“And none on the way home either please,” Sub Lt Sheldon added. “Even if your suppositions are correct it wasn’t Muriel who did anything, so don’t start saying hurtful things to her.”
“No sir,” Andrew agreed. He then turned to the Trip Director, “Sir, are you sure that explosives were used to sink that boat?”
The Trip Director nodded emphatically. “Certain. I was a navy clearance diver for twenty years, a warrant officer when I retired. I am a demolition expert and in all that time I have seen the results of a lot of cutting charges on steel. The blast came from inside.”
“Thanks sir,” Andrew added. It was more food for thought.
The Trip Director then asked them to stay with Dave while he spoke to Muriel to get her side of the story. He also told them to wait outside until he told them to come in to have lunch. Andrew was feeling very hungry by now, as well and being physically and emotionally worn out but he could only nod and sit there, enjoying the view as the rocky mountains of the cape receded. As he watched the wavering foam line of the launch’s wake he brooded on all that he had just learned, and on the fact that Muriel was angry with him.
As the launch rose and fell on the waves Andrew stared out over the tumbling waste of water and tried to imagine what it might have been like to have spent several days in such conditions with nothing but a lifebuoy to cling to. Having spent 15 hours drifting in the sea the previous year he had a good idea, but thinking about that just made him unhappier. ‘The sea wasn’t really rough when we were down in it,’ he mused. ‘If Old Mr Murchison was in it during a storm it would have been much worse. He would have got very cold and tired,’ he thought, remembering how exhausted and cold he and his friends had become.
But that just introduced another niggling doubt that he did not really want to think about: was it possible to stay afloat in a lifebuoy in rough water for that long? ‘To stay with one of those old-fashioned lifebuoys you actually needed to cling on,’ he told himself, picturing how an exhausted person might slump through the middle if he lost his grip.
Andrew stared unhappily out to the South East. ‘Out there somewhere it was supposed to have happened. So how did the Deeral end up at Cape Upstart?’ Next, in an attempt to excuse Muriel, he pondered whether the explosives might have gone off by accident. ‘Perhaps there was a fire in the galley- that might account for there being no superstructure?’ But that did not fit very well either, and he had to accept that the explosives were not all in one place. He also had to reluctantly concede, from the evidence of his own eyes, that there was no indication of any fire in the engine room, the other most likely source.
Thinking thus made him more and more depressed but his curiosity was now fully aroused and he kept teasing at the possibilities. ‘So, even if there was an accident, someone deliberately blew out her bottom with explosives. But who?’ he wondered. After a moment he had to swallow and face the probability that it was Old Mr Murchison. ‘And why? And why lie?’
Carmen was obviously thinking along the same lines as she said, “If Old Mr Murchison did sink the Deeral there, why did he do it? If there was some problem why didn’t he try to sail to the nearest harbour? And why then make up a story and lie about it?”
Unwillingly Andrew answered her. “To cover up something, to hide what had happened,” he said.
“That’s what I think,” Carmen agreed, “But what?”
In spite of his love for Muriel Andrew’s mind had hatefully followed its own lines of reasoning and he had even thought about this. “What were Grandad and Murchison looking for?” he asked.
“The wreck of a ship called the Merinda,” Carmen answered.
“And what was the Merinda carrying, other than some cargo and schoolgirls on their way to boarding school?” Andrew asked. The idea of pretty young girls drowning in a shipwreck appalled him. But the horrible suspicion in his mind appalled him even more.
“Gold,” Carmen answered. “And people commit murder for gold.”
“That’s what I suspect,” Andrew answered bleakly. “Maybe Old Mr Murchison murdered Grandad and the two black men, then sank the ship to cover the crime.”
“That would mean that they found the wreck of the Merinda and recovered the gold,” Carmen suggested.
“I think they did,” Andrew replied, thinking about a certain chart he had seen. But he made no mention of that to Carmen. Instead he said, “Having killed the others Old Mr Murchison may have sailed to Cape Upstart to unload the gold, to hide it. Then he sank the Deeral and made his way along the coast by boat. Then he told the story about the ship hitting a reef in a storm and of him drifting in the lifebuoy- and he even had the lifebuoy to prove it.”
