Cockatoo

by Christopher Cummings

  Then she heard a scuffling noise on the other side of the tree. This was followed the sound of hurrying footsteps crunching soggy deadfall. To her immense relief the noise went away from her. ‘He’s gone to their camp,’ she thought.

  By moving her head only a few centimetres she was able to see around the other side of the tree. ‘Yes, there he is,’ she told herself. Danny had gone hurrying to the camp and was now bending over and shoving things into a Hessian sack. Her mind told her that he could probably see part of her and possibly the others- if he looked their way. He did in fact glance in their direction a couple of times but his attention was focused up on the old road, not down on the creek bank.

  Tina swivelled her head further and met Andrew’s eyes. He was watching Danny from where he lay pressed flat behind some bushes. Just behind him was Blake, peeking through a bush. Stella lay behind a rotting log and her hands were white-knuckle clenched and she was visibly trembling. Tina could not see her face but was sure she was near to panic stricken. ‘So am I!’ she thought, realizing that she was gasping so fast and so deep that she was getting dizzy from hyperventilating. With an effort she slowed her breathing.

  ‘Concentrate on Danny. What is he doing?’ she thought. After shifting cautiously to a more comfortable position that put her more behind the tree she focused her eyes on Danny. She saw that he had now slung the gun over his shoulder using a piece of rope and that he was finished stuffing the sack. Next he picked up the sack and then a box with a carry handle on top. Tina now saw that it was a bird cage and that it contained a white cockatoo. This began to squawrk and shriek in protest. From the jungle in the distance arose answering cries from more white cockatoos.

  “Oh, poor bird!” Tina muttered to herself as Danny swore at it and banged its cage against a tree. For a fleeting moment she pictured the bird being cruelly treated. ‘I should try to let it go,’ she thought. But that was plainly impossible. However the scene did give her an image of ‘Beaky’ back in his cage. ‘I wonder if that is how Beaky was caught?’ she thought. She had never considered that before and now, for the first time, she felt real doubt about whether it was right to keep such birds in cages.

  Danny again swore at the bird and then turned and hurried back up to the old road. Again Tina tensed to run. But Danny just glanced to his left along the old road, then turned right and hurried away from them. Twenty seconds later he was lost to sight around the bend. Tina let her breath out with an audible sigh and managed a smile at Andrew.

  Blake looked up. “What’s he doing now?” he whispered.

  “Gone away along the old road,” Tina hissed back. Even as she did this she heard the sound of a vehicle door being slammed. A few seconds later another door was closed. ‘Is he getting into a vehicle?’ she wondered. Up until now she had assumed that there were two smugglers and she had been expecting Marco to appear at any moment. But when the sound of a vehicle’s engine starting up reached her ears she decided that Danny had been alone in the camp.

  Then another thought came to her: she did not know what type of vehicle. ‘I won’t be able to report it to the police,’ she thought. On an impulse she stood up and a moment later was hurrying along the old road as fast as her cramped and stiff muscles would allow. She realized it was a frightful risk and that put her heart in her mouth but she was determined to see the vehicle.

  ‘If I can get the registration number that will be even better,’ she told herself. It was only about fifty metres to where the old road curved left and she was close to that when she heard the vehicle’s engine note change. ‘Oh no! He is driving away!’ she thought. At that she pushed herself into a run, throwing caution to the winds in her determination.

  As she reached the bend an instinct for self preservation made her slow but even as she did she heard the vehicle driving off. She looked around the bend and got another unpleasant disappointment. The road went straight for about 50 metres to where sunlight showed a good gravel road- but there was a hump in it and all she could see was the top of the vehicle!

  Muttering swear words under her breath Tina dashed around the bend and up the rise. It wasn’t much of a slope but it hid the bulk of the vehicle and by the time she was able to see over the crest the vehicle was turning left onto a good graded gravel road. All she had time to note was that it was a small, muddy-brown, utility type truck with a covered in cabin constructed on the tray. She did not have time to read the mud spattered number plate.

  “Oh blast!” she cried in frustration. Despite the risk she kept on running but by the time she reached the junction of the gravel road the vehicle had vanished around the next bend. Tina stopped and almost wept with relief and frustration. She stood there gasping and trembling while Andrew and Blake joined her at the run.

  Andrew was angry. “Bloody hell Tina! What the hell were your thinking of?” he snapped.

  “I wanted to –puff- get the-gasp- ve- vehicle’s nu-puff-number plate,” she replied.

