The Cadet Corporal

by Christopher Cummings

  They hadn’t. On arriving at Coy HQ, Graham heard CSM Cleland report to the OC that the Hutchie Men had caught another Heatley patrol by surprise. The Heatley patrol had run and blundered into Gwen’s patrol and been hit again. That news made Graham grin and he saw that Capt Conkey was smiling and enjoying himself.

  “Four Platoon is back on our side of the highway now,” Capt Conkey added. “They will start probing Heatley’s new position on Sandy Ridge soon.”

  “Did they raid the airfield sir?” Graham asked. He craned forward to study the map board in the faint light of the small torch which hung from a cord above it.

  “Yes they did. They even took some prisoners and only had one patrol in trouble. Now, here is a Patrol Report. Fill it in and get back to your section as quickly as you can.”

  Graham took off his webbing and sat to one side, took out his pocket torch and a pencil, then turned the torch on and held it in his mouth. For the next ten minutes he was busy filling out the report.

  He was just finishing when the scuffle and thud of approaching boots sounded. Both Capt Conkey and CSM Cleland looked up expectantly. It was the Hutchie Men. Their camouflaged faces grinned in the dim light.

  “Back sir,” Porno reported. “We have jolly good time.”

  “Sit down and tell me about it,” Capt Conkey replied. As they dumped their webbing and sat down Capt Conkey turned to Graham. “Have you finished yet Cpl Kirk? Good. Give me a quick verbal report. I will read the details tomorrow.”

  That put Graham on the spot. He didn’t want to sound as though he was boasting but he did think his patrol had done very well. He also felt self-conscious telling his story in front of the Hutchie Men. ‘They will have had real adventures,’ he thought. As quickly as he could he described the various actions his patrol had been involved in. Capt Conkey sat listening, nodding thoughtfully. He asked a few questions to check some details then said, “That sounds like you did a very good job. Now, get back to your section then and stay alert.”

  Graham badly wanted to stay and hear the Hutchie Men’s story but could only nod, stand up and slip his torch and pencil back into his pocket. Hoisting his webbing loosely over his shoulders he walked off. As he stumbled over the rocks he glowed at Capt Conkey’s praise. But the words made him feel even more guilty about the memories of cuddling Kirsty which had been crossing his mind while he had made his report. ‘I have to get her to stop without putting her nose out of joint,’ he decided. ‘But how?’

  It was just coming up to 2200 by then so he had a drink and then made his way to the sentry post. Andrews was still grumbling and was pleased to be relieved. He moved back a few metres to where his bedding was and lay down beside Halyday. Ten metres to the left were the dark forms of the three girls and the rustle of plastic and mutter of voices told Graham that Kirsty was settling down. Thoughts of her caused him to shake his head with anxiety.

  ‘She will get me into trouble and I will never get to be a sergeant,’ Graham worried. With these gloomy thoughts he seated himself beside Roger.

  “How did it go?” Roger asked.

  As quietly as he could Graham whispered the story. As he did he realised that Roger was jealous. ‘Poor bugger!’ he thought. But he knew he had to leave his 2ic to command the other half of the section.

  The two friends settled to watch in silence. As they sat there Graham’s mind roved alternately from his patrol exploits to Kirsty. Memories of those delicious minutes of kissing and of the smell and feel of her caused him to alternately flush with pleasure and guilt. These reveries were interrupted by the sound of another train crossing the rail bridge. It sounded amazingly loud to him and he commented on this to Roger.

  “How far is to the bridge?” Roger asked.

  “About three kilometres in a straight line,” Graham replied, still marvelling on how well noise travelled in the still, night air.

  “They are the best kind,” Roger answered with a chuckle. “It’s never that easy when you try to walk it.”

  “You are right there!”

  The two then sat in companionable silence as the rumble of the train died in the distance. Graham became aware that he could even hear the noise of cars on the highway and occasionally noted the loom of their lights as they went over a hill several kilometres to the East. Then the stillness of the night was shattered by shouts and screams from down at the bottom of the ridge. Graham tensed for a second, then relaxed.

