The Boy and the Battleship

by Christopher Cummings

  All he could do was sit and shiver as the wind dried his wet clothes. He was able to see over the stern of the launch and watched WO Crabb and another diver don their scuba gear and slip into the water at the cruiser’s stern. A group of a dozen American officers and ratings, plus the two security men, were visible leaning over the stern rail watching and discussing the problem. They were not in a good mood.

  After a while WO Crabb and his mate surfaced and climbed up into their boat. They and the officers and security men discussed their findings. The security men shook their heads. After some more discussion with the American officers the two security men, plus an American lieutenant commander came back to the launch.

  As they approached him Graham swallowed, feeling sick with apprehension at the hostile look on their faces. Mr Cartwright stood over him with his hands on his hips and chewed his lip. Then he said, “Well, that wasn’t in the plan you told us young Kirk. It seems they had a rope fastened to the post marking that side of the channel, with its other end attached to that old motor boat. They let it hang slack so that the frigate could pass over. The cunning bastards even had an American flag and waved a welcome.”

  He pointed angrily to the old motor boat which was now tied to the channel marker nearby. “Then, when all our boats were decoyed away they waited for the cruiser to come past and pulled the rope up under her so that it caught in her propellers. Then they set off those paint sprayers.”

  He shook his head angrily and Mr Baxter swore. The American naval officer went red in the face and became hostile. Cartwright went on, “Then the two men in the old motor boat were picked up by one of their inflatables and have got clean away. All four of the boats have reached shore in a different place and they had cars waiting. We haven’t caught a single one—yet. It’s plainly obvious to me that we have been fed a line because our whole plan was wrong. There weren’t three lots of demonstrators; there were five. That second lot of canoes wasn’t in the story you told us; and nor was this bit of sabotage. Now, the question is this: did you deliberately feed us a line? Or are you a dupe, who has been used to pass us false information?”

  Chapter 34

  MISERY

  “I’m not lying! That is exactly what I heard!” Graham cried miserably. The questioning had now gone for over two hours and he was feeling very upset.

  Mr Cartwright leaned back and gave him a hard stare. “Then that means you were set-up; that you were used to trick us with false information.”

  As that ugly thought sank in Graham’s mind recoiled from its deeper implications. Used! If so then Thelma had been a party to the plot. The idea made him feel physically ill.

  Graham’s mother, who had been present during the questioning at Police HQ, now spoke up. “I think that is enough of an interrogation thank you. I’m sure Graham has not lied to you, that whatever he told you he did in good faith. You people should be efficient enough to cross-check your sources of information. We will go now thank you.”

  The security men looked uncomfortable at the suggestion they were not efficient. “Bloody shambles the whole thing,” muttered a uniformed Inspector. “We should never have allowed anyone onto the wharf.” This last was delivered in a tone Graham detected as definitely of the ‘I told you so’ type.

  Mrs Kirk led the very unhappy boy out without any objection from the police or security men. It was dark outside by then, after 7pm. They drove home in silence. Graham was tormented by the idea that Thelma had been a party to the deception. Surely she wouldn’t? he asked himself, sensing the deeper levels of deceit implicit in that. That would mean she did not like me at all and was only pretending! At that the tears began.

  On arrival at home both Alex and Kylie wanted to know the story. “We saw it all on TV,” Alex cried. “When you went off the wharf we were sure you were a goner. They must have stopped the propellers just in time.”

  “Propeller,” Graham replied gruffly. “FFGs only have a single screw.” He did not want to talk to Alex at that moment. The tears threatened to start again.

  Kylie looked sympathetic. “Was that you in the little runabout?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, tell us about it!” Alex cried.

  Mrs Kirk intervened. “That is enough. We have just spent two hours telling the police. Leave Graham alone. He can tell you when he feels like it. You get ready for Scouts Alex or you will be late.”

  Graham sniffled and looked up. “What happened to the cruiser?”

