‘Saved!’ he croaked, only to have the hand suddenly snatch off his face mask. As the salt water stung his eyes and flooded up his nose he dimly saw the light fade.
He woke up shaking and gasping for breath. His bedclothes were twisted around his chest and neck and his pyjamas were soaked in perspiration.
“Oh bloody hell!” he muttered weakly. “Only a nightmare. Oh God! How will I ever be able to go diving again?”
Sleep would not return and it was an unhappy boy who lay awake brooding as the first grey streaks of dawn appeared in the sky.
Feeling depressed and tired Andrew made his way to school. He had found it an effort to pretend to his parents and to Carmen that he was well and happy but on his own the gloom and doubts seemed to return with redoubled force.
The thing that took his mind off his own woes that day was worry about his friend Graham Kirk. During Period 1 Andrew sat daydreaming of sailing (with Muriel) and staring out the window, wishing he was out there, free. The arrival of a police car at the front of the school attracted his attention. He became even more interested when he saw Graham climb out and walk in to the school with a policeman.
‘Strewth! Poor old Graham! He looks pretty miserable. I hope he isn’t in trouble. I wonder what happened?’ Andrew thought.
However he had no chance to ask Graham between periods so at morning break he went looking for him. Thus he was witness to another incident involving Graham. Andrew checked the place where Graham usually sat with his mates of the ‘Hiking Team’ but he was not with them so Andrew headed towards the tuck shop with Blake. Half way across the side of the quadrangle he saw Graham get into a fight.
Blake drew his attention to it by nudging him and pointing across the grass quadrangle. “Look Andrew. Kirk is arguing with that bully Larsen.”
Andrew, like all the Year 9s, knew who Larsen was, and was glad he had not yet attracted his attentions. Larsen was a big, red-haired Year 11 boy with a reputation for tormenting younger kids. Near the two arguing boys stood a curvy blonde, a Year 9 girl in Graham’s class named Ailsa. She was looking anxious and seemed to be trying to calm them.
Larsen suddenly swung a punch at Graham; a vicious uppercut which he just managed to dodge. In response Graham stepped in and punched Larsen hard in the stomach, causing him to double up. A right cross to Larsen’s jaw sent the bully sprawling on the sand.
Blake clapped his hands. “Oh bloody good hit!” he cried.
Andrew had to admit he was pleased. Larsen had been the bane of their life all year and it was certainly satisfying seeing him getting some of his own back. But there was anxiety too. Larsen was bigger and obviously stronger- and now he was very angry, having been humiliated in front of his girl friend and cronies. He scrambled to his feet and rushed at Graham, fists flailing.
Andrew began hurrying towards the fight, along with a hundred other students. He wasn’t sure what he would do when he arrived but felt a need to help his friend.
A ring of shouting, chanting students quickly formed around the combatants, blocking both Andrew’s vision and path. He glimpsed fists flailing and saw both boys manage to get solid blows home. Graham hit Larsen on the jaw again, sending him staggering back. Then, as he drew back to deliver another punch his arm was grabbed by Mr Page, the Senior Geography teacher. Mr Conkey arrived from the other direction and restrained Larsen.
There was then no way Andrew could help. All he could do was stand in the crowd and watch as the two were marched off to the office.
“What was that all about?” Andrew asked Angus MacDougal, a boy in Graham’s class.
“Oh, Kirky was silly enough to make a pass at Ailsa, but she is Larsen’s girlfriend and he took objection to that,” Angus explained. “Silly bugger!” he added.
It wasn’t until Period 7 after lunch, during Chemistry, that Andrew met up with Graham. He at once went over and asked him how he was, noting a big bruise on the side of his face, a split lip and a puffed up nose, plus various minor bruises. “You look like you've been in the wars,” he commented. “What happened?”
“Had a fight with Larsen,” Graham grunted.
“I saw that. You did a great job, got him a couple of beauties!” Andrew replied enthusiastically. Then he went on. “Er.. um .. It’s none of my business but I saw you arrive in a cop car this morning.”
