The Cadet Under-Officer

by Christopher Cummings

  “Safety, that’s why. There are nearly thirty people here and I don’t want a silly accident,” snapped Graham.

  The man took up the gun.

  Graham’s frayed nerves exploded in temper. He snapped at the man: “Not here! Point it out that way while you do it!” He let contempt for the man’s sloppy weapon handling sound clear in his tone and face. One thing cadets had taught Graham was how to safely handle a firearm. The man did as he was told, placing five cartridges in his pockets. He settled down again.

  Graham said: “Right, let’s go and check our sentries. You’d better come too Mister so you know where they are - and you Hodgins.” Graham looked at Lt McEwen and Roger and they stood up.

  The platoon was camped in four distinct groups. The Pl HQ was the centre. 10 Section (Cpl Pat Sheehan) was camped between Sandy Track and the first gully, fifty paces towards the Canning Road. Their sentry post was near the head of the gully at their last tent. There were no girls in that section. The boys’ latrine was a hundred metres out from there. 11 Section (Cpl Margaret Lake) was on their left on the gentle spur leading down to the highway and included four girls. The unit’s policy was not to segregate boys from girls except in their actual tents, which were shared by either two or three boys or two or three girls. Their sentry post was on the track down to the girls’ latrine.

  As they walked around past the little groups sitting beside tiny cooking fires or lying in shelters talking Graham prayed no-one would say anything to give the game away. ‘I hope they all realize the security man is with us,’ he thought anxiously. Luckily no one said anything but Graham stayed tense. He rehearsed in his mind drawing the pistol and having the security man disarmed and tied up if need be.

  12 Section (Cpl David Kenny) was further around, on the left of Cpl Lake’s, beside Sandy Track in the direction of the gravel scrape. By luck their two girls, Lillis and Nelms, were the two sentries. The security man commented on how he hadn’t known there were girls in the army cadets but obviously accepted there were.

  “There are eight in the platoon,” said Graham, getting his figure right this time. That would make it easier if the man counted them.

  “Yeah. That was a girl came with your boss too; the red-headed one. What was she?”

  “Her name is Barbara. She is the Company Sergeant Major. She’s a tough one,” Graham replied. He had great affection for Barbara and had shared several adventures and tough exercises with her over the years. He had even fallen in love with her but she had not responded and he now accepted that she was not the girl for him.

  Roger added: “An iron will and a strident voice. I wouldn’t want to be the poor bugger that marries her.”

  Lt McEwen shook her head. “Don’t be awful Roger. She’s a very nice girl,” she chided as they arrived back at the HQ lantern.

  Roger shrugged. “It’s alright for you Miss but she’s in the same class as me as well as outranking me in cadets and in class she’s such a bloody ‘know all’ and a ‘goody goody’,” he replied.

  “You mean she’s a well-behaved and keen student who should do well in her studies, unlike some of her lazy peers,” Lt McEwen said with a smile.

  Roger snorted with good humour. “Yes Miss! Come on Hodgins, where’s our grub?” he said.

  “Yeah, coming Sarge. Bloody braised steak’s burnt to the bottom of the mess tin though. Couldn’t help it. I got called away to go blundering around the scrub in the dark, tripping over bloody logs.”

  “Don’t be cheeky Cadet Hodgins,” Roger replied in good natured banter.

  They all set to work heating food, eating and making coffee. The conversation remained general and was kept on cadets as a safe subject and to exclude the security man. It was very obvious that he wasn’t used to cooking in the field and didn’t appear to enjoy his meal at all. Twice a Landcruiser went past with a spotlight sweeping the bush on both sides of the track and once Graham saw it, or another vehicle, doing the same thing along the highway.

  Graham enjoyed his meal of rice and salmon washed down by sweet coffee. He carefully washed up and rinsed the mess tins into a nearby grease trap (a small pit with sand in the bottom and leaves and grass over it to collect food scraps). As he did he heard angry whispering coming from over towards Margaret’s section. Concerned he walked quickly towards the sound. ‘Sounds like an argument,’ he thought. The last thing he wanted was the security man’s attention drawn in that direction.

  It was an argument. As he got closer he saw several dark figures crouched behind one of the girl’s hutchies. Brenda Woodhouse hissed, “We should tell the police. We could get into terrible trouble.”

