That sent him to his books and after rereading an account of the discovery of the wreck of the Yongala in 1947 by the minesweeper HMAS Lachlan he measured the distance of the historic wreck from the coast and decided it had to be the Yongala.
Andrew’s gaze them followed the coast south to Cape Upstart. He had heard of it but had no idea what it was like. On the chart it did not look very big but he dimly appreciated that was a scale problem. The numbers indicating quite high mountains on the cape gave him pause for thought. ‘Hope I never see the place,’ he mused.
Next he read another account of the sinking of SS Gothenburg in 1875. This account made the statement that the Gothenburg had run onto a reef called Old Reef. That puzzled Andrew because the other accounts he had read all stated that the ship struck ‘a shallow reef near Nares Rock’. The book also showed a sketch map which placed Old Reef and another named Stanley Reef due east of Cape Bowling Green and nowhere near Bowen or Nares Rock. Intrigued by the discrepancy Andrew unrolled his new chart and located Old Reef on the map, then Nares Rock. He saw that they were at least 50 km apart. As the two descriptions were otherwise almost identical, word for word, he was left wondering exactly where the Gothenburg had come to grief.
Further reading of the salvage attempts by divers, with grisly descriptions of drowned people, caused him to shudder with revulsion. That got him worrying about how he might cope when faced with the challenge of diving on a real wreck. In particular the thought of deep diving, particularly at night, made him go cold with fear, much to his own disgust.
That night he had another diving nightmare but could only remember the vaguest outline of it when he woke. As he went about his morning routine it dawned on him that the sleepover was now approved and that in only three more days he would again be with Muriel. ‘And for the whole weekend!’ he thought happily, tingling with excitement and anticipation.
At school that day the work was, as usual, easy and not all that interesting. The only notable incident was again provided by Graham. Andrew learned that he and Stephen had again been caught trying to escape from detention (This time by climbing out of the classroom window. They had been caught by Mr Fitzgerald, the much-feared Deputy Principal). There was also gossip about Graham being picked up by the police when drunk, and of him writing graffiti on the toilet wall that morning.
The incident was in Maths A. The teacher, a bad-tempered, middle-aged man named Burgomeister (Buggermaster to the student body), seemed to make a point of picking on Graham. Sarcastically he said to Graham, “Ah! Master Kirk, who is sick. Show me the homework Mr Fitzgerald said you were to do. You too Bell.”
On hearing that Andrew stopped working and looked back. He saw Graham shake his head and admit that he had not done it. Mr Burgomeister proceeded to lecture Graham, telling him what a failure he would be unless he ‘pulled his socks up.’ He ended by saying, “You are on the road to nowhere, you stupid boy!”
‘That isn’t right,’ Andrew thought. ‘He has no right to insult Graham like that.’ Even so he hoped Graham would not react. To Andrew’s distress he did. This led to a shouting match which stung Graham to react. He stood up and clenched his fists. Thinking to avert a real disaster Andrew stood up.
As Andrew took a step towards them Stephen stepped into the aisle ahead of him, inadvertently blocking his path. By then Mr Burgomeister was pointing to the door and screaming angrily at Graham, “You threaten me! Office! Get to the office!”
Stephen then did what Andrew had been thinking of doing. He grabbed Graham’s arm and pulled him away from the teacher, propelling him towards the door. Andrew halted and watched, then met Mr Burgomeister’s hostile glare and retreated to his seat. By then Graham had fled sobbing onto the veranda with Stephen still holding him.
The incident upset Andrew more than he wanted to admit but he was still unable to think of a sensible plan to help, beyond trying to be friendly. ‘Graham should have stayed in the Navy Cadets,’ he thought. ‘At least there he would have had a bit of focus and might feel like he belonged.’ That was how Andrew viewed Navy Cadets and he was deeply glad of it.
He did not see Graham until last period as he was in ‘time out’ during the lunch break. During Maths B Graham appeared but he sat next to Stephen. Andrew had no chance to speak to him. He planned to talk to him after the lesson but that did not eventuate either as both Stephen and Graham were kept in again for not doing their homework. Feeling quite sad Andrew made his way downstairs. Here he stood for a few minutes and watched the school’s army cadet unit forming up for parade. Satisfied that the Navy Cadets did better drill he turned and walked thoughtfully to the bike racks.