Graham nodded. “Yeah. I wasn’t in trouble. I had a fight with gang of hoons who were harassing some little sheilas from St Monicas.”
Graham then related the incident but the story was cut short by the arrival of the hugely fat and very bossy teacher, Miss McLeod. Andrew did not get another chance to talk to Graham and, when he looked for him after school he saw no sign of him. He did linger for a few minutes to watch the school’s army cadet company start its weekly training parade, mainly to compare their drill to the navy cadet’s way of doing things. Next he went to the library to photocopy the newspaper clippings of Gran’s and some of the old photos. Then he rode home and sat to do his homework. This included drafting letters to various libraries and the State Archives.
When Carmen came home she informed him that she had organized with Gran for them to visit Mr McGackey the next afternoon. That suited Andrew as he had plenty to do. His homework done he lay down to read. This time he read an account of the Italian ‘Frogmen’ who had bravely penetrated Alexandria harbour in December 1941 and badly damaged two British Battleships, HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth. The men used two-man torpedoes and it all made Andrew wonder if he could ever swim underwater at night. It was a terrifying prospect.
To his consternation he was almost immediately put under more pressure by Carmen saying she wanted to do the Advanced Open Water Diving Course. “Will you come with us?” she asked.
“Us?” Andrew asked.
“Muriel has asked me to sign on with her,” Carmen replied, giving Andrew a sly look that made him blush.
“Mum and Dad won’t let us surely?” Andrew answered. “They will think it is too dangerous.”
But they didn’t immediately say no, much to Andrew’s consternation. With that he fell back on cost. Even that was discounted as they said they would think about it. That got Andrew secretly hoping they would say no, but left him in a state of growing anxiety.
Muriel rang again that evening and she increased the pressure by adding that Carmen had agreed to do the diving with her. Poor Andrew just could not pluck up the courage to admit he was terrified! Instead he changed the subject to the movies on Saturday night. Muriel’s answer was that she would be driven to and from the cinema by her mother, along with her girl friends. “We will just have to meet inside,” she said.
That was a lot better than nothing so Andrew went to ask his mother if he could go. She wanted to know who he was going with and that made him say Blake and Luke.
“How are you getting there?” his mother next asked.
“Don’t know,” Andrew replied, kicking himself for not having his plan thought through.
“I will drive you then,” his mother replied.
That left Andrew with no option but to ask Blake if he would come. As soon as he saw him at school he went over and asked, “Can you come to the movies on Saturday night?”
To his relief Blake could and he agreed to ask Shona. “I might get lucky,” he added.
Images of himself with Letitia in January flooded Andrew’s mind making him feel both aroused and jealous, then guilty. ‘Would I do ‘it’ if the opportunity arose?’ he wondered. To his own regret he suspected he would, but was sure it would not be with Muriel. ‘She is much too nice and too special,’ he thought.
After school he hurried home and dropped of his schoolbag. Then he and Carmen rode their bikes over to the Retirement Village. Andrew felt very self-conscious going in there, for once aware of his age. The people at the office directed them to a lounge room where they found Gran and a wrinkled old man with skin as brown as a walnut. His head was bald and shiny and his hands were all curled up but there
was a bright twinkle in his eye.
Gran introduced them to Mr McGackey, one time cook and deckhand on various ships. Mr McGackey stared hard at Andrew, looking him slowly up and down. Then he nodded. “Aye, ye be the spittin’ image of Bert Collins when he were a boy, I reckon,” he said.
“You knew him then?” Andrew asked.
“Aye, knew him very well. It was only pure chance that I were not with him on that last voyage when he was lost at sea,” Mr McGackey answered.
“Why is that?” Carmen asked.
“Well, I were workin’ on the Deeral as deckhand, cook and general jack-of-all-trades when he and Murchison decided to use her to go lookin’ fer the pot of gold at the end of Merinda’s rainbow. I would’a bin on her but just that same day they got a call to haul a big barge off a sandbar at Mourilyan. That meant usin’ the Wallaman Falls. She was a tug yer know.”