Carmen frowned. “But he was found at Hayman Island and we worked out that that is three hundred kilometres away. Could he have done that?”
“Easier to go three hundred kilometres in a small boat than float in a lifebuoy in rough weather for a few days,” Andrew answered. Now he was feeling sick as well as miserable. He sensed that if the suspicions were true then his relationship with Muriel was headed for the rocks as well. What also bothered him was the realization that he would have to find out the truth, no matter what it might cost him! ‘I will never sleep again for wondering if I don’t,’ he told himself.
Carmen bit her lip and nodded. “Captain Bligh went thousands of miles in an open boat. If Murchison did three of four knots he could sail it in about three days.”
“That’s what I calculated,” Andrew agreed.
“What did he do with the boat?”
Andrew gave a short, harsh laugh. “If you’ve just scuttled a perfectly good ship then sinking a rowing boat wouldn’t bother you, particularly if you had murder on your conscience.”
Again Carmen nodded. “So you think that he later went back to get the gold from Cape Upstart?”
“Yes, and lied about finding it while prospecting up in Cape York Peninsula,” Andrew said.
Carmen shook her head as though not wanting to believe it. Then she said, “I have to find out.”
“So do I,” Andrew agreed. “Otherwise it will gnaw at me for the rest of my life.”
“How do we go about it?” Carmen asked.
Andrew had a few ideas and he suggested these, then added, “And we play it very quiet so as not to arouse suspicions. We don’t want any surviving evidence destroyed.”
Carmen agreed, adding, “And we don’t want to cause any upset or grief if our suspicions are unfounded.”
“No, you are right. I would hate to harm a person who was innocent,” Andrew agreed, adding, “It might have all just been a ghastly accident or a mistake with a perfectly logical and reasonable answer.”
Carmen nodded. “So we just act as though it was an interesting discovery at the time but that we have more important things in our lives.”
‘I do,’ Andrew tried to tell himself, ‘Muriel’s love.’ But even as he told himself this he sensed that it wasn’t true. For a while he and Carmen discussed the strategy to try to uncover the truth but after a while Andrew had had enough. He was dismayed and sick at heart. To him it first and foremost meant that Muriel was angry and hurt and that he was on the outer. He began speculating on how he could win back her friendship.
The voyage back to Townsville took nearly six hours. During that time they saw only two other launches and one sailing yacht. Andrew was glad to have a chance to think about something else while he studied each one. As before he itched to be up in the wheelhouse where he could use binoculars and be more informed about where they were and what was going on. The course took them close along the length of Cape Bowling Green, a 14 kilometre long flat sand spit backed by a belt of mangroves and tipped by a lighthouse. Then it was across Bowling Green Bay and past the rugged mountains that terminated in Cape Cleveland and another lighthouse. The launch rounded that cape and swung to port, heading North West in the relatively sheltered waters of Cleveland Bay.
During the last hour Andrew and Carmen were
asked to join the others in the saloon. Muriel was there, sitting beside Doug. She gave them an unhappy glance, then looked away. Seeing that caused Andrew some distress but he obeyed the orders not to talk to her and made sure he was well away from her. As they came into port all the dive logs were checked and signed and temporary certificates filled out and issued.
Andrew took his with mixed emotions. There was pride in achievement and deep satisfaction that he had mastered his fears and been able to do the course. There was also great relief. ‘Good, now I don’t ever need to go diving again,’ he thought.
As the launch berthed Sub Lt Sheldon told them to get their gear and get it up on deck ready to disembark as soon as the gangway was across. “We’ve still got a five or six hour drive to get home,” he reminded them.
Andrew and Carmen deliberately waited till both Muriel and Doug had collected their gear from the cabins before going below. Andrew had no desire to be alone with either of them at the moment. Back on deck with his kitbag he found they had already gone ashore. He and Carmen thanked the Trip Director and Dave and then hurried ashore.
