A constant traffic of cadets began as people went to visit their friends. It was another free night and they were allowed to socialize. After a while the five HQ girls got up and went off to visit. As she went past him Kate gave Peter a look which he took to mean she would rather stay with him but didn’t want to make it obvious. A group of people arrived, all laughing and cheerful: Barbara, Margaret, Wendy, Lofty and Roger. Margaret came and sat between Graham and the OC who smiled at her.
For a while it was jokes all round and everyone seemed happy. Between the efforts of Roger and Lt Hamilton hardly anyone else could get a chance to tell a joke. After a while Graham stood up.
“I’d better do a wander round. I’m hoping they are all too tired to get up to mischief, but you never know,” he said.
Margaret stood up as well. “Can I come with you?” she asked, her face hopefully anxious. Graham frowned and bit his lip, aware all the officers had heard her.
Before he could answer Peter also stood up. “I’ll come too. We will make it a group.”
“A posse to control the ruffians!” Roger agreed. He hauled Barbara to her feet. Lofty and Wendy stood up as well. They all strolled off into the night leaving the officers smiling and talking.
Away from the fire it was cool and pleasant. Visibility was quite good as the starlight reflected on the white sand. People could be seen as black figures even up to a hundred metres away. The group strolled along happily discussing the camp.
The first place they visited was 3 Platoon. Sgt Rankin was standing telling a joke. Most of the platoon appeared to be seated around the fire with a few standing in small groups. It appeared to Graham that there was a marked change for the better in the platoon’s Esprit-de-corps. When Rankin finished Cactus sprang up to tell a joke. Rankin moved over to talk to Graham.
While they talked Graham’s eyes roamed the faces, checking on morale and seeing if there were any obvious boy-girl situations developing. As he did he was conscious of Margaret standing beside him but nobody seemed to notice. Then another worry surfaced from his sub-conscious:- who was not there that might be a problem? Where was Erika Goltz? He checked carefully but could not find her.
But Graham was only mildly concerned; after all it was a free night. But then another nagging thought stirred him. ‘CUO White is not here.’
Graham remembered the previous platoon campfires on the third night, when CUO White had appeared out of the darkness with Brown soon after the two girls from 4 Platoon. Now he began to worry. There was no order saying that platoon commanders had to stay with their platoons but Graham knew the OC had made it clear to them where their duty required them to be. He knew CUO White had been spoken to in particular.
‘He wouldn’t be so stupid as to try it again; surely? Anyway, the CUO is not really my business, but Cpl Goltz is,’ he thought. His idea was not to catch her (or them) in the act, but rather to pre-empt any situations from developing so the unit’s reputation could be kept safe.
After a few minutes Graham nudged Peter and moved away from the group. Margaret gave him a worried look but he shook his head and she stayed at the fire with the others.
“What is it Graham?” Peter asked.
“Erika Goltz. I’m worried she might be up to mischief. I’d like to know where she is. Would you mind helping me look?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks. You go to One Platoon and Two Platoon. I will check Four Platoon and do a bit of a circuit up in the sand dunes. But don’t say anything, or ask anyone. Just look. I’ll meet you in a while at HQ.”
“OK,” Peter replied. He walked off alone into the night. Graham went back to where his other friends were giving him questioning looks.
“Just sergeant major’s business,” Graham told them. “I’m going to visit Four Platoon.” He didn’t want them to come but didn’t want to say so. They did however, Margaret walking on his left and Roger on his right while Barbara, Lofty and Wendy followed. As they walked Margaret several times bumped against him and he knew she wanted him to hold her hand or put his arm around her. He would have liked that too but he told her gently.
“Sorry Marg. Not tonight mate.”
In response she pressed against his arm. He saw her nod in the starlight. “I know,” she replied.
“What’s that?” Roger asked.
“Nothing mate, just sweet nothings,” Graham replied.
They arrived at 4 Platoon’s fire and he greeted CUO Bates. A searching glance showed that Goltz was not there. The topic of conversation was the senior exercise. They were recounting their reactions to the ghost.
“I fair shit meself!” Percy Pearson cried. They all rocked with laughter.