  “One Platoon’s patrol has bumped someone,” he commented. For a minute or so he debated waking up the remainder of the section just in case but as the yelling died away he decided not to. ‘The enemy are going away,’ he decided. He settled back to watching.

  By then it was 2300 so Roger went and woke Pat. Pat got up without a grumble and quickly came over to take his turn on sentry. He was obviously still half asleep but Graham was still wide awake so there was no problem. Roger took himself to bed. Graham liked Pat.

  ‘It’s a pity he is only in Year 8,’ he thought. He knew that Capt Conkey preferred not to send Year 8s on the Corporals Course because they were too young to command cadets the same age. ‘I will recommend him for promotion to lance corporal though,’ he decided.

  That got him thinking about his own promotion chances and he decided that he was actually doing reasonably well. ‘I might be in the top half of the corporals,’ he thought hopefully. But he knew that he had to resist Kirsty or he would never make sergeant.

  Twenty minutes slid by, the silence broken only by the hoot of an owl and the distant howl of a dingo. There wasn’t even a breeze to rustle the leaves. Then a scream from behind Graham made him sit up in alarm. It was a girl’s scream but it was drowned by other shouts and yells. It came from just back over the crest.

  “Three Platoon in trouble,” Graham said. He stood up, ready to wake the others. Back towards HQ he saw figures stirring and moving: CUO Masters and Sgt Grenfell. They hurried over to the crest and joined in the mock battle. Graham quickly woke Halyday and Andrews and was about to wake the girls when Roger joined him to report he had done that. “Keep watching our own front,” he ordered.

  By now the yells and jeering laughter were receding. It was obvious that a Heatley patrol had managed to infiltrate and was now withdrawing. Graham saw dark figures running and stumbling across the bottom of the knoll from Coy HQ and heard Capt Conkey’s voice calling for a report.

  “Those noddies from Three Platoon have let an enemy patrol in,” Pat commented.

  They had too. A few minutes later CUO Masters appeared to check that 4 Section was awake and alert. When he found they were all awake and ready he grunted “well done” and whispered to Graham the story as he knew it. “Apparently Eight Section’s sentries went to sleep: Franks and Bycroft. The Heatley patrol snuck through and marked them all with red felt pen to show that their throats were cut. They were just doing that to the platoon HQ when CUO Mitrovitch woke up and screamed.”

  Pat chuckled and said, “She probably thought it was you sir,”

  “Don’t be cheeky Cadet Sheehan!” CUO Masters snapped, but then he chuckled too. “Poor old Three Platoon. The OC is really peeved. So make sure you lot stay alert so it doesn’t happen to us.”

  “Yes sir,” Graham replied. ‘Eight Section,’ he thought. ‘Poor old Harriet Harris.’ Then he was ashamed of himself for thinking that it would help his chances of promotion if she had blotted her copybook.

  The section was stood down and Andrews grumbled some more about being woken up. It was so close to midnight that Graham told Halyday to stay awake as it was his turn on duty next. He then sat with them till his time was up before thankfully making his way back to his pack. Even then he did not feel tired and really wanted more action. From past experience he knew that he could go for several nights without sleep and be still able to function efficiently so he was not worried about becoming too tired as he lay on his unrolled bedding staring at the stars.

  What he did worry about was Kirsty and his own lack of self
-control. The sound of another train crossing the rail bridge diverted these thoughts for a few minutes but then he went back to brooding. To his annoyance the thoughts of Kirsty got him aroused and he found himself hungering for more physical contact with her.

  Eventually he dozed off, still thinking about Kirsty. Then he dreamed about her, waking up to the sound of her voice. For a minute he lay wondering where he was, staring up at the stars. It was still dark and he realized that Kirsty must be on sentry and that she was talking to the other sentry. A moment’s listening told him it was Lucy.

  Grumbling to himself he walked down to the sentry post. The girls heard him coming and stopped talking. He saw the pale blurs of their faces as they turned to look at him.

  “Stop talking or the enemy will find us,” he hissed. ‘And I will get a bad report from CUO Masters,’ he thought.

  Feeling groggy and grumpy he made his way back to his bedroll and lay down. But then he could not go back to sleep. Feeling annoyed and frustrated he lay and fretted over his chances of being promoted to sergeant.