Their minibus was waiting with the doors open. Sub Lt Sheldon loaded their bags in the back and then told them to board. As Andrew climbed in he saw that Muriel was seated at the back against the window, with Doug beside her in the aisle seat. She gave Andrew one unhappy glance, then turned her head and stared out the window. Doug gave him a hard look which also conveyed to Andrew feelings of malicious triumph. It really hurt but he did not feel up to any sort of a scene. Instead he slipped into a seat at the front next to the door and Carmen sat beside him on his left.
It was a long, uncomfortable and tiring trip back to Cairns. During it Andrew kept turning the suspicions over and over in his mind until he made himself very depressed and almost physically sick. For a time he dozed. At Cardwell they all climbed out for a rest stop. During this Muriel avoided him and stayed with Doug. That upset Andrew even more.
Carmen went to sleep after Cardwell and slumped with her head on his shoulder. That steadied Andrew when he saw how drawn and tired she looked. He tried to sleep but was unable to. Instead he tried to name every place they passed through, and to guess what the next section of the road was like. In spite of this he kept thinking about diving, and about the wreck.
Back in Cairns they went first to Muriel’s. Andrew had never been there and studied the house with interest, noting the lights coming on at the front and then her parents coming out. Muriel climbed out past Andrew and stepped down. As she did she stopped and turned to face him. After looking him in the eyes for a few seconds she said, “Andrew, please don’t hurt my grandfather. Please don’t say anything about the wreck.”
That made him feel very uncomfortable and he badly wanted to do what she asked. But he had to swallow and shake his head. “Other people are going to talk about it. Carmen will tell mum and dad and I will have to say something.”
“If you love me you won’t,” Muriel replied.
That stung, but caused more anger than fear. ‘And if you love me you wouldn’t make such an impossible request,’ he thought, but did not say. Instead he mumbled, “Goodbye, see you at cadets.”
For a few seconds she gave him a look that set his emotions swirling- regret, love, sympathy. Then she said coldly, “Goodbye then.” Picking up her bag she turned on her heel and walked away.
With a sinking heart Andrew watched her walk inside. By then the door of the bus was closed and then the bus began moving. It took all of Andrew’s willpower to stop himself crying. To hide his distress he pretended he was tired (not difficult) and closed his eyes. Ten minutes later the bus stopped again and Carmen shook him. “Wake up,” she said. “We are home.”
Brother and sister climbed out. Andrew avoided Doug’s eyes. Instead he concentrated on thanking Sub Lt Sheldon as he handed them their kitbags. By then his mother and father were making their way to the front gate.
As the bus drove away Carmen nudged Andrew and whispered, “Not a word. Save it till tomorrow.”
Andrew knew exactly what she meant so, to his mother’s question of how did it go, he just replied, “Very interesting. We both qualified.”
“You managed the night dive?” his father asked him, obviously pleased.
The fact that his father had possibly noted his fears bothered Andrew as he thought he had hidden them fairly well. He nodded, then yawned.
His mother than asked, “And what about the wreck? Was that scary?”
“No Mum. Really interesting. Tell you about it tomorrow,” he answered.
“Good idea,” his mother agreed. “Bed time. School tomorrow.”
They made their way inside and were offered hot Milo, which both accepted. Then it was brushing teeth and into pyjamas and bed. By then it was nearly 1am and Andrew was genuinely tired. He lay back, in the warmth and comfort of his own bedroom, sure he would sleep soundly- and didn’t. For hours he tossed and turned, dozing fitfully. Several times he had bad dreams. The only one he could remember was being on the launch in rough weather, with the launch somehow shrinking to a small rubber boat. This in turn shrank to just a lifebuoy, and no matter how he tried to cling onto it, it kept tipping him up in the boiling seas. Suddenly he was underwater and he was terrified because it wasn’t sharks or octopuses that were the dimly flitting shadows but skeletons.