  Margaret answered, “No. We should trust CUO Kirk and Miss McEwen. They know what they are doing,” she said.

  At that moment they heard Graham’s approach and went silent. Graham joined them. He knelt and whispered harshly. “Stop arguing! That man might hear you. Cadet Woodhouse, don’t worry. You won’t get hurt and won’t get into any trouble. It is my responsibility, and Miss McEwen’s. It will be alright. We just have to be quiet for a few hours till Capt Conkey takes over.”

  “But those men killed that man and they’ve all got guns,” she replied, her voice quivering with fear.

  Graham glanced at Margaret who gave him a reassuring nod and a smile, her teeth showing in the starlight. He said, “Just trust us and help by being quiet. That’s all we ask,” he said.

  “Alright,” Cadet Woodhouse replied with a sniffle.

  It was only then that Graham realized that Margaret had been sharing her hutchie with Cadet Woodhouse and that was the hutchie Elizabeth was also in. “Do you all fit into the hutchie alright?” he asked.

  Margaret answered, “We are alright. I have lifted the far side to make a bit more room. We will be fine sir. And it will be OK Brenda. You will be alright.”

  Brenda nodded and sniffled again. Worried but satisfied that Margaret had the situation in hand Graham stood up and walked back to PL HQ. Looking at his watch he said, “Nearly twenty hundred Roger. You can get the campfire lit and move everyone in except the sentries and anyone who is sick. There are a couple knocked about by the heat. They can stay in bed if they wish although I’d rather they lay beside the fire.”

  Lt McEwen looked up from wrapping her mess tins. “I’ll check those Graham and see how they are,” she said. She placed her mess tins in her pack then went off into the darkness towards Margaret’s section. Graham and Roger cleaned their teeth before Roger went off to organize lighting the fire.

  Graham dearly wanted to go and see how Elizabeth was but instead stood and talked to the security man. “It’s a lovely night,” he said. The sky was clear and a million stars twinkled overhead. It was now cold enough to make ears, nose and fingers chilly to the touch. Graham loved nights like this in the bush. He breathed deeply and stretched.

  Turning to Hodgins Graham asked, “You got any good jokes left Hodgins?”

  “Aw, yeah sir, a few,” the sig drawled.

  “Decent ones I mean, ones Miss McEwen won’t censor,” Graham replied with a laugh.

  “Well sir, there was one about the travelling salesman and the farmer’s daughter. This travelling salesman, he was drivin’ around out west ya see and....”

  It was a good joke and both Graham and the security man bellowed with laughter. Roger re-appeared from where a mounting glow beside the track indicated the campfire was alight.

  “Did I just miss a good joke? Tell it again Hodgins,” he said.

  “Well, there was this travellin’ salesman you see and ... uh..hello Miss. Is it time for the campfire?” Hodgins said.

  “Yes Cadet Hodgins,” said Lt McEwen as she came into the lamp light. She was followed by a line of cadets all rugged up and carrying armfuls of bedding.

  “Coming sir?” Roger asked.

  Graham nodded. “In a minute. I’ll just pack this stuff,” he replied. Then he turned to the security man. “You going to join us?” he asked. The security man said ‘yes’ a
nd went with Roger. Graham carefully packed his webbing and pack, making sure he had food and that his waterbottles were full, in case he suddenly had to take to the bush. He didn’t like leaving the briefcase or pistol but had to. The preparations done he walked over to where the members of the platoon were all seated in a rough semi-circle facing a nice bright fire. As he approached he saw Elizabeth was there, lying in the middle of her section in their shadows and approved of her being there rather than alone in her tent. He also noted Brenda Woodhouse sitting with her but looking unhappy and anxious. ‘I hope she isn’t going to crack and spill the beans’ he thought.

  The security man sat next to Lt McEwen to one side. Graham joined them. Roger then stood in the ‘the stage’ and began the light-hearted ‘show’.

  The ‘campfires’ were one of the things Graham most enjoyed about Cadets. There was always a variety of jokes, songs and ‘skits’. The skits were usually a humorous playlet which ‘sent up’ the officers or sergeants or some event in the unit’s past. The platoon had two natural joke tellers, Hodgins and Halyday, and they now alternated until the audience was literally rolling on the ground with laughter, clutching their sides.