  “The USS Ticonderoga?” Alex asked. “She got towed in by a tug.” Then he laughed. “Boy! Doesn’t it look funny all painted party colours!”

  That confirmed what Graham had suspected. My information helped to decoy the security people away from the real threat, he thought. The humiliation and shame made him burn. He turned and walked out to his bed, threw himself on it and began to sob.

  About half an hour later his mother came out and gently stroked his hair and told him it would be all right. “It is only politics, nobody got hurt,” she said. “Now come and have some tea.”

  Graham shuddered with sobs again. “I was nearly killed!” he cried. “Someone pushed me off the wharf.”

  “You can’t be sure of that. There was a big crowd all jostling,” his mother replied.

  “I was pushed, I am sure of it,” Graham replied. The memory of that hard shove came back to him clearly. The thought that someone might want him dead sent shivers of dread through him but he could not think who it was. Who was standing behind me? he wondered.

  “You told the police that. Let them investigate,” his mother said soothingly. “Now calm down and forget about it.”

  It was then that what was really troubling him caused him to blurt out: “But… but you… I… she… It means that I was deceived by Thelma. That… that she doesn’t… (sniff) doesn’t like me at all!”

  Graham’s mother had no answer to that. She gently stroked his hair as he lay face down in the darkness. After a time, Graham calmed down and followed her out to the kitchen. It was too late for him to go to Scouts and he did not want to go anyway. The wound to his pride was too raw and painful.

  Then the phone rang. Graham’s heart leapt. Perhaps it was Thelma? But it was not. It was Peter, wanting to know how he was; and what had happened. Graham gave only a short outline, aware that Peter did not know of his part in informing the authorities. Graham asked Peter if he had seen who pushed him but Peter answered in the negative. “I was too busy looking at the ships,” he replied.

  No sooner had Graham hung up than the phone went again; Roger this time, also wanting to know the story. Another uncomfortable conversation followed. Later he sat and watched the mid-evening news on TV and saw himself on a video clip from a helicopter as he went down between the wharf and the frigate. As soon as he saw it he wished he had recorded it to the HDD so he could watch again.

  I might see who pushed me, he thought. Then he decided to make sure the police viewed the footage. That could have been murder, he told himself. Then he shuddered and broke into sobs again as misery engulfed him. The fact that the demonstration was the major item on the national news and was headlines around the world did nothing to ease his conscience.

  As he watched the helicopter view of the chase and then of the disabled and multi-coloured cruiser being towed in by tugs Graham burned with shame and a sick feeling at being used. The demonstrators had certainly made headlines!

  Graham went early to bed and lay wracked by misery as he grappled with the ugly thoughts about whether Thelma had known and gone along with the plan willingly. He replayed every incident for the previous week and that made him feel very uncomfortable. Thelma had seemed very friendly but had still been stand-offish even then. The incident in the garden was the one that bothered him most. She had let him kiss her—and more.

  “But when those men came out and I suggested we move somewhere else she said no and then she let me…” he muttered. As the memories of her taking his hand and placing it on her breast cam
e to him he felt physically sick.

  Was that part of the plan, so that she could make sure I was there to ‘accidentally’ overhear the false plan? he wondered.

  He mulled over everything he could remember, annoyed that some of it he could not recall clearly. That drunk, Frank, he could have just been pretending. I thought he had not noticed us but he might have really been checking that we were in the right place before they began their play act.

  Then an ugly thought made him wonder about the type of relationship Thelma might have with those men. After all she was topless with some of them. Perhaps they…?

  The ideas were too painful. It made his insides writhe with jealousy and disgust. Surely it was all just a horrible mistake? The demonstrators might have just changed their plans, he told himself.

  He considered the likelihood of him actually passing on the information to the authorities. That seemed to him a weakness in the plot. What if I didn’t? How would they know? That thought led him to the idea that perhaps there was a double-agent in the police or security service who could tell the demonstrators. No. Too far fetched. All they had to do was keep the other part of their plan secret. It would probably have worked nearly as well even if I had not told the police.