So tired and washed out did he feel in the morning that he considered asking if he could stay home sick. But in the end he dragged himself out of bed and through his usual school day morning routine. During breakfast Carmen talked about the night dive but carefully avoided any mention of the wreck so Andrew followed her lead.
Their mother nodded and said, “Very interesting dears, now, hurry up or you will be late. You can tell us all about it tonight.”
Andrew and Carmen made their way to school. Here he found an interested audience, especially Luke, but again he made no mention of the wreck. Instead he talked about the thrill of the deep dive, and of how scary he had found swimming in the sea in the dark.
Luke shook his head and said, “Not me mon. No way! You wouldn’t get me in that sea at night, not even if the ship sank from under me!”
Blake and Simmo teased him and laughed, then paused to tease Willy Williams who was nearby throwing paper planes. “Is that the best the air force can do Willy? You should try adding an engine.”
Simmo laughed but then cried, “No, a rocket motor. That would really make it go boom- I mean zoom!”
They laughed some more. Andrew then said, “Willy, there is a teacher over there. You had better take your paper planes out of sight in case you get into trouble.”
Willy and his friends did so. Andrew resumed his tales of diving in the deep, enjoying the envy and adulation of his friends, even if he felt slightly fraudulent. As he talked he saw Graham walking along looking anxiously around. They exchanged good mornings but Graham was obviously distracted and only listened to his diving stories for a few minutes before wandering off, mumbling some excuse of looking for someone.
A few minutes later Peter and Roger joined them. “How did the diving go?” Peter asked.
“Great. What’s wrong with Graham?”
Peter made a wry face and said, “Girl trouble I think. He is in love with Amanda.”
“Amanda Howley, the regular army warrant officer’s daughter?”
“That’s the one,” Peter confirmed. Andrew nodded. He had noted Graham talking to her and sitting next to her in Geography. When he went to Geography later in the day he saw that Graham was sitting next to Amanda in a seat near the back of the room. Andrew seated himself next to Angus MacDougal and pointed towards Graham. “Is Graham doing a line for her?” he asked.
Angus nodded. “I suspect so,” he replied in a broad Scottish accent. “For sure he’s been teased about it. I heard there was a wee bit of hanky panky on the weekend but that’s all I know,” Angus explained.
Thinking of his own girl troubles that information just depressed Andrew
still further. ‘A bit of hanky panky eh? Lucky Graham!’ he thought wistfully. Then he thought more about Muriel. ‘I hope she phones me,’ he thought.
With that in mind he hurried home as soon as school was over. Once there he had afternoon tea, during which Carmen came home. She said, “I’ve just been organizing with Gran to go and visit old Mr McGackey again. Be Wednesday afternoon. Do you want to come?”
Andrew did but didn’t. What nagged at him was Muriel’s pleading not to do anything to hurt her grandfather. But how to avoid that? It was plain that Carmen was going to follow up with her own enquiries. For an hour he lay on his bed and thought hard about all he had seen and heard- and promptly slipped into a deep sleep. He was roused from this by his mother for tea at 6pm. After washing his face he joined the others in the lounge-dining room. As usual they ate their tea watching the TV news. Afterwards Carmen turned the TV off, much to their father’s surprise.
“I wanted to watch the current affairs program,” he protested.
“No you didn’t,” Carmen replied in a very determined voice. “You really wanted to hear what Andrew and I have to say.” Then she insisted they listen while she told them about the wreck.
As she talked, backed up by Andrew from time to time, Andrew saw the look on his father’s face change from polite listening to intent interest, his features marked by a peculiar drawn look. The story was certainly a shock to him, and Andrew could see that his father was having the same reaction he had - a burning desire to know the truth. It dawned on Andrew that if he was curious about what had happened to his grandfather, how much more interested must his father be in knowing the fate of his own father!
Sadly he shook his head. ‘There is no way I can stop this hurting Old Mr Murchison,’ he realized.
His misery was compounded by waiting for hours in the hope that Muriel might telephone. But there was no call and he lacked the courage to go against her wishes and call her. Instead he did his homework and moped off to bed- to sleep soundly right through the night.
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