That night he and Muriel had another long telephone conversation. Just listening to her voice got him aroused and tingling, the excitement barely dampened by the knowing looks given to him from time to time by Carmen and his mother. It was his mother who finally told him he had better hang up and get to bed.
In bed Andrew again fantasized about romantic adventures. After practising kissing his pillow he hugged it and lay there in the darkness calculating. ‘Only about forty hours and we will be together.’ It was a wonderful thought and again got him tingling with anticipation.
At school on Thursday Andrew had no opportunity to find out what had happened to Graham until after morning tea. During Chemistry he was able to ask Peter Bronsky if he knew.
To Andrew’s surprise Peter grinned and said, “Graham has been made join the army cadets.”
“Made? Can the school do that?” Andrew asked, both pleased and surprised.
Peter shook his head. “No. It was an agreement between the principal, Mr Conkey, Graham and his parents. His other choice was to be expelled. I think it is a really good idea.”
“So do I,” agreed Andrew. “Graham really needs something at the moment.”
Peter nodded. “Let’s hope it works. I really enjoy being in the army cadets.”
“Army cadets!” Andrew scoffed good-naturedly.
At that moment the teacher, Mr Feldt, a likeable old chap with short grey hair, called over to them, “You two stop gossipping and get on with that experiment.”
Andrew and Peter settled to work and did not get another chance to discuss Graham. But the news made Andrew feel much happier. ‘I hope it helps him,’ he thought. Then he shifted his own thoughts back to Muriel.
That night she again phoned him and she sounded very keen to see him. ‘I hope so!’ he thought, his body reacting to his desires and her voice. That sent Andrew to bed in a high state of arousal which he increased by fantasizing. Then he experienced a surge of guilt a having sexual thoughts about Muriel, and for the disloyal ones (mostly of Letitia, but some of the naked Sheena’s Gang) which kept creeping in.
During Friday at school Andrew spoke briefly to Graham during Physics. Waiting till Miss Tate was busy explaining something to a student on the other side of the room he leaned across and said, “Peter tells me you have joined the army cadets.”
Graham nodded and grunted but did not seem keen to talk about it. Sensitive to this Andrew nodded as well and said, “That’s good. You should enjoy that. All your bushwalking will have been good experience.”
Once again Graham nodded. He seemed to relax a bit. Then the teacher, Miss Tate, turned in their direction and came over to see how much work they had done. Andrew had almost finished but Graham was in trouble for having barely started.
Andrew did not see Graham at lunchtime as he was still on ‘time out’. But by then Andrew’s focus had shifted to that night. ‘I will see Muriel in a few hours,’ he thought happily, but anxiously. Now that their meeting grew closer anxiety crept in lest she had changed her mind. Even so just thinking about those heavenly kisses got Andrew all excited and the hours seemed to drag.
By the time he and Carmen arrived at Navy Cadets that evening Andrew was so nervous he was biting his nails and squirming in his seat. As he turned away from the car after saying goodnight to his mother Andrew looked anxiously
around. Almost at once he saw Muriel and immediately his doubts were set at rest. She was walking quickly towards him, waving and smiling. An answering grin lit up Andrew’s face and he had to suppress an urge to run over to her.
That set the tone for the evening. Even on parade he kept glancing around at her. Each time their eyes met she gave a little secret smile and her eyes seemed to sparkle and dance. Andrew tingled and trembled and felt a continual urge to be with her. The chance came after parade. He was sent to the storeroom to get some ropes for knot tying. While he was collecting them Muriel came in.
“Hello,” Andrew croaked. “What are you looking for?”
“Signal flags,” Muriel replied.
“Over here,” Andrew answered, pointing to a locker at the end of the room. As Muriel walked towards it their eyes locked and a charge of electricity seemed to spark between them. Without conscious thought he stepped across and put his arms out. Muriel cast one quick glance over her shoulder, then stepped into his embrace. Her eyes lit up and she seemed to glow. No words were spoken but their lips came together.
