The Cadet Corporal

by Christopher Cummings

  “Put the jerry can next to Cadet Carnes please Cpl Kirk, then go to his platoon and get his section commander to bring his kitbag,” Lt Standish ordered.

  “Yes Ma’am,” Graham replied.

  “What section are you in Cadet Carnes?” Lt Standish asked.

  “Three Section, Cpl Brown, Miss,” Carnes replied, misery in every syllable.

  “Then we can’t get your platoon sergeant here,” Lt Standish commented.

  As 1 Platoon sergeant was a girl, Sheila Sherry, Graham could only quietly chuckle as he strode across to where 1 Platoon was camped. He felt sorry for Carnes but thought his reaction a bit overdone. ‘The mongrels would regret it if they tried to do that to me,’ he told himself. With that came the thought that maybe he had better be careful when and where he went to the toilet. He was uncomfortably aware that he had no friends in 4 Platoon.

  Five minutes later Graham walked back with Cpl Brown, who carried Carnes’ kitbag. As they arrived at the latrine Graham saw that Carnes, still naked, was now crouched in a shivering ball behind a tree. “There are prickles Miss!” Carnes moaned.

  “Won’t be long now,” Lt Standish told him.

  As she did the headlights of the two Land Rovers appeared out at the Canning Road. “Here comes the OC. Cpl Kirk, go and find the CSM and have him report to Capt Conkey. Cpl Brown, you stay here and keep watch for Cadet Carnes.”

  By the time the two Land Rovers had parked at the officer’s fire Graham saw that his mission was wasted. CSM Cleland was already walking that way. Curious to know what Halyday and Andrews might have said Graham continued on. Lt Standish walked beside him and they arrived at the fire just after the CSM had informed Capt Conkey of the outrage. While he was doing this the other officers and the four CUOs all climbed out of the vehicles and joined the group around the fire.

  In the firelight Graham saw Capt Conkey’s lips press together and his eyes harden. When the outline of the story had been given he asked, “Do we know who did it?”

  CSM Cleland answered. “No sir. Sgt Grenfell and I have questioned Cadets Halyday and Andrews but they either don’t know, or won’t say. All they could tell me was that they were big and that they had hutchies wrapped around them which they wore like cloaks. Apparently when they ran forward they spread these like bat’s wings. They wore some sort of rubber masks, those horrible things you see in the novelty shops, and they had wigs made of scrim.”

  “Hutchies!” Capt Conkey cried in astonishment. “I’ll give them bloody hutchies if I catch them. So there are no suspects?”

  “It was suggested that Four Platoon were involved sir,” CSM Cleland replied, gesturing in Graham’s direction.

  At that CUO Grey scowled at Graham. “You got any proof Kirk?”

  Graham swallowed and wished he hadn’t spoken. He replied, “I heard their voices afterwards, and they thought it was very funny.”

  “Whose voices?” asked Capt Conkey as he glanced quickly at Graham.

  CSM Cleland answered. “Someone said they thought they heard Porno’s voice sir.”

  “Porno eh?” Capt Conkey replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Cpl Pornosittipol was a huge Thai, a Year 12 student who had been passed over for promotion. Along with two others he had been placed in what was called the ‘Control Group’, but more usually ‘the Enemy’, because that was the role they normally filled on exercises. The unit policy was that, if a cadet NCO was not promoted they were moved sideways onto an unofficial part of the establishment table, though still being enrolled and counted as a Cadet for official returns. This allowed more cadets to have a chance of being promoted.

  “Has he got an alibi?” Capt Conkey asked. Graham knew that Porno was a notorious practical joker and mischief maker.

  CSM Cleland nodded. “He claims he was with Four Platoon all the time and Sgt White and Cpl Bannister back that up,” he replied. He sounded annoyed.

  “What about Pigsy Pike?” Graham interjected.

  “Be quiet Cpl Kirk! Speak when you are asked,” Capt Conkey rapped back. He turned to the CSM. “Well?”

  “He says he was with Four Platoon too sir. Others backed his story.”

  Capt Conkey frowned.“Do you think they are telling the truth?” he asked.

  CSM Cleland shook his head. “No sir.”

  At that CUO Grey became indignant. “Oh sir! That’s not fair, to blame my platoon without any evidence. We get blamed for everything.” He flashed Graham another venomous look, making him wish he had stayed away.

