Captain Mack

by James Roy

  “Captain Mack.”

  “Oh, that. Well, we looked for them, but he’s obviously left them somewhere. There’s nothing we can do.” She began to turn away.

  “But they’re not in his room,” Danny said. “I just looked for them, and they’re not there. Anyway, where could he have left them?”

  “Look,” the nurse snapped, “there are three of us on this ward for thirty-six patients, and the pills aren’t even done yet, okay? Someone might have washed his teeth and left them in the pan room. Check in there if you like.” She pointed with her head towards a grey doorway with a sign reading Utility Room 1 — Staff Only.

  Danny pushed the door open and looked into the room. There was a steel sink, a couple of shiny metal machines like giant dishwashers, and some cupboards. On top of the bench was a grey plastic bowl with a pair of false teeth in it. He picked up the bowl and took it back to Captain Mack’s room.

  “Are these yours?” he asked.

  Captain Mack peered into the bowl. “Could be, lad.” He fished the dentures out, slipped them into his mouth and wriggled his lips about. “I think so,” he said at last. “I can’t be sure, but I think that’s them.”

  “Time for yer haggis!” crowed the irritating man near the door, and Danny recognised the pained look which flickered across Captain Mack’s face. He remembered how it felt to make that look. And at that moment he decided that one way or another an escape was going to take place. He was going to make sure of it.

  ELEVEN

  Except for one night when he’d tried to climb out his bedroom window to meet Caleb, Danny had never planned an escape before. Dad caught them that time and made Caleb ring his parents to come and pick him up, so Danny didn’t hold a lot of confidence in his escape-planning abilities. He knew that it would take a while. He was going to have to work out a few details — what time would be best to do it, how they would get to wherever it was they were going, that sort of thing. And that was the main problem — where were they going? They couldn’t return to Lady Smythe, and they certainly couldn’t go to Glasgow. Danny had never been to Scotland, but one look in his atlas told him that it was too far to even consider.

  He rang Caleb and asked his opinion. Caleb said he thought the whole plan was pretty dumb.

  “But didn’t you say it was a good idea? I thought you said you’d help me.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t think you were serious.”

  “Well, I am serious. Real serious.”

  “You know what I reckon? I reckon you should forget about it, mate,” Caleb said. “Just forget it.”

  “Why?” Danny asked.

  “Because he’s an old man in a nursing home. That’s where old people live.”

  “But that’s a stupid thing to say. Why can’t he live somewhere good, like we do? Why does he have to be stuck in a place he hates?”

  There was a pause. “Because he’s an old man. That’s all.”

  “What changed ye mind, lad?” Captain Mack asked.

  “Just … just stuff that happened, that’s all. So,” Danny said, moving on, “when we escape, where are we going? I know you want to go to Glasgow, but I don’t think we can do that straightaway.”

  Captain Mack pursed his lips and thought. “In the meantime I’ll just have to settle for whatever lodgings ye can come up with, Snell. I’m relying on ye, lad. Needless to say, things have not improved. Just find me a warm bed and three square meals a day and I’ll be happy.”

  “Well, I’ll think of something.”

  “Whatever ye do, ye’d best do it soon. I can’t take much more of this, ye understand.”

  Danny tried to sound more patient than he felt. “I know, sir, but we can’t rush this. We want to do it properly.”

  “I know, lad. I’ve got faith in ye.”

  Danny began to spend even more time at Redgrange, mostly on Mondays and Wednesdays while Dad was at squash. He was conducting reconnaissance, watching the patterns and routines in the ward, learning when the nurses were busy in other parts of the ward. He soon learned that after dinner, which was served at half past five, all the residents either went into the lounge to watch TV or back to their rooms. Sometimes they got visitors, but that didn’t happen very often.

  One of those Wednesday evenings a tall balding man came into Room 5. He tossed something in a white shopping bag onto the end of Captain Mack’s bed. “There’s the scarf you asked for. I tried to get a tartan one but they were all out. This one cheaper at any rate, so that was something. What do you need a scarf for, anyway?”

