.

  'They have it all ready on the thing you call the trolley.' He said quietly.

  I threw a glance in their direction but said nothing.

  'They made no noise,' he added, 'they made sure of that!'

  'We move out in an hour.' I said tersely and walked over to the trolley.

  I checked that it everything was on it, no one came near me!

  We moved out the back gate after an hour, a patrol in front to make sure we did not walk into trouble, it was possible that they had pretended to leave and doubled back. The smaller boat needed to gain all the time it could, on the Coral Dancer, as it was faster than their boat. It was still light enough to travel when we reached the beach. The patrol had seen no one. We signalled to carter and his family who, with the help of the other girls, had the dinghy with them, carried over their head. We loaded the dinghy as it sat in the water and paddled round to the boat. While the girls tipped what fuel we had left into the tank and Carter checked the boat over, I removed the radio. By now, I was quite good at removing radios from boats.

  When all the fuel we had was in the boat's tank, we paddled out of the way. Four girls remained on board to fend it off the rocks as it backed out. Then, after an emotional farewell, Carter steered it out of sight.

  We walked back to the house with the dinghy and trolley; I was leaving nothing to chance. Once the gate was closed behind us, I called a meeting.

  'I gave you orders and you did not obey them.' I declared. 'Number one, do not wear the pirate treasure o
ut of the camp, number two do not make any noise while the pirates were on the island-'

  'My father said it would be okay to do it?' Campbell said interrupting.

  I turned to him.

  'I know he meant well but if we are going to survive it is by obeying rules.' I turned back to the girls. 'Do you know what would have happened if they had heard you?'

  The girls nodded but I continued anyway.

  'I would either be hiding in the pirate cave hoping they did not find me or dead, you would either be with me or in serious trouble, the type Fleur was in!'

  I directed the last lot at Charley I assumed that she had told the others what was happening when we went onto the boat. 'You have let me down in a big way but you are all I have to work with so don’t do it again! Obey my orders, no one else’s!'

  I stood up.

  'I cannot punish you all, so I will start at the first!' I turned to face George. 'I don't know whether wearing your necklace that you sought to win for so long, endangered you or saved your life but you did disobey my rules! You will be my hand maiden until I say otherwise; only your actions will free you from this sentence and get you back out hunting again!'

  She bowed her head.

  'Sorry Walter. I will serve you as long as you want me to.'

  'The rest of you are-' I tried to think of a punishment they would dislike. 'Not allowed to talk to Campbell for two days!'

  You'd think I had stuck a knife in their individual hearts buy their reaction, I turned and walked into the house with George in tow. I had nothing to do in the house but I went in anyway. I saw the radio I had taken from Carter's boat and decided to look at it. I now had a collection of three radios all from boats and all with bullet holes in them. We moved the platform to where there was more light, I could have done it outside but they were out there and I knew they would be looking at me! I put the radio on it and started stripping it down.

  'Bring me the other two radios please George.'

  George returned with the two radios and laid them on the platform. The one thing I noticed straight away was that the holes in two were the same but the last one was on the other side. I was immediately interested, there was a chance I could make one out of two damaged radios. I took the cover off the latest one and looked at the damage, it was possible if I was able to cut both circuit boards in half that I could put wires from the cut ends to join them, although, at the moment I had nothing to solder them on with. I took out the circuit board and looked for a suitable place to saw it. It was obvious that I had to go round several components as I cut it and add wire where I cut. I needed a small soldering iron, I had solder with flux already inside it but where would I get a soldering iron from on this island? The answer was, I had to make one! I decided to cut the two boards and if that was successful I would think up a way to make a soldering iron!

  'Bring me the little hacksaw please George.'

  George rummaged in my toolbox and returned with my little hacksaw, three months before this she would not have known what one looked like! As I waited I was thinking about the others and the likely attack, where it would come from and where they would park their boat!

  'We’ll do this outside where there is more light.' I explained and we carried the platform outside with all three radios on it. 'I have a job for you girls.'

  They all walked over.

  'You will make provisions for a forced landing at the horseshoe bay. You need to be hidden like you were here but remember they will have guns!'

  'We have guns now though!' Tammy argued.

  'We do,' I answered, 'but up to now the only game which has fought back was Mr. Pig and the honours are even, I believe. Set it up so you can shoot with out being easily shot at, they are probably not as good a shot as you lot but then we do not have enough bullets for practice with the guns, only enough so that you know how to fire one and who might be the best shots! Campbell, you stay and help me.'

  With George there that made three and legal, by the law I had introduced.

  Campbell and George held the first circuit board still, while I cut it with the hacksaw blade which I had taken out of the saw. I wrapped a rag round it to give me a sort of handle. I cut it very carefully, as I was the one who had to repair every bit of damage! I had little hope of it working but then I had thought that when I started to remove George’s appendix. The first board was in good condition and cut easily, the second, the one from the boat on the rocks fell apart. I started on the third one, the one from under the water with little hopes of success; but it cut easily. All I had to do now was to make a soldering iron and solder wires across the cut circuits to make it work!