  “That’s because it usually is Four Platoon,” Capt Conkey replied.

  “We might be able to find something if we looked sir,” CSM Cleland suggested.

  At that Lt Maclaren chuckled. “We could rush the shovel to the police and have it checked for fingerprints.”

  Capt Conkey shook his head. “This is potentially serious Mel. If Carnes complains and we do nothing then it will look bad.”

  “From the quantity of shit thrown around a sniffer dog might be more use than fingerprints,” Lt Standish said, her face forming an impish smile. Graham was astounded. ‘I didn’t know she had a sense of humour!’ he thought.

  “Hmmm. I wonder if a kit search would reveal anything?” Capt Conkey mused. He checked his watch. “Twenty three ten. Bit late, but I think we had better look into this business of the Hutchie Men straight away. It will settle the issue about Four Platoon’s guilt or innocence. Now, what are we going to do about Cadet Carnes?”

  Lt Standish said, “I will take Cadet Carnes over to the army camp. He can use the shower while I put all his clothes through the wash. We will be an hour or so.”

  “That’s a good idea Jill. OK, off you go,” Capt Conkey replied.

  “Did you find Cpl Doyle’s section?” Lt Standish asked.

  Capt Conkey snorted. “Yes we did. They were just waiting beside the road down at the Highway turn-off.”

  “How the hell did they get there?” CSM Cleland asked. Then he shook his head.

  Graham chuckled. “This is Dimbo we are talking about,” he said.

  At that Capt Conkey turned on him. “That’s enough of that talk! You are only a corporal too! Now you get back to your section Cpl Kirk.”

  Abashed, Graham fled. ‘Bloody drongo!’ he told himself. ‘Learn to keep your mouth shut!’

  As he walked away Graham heard Lt McEwen ask why Dimbo hadn’t answered his radio. Lt Maclaren answered. “He didn’t have it turned on!”

  The officers groaned and Graham shook his head. He made his way back to his platoon Graham heard movement and voices and saw a line of cadets come walking in along Sandy Track- Dimbo’s ‘Lost patrol’. ‘Some unhappy cadets there too,’ he thought.

  As he arrived back at the section hutchies Graham found Sgt Grenfell, Stephen and Roger standing to one side in the darkness. Naturally they wanted to know the outcome. As Graham arrived Gwen got up from her hutchie and joined them. Graham then related all that had passed, with the injunction not to talk about it.

  Stephen chuckled. “Hutchie Men! I like that. I’ll bet it was Porno and Ziggy.”

  “I’ll bet it was too,” Graham replied, “and I’ll bet it was Pigsy who put them up to it.”

  “It certainly scared the crap out of Halyday and Andrews,” Roger said.

  They all laughed at that but then Sgt Grenfell got serious. “This is no good. We might have a problem if the little cadets aren’t game to go to the dunny for fear of the Hutchie Men.”

  Stephen gave another chuckle. “We will know after a few days when they look very full in the face.”

  Sgt Grenfell laughed with the others but then said, “It wasn’t constipation I was worrying about. The little buggers might just start to crap anywhere and then we will have a hygiene problem.”

  CUO Masters came over to join them from the fire. “What are you lot talking about?”

  “The dreaded Hutchie Men sir,” Sgt Grenfell replied.

  “Then keep it quiet. Lt McEwen can hear you from there. In fact
get to bed, it’s nearly midnight.”

  They moved off to their hutchies. Roger crawled straight in but Graham realised he now needed a pee. He looked in the direction of the latrine and felt a distinct reluctance to go back there. He told himself the Hutchie Men would not be there because the distant sound of voices indicated that 4 Platoon was being searched by the officers. But it was still a long way in the dark. ‘One little leak won’t matter,’ he rationalised. ‘I’ll just nip into the gully.’

  Even so he went carefully, worried about snakes more than Hutchie Men. Thus, when the bushes in front of him suddenly erupted he leapt back, heart hammering, and let out a cry of fright. Then he swore. “Bloody wallaby!” he muttered.

  Glancing around to check he was out of sight of the hutchies he stopped and did a pee, then walked quickly back up to the camp. As he passed Kirsty’s hutchie he got another fright when she sat up and spoke to him.