“So did I,” CUO Bates agreed with a rueful grin.
“That was a good scream you let out,” Cpl Scott said. “We were looking at that dummy body at the Wild Boar Wallow when you did. I jumped a couple of metres in fright.”
“Those Headquarters’ sheilas gave the best scream I thought,” Graham put in. “I reckon they woke every pig for miles around.”
The platoon burst into a mixture of pig grunts and laughter. Cpl Laidley spoke next in his slow drawl. “I reckon them bodies were scary too. They fair gave me the creeps.”
“Oh yeah!” Cadet Bragg agreed. “They looked so realistic in the torchlight. I was crappin’ meself until I seen they was only dummies.”
“They weren’t so bad,” Dimbo Doyle snorted. “It was that arm sticking out of the mud what got me. It looked so real I was scared stiff.”
“What arm?” CUO Bates asked.
“The one near the big log in that long swampy bit. The one with the mud all over it,” Doyle replied.
“I didn’t see that,” Sgt Griffin said in a puzzled tone.
Graham suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “What arm Cpl Doyle? What was the message there?”
“There wasn’t no message sir. It was just an arm stuck in the mud. I wonder where the boss got it?” Doyle replied.
CUO Bates and Graham exchanged glances. Graham spoke first. “There wasn’t any arm Cpl Doyle. I helped the OC lay out the whole course in daylight, so I know what there was.”
“There was so!” Doyle replied indignantly. He turned to his section. “There was, wasn’t there?”
The cadets chorused agreement. Graham was mystified and asked. “What sort of arm? What did it look like?”
“A human arm. You could see the hand and fingers. It was stuck in the mud up to its elbow,” Doyle replied.
Graham went cold with shock. He remembered something Peter had joked about when they had been making the dummies. He had said to the OC, “No hands sir.” The OC had laughed and replied they didn’t need hands, or could get by without them, then said, “They only need to look like bodies in the dark.”
Graham shivered, then asked. “You are sure about the hand and the fingers?”
Doyle nodded emphatically. “Yes. Too right. It looked like this.” He held up his right hand in a clawing, clutching gesture.
Graham swallowed. This could be serious. Had they stumbled on a real dead body by accident? He asked, “Are you sure it wasn’t the paw of some animal, or the leg of a dead cow or something?”
“Cow! It was a human hand,” Doyle replied hotly, clearly annoyed at not being believed. His section supported him.
“OK! OK!” Graham replied. “I believe you. Did you touch it, or examine it?”
“No. It was out in all this soft mud the pigs had dug up,” Doyle replied. “We just shone our torches on it. Anyway I wouldn’t have touched it for a million bucks it looked so real.”
“Where was it exactly?” Graham asked.
The platoon was silent now, all aware that a real mystery was unfolding. Cpl Doyle stammered and hung his head. “I’m not sure now sir.”
Graham turned to CUO Bates. “Excuse me Ma’am but this sounds odd to me. I think we should tell the OC.”
CUO Bates nodded. “I agree. Corporal Doyle,
come with us. Sgt Griffin, you are in charge.”
Graham turned to Margaret and her friends. “Sorry gang but I must ask you to go back to your platoons while I attend to this. And please don’t mention it to anyone. We don’t want a wave of rumours over what might just be a false alarm. It could just frighten the younger cadets.”
Barbara answered for them, assuring Graham they would do that. They headed off into the night while Graham, CUO Bates and Cpl Doyle returned to the HQ fire. On the way they skirted 3 Platoon’s fire and Graham noted that Sgt Rankin was again standing there telling a joke; but there was still no sign of CUO White. ‘I wonder where he is and what he is up to?’ he pondered.
Cpl Doyle spoke up, sounding very nervous. “Sir I did see an arm. I’m not making it up.”
“We didn’t say you had Corporal Doyle. You aren’t in any sort of trouble. We just want to sort this out,” Graham replied.
On approaching the HQ fire Graham observed that Kellie Jones, Marcia Denton, Allison and some other cadets were there talking to the officers. Graham halted twenty metres out.