Andrew nodded. “Yes, we know. We’ve seen photos.”
Mr McGackey went on, “Well, as luck would have it, Percy Westcott hurt his hand the day before. He were the regular deckhand on the tug yer see. Anyhow, seein’ that they needed a deckhand straight away I were transferred to the Wallaman Falls, seein’ as how I knew the ropes on her, so to speak.”
Brother and sister nodded politely while Mr McGackey nodded to himself and stared off into space for a few moments. Then he went on, “Luckiest thing I ever did. Otherwise I would have gone down with the Deeral, like as not, particularly seein’ as I can’t swim.” He chuckled, then said, “Caused a bit of an argument it did, between Bert Collins and Murchison. Bert wanted me along but Murchison insisted I go to the tug. In my place they hired two T.I. boys. Good lads they were too, and used to divin’, which was Murchison’s argument.”
Carmen looked puzzled. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
Mr McGackey looked thoughtful for a moment, then explained. “Your Grandad, Bert Collins, he was usually the skipper of the Deeral, with me as her other crewman. Too small for more than that, not even an engineer yer see,” he said. There was another pause, then he went on. “That Murchison, he was just a diver. Didn’t have no tickets yer see, I mean certificates to be a mate or a master. Allan Penwold were the master of the tug, and a right, good man. So I weren’t on the poor little Deeral when she made her last voyage.”
Carmen frowned, then asked, “You sound as though you don’t like Mr Murchison?”
“No, I didn’t,” Mr McGackey replied. “I thought he was a bit too tight, a real penny-pincher, yet greedy with it. Sorry, but he put me wrong a few times and I didn’t trust him. But then, ye say don’t. Is the man still alive?”
Andrew listened to that with some embarrassment. He answered. “Yes, he is. He lives in a house over at Bosuns Bay.”
“Well I never!” Mr McGackey commented. “Ah well, they say the Devil looks after his own. Fancy that, him still alive after all that!”
There was an uncomfortable silence. Andrew broke it by asking, “The Deeral, what was she? I’ve seen a photo but not a very good one. Could you tell us about her?”
“Certainly,” Mr McGackey agreed. “She were a good little ship that, a fifty six footer, made of galvanized steel. She were built on the Clyde as a workboat for the British Army during World War Two. She had a six cylinder G.M. diesel engine what rated at one hundred and fifty horse power. That pushed her along at about six or seven knots. Not much to her though. Only five foot of freeboard fully laden and just three compartments. Seaworthy enough in normal conditions though. But.. well.. we were always a bit wary of her.”
“Why was that?” Carmen asked.
“Her number,” Mr McGackey answered. “Her army hull number was AV 1313.” There was a pause and Mr McGackey looked slightly embarrassed. Then he explained, “Well, sailormen of my generation, we was a bit more superstitious than yer modern folk. Bad enough having one thirteen, but two! Well, some said it would all end in tears, and it did. To cap it off they sailed one a Friday. Bert didn’t want to but I heard Murchison arguing with him. ‘If we wait some one else might beat us to the wreck,’ he said. So they sailed, and look where greed got them eh?”
“Was the ship in good condition?” Andrew asked.
“Oh fair enough. For all that they tried to keep costs down she was maintained alright. Bert seen to that, despite Murchison’s moaning about expenses.”
Carmen frowned. “I thought they were friends as well as partners. Was there some sort of disagreement?” she asked.
“There was a bit of tension,” Mr McGackey replied. “They had been friends but I think the business put a strain on that.”
“Can you tell us anything about what happened?” Andrew asked.
“No more’n you will have read in the papers,” Mr McGackey answered.
“Would you know where she sank?” Andrew asked.
Mr McGackey shook his head. “Nah! Don’t think anyone really knows. Somewhere out from the Whitsundays I heard.”
“What did the A. V. stand for?” Carmen queried.
“Army Vessel,” Mr McGackey replied.