  Movement and murmuring down at the sentry post again attracted his attention but he saw it was only the change of sentry. Two of the three settled down but the third person began making their way up towards him. Graham looked up. It was Kirsty. She knelt down beside him, then stretched out to snuggle up against him.

  “Kirsty! You can’t sleep here,” he hissed.

  “But I will be the only girl over where I sleep because both Lucy and Di are on sentry,” she whispered back.

  “But we will get into trouble,” he said, twisting to look around towards platoon HQ.

  “Oh please! I am scared on my own,” she murmured, putting her arm across him and brushing her hair on his cheek. “Just for a few minutes.”

  “No,” Graham replied.

  “Oh please!” she responded, snuggling up to him and holding him tight.

  As she did Graham was torn. “Stop that and go back to your bed,” he hissed desperately, knowing he was half defeated. But she didn’t stop. That raised Graham’s anxieties another notch. “Lucy and Di are just down there. They know you are here,” he whispered, trying to get her to stop and to obey.

  “They won’t tell,” Kirsty said.

  “Yes they will. They will gossip to all their friends, and then the whole bloody company will know,” Graham replied peevishly. He felt deeply anxious but also feeling impotent. ‘How can I get her to obey?’ he wondered.

  To increase the pressure Kirsty leaned on him and began kissing him. Torn between fear and desire Graham kissed her in return. As he did he saw that a person was walking towards them from the sentry post. But Kirsty had not noticed and was still cuddling him. “Kirsty!” he croaked in panic.

  CHAPTER 22

  UNDER THE OC’S EYE

  The moment Graham noticed the person walking towards them from the sentry post he experienced a panicky mixture of sensations. Fear was uppermost. He whipped his arms from around Kirsty, at the same time pushing her hands away. Then he rolled on his side to try to pretend he and Kirsty had not been doing anything. In the starlight he recognized the person as Lucy. Kirsty realised something was wrong and thankfully moved the other way into a sitting position. By then Lucy was only ten paces away.

  “Hey Cpl Kirk, there are people moving down the ridge,” Lucy called quietly.

  Graham grunted, too caught up by emotions of shame and fear to speak clearly. His body shuddered again as the passion left him. He moved into a sitting position.

  “Thanks,” he managed to croak. He rolled onto his knees and grabbed his webbing, then stood up, swinging it on. Kirsty stood up as well and also picked up her webbing. Graham noted a significant exchange of glances between Kirsty and Lucy and that caused another surge of scorching shame to flood through him.

  ‘Did she see what we were doing?’ he wondered fearfully. However he did not dare ask or even hint, so he set off down to the sentry post, buckling his webbing on as he did. When he got there he knelt down to whisper to Dianne. Lucy and Kirsty followed him down and also crouched.

  “There,” Dianne whispered in reply, pointing down the ridge.

  Graham stared in the darkness then remembered his training. With a conscious effort of willpower he looked away from the area and tried to use his peripheral vision. It sort of worked and he detected a flicker among the shadows. Then he saw them clearly; three dark figures. A glance at his watch told him it was not a friendly patrol. They were all supposed to be home by this.

  “Wake the boys,” he hissed to Kirsty and Lucy, pointing each way. “I will tell CUO Masters.”

  As quickly and quietly as he could Graham set off back up the gentle slope. By then his heart had slowed down but he still had a dry throat and was sweating with anxiety. ‘Oh bloody hell! I hope Lucy doesn’t say anything,’ he thought He cursed himself for being a weakling and a bloody fool for not being able to resist Kirsty.

  CUO Masters was awake in seconds. Sgt Grenfell also stirred and both got up. As they tugged on webbing and hats Graham whispered his news. CUO Masters turned to Sgt Grenfell, “You wake the other two section commanders and have them stand-to. I will check, then wake the OC.”

  Graham led CUO Masters back down to his sentry post. When he got there he found all three girls seated with Andrews and Halyday. “Back to your packs,” he hissed.

  “There are six of them,” Dianne replied, pointing down the ridge to the right. Graham strained his eyes and noted dark shapes flitting from rock to rock or from tree to tree. The Heatley patrol had come up out of the reentrant and was angling across the ridge towards the top of the bluffs along the river.