“Wait here. I will get the OC,” he said. He walked over to the fire only to find the OC was not there. He was informed he had gone to 1 Platoon. Graham told CUO Bates and she and Doyle waited while Graham strode on along the tunnel of trees to the next fire.
Capt Conkey was not at 2 Platoon but Margaret and Barbara had returned and gave him a smile as he passed. Graham found him at 1 Platoon, standing with CUO Sherry, Stephen and Peter. Peter met his eye and shook his head. For a moment Graham was puzzled before remembering Goltz. He nodded, then spoke quietly to the OC.
“Excuse me Sir.”
Capt Conkey turned, saw Graham’s gesture and followed him into the darkness. “Yes CSM?”
“Sorry to bother you sir but Corporal Doyle has a peculiar story about an arm his section saw sticking out of the mud during last night’s exercise.”
“An arm! Tell me more.”
As they walked back to where CUO Bates and Cpl Doyle waited Graham outlined the story. Capt Conkey listened in silence then commented: “You did the right thing CSM. It certainly sounds odd.”
Capt Conkey questioned Cpl Doyle at length. Graham could tell he was clearly worried. Once Capt Conkey was satisfied that Doyle really had seen an arm he asked, “Where exactly was it Corporal Doyle?”
Doyle hopped from foot to foot and shrugged. “I’m not sure sir. I got a bit confused.”
“Alright, was it before you reached Lt Hamilton at the end of the highway bridge, or after?”
“After sir.”
“Did you find the ‘Cowboy’s Camp’?”
“I dunno sir. Which one was that? Who was there?”
“No-one. It was just a hutchie and a fire. It was the first place after you left Lt Hamilton.”
“Yes we did sir. Then we followed the bed of the flood channel. It was real scary. And there was this bull,” Doyle replied.
“Did you find a dummy beside a muddy area?” Capt Conkey asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Then the next place you should have gone was the CSM’s fire.”
Doyle hesitated. In the starlight Graham could see he was screwing up his face. “Er...ummm...er, no. That was when we saw the arm.”
“Where exactly? How far from the dummy?”
“Not sure sir. It seemed like a long way. I think we sort of took a wrong turn and followed the wrong track. Then we saw the CSM’s fire.”
Graham spoke up: “Corporal Doyle was supposed to arrive as the third group out of the five Sir, but he arrived last and about an hour late.”
“You were lost then Corporal Doyle?” Capt Conkey stated.
“Er... Yes sir,” Doyle admitted.
“Do you have any idea where you went?”
“Er...ummm... er. No, not really sir. We seemed to follow tracks all over the place and crossed lots of swampy hollows. It was all rubber vines and thorn bushes and I couldn’t see any landmarks,” Doyle replied.
“What about your compass? What direction where you travelling in?” Capt Conkey asked.
There was a pained silence which told them all that Doyle had not thought of that. Capt Conkey pressed his lips together. Graham then remembered and spoke up, “Corporal Doyle came into my fire from the wrong direction sir. He should have come in from the south but he actually came in from the north. I reckon, from what his cadets said, that they went the wrong side of the Bunyip Billabong and circled right around it.”
“Did you Corporal Doyle?”
“Aw! Er... yeah. I dunno sir. We mighta.”
Capt Conkey sighed. “Alright. There is nothing we can do about this tonight. We will worry about it in the morning. Now, I don’t want anyone talking about this. Just go to bed and we will investigate tomorrow. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir,” they chorused.
“Alright CUO Bates, you and Corporal Doyle can go. CSM, you come with me and we will visit all the platoons,” Capt Conkey instructed.
As Graham and the OC walked along Capt Conkey said: “I don’t like the sound of this CSM. We will have to investigate. It is a real nuisance.”
“We should be able to find the place sir. We can follow Doyle’s tracks. The whole place is either mud or dust and their bootprints should show up clearly. If need be we could backtrack from my fire.”
“Yes, we can do that. Now, let’s visit Three Platoon and see if things are OK there,” Capt Conkey replied.