  “Did the Hutchie Men give you a scare then Graham?” she asked, giving a chuckle.

  He meant to rebuke her for not calling him Corporal Kirk but didn’t. ‘We are alone,’ he rationalised, even as he named it his weakness for what it was. Instead he stopped and knelt down. In the starlight he saw white skin extending down from her face to her neck, and then on down past her shoulders. ‘Holy Mackerel!’ he thought. ‘Is she wearing anything?’

  By staring hard he was reassured that she had her sleeping bag held across her chest. Then he whispered, “How do you know about the Hutchie Men?”

  “I could hear you talking just now,” she replied.

  “Well don’t say anything to the other cadets about it,” Graham replied, feeling guilty at having done so himself. “And don’t you get a chill,” he added.

  “It’s not cold,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Now tell me what happened?”

  “I can’t tell you,” Graham relied.

  “Oh spoil sport. I won’t tell!”

  Graham snorted. “Humpf! That’s what all the girls say!”

  “Do they?” Kirsty asked. Graham wasn’t sure if it was because she was whispering or not but he thought her voice sounded very sultry and sexy. He began to get aroused.

  Sgt Grenfell’s voice ended any speculation on his chances. “What are you two doing?” he called from his own hutchie.

  “Just telling Kirsty about the Hutchie Men,” Graham answered.

  “Well don’t! And get to bed,” Sgt Grenfell called back.

  Kirsty smiled and giggled. “I’d like a man in my hutchie,” she whispered. Graham’s heart began to hammer rapidly and his mind raced with possibilities and hope. ‘Maybe?’ he thought. ‘Is she giving me the ‘come on’?’

  For several seconds he stayed, looking into her eyes. He noted that they seemed to sparkle with the reflection of the stars and that her lips were slightly parted. She was breathing rapidly. The temptation to ask for a kiss was almost overpowering but, fearing a rejection and not trusting his senses, he stood up. ‘I might be reading the signs wrong,’ he thought. ‘Then I will be in real trouble when she complains.’

  Regretfully he said, “Good night,” and walked away.

  As he did Kirsty smiled again. “Sweet dreams,” she murmured.

  ‘Oh bloody hell!’ he told himself. ‘Don’t be tempted. Be strong!’

  He crawled into his hutchie, hoping Roger hadn’t noticed any of that. To Graham’s relief he hadn’t. He was lying on his side asleep. Graham unrolled his bedding, his gaze continually diverting to Kirsty’s hutchie. From the end of his bed he could just see the top of her head. As he looked he saw her twist around to look at him. Then she turned away and let the sleeping bag drop so that Graham was granted a fleeting glimpse of white skin in the starlight. That set his imagination working and he became almost instantly aroused. She fidgeted a bit, apparently adjusting her bed then slid down into her sleeping bag.

  Graham took off his boots and stretched out fully clothed, feet towards Kirsty. He was very conscious of his aroused state, and of her. From where he was lying he could he could only see the top of her head and part of her shoulders but it was enough for his adolescent imagination to seize on. ‘Oh hell!’ he mentally screamed.

  Then a terrible temptation rose to torment him. ‘Will I risk sneaking back over to ask her for a little kiss and a cuddle?’

  Even as he thought this he saw her roll over and twist her head around to look at him. ‘Does she want me to?’ he wondered, his heart hammering frantically and his mouth dry with lust and excitement. ‘Do I dare?’

  CHAPTER 6

  TEMPTATION

  Graham stared from the shadows of his hutchie at Kirsty. He could see she was looking in his direction but still wasn’t sure if it was an invitation. ‘She said she wanted a man in her hutchie. That must mean she wants it?’ he reasoned.

  Voices over at the officer’s fire caught Graham’s attention and he moved to poke his head out to look. He saw that Capt Conkey, the officers and CSM Cleland were standing in a group deep in conversation. Movement from Kirsty’s hutchie attracted his attention. She half sat up and looked toward the officers. As she did Graham thought her sleeping bag would slip off her front but she held it on. Then she turned her head to look at him and he saw her lips move.

  ‘What is she saying?’ he wondered, although he thought he knew. ‘No,’ he decided. Too many years of not succeeding with girls made him shake his head in disbelief. ‘No, it is too good to be true,’ he told himself. ‘She’s not offering surely?’