  “Snell, this is my son William,” Captain Mack said.

  Danny held out his hand like his father had taught him to do, and William shook it unenthusiastically. “How do you do,” he said flatly.

  “Hi,” said Danny, quickly returning his hand to his pocket.

  William flopped into the chair beside the window. “So how’s things?” he asked Captain Mack.

  “Awful, what did ye reckon? They’re animals, like I keep telling ye.”

  “They’re not animals, Dad,” William said in a calm voice. “They’re doing their best, I’m sure.”

  “Doing their best to lose my teeth, ye mean.”

  “Look, I made a complaint about that already, and they said it was just an honest mistake. I don’t know what you want them to do.”

  Captain Mack shook his head. “Ye’re soft, son. It was no mistake. I want to go back to the other place.”

  William took a deep breath and bit gently on his top lip. “So you’ve said, Dad, and I keep telling you, you can’t go back there. It’s too —”

  “Ye don’t care, do ye, son?”

  “Of course I do, Dad,” William protested weakly. “Of course I care. But as I’ve repeatedly explained —”

  “Snell here cares, my boy, that’s for certain.” Captain Mack lowered his voice. “We’re hatching a plan, he and I.”

  “What sort of plan?” William asked.

  “An escape plan.”

  William looked over at Danny, who gave a half-shrug. He wasn’t about to admit to anything.

  “Sorry, who are you again?” William asked Danny.

  “I’m Danny Snell. I’m a friend of Captain Mack’s.”

  “Captain Mack.” William snorted and stood up. “Well, Danny, let me give you a word of advice.”

  Danny swallowed hard and waited to be told off. “What’s that?” he asked.

  William dropped his voice, speaking low and secretively. “When you’re planning this great escape, avoid the east guard-tower. They’re a bit trigger-happy over that side.” He turned to leave. “I’ve got to go, Dad. Take it easy, all right?”

  “He didn’t believe us, did he, lad?” Captain Mack said when he’d gone.

  Danny shook his head. “He will.”

  “It’s an even stupider idea now,” Caleb said after Danny had outlined the finer details of his great plan. “Especially now that his son knows who you are.”

  “He didn’t believe us anyway.”

  “So what? Once it’s done, he’ll know it was you.” He put on a deep, dramatic movie-voice. “Then he’s going to hunt you down.”

  Danny slurped his chocolate milk loudly. “But at least they might realise how much he hates living there and find him somewhere nice to live.”

  “So where are you going to take him, once you’ve slipped away into the night? Have you thought about that?”

  “Back to Ellie’s house. If I can get him to her place, then she can talk to the people at Lady Smythe and get him back in.”

  “You think?”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  Caleb screwed up his lunch bag and tossed it at the mouth of the rubbish bin. It was a perfect shot. “Well, maybe you’re right. I reckon you’re a nutcase, though. Isn’t this kidnapping?”

  “No, I’m just helping him. It was all his idea from the beginning.”

  “Yeah, but what does he know? He’s crazy.”

  Danny said nothing.

&
nbsp; “Here’s the plan,” Danny said to Captain Mack, who sat forward and listened intently. “Next Monday my Dad’s at squash till late. I’m going to come here straight after dinner.”

  “Right,” said Captain Mack, nodding slowly. “Remember to keep yer voice down, lad,” he reminded Danny.

  “OK Now, it’s going to be really important that the nurses notice you at dinner-time. You’ll have to make some kind of scene.”

  “Ye can create a diversion, Snell,” Captain Mack suggested excitedly. “Set fire to the latrine block, perhaps.”

  Danny tried not to smile. “I was thinking that you could just drop your pills or something. Nothing too big. Nothing that gets you locked in your room or anything.”

  Captain Mack looked disappointed. “Well, ye’re in charge this time, lad, like we agreed, so ye call the shots. But I think burning something down would work better.”