Andrew was surprised. “Army? I thought the navy ran the ships?”
“Maybe now, but not then. Both our army and the British Army had their own boats, to move their own stuff wivout havin’ ter wait for the navy to agree yer see.”
Carmen nodded. “The army still has boats. They operate the small landing craft. You’ve seen them Andrew, those L.C.M 8s we saw in Ross River last January.”
Andrew had a vivid flashback to paddling in a canoe down the lower reaches of Ross River with the voluptuous Letitia sitting in front of him. She had been so much outside his experience he still found it hard to come to terms with her blatant sexuality and nudity. It made him ashamed and yet aroused just thinking about her. He nodded and asked more questions about the Deeral. Mr McGackey couldn’t tell them much more and his thoughts wandered off the topic to reminiscing about other trips on other ships with their grandfather. That was interesting to Andrew and he was glad he was making the effort to learn more about his own family. Already he was much prouder of his grandad.
After afternoon tea and thanking both their Gran and Mr McGackey brother and sister rode home. When he got there Andrew at once wrote down in a notebook all the facts he could remember from the interview, then sat and considered what else he might like to know. That sent him to the computer and he looked up shipbuilding companies on the internet and browsed for a while.
Muriel did not phone that night, making Andrew feel quite anxious. He was worried that she might have met someone else, or might have decided she did not like him. This worry kept him tense all day at school on Friday. His thoughts were now focused on that night’s Navy Cadet parade and he was edgy and irritable until he and Carmen were dropped off at the depot at 6:45 that evening.
At once the tension evaporated. The first person Andrew met was Muriel. She had been waiting near the gate and was all smiles. “How was your day?” she asked, quite oblivious to his nervous state.
After that cadets was wholly enjoyable. The first parade was fine and then the lessons were interesting: coiling and heaving lines, flag signals, and ship identification. During the canteen break the details for the Saturday night movies were agreed on. Andrew wasn’t all that thrilled that Tina Babcock and Jennifer Jervis were going to be there, along with Blake and Shona, but he accepted it as the price he had to pay.
All evening he kept flicking surreptitious glances at Muriel, admiring her beauty and longing to hold her hand, to kiss her. But then, immediately after the dismissal parade, Sub Lt Sheldon drove all such thoughts from his mind and placed him right back under pressure by asking if he still wanted to do the Advanced Diving Course.
After swallowing and wondering how to get out of it without admitting he was scared Andrew replied, “Oh, I’m not sure if my parents will allow it.” The knowledge that when he had signed on for the Open Water Dive Course, he had indicated that he was also planning to do the Advanced Course made Andrew squirm insi
de. But that had been before he knew what diving was like; what his real reactions might be. Now he just wanted to get out of it.
Sub Lt Sheldon nodded then said, “We can ask your mother when she comes to pick you up.”
To that Andrew could only hope she would say no. Muriel then added to the pressure by saying, “Oh come on Andrew! You said you would, and I want you there.”
At that moment Carmen appeared with their mother. Sub Lt Sheldon smiled a welcome and said, “I will ask now.”
CHAPTER 10
HOPING FOR MORE
Mrs Collins raised an eyebrow and looked at Sub Lt Sheldon. “What do I have to decide on?”
Carmen answered that. “Whether we can go on the Advanced Open Water Diving Course,” she said.
At that Mrs Collins frowned. “Oh, I don’t know. Your father and I have talked about this and we are not happy. Not only is it very expensive but it sounds quite dangerous.”
“Oh Mrs Collins, it’s not!” Muriel cried. “Please say they can. They can pay you back by mowing the lawn and washing the dishes for the next ten years.”
Mrs Collins smiled. “They do that already. I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced.”
Andrew blushed at his bad manners and stammered an introduction. His mother smiled and said, “Muriel. Yes. Andrew has told me about you. Are you allowed to go Muriel?”
“Yes I am,” Muriel answered. “My parents say that if a shark eats me then it serves me right. Oh please Mrs Collins! I don’t want to be on the course with a bunch of strangers.”
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