  It was a tall order. With no sign of the girls in the compound I looked round for a soldering iron and found a four-inch nail, it would do. I nailed it through a piece of wood to give me a handle and then cut and filed the end to make the right shape for my iron. I used the pig oil lamp to heat it but there was a slight wind and we had to take it all inside and shut the door. I took wires from unwanted parts of the radio and joined each broken circuit together. The iron worked well and I connected them in order from top to bottom. Even my two helpers were excited when I started on the last wire.

  I stepped back to look at it and had to admit it looked a mess. I had connected all the wires but would it work? I plugged in the microphone and aerial, connected the battery to it and spoke into the microphone. There was no reply but there was noise when I released the button to make me think it was working. I adjusted the frequency, something I could not do before and tried again. Still there was no reply. I kept adjusting and trying until I suddenly heard someone talking but I could not understand what they were saying. George held her hand out for the microphone; I gave it to her.

  She spoke to them in the same language while Campbell and I looked on curious as to what was going on. We heard Carter's boat mentioned, The Bourgonvillier and his family, also the boat we took from under the water and returned there. We heard Delphine and Charlotte mentioned, finally we heard the Coral Dancer mentioned. She talked on for sometime then switched the radio off.

  'Well?' I asked.

  'That was the Japanese navy, they are out here on trials, so they say but they were very interested in the pirate’s boat. They said they need to triangulate, whatever that is as I could not tell them my position.' George answered.

  'The Japanese navy!' I whistled. 'Now that I like. Triangulation is marking a line from where you are to where we are but they have no idea how far we are along the line so they move to another spot, mark another line-'

  'And where they cross is us!' She cried finishing my sentence for me.

  'Exactly, when they call again they will know just how soon they can get here.' I added. 'And it will not be a moment too soon.'

  I walked outside feeling very pleased with myself. George had taken my watch so she could call them in an hour exactly and I knew she would do it. Now if Carter did not quite make it a plane would come out and find him and they would arrange to collect him. I walked over to the fire and started the food cooking it was time to celebrate a little. I wanted it all ready when the girls came back. I needed fruit from the cave but I had to wait until George had spoken to the navy so that there could be three of us, enough of my rules had been ignored for now.

  To me the hour passed really slowly, for George it seemed to take forever. Finally it passed and George turned the radio on. To her joy it still worked and she was soon talking to the Japanese navy again. They did their triangulation and pin pointed where we were. They told her they would be with us some time tomorrow.

  I saw George come running out of the house and walked toward her.

  'Tomorrow!' She squealed. 'They will be here sometime tomorrow!'

  'The whole navy?' Campbell asked.

  'No but they have a cruiser, that is bigger than the Coral Dancer!' George answered.

  'It’s big enough for me!' I added. 'Shall we go and tell the others?'

  'Yes!' George cried.
'We must tell Charley my Japanese came in useful!'

  We left the food cooking and went in search of the others. I took a machine pistol and a hand gun, Campbell took a machine pistol but George stuck with her crossbow.

  'You can’t hear it coming!' She argued.

  We took it slow and careful as I did not want to show myself up by running into the pirates or be ambushed by the others. When we reached the horseshoe beach there was no one there.

  'We have news.' George said only slightly louder than normal. 'We got a radio to work, well Walter did, and I just talked to the Japanese navy!'

  'In Japanese?' A deep voice asked from the sand.

  'Yes! In Japanese!' George answered.

  'Well done sis, we are hiding and we don’t want you to know where we are so you can’t sell us out under extreme torture, so you lot go and we’ll come to the house!'

  'That sounds fair enough, except for the extreme torture.' I replied. 'We will see you back at the house.'

  We walked back to the house, still closing the gate behind us just in case; the girls came back twenty minutes later. They were very happy for two reasons; one, we had not seen them, any of them and two the Japanese navy was coming to get us.

  That night we ate and talked into the night, I took the trouble to strain my wine and top up both bottles, the little amount left I drank.

  Day 153 on the island.

  Tammy and Tabby were up with the larks. We had company coming and there was going to be a banquet, hopefully the last banquet on the island. They built up the fire and put the meat into the embers to cook.

  'Looks like we will be late with the food.' Tabby declared, squinting across the rocks at a blip on the horizon.

  Tammy walked over. 'Here already eh? It’s not our fault if it isn’t ready.'

  'Who is here already?' Natasha asked as she walked out into the early sunshine and stretched.

  'The Japanese navy!' Tabby answered.

  Natasha looked where they were looking, held her hand over her eyes, then walked back inside. She returned with the binoculars.

  'Oh shit! That is the Coral Dancer.' She said paling slightly. She looked again. 'And it is towing the Bourgonvillier!'