After a minute of passionate kissing they drew apart, still holding each other. By then Andrew’s heart was hammering and he had to swallow to moisten his dry throat. “Oh that was wonderful!” he croaked. “I’ve been wanting that all week.”
“Me too,” Muriel answered, smiling and sending his pulse rate even higher.
Once again they came together in a heated bout of kissing.
CHAPTER 12
SLEEPOVER
Andrew could not believe his luck. He hugged Muriel to him and kissed her passionately, all the while stroking her back and sides. She responded, pressing against him and probing his mouth with her tongue. Surges of fierce desire swept through Andrew and he began to get an erection. That bothered him a bit as he could feel it pressing against Muriel and he did not want her to get the wrong idea.
Suddenly a female voice- Shona’s- penetrated his consciousness. “Hey! Stop that you two. Not here. Save it for later.”
Andrew jerked back and looked around, a wave of shame adding to his heat. Muriel just laughed and said, “Go away Shona. You are just jealous.”
Shona grinned but shook her head. “You’d better behave; the ‘Buffer’ is just outside.”
At the mention of the Chief Bosun’s Mate Andrew experienced a spasm of fear, followed almost immediately by one of guilt. He was ashamed of his own weakness as he knew that ‘fraternizing’ was forbidden at cadets. There was also the anxiety that he could be disciplined. ‘I might not get promoted. I could even be tossed out of cadets for such misbehaviour!’ he thought. Those thoughts got him stepping well away from Muriel.
She wasn’t quite as worried or as keen to stop but pouted and then shrugged. “Later then,” she said.
At that moment Cadet Warrant Officer Chris Pike, the buffer, stepped into the storeroom. He looked around and then snapped, “Hurry up you people! Get the stores you need and get to your lessons. Where is the storeman?”
“Don’t know Buffer,” Andrew replied, scooping up a bundle of neatly coiled ropes. As quickly as he could he left the storeroom, leaving Muriel asking the buffer where the signal flags were.
For the rest of the training parade Andrew was in a state of arousal and hopeful excitement. Every time he saw Muriel he looked at her and was cheered by her giving him an answering smile. Once she even winked and he felt his heart skip with promise. Several people noticed and there was a bit of chaffing and teasing and twice he was reprimanded by instructors for inattention.
During ‘Sunset’ (the dismissal parade) Lt Cdr Hazard addressed them and reminded them that there was a camp planned for the first week of the September school holidays. The camp was to be in Mackay. They were to nominate for specialist courses and to get permission from their families to attend. He then went on, “Now we have a very pleasant duty to perform.”
That got Andrew’s attention and he looked with interest as Lt Cdr Hazard held up a sheet of paper. Lt Cdr Hazard then said, “This is a list of names of cadets whose promotions have been approved by the North Queensland Flotilla HQ.”
Hope stirred in Andrew and he tensed with anticipation. Lt Cdr Hazard then said, “The following cadets fall out and form a line in front of me.”
Andrew’s was one of the names read out. He was promoted to Able Seaman. Puffing with pleasure and pride he marched out and stood in line. Lt Cdr Hazard then came along, assisted by CPO Walker, who had a packet of rank badges and a camera. Each cadet was congratulated, handed their new rank badges and then photographed in that pose. The cadets were then told to rejoin their divisions on the parade.
Next the instructors handed out ‘Instructions’ and Permission Forms for the Specialist Training camp. Lt Cdr Hazard then cheered Andrew even more by adding, “As you will see when you read the Instruction it is planned that we will be travelling to camp aboard the navy Landing Ship HMAS Tobruk. Now, that is not a promise. Things may change and the plan might fall through. The Tobruk might be redeployed for some operational reason at short notice. But at the moment we are booked to go aboard.”
‘Sunset’ was then piped and the colours lowered, during which Andrew stood rigidly at attention. The cadets were then given, “Ship’s companeeee... Dis... miss!”
Andrew turned to the right and marched off the ‘quarter deck’. As he did Muriel joined him and they grinned at each other. “Are you still coming over this weekend?” she asked.
“You bet! Just wait a minute while I put my name down for one of the training courses,” Andrew replied. He was very keen to get more qualifications and to get promoted in the cadets.