  “No, just the pills, I think. Then, after dinner, when I come and visit, we’re going to talk for a while in the lounge and maybe go for a bit of a walk. Then I’m going to say good-bye to the girl at the desk. She finishes at six — I checked.”

  Captain Mack nodded seriously. “Six. Right, I’ve got that.”

  “When she’s gone home I want you to take a short walk outside. The nurses are usually down the other end of the ward around then anyway, so we’ll be OK.”

  “Where are we walking, lad? In the garden?”

  “No, on the verandah. I’ll be in the bushes at the far end.”

  “I’ll wear my best suit.”

  “I didn’t know you had a suit,” Danny said.

  Captain Mack screwed up his face as he thought. “Hmm. Ye know, ye’re right lad, I don’t. I just recalled. I’ll wear something nice, then.”

  Danny shook his head. “No, don’t get dressed up. You’ve got to look like you’re going straight to bed. You’ll need to wear your pyjamas and dressing gown. You can wear regular clothes underneath if you like.”

  “I’ll wear my best dressing gown, then. And the scarf — we’ll not forget that.”

  “Good.”

  “How about my belongings, lad? I’ve not got a lot, but there are some items I’d like to bring along.”

  “I’ll have my school bag with me. While I’m visiting we’ll pack some stuff.”

  Captain Mack’s eye was bright with excitement. “Then when ye leave ye’ll not attract attention from the guards! Brilliant! Ye’re a genius, Snell. Ye’ll be decorated for this.”

  Danny tried not to smile at the old man’s enthusiasm. “That’s all you need to know for now. We’ll find somewhere to change you out of your pyjamas before we get on the train.”

  Captain Mack’s mood changed instantly. Suddenly he looked very bothered. “Train, ye say?” He stood slowly and walked to the window.

  “Yes, we need to catch the train. Then we’ll have to walk a little bit to get to Ellie’s place. It’s not all that far.”

  Captain Mack shook his head. “I’ll not catch the train. Sorry, lad, but ye’ll need to find another way.”

  “Why? I don’t —”

  “Don’t ask, lad. Just think of something else.”

  “But why?”

  “No!” Captain Mack snapped. “No. Ye don’t understand. I helped build it, lad. My friends died there. I’ll not catch the train. Find another way, Snell. Yer plans are grand, but not that part. Sorry, lad.”

  “Where are you planning to take him on the train?” Dad asked. “Day trip to the zoo or something?”

  Danny had thought long and hard about his answer to this precise question. He always tried not to lie, but this was a tough one.

  “Well, I’m not going to be taking him anywhere on the train, since he won’t even get onto one,” he replied, quite truthfully. Captain Mack had been adamant about it. No trains. And Danny was wondering why.

  “So tell me again what he said,” Dad asked.

  “He said that he helped build the train or something. And that friends died on it. Something like that.”

  “I think it’s pretty straightforward,” said Dad. “He told you he was in Burma, so he almost certainly worked on the Burma Railroad.”

  “What was the Burma Railroad?” Danny asked, but the phone rang at that moment, and Dad got up to answer it. Danny knew from the way he pulled the hall chair over to the phone that it was going to be a long conversation, so he went upstairs to bed.

  The next day Danny went to the history room at recess. Mr Cullen was unpacking a box of textbooks at the back of the room.

  “Can I ask you something?” Danny asked.

  “Sure, so long as you work while you’re asking. Here, grab these.” Mr Cullen held out a couple of the books and nodded at the growing pile on top of the low bookcase. “What’s on your mind?”

  “What was the Burma Railroad?”

  “That’s not a question I can answer in a lot of detail.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because your bell’s about to go.”

  “That’s OK, I’ve got a free period next,” said Danny.

  “Ah, but I haven’t, you see.” Mr Cullen winked. “The rabble will be pouring in here any minute, so will the short version do for now?”

  “I guess.”

  “OK then. The Burma Railroad was a supply line built through the Burmese jungle by the Japanese army. Or to be more accurate, it was built for the Japanese by Allied prisoners-of-war.”

  “What was it like?”