  At length Graham fell into a troubled sleep. When he woke on Saturday morning he felt drained and sick. As the recollections of the previous day’s events flooded back his misery returned. This was compounded by the realization that he had another ordeal ahead. After lunch he was due to go to navy cadets; and they were to visit the USS Ticonderoga!

  “I won’t go. I couldn’t face them,” he told himself. The very thought of going onto the ship he had helped to sabotage made him feel miserable and sick. He voiced this opinion to his mother over breakfast.

  She was not impressed. “It wasn’t your fault. You acted in good faith. Besides, you don’t solve life’s problems by running away. If you don’t have the courage to face them you lose your self-respect. Then you start to lose life’s battle,” she said.

  Graham’s mind squirmed on that for a while and he knew she was right: he would have to go whatever the humiliation. To fill in the morning he threw himself into chores: mowing the lawn, cleaning the guinea pig cage, tidying his room, sweeping, scrubbing the bath. He was involved in the latter task, clad only in a pair of wet shorts when Margaret arrived.

  She knocked and looked in the door at his call. When Graham saw who it was he flushed with embarrassment, remembering the last time the two of them had been together in the bathroom. She was full of concern but, apart from saying hello, said nothing about the previous day’s events. It was evident she knew something had happened but was unsure what. She had heard part of the story at Guides from Kylie the night before but not the full details. Graham did not enlighten her and she went off with Kylie to her room. He went on with the scrubbing, feeling more confused and upset than ever.

  As he worked Graham turned over various strategies to try to find out what Thelma really thought about him. He still could not accept that she had simply befriended him to use him to pass false information to the police. It is just too much work, he tried to tell himself, and too unreliable. They couldn’t be sure I would actually do anything about things I heard.

  But the idea would not go away. It nagged at him all morning, tormenting him until it induced a sort of sick rage. This was exacerbated by his inability to formulate a plan for finding out where Thelma fitted into all this. A niggling thought in the back of his mind told him that if she was really his girlfriend, or if she even liked him, she would have at least phoned to see how he was, if not actually come over (as Margaret had done). He tried to push this idea out, but however he thought about it still hurt.

  ***

  Lunch time came. Kylie and Alex both wanted to know more details and Margaret sat opposite with concern all over her face. Graham managed to put on a brave face and talk about the chase in the Rigid Raider with some semblance of enthusiasm. He carefully avoided any reference to his part in passing information to the authorities.

  Then it was time to go to navy cadets. Graham dressed in blue shorts and an old khaki shirt and gym boots. His mother drove him to the depot. As they pulled up Graham saw Andrew and Carmen near the entrance and he quailed at the coming ordeal. For a moment he sat in the car, too scared to get out. Then he met his mother’s anxious eyes and she gave him a smile and nodded. He licked his lips and got out. With an effort he walked briskly forward with his head up.

  Andrew called to him as he approached, “Hi Graham! That was a good dive yesterday. What happened?”

  Graham stopped and began to relate his version of what had occurred. As he did he saw Lt Ryan approaching. The sight of the officer made Graham’s heart palpitate with anxiety.

  The officer stopped and said to him, “Recruit Kirk, the CO would like to see you. Follow me please.”

  Graham swallowed and felt sick. With a sinking heart he followed the officer into the office. As he went in the people inside all seemed to stare at him, although later he could not name who they had been. Everything except the door to the CO’s office seemed to be misty. The next thing he knew he was inside with Lt Cdr Hazard seated behind his desk and Lt Ryan seating himself to one side.

  Lt Cdr Hazard looked up, a grim set to his mouth. He did not invite Graham to sit. “Well Recruit Kirk, I have had a very uncomfortable morning on account of you. I have spent over an hour with the security men listening to how your little story led them to adopting a plan which resulted in the fiasco yesterday afternoon. They are of the strong impression that you deliberately fed them a line to help the demonstrators.”