  CUO Masters looked then whispered, “Well done. Just lie still and don’t open fire without my orders. I’m going to tell the OC.” He turned and ghosted back up the slope towards Coy HQ.

  Graham moved with the girls and made sure they were lying down before hurrying on to check Roger and Pat. They were both awake and watching. After repeating the platoon commander’s instructions Graham lay down beside them. He was fairly sure that the enemy had seen all the movement. ‘If we can see them they must have been able to see us,’ he reasoned.

  By then his heart was beating rapidly and he had all but forgotten his close shave a few minutes earlier. Now he lay tense and quivering with excitement. The Heatley patrol came slowly up the slope, sometimes crawling, sometimes walking slowly. For several minutes at a time they would stop. To right and left Graham heard noises as cadets were roused and a few of the whispered exchanges were loud and angry enough for the enemy to hear.

  There was evident confusion on his left and he could hear Cpl Rankine trying to get Magda and Erika out of their sleeping bags. The enemy must also have noted the noise as they began moving at a fast walk up across the slope towards 1 Platoon. Graham tensed and hoped none of his cadets would fire as the enemy drew closer: 75 metres, 65, 50. It was obvious that the clash must come at any second. It would be just in front of Graham and the next section. Then he heard noises behind him and risked a glance over his shoulder.

  Three large, shaggy, black shapes flitted across the crest to the edge of the bluff and out of sight. Just as they did Cadet Grey, a cheeky little Year 8 in 1 Section, called out, “Halt! Hands up!”

  At that the Heatley patrol ‘opened fire’ with much shouting. In response all of Rankine’s section began yelling. To Graham’s intense annoyance he heard Halyday and Andrews join in from over to his right.

  “Stop firing Four Section!” he called angrily.

  Dianne had also just started yelling ‘bang! bang!’ but she now stopped. It took another shout from Graham to stop Andrews. ‘Bloody drongo!’ Graham thought angrily.

  The Heatley patrol changed direction and began working its way directly up the ridge but they were clearly visible as there was little cover. As the nearest enemy reached a position only about 25 metres away Graham wondered if he was going to have to order his section to open fire on his own initiative.


  As two Heatley cadets scuttled even closer, now angling towards 2 Platoon’s centre Graham was relieved to hear CUO Masters call, “Open fire Four Section.”

  “Four Section, fire!” Graham screamed. He was further annoyed to hear that Andrews and Halyday hadn’t waited for his order. They all began shouting and that stopped the Heatley patrol. They went to ground and yelled back.

  Suddenly the right hand Heatley cadet sprang up and bolted back across the ridge. “Hutchie Men! Hutchie Men!” he screamed in a panicky voice.

  Out of the dead ground on the top of the bluff about 50 metres down the slope emerged the Hutchie Men. In the starlight they appeared as huge shaggy monsters and their shouts of “Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!” echoed along the river valley and across to Sandy Ridge. The three Hutchie Men charged the Heatley patrol. They sprang to their feet and fled.

  As they ran the Heatley cadets yelled in fear, “Hutchie Men! Hutchie Men!”

  Graham counted eight in the Heatley patrol and their panicked flight before three Hutchie Men looked so funny to him that he started to laugh. Others joined in and soon a barrage of jeers and mocking laughter pursued the enemy patrol down the slope. One of the Heatley cadets was too slow and was caught by a Hutchie Man. The unfortunate captive uttered a terror-stricken shriek which caused renewed laughter from the defenders. A second Heatley cadet tripped on the rocks and cried out in pain.

  Capt Conkey’s voice now bellowed out above the uproar, “Hutchie Men! Stop there! Stop there!” He came hurrying past, ordering the platoon commanders to silence their troops as he did. It took some effort to stop the chattering and laughter. Because Andrews kept snickering and talking Graham got up and hurried along, arriving at his position at the same time as Sgt Grenfell.

  Relative silence settled. Graham crouched beside Halyday and Andrews and listened. Voices indicated that Capt Conkey was talking and a few minutes later the murmur of voices receded down the hill. A shaggy figure came walking back towards them and Graham challenged him. It was Ziggy.