  Mr Cullen looked out the window at the oval and tugged at his ear. “I think it’s safe to say that it was truly horrible, Daniel. I wasn’t there, but I’ve spoken to men who were and I’ve read about it, and it wasn’t pretty.”

  “Captain Mack won’t talk about it.”

  “That doesn’t really surprise me. What those men went through was incredible.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, for a start, imagine the hottest day you’ve ever known, like a real scorcher, so hot that you’d rather endure a double of maths than spend five minutes out of the shade. Now imagine hacking through the jungle and digging and moving rocks with your bare hands under that blazing sun for twelve hours or more without a shirt on your back and with hardly any water to drink. Your lunch is a single ball of rice, and if you fall over you get kicked or beaten. Your friends die from exhaustion right beside you and you have to just keep working. Like I said, it was grim.”

  For a long time Danny examined the cover of the book in his hands, but without really seeing it. He remembered getting badly sunburnt at Manly beach the previous summer, and also recalled helping Dad build the rock-pool and fountain in front of their house. He tried to put the two together. It wasn’t easy, especially knowing that whatever picture he could come up with wouldn’t even be close to what Mr Cullen was describing.

  Finally Mr Cullen said, “Your friend was very brave, Daniel.”

  “I guess he was,” Danny replied as the bell rang and Mr Cullen’s next class began to assemble at the classroom door.

  Mr Cullen took the book from him. “Think about it next time you see him,” he said. “But don’t ever expect to really understand.”

  Danny visited Captain Mack once more before the escape attempt, just to go over the details one last time. The old man seemed anxious.

  “Ye haven’t got me booked on that blasted train, have ye, lad? I told ye —”

  “It’s all right, sir. There’ll be no train. I’ve arranged something else.”

  Captain Mack frowned at him suspiciously. “What is it, Snell? Ye’d best tell me.”

  Danny dropped his voice to a whisper. “I can’t risk the guards hearing, sir.”

  “Ah,” answered Captain Mack, nodding wisely and tapping the side of his nose. “Understood, lad.”

  “So, is next Monday all right then?”

  “Aye, right ye are, lad. Monday. See ye then. And don’t forget, Snell, there’ll be a decoration in this for ye if we pull it off.”

  Danny stood tall and sa
luted, and even though the room was otherwise empty, he had a strange feeling that he wasn’t pretending any more. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”

  “Where are you going to be waiting?” Danny asked Caleb.

  “Where you told us to wait.”

  “Yeah, but say it back to me. I need to know that you remembered.”

  “Come on, mate, trust me.”

  “Tell me,” Danny insisted. “It’s important.”

  “Oh, all right,” Caleb sighed. “We’ll be parked near the stop sign on the corner at six o’clock, just like you said. Happy?”

  “Good. And you’re sure that your brother’s going to be able to make it? Because if he can’t, we’re stuffed.”

  “Yeah, I checked today. Paul’s pumped,” said Caleb.

  “Well he’s getting free car-washes for a month, so he’d better be.”

  “You’re taking this pretty seriously, aren’t you?” Caleb said.

  “I have to. I promised Captain Mack I would.”

  “All those car-washes — I hope he realises the sacrifice you’re making.”

  It was tough, but somehow Danny managed to keep his mouth shut. Caleb was a great guy, but he’d never understand. Never ever, and Danny felt a little sorry.

  TWELVE

  Danny took a deep breath to steady the butterflies and walked towards the front door of Redgrange. He hoped that Captain Mack’s mind was clear today, but not so clear that he’d refuse to go through with the plan.

  He made a point of saying hello to the receptionist. She was slouched over the desk as she spoke on the phone, but he managed to catch her eye and she almost smiled, which was an improvement on most evenings. He threw his bag casually over his shoulder and strode down the corridor.

  Just as he often did, Captain Mack was sitting on the edge of his bed. He had his red tartan dressing gown tied up tightly, and his scarf was already around his neck with the ends tucked inside the gown. He was also wearing a hat.