  But she did seem to be giving him a smile. Graham smiled back and felt his desire press harder. ‘I could just creep over and ask her what she wants,’ he thought.

  But that took real courage and he found his mouth dry and his palms sweaty. His breath came in gasps as though he had run a race. He had only really misbehaved with a girl once in his life and been caught in the act. As a result he had got into terrible trouble. That memory now flooded his consciousness to further confuse him. ‘Ooh it was wonderful!’ he remembered. But not what followed!

  ‘Come on coward,’ his naughty imp urged him. ‘Faint heart never won fair lady! Opportunity knocks but once.’ The urge to go was now strong in him and he felt his pulses racing. With a tiny sob he plucked up the courage and moved to the end of the hutchie. As he went to stand up a noise nearby caused him to freeze in fright. Someone was coming! As quietly as he could Graham hunched back inside his hutchie as the footsteps came closer.

  It was CUO Masters. He walked through the gap between the two hutchies and on towards the officer’s fire. Graham sank back onto his sleeping bag, his heart thudding. ‘Bloody hell, that was close!’ he thought. He saw that Kirsty had also subsided into her bed. After CUO Masters had gone she again raised her head and looked towards Graham. He crept to the entrance and put his head out and shook it. ‘Too risky,’ he mouthed.

  Kirsty made a face but nodded. She then lay down, seeming to toss her hair in annoyance. Graham also lay back, his mind and emotions racing. ‘Is she just teasing me or does she mean it?’ he wondered.

  He lay there in frustration, wondering and fantasizing while his mind roved over Kirsty’s possibilities. It was a terribly tempted and torn young man who slipped into sleep.

  -------------------------------------------------

  “Wake up! Out of bed! Boots and hat! Check Parade!” called Sgt Grenfell.

  Graham groaned and opened sleep-gummed eyes. Then he realised it was daylight. Rubbing his eyes he sat up. As he did he noticed that Kirsty was sitting up buttoning her shirt. She had her back to him but he broke into a sweat of anxiety over what to do about her.

  As quickly as he could Graham hauled on his boots and then found his hat. Urged on by more calls by Sgt Grenfell, Graham crawled out and stood up. As he did Kirsty turned and their eyes met. Graham forced a smile. To his relief she smiled back but she looked tired and grumpy.

  At another bellow from Sgt Grenfell, Graham went to ensure the remainder of his section were all awake and moving. Dianne an
d Lucy were and Graham was careful not to look into their shelter in case they thought he was perving. Instead he walked on to roust Andrews and Halyday out. He saw with satisfaction that Pat was already up.

  “Come on you pair! Get up and out,” Graham snapped irritably. He was very conscious that Gwen’s section all seemed to be lined up already. Stephen went past with several of his cadets to join the platoon.

  “Mob of dozy slugs,” Stephen commented with a grin as he did.

  Graham was not amused. He grunted a greeting, then turned and snapped angrily at Andrews and Halyday. “Get a move on you pair! We are last now.”

  He looked in and saw that Andrews was lacing his boots up and that Halyday was trying to pull on a sock. At that he exploded. “Don’t waste time putting on socks Halyday! Just get your boots on; and don’t lace them up. Just shove the laces inside so you don’t trip on them!”

  Sgt Grenfell added to Graham’s discomfiture by calling, “Hurry up Four Section! We don’t want to be the last platoon on parade.”

  Urged on by a shamed Graham the two cadets crawled grumbling out and made their way to join the ranks. It was apparent that all of 5 Section and 6 Section were already there. A quick head count assured Graham that all members of his section were now present.

  “All here Cpl Kirk?” Sgt Grenfell queried.

  “Yes sergeant,” Graham replied, hotly aware that CUO Masters was looking towards them as he walked past towards the officer’s fire.

  The platoon was then marched over past HQ to line up along the vehicle track. Despite the delay they were not last on check parade. 3 Platoon was. As they arrived CSM Cleland muttered his annoyance, then called the company to attention, right dressed them and stood them at ease. “Platoon sergeants, call the roll!” he ordered.

  That done CSM Cleland called for reports. Next he told them when to be ready for work and which platoon would be first for breakfast. The sergeants were then told to ‘carry on’. Sgt Grenfell marched the platoon back to their bivouac area and fell them out.