“I’ll come with you,” Muriel said. So the pair joined the queue outside the Training Officer’s cabin. On the noticeboard outside was a list of the courses being offered. Andrew ran his eyes down the list: Seamanship, Catering, Stores, Signals, Medical and Gunnery. So far Andrew had been merely a Recruit and a Seaman and had not qualified in any particular branch. Now he tried to decide what specialization he would follow. He knew that such a choice would also be required when he joined the Navy, ‘If I get in’.
Seamanship really appealed to him and he hesitated over that, but the idea of gunnery also had appeal. He rejected signals because he wasn’t at all sure he would be any good at it, not that he doubted its importance. Nor was he interested in medical, stores or catering. Into his mind leapt images from old ‘newsreels’ and historical videos of battleships firing their mighty guns. His rational mind told him that was silly. He knew perfectly well that modern naval warfare was conducted by missiles rather than guns; was more electronics than gunpowder. Even so he decided that gunnery was the one for him. He noted that the course available was for Quartermaster Gunners.
‘That is the one for me,’ he decided.
When Andrew reached the head of the line Sub Lt Sheldon, who sat behind the desk, asked him what his choice was. Andrew told him and he wrote it down without comment. Then he looked up and said, “I need to speak to you and the other divers about the diving course next weekend before you go. Please ask them to wait. And you are incorrectly dressed. You should be wearing Able Seaman rank slides.”
“Aye, aye sir,” Andrew replied. He saluted, about turned and marched away to make room for Muriel. Outside he quickly took the new AB ranks slides from his pocket and looked at them. Gently, almost reverently, he felt the gold embroidered reef knot on its black epaulet. A thrill of pleasure ran through him but he tried to act cool and unaffected. ‘Casually’ he slipped the rank slides on to his shoulder straps and then waited for Muriel.
“What course did you put down for?” he asked when she came out.
“Medical,” Muriel replied. “I’m thinking of doing nursing when I leave school.”
While they discussed the specialist courses Shona, Blake and Carmen joined them. There were congratulations all round as Carmen had been promoted to Leading Seaman and the others to AB. After handshakes they began discussing the arrange
ments for the weekend. As they talked Andrew’s mother arrived. With her was Muriel’s mum. Seeing her made Andrew feel all self-conscious and he blushed as he said hello, memories of that stolen kiss making him feel very guilty- and very pleased.
The mothers then had to be told about the promotions and there were more congratulations and hug for Andrew (Which embarrassed him in front of his friends!) and Carmen. The mothers then joined in the discussion about the weekend. Timings, transport, food and what to take were all discussed. The details were all agreed on before Sub Lt Sheldon joined them.
“Well?” he asked. “Who is allowed to go diving?”
Muriel answered at once. “I am.”
Sub Lt Sheldon looked at Muriel’s mother. She nodded and said, “At this stage yes. Unless something comes up.”
Blake also said yes but Shona shook her head. “My Mum can’t afford it,” she explained.
Luke also said no. “My Mom, she don’t want me divin’ on any old wrecks. She think it too dangerous.”
Sub Lt Sheldon then looked at Andrew’s mother. “Mrs Collins?”
Andrew’s mother looked very thoughtful. “Well, I still don’t like it. It is this wreck diving that I am particularly worried about. I am not happy about them diving way out in the open ocean on this wreck, the Yongala.”
Carmen at once spoke up. “Oh Mum! Please! It will be alright.”
Sub Lt Sheldon added, “What if they dive on one of the wrecks in shallow water close inshore? There are several close to Magnetic Island as I said. They are only down ten metres or so.”
“Won’t that disappoint the other people on this course?” Mrs Collins asked. “As I understand it there are other people involved.”
“Yes, there should be, possibly half a dozen,” Sub Lt Sheldon agreed. He then went on, “It may not. Often there is a basic course being run at the same time, and if the weather gets up then it is not safe to dive on the Yongala. In that case we dive on a more sheltered site. In fact the Townsville club are doing an exploratory dive on a new wreck this weekend. It might turn out to be just what we want. They haven’t said exactly where it is yet as they want to keep the site secret till they are sure it is suitable and safe.”
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