  “No sir! That’s not…”

  “Wait till I finish. That is their opinion as you have been frequently seen in the company of several of the key leaders of the demonstrators. I gather your girlfriend is one of them?”

  Graham’s mind raced. Was she his girlfriend? He did not know. “I don’t think she is sir. She…” He could not finish he was so upset.

  Lt Cdr Hazard made a face and went on, “Anyhow, that is your business. I have also spent an hour down at the USS Ticonderoga convincing the Americans that we are their friends and that the visit to the ships should not be cancelled on account of yesterday. After all we were there to welcome them. But, because of the doubts about your role in yesterday’s rather humiliating shambles, it has been made very clear to me that you will not be welcome on their ships. I’m sorry, but you are not allowed to go with us on the visit.”

  It took Graham a moment to absorb this. He flamed with shame and knew he was trembling with emotion. Then other awful thoughts crowded into his mind. “Does that mean I am going to be chucked out of the cadets sir?” he asked in a croaking whisper.

  Lt Cdr Hazard shook his head. “No it doesn’t. But it does mean you are under a bit of a cloud. Now, you had better phone your mother and get her to come and get you. We are closing the depot while we all go to the wharf and you can’t stay here.”

  Graham heard this as though from a distance. Hot shame pounded in his cheeks. Outside he could hear the cadets being formed up on parade. He did not want to go out and be an object of curiosity or hostility to them. He managed to point and ask: “Do… do the other cadets know what I am being sent home for sir?”

  Lt Cdr Hazard again shook his head. “No. You can tell them you are sick if you like. The only people who know anything about your role in this are myself, Lt Ryan and AB Collins and her brother; and I have already spoken to them. They promise not to say anything.”

  “Yes sir,” Graham mumbled. His throat now choked up and he was further humiliated when his eyes filled with tears. He tried to hold back the sobs but couldn’t. Lt Cdr Hazard stood up and went out.

  Lt Ryan stayed with him till he had mastered his tears. “Go to the heads and wash your face, then ring your parents using this phone,” he said, his voice hard.

  Graham stumbled blindly out and made his way to the heads, hoping desperately that no-on
e had seen him. From that sanctuary he heard the cadets being called outside. While he waited, his mind and emotions whirling, he decided he did not want to phone his mother. He just wanted to be alone in his misery.

  So he walked out of the depot, hoping that Lt Ryan did not see him. By then the other cadets were filing onto a bus outside. Rather than face them Graham detoured and went past the back of the bus and along the road away from the depot, the bulk sugar terminal on his left. From 200 paces along the road he watched the bus drive off, the happy faces of the cadets visible through the windows.

  After they had gone, Graham turned around and walked back along the side of the road, oblivious to the traffic and feeling more wretched than he could ever remember. Anxious about his little deception, he hurried past the now locked depot and on past the navy base.

  In spite of everything his steps led him in the direction of the main wharf. Several times he became so upset he could not see properly from the tears and he took himself into corners away from the traffic till his eyes dried and he felt able to continue. It was several kilometres walk and the sun was hot, blazing down from a clear blue sky.

  On arrival at the wharves, he discovered that the whole area was now sealed off by police and security guards. No-one was being allowed inside the fence. Vehicles were checked carefully as to who their occupants were. To add to his emotions he saw that a large group of protesters with banners and placards stood opposite the main gate. From time to time they burst into songs or chanted slogans, particularly when small groups of uniformed American sailors came out to go on leave.

  From a distance Graham loitered and watched them. He was looking for Thelma, and at the same time mentally scratching at his emotional wounds. There was no sign of her, but he did see the big-breasted blonde in the caftan who had been with O’Malley during the previous demos. The sight of her encouraged him to stay and he sat down across the street to watch.