  Cadet Roberts then began to tell a dubious joke and Lt McEwen cut in after a few lines to say it was censored. Roberts then tried to keep going, having crossed the borderline between wit and bad taste and was sent off by Roger. He was then banned from any more jokes for the rest of the night. This was normal and caused much hilarity and several with cruder minds then went into a huddle at the back to hear the end of the joke till ordered to sit and be quiet by Graham.

  Cpl Sheehan’s section got up and did a skit giving their interpretation of a patrol by Cpl Kenny’s section who had set an ambush facing the wrong way. The inter-section rivalry produced more gales of laughter.

  Cadet Lawson called out next. “Sir, CUO Kirk sir, give us ‘The Bear and the Rabbit’.”

  More voices joined in. “Yes, come on sir, ‘The Bear and the Rabbit’!”

  Urged on by the platoon Graham got up to do the solo act. It was a bit vulgar but was a favourite of the platoon. As he acted Graham noted that the security man was busy laughing with the rest and even Lt McEwen smiled.

  As Graham walked back to sit down he placed more logs on the fire and then sat to talk to Elizabeth. Hodgins was busy telling a joke about a monkey in a space rocket. Margaret watched Graham’s face as he spoke to Elizabeth. She thought he looked very masculine and handsome in the firelight and she felt a twinge of jealousy over the attention he was giving to Elizabeth.

  Margaret was a shy girl who didn’t normally act but she now got up and told several riddles hoping Graham would watch her. She was a bit peeved when he only looked from time to time while continuing his whispered conversation with Elizabeth.

  There were then calls for PL HQ to give a skit. Roger declared a five minute break for toilets and preparation. He and Graham, Lt McEwen, Hodgins and Rebecca Robinson then set up for a ‘shadow play’.

  A plastic shelter was held up as a screen by Lt McEwen and Cadet Robinson. Graham, Roger and Hodgins then went behind it with the pressure lantern to cast shadows on the screen. They performed the old ‘operating theatre’, holding up all sorts of grotesque and improbable items to represent parts of the anatomy. Each part was identified with a particular cadet much to the delight and amusement of the audience.

  The act was the high spot of the evening. There were a few more jokes but the event had lost its impetus. Graham stood up and looked at his watch. It was 9:15pm. He wanted to get on with making copies of the evidence but was feeling annoyed and frustrated by the continued presence of the security man.

  “Better end it now and get them to bed early,” he said to Roger. Roger agreed and told the corporals to take their people back to their section areas and to put them to bed. It was getting very cold now and most had their sleeping bags wrapped around them. Graham noted with satisfaction that Elizabeth was led away in the middle of a group, all bundled up and quite indistinguishable from the other cadets.

  Lt McEwen joined Graham to one side of the fire while the security man stood up, uncertain what to do. Graham murmured quietly, “I don’t think we are going to get much writing done tonight Miss.”

  “No, Graham. I thought of writing in my car using the interior light but this security fellow makes that too much of a risk,” she replied.

  Roger intercepted the security man who had begun to walk towards them. “We are going to have coffee now,” he said to the man and led him off to the Pl HQ.

  Graham relaxed and went on, “We can do it tomorrow Miss, but I did think I should take it all over to Captain Conkey and explain it to him.”

  “When, now?”

  “Yes Miss. I thought I’d take Hodgins and Halyday. They’re both good in the bush at night - in case there was an accident or we got caught. I thought if we were seen we could just claim to be cadets on a night compass march who got a bit lost and are late getting home.”

  “When will you go?”

  “I thought we could have a cup of coffee and I could work out my navigation. We’ll have to entertain and distract this security bloke anyway. Then I’ll pretend to go to bed.”

  Lt McEwen nodded. “That sounds reasonable. What about this fire?”

  “I’ll get the HQ sentry to keep an eye on it as it dies down,” Graham replied. There was almost no grass to burn so he wasn’t worried about a possible bushfire.

  They walked slowly back to the Pl HQ and lit stoves to heat water. Graham asked to see the sentry rosters and saw that Halyday was not on till 0200hrs. He caught Hodgins’ eye and got up.