They trudged along the sandy flood channel to find 3 Platoon all sitting around their fire and CUO White out the front telling a joke. Graham and the OC stood at the back of the audience listening. As he did Graham’s eyes roamed over the faces. He was relieved the CUO was back but he was still worried. ‘Goltz,’ he thought. ‘Where is she?’
“Can we visit the Control Group next sir?” he asked.
“Good idea CSM,” Capt Conkey agreed. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 28
PETER’S PROBLEM
After leaving Graham at 3 Platoon’s fire Peter walked back past the HQ fire. As he passed he noted that Kate and the other girls had not returned. He continued on to check at both 2 Platoon and 1 Platoon. There was no sign of Erika Goltz at either. He was about to turn back to tell Graham when he heard a girl laugh in the distance.
Peter paused and looked that way. Just beyond 1 Platoon’s area the line of trees ended. Upstream was an expanse of open sand about 200 metres across with more tree-covered dunes beyond. The glow of a fire showed among the tree tops.
‘The Control Group. She might be there?’ Peter wondered. He decided it was highly likely and set off to look.
Away from the fires it was very pleasant. Apart from the effort of walking on the soft sand it was an enjoyable walk. As he drew closer he detected a trail of footprints in the sand which wound between two dunes and into a grassy dip under some trees. For lack of a better word to describe the hollow Peter opted for the English word ‘dell’. The fire was in a depression beyond it. The place was mostly in shadows.
There were voices ahead and the tinkle of girl’s laughter. ‘Leah Allen,’ Peter noted. A group of figures emerged from the darkness as black shadows against the paleness of the sand: the HQ girls.
“Hello Peter- I mean Sergeant Bronsky,” Allison called as they met. Peter could just recognize them in the starlight.
“Hello Peter,” Leah Allen giggled.
“Hello Peter,”- Marcia Denton.
“Hello Peter,”- Kate. Peter’s heart leapt. They stopped in a milling group.
Peter gestured towards the fire. “How are the Control Group?” he asked.
“Gross,” Allison replied. “They are telling crude jokes so we left.”
“Where are we going?” Marcia Denton asked.
“What about Four Platoon?” Leah suggested.
“Oooh! Yes. Good idea!” Marcia Denton replied with a little shriek of delight.
The girls moved on past Peter who stood aside. He realized Kate
had held back. She said nothing but simply stood silently near him until the chattering group had vanished into the night. Peter’s heart began to pound. His mind raced. ‘What does she want?’ he wondered anxiously. His palms became suddenly sweaty.
“Hello Peter,” Kate said, in a low, husky voice.
Peter’s throat seemed to constrict so that it took an effort to speak. “Hello Kate,” he croaked. He shivered- was that fear, or anticipation? Did he dare to hope?
Neither spoke. Somehow they just flowed together. Kate wrapped her arms around Peter’s neck, pressed against him and put her head on his shoulder. He felt her hair on his cheek, smelt her scent. His pulse quickened and he gripped her tightly.
“I’m sorry Peter,” she whispered huskily. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I was just so disappointed.”
“That’s alright,” Peter replied. He could feel himself getting aroused. Then he found they were kissing. He blushed because he knew he was a fumbling amateur. It was obvious Kate wasn’t. She kissed him in a way which made his pulse race, at the same time as it made him burn with jealousy.
‘She’s done this before,’ he told himself. But he didn’t stop. Of course other boys had kissed her. ‘She is very attractive.’
She pressed harder against him. “Mmmmm. That’s better,” she murmured. “That’s what I want. That is why I was so angry the other day. I was really worked up and in the mood. I was so frustrated.”
Peter couldn’t believe his ears. Was she saying she wanted sex! He was at once eager but frightened. He drew back to look at her.
Voices! Someone coming!
Panic washed over Peter like an icy shower. He stepped hastily back, releasing Kate’s hands. Four figures appeared from the direction of the Control Group camp. Had they seen? It was too late to walk away or hide.
It was Sgt Crane with Brown, Bax and Clyde. As they passed they all looked but none said anything. Brown muttered something to Crane and they both sniggered. Peter burned with shame. He knew they were saying crude things. What made it really bite was that they were right!
The Cadet Sergeant Major Page 32