  “Let’s check these sentries Cadet Hodgins.”

  Hodgins opened his mouth to query this as he couldn’t see why he needed to walk around with the CUO but Graham gave him a wink and he got up, saying nothing. They walked off into the darkness.

  Graham went to Elizabeth’s shelter and, after checking the girls were decent, knelt at the entrance. “How are you Elizabeth?”

  “I’ll be alright thanks. My foot aches a lot, and my scratches and bruises, but it’s cramps in my legs and arms which hurt the most,” she replied. Margaret and Rebecca were both in the shelter, busy pummelling and massaging Elizabeth’s legs.

  Margaret noted the tone of Graham’s concern with another stab of jealousy. “We will give her some hot Milo and put her to bed in a few minutes,” she cut in.

  “Good. Thanks. I’ll be leaving in half an hour to go to see Captain Conkey but Miss McEwen and Sgt Dunning will be here. Don’t let on I’m not asleep in my hutchie so that security man doesn’t know I’m gone.”

  Margaret agreed. Graham wanted to ask her if Brenda Woodhouse had calmed down but as she was there in her sleeping bag, watching with disapproval he did not ask. It just remained a niggling worry.

  Graham then went and found Lance Corporal Halyday. Halyday had been in his section when he was a corporal and was an excellent scout. Graham quietly explained the plan to Hodgins and Halyday, then went on walking around the camp to see the sentries and the other two section commanders. Once that was done he and Hodgins walked back to the Pl HQ where hot coffee and biscuits were waiting.

  The security man had no tent and no-one offered him one. He unrolled a groundsheet and sleeping bag. No-one gave him any sympathy as there wasn’t the slightest chance of rain with such a clear, cloudless night. The wind had got up a bit, dry and from the west. Graham was glad of that as it would help cover the sound of their movement.

  As he drank his coffee and carried out a casual conversation Graham worked on his map with pencil and protractor getting grid bearings to and from the army camp. He then converted them to magnetic bearings. These he wrote in his notebook but he didn’t set his compass. And he made sure the man didn’t see the thin pencil lines on the map.

  Lt McEwen was the sentry from 22:00 till midnight. Graham washed his cup and stood up.

  “Well, bed for me Miss. You others go to bed too. It�
�ll be a long night and we’ve got a big day tomorrow. Goodnight.” He walked the few paces to his hutchie and crawled inside. Roger joined him and they unrolled and arranged their bedding. Graham had only a groundsheet as Elizabeth had his sleeping bag so he lay on the cold plastic. They would sleep fully clothed anyway but Roger took off his boots. The two friends then talked quietly about the camp and training for a few minutes.

  Graham was worried he would drop off to sleep as the excitement of the day had tired him so he sat up and stared out at where Lt McEwen sat beside the lantern. He watched the security man get into his sleeping bag after talking on his radio. The security man and Lt McEwen spoke quietly for a few minutes, then silence settled.

  CHAPTER 10

  TO THE ARMY CAMP

  Graham waited for twenty minutes. By then the bivouac was quiet except for an occasional murmur. The wind rustled the leaves and the distant purring of the security vehicle’s engine was a constant background. The vehicle still had its lights on. Other vehicles could be heard on the highway but most were cars or large trucks passing by.

  At 22:30 Graham quietly crawled out of the shelter and into its shadow. He pulled on his webbing and then the pack with its incriminating contents. A few careful steps took him quietly across to Hodgin’s hutchie. As he moved Graham kept looking towards the lantern. The security man was lying on his side facing the other way and Lt McEwen was reading. She looked up and caught his eye but said nothing.

  Hodgins and Halyday were waiting in silence with a self-discipline their teachers at school would not have believed them capable of. Both were standing up with their webbing on. No word was spoken. On Graham’s hand signal they set off down an animal pad to Margaret’s sentry post where they were softly challenged.

  Margaret was on duty with Cadet Deborah Wallis and was expecting them. As the patrol went silently past towards the gravel pit Margaret felt a stab of concern. She knew that what they were doing could be very dangerous. There were men out there with real guns loaded with live ammunition! She offered a silent prayer that Graham would be kept safe.