  Andrew nodded but still shook his head. “You took a risk.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” Tina replied. She looked back along the old road and saw a frightened and nearly hysterical Stella hurrying over the rise. “Why did you leave me?” Stella wailed.

  Tina bit back the sharp rejoinder that came to mind and did not reply. She left it to Blake to calm Stella and was considerably peeved when Andrew also began to console and comfort her.

  At that moment the radio on Andrew’s shirt sounded loud and clear. “Cutlass this is Blackbeard, over.”

  Tina’s heart leapt. “Lt Ryan! Quick Andrew, ask him which way he is coming from. Warn him.”

  Andrew nodded and called back, “Blackbeard, this is Cutlass, over.”

  Again Lt Ryan’s voice sounded clearly as he said, “Cutlass, where you trying to call us earlier?”

  “Yes Blackbeard, we were. We need help, over,” Andrew replied.

  “What is the problem? Over.”

  Tina had been standing with her fingers twitching. She itched to do the talking and Andrew saw this. He passed the radio to her. Because it was tied to Andrew’s shirt that meant she had to stand touching him but she did not mind- in fact barely noticed. “Sir, there are crooks, bird smugglers. They are the same ones we saw at Koombooloomba Dam and they have guns. Over,” she said.

  “Bloody hell! Are you in danger?” Lt Ryan asked.

  “No sir, but you might be. They have just driven off in a brown truck with a covered in tray. Watch out you don’t run into them. Over,” Tina replied.

  “Where are you?”

  Andrew answered this. “At our RV on the ‘B’ Road sir. Over.”

  “Which way did the vehicle turn? Over,” Lt Ryan queried.

  Tina had to think for a moment. “Left- I mean east,” she answered.

  “That’s alright. We are coming in from the west, from Mareeba. We are only buz.. ccrrraackle.. buz away. We should be with you in crackle.. crackle….shhh..”

  The radio transmission faded and became unreadable. Stella grabbed at Tina. “What did say? When will he be here?”

  Andrew and Tina looked at each other. “He’s not far way,” Tina answered.

  “A few minutes,” Andrew added.

  Tina sighed and shook her head. Then she smiled ruefully and said, “I’m glad that radio didn’t start talking when we were hiding.”

  Blake laughed as well. “My oath! That would have cooked our goose.”

  Then the sound of a vehicle came to them. It was difficult to determine which direction it was coming from and the friends looked anxiously at each other. Andrew pointed back along the track. “Let’s hide, just in case it is the crooks coming back.”

  Stella gasped and cried, “Oh they wouldn’t, would they?” But she moved with the others.

  They had only just reached the edge of the jungle when it became clear that the vehicle was coming from the west. Andrew said, “You guys wait here under cover. I will go out and flag it down. We don’t want them to go driving past.”
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  Tina was stuck by admiration for Andrew’s courage and simultaneously appalled at the possible danger. She wanted to cry at him not to, but held her tongue. Instead she shepherded Stella behind a tree while Andrew walked back out to stand on the road.

  It was less than a minute before the vehicle appeared but for Tina it seemed much longer. Then a white Navy 4WD roared into view and pulled up with a scrape of gravel under locked tyres. Tina saw Sub Lt Mullion and Lt Ryan and gasped with relief. Followed by Stella and Blake she hurried out to join Andrew.

  For the next few minutes there was a babble of excited talk with each of them adding bits of the story. Lt Ryan and Sub Lt Mullion listened with evident alarm. Then Lt Ryan said, “This vehicle, you say it went that way?” He pointed east along the road.

  “Yes sir,” Tina answered.

  “That is bad. The other ‘Bronze’ team and our ‘Gold’ team are both coming from that direction,” Lt Ryan replied.

  Tina felt a sudden stab of apprehension and went cold with worry. The other ‘Bronze’ team were rivals from the Starboard Watch but they were friends. “Do you know where they are?” she asked.

  Lt Ryan nodded. “Yes. We’ve been along this road twice and we passed the Starboard Watch team near Mt Edith about an hour and a half ago. They should be almost here by now.”

  “What about the ‘Silver’ team sir?” Tina asked. She was now feeling guilty with a half-formed notion that the whole crisis was her fault.

  “Coming along the other way behind us,” Lt Ryan said. “We saw them about twenty minutes ago. They are close to their night camp site.” He looked at his watch and muttered, “Nearly five. Only an hour to last light. We had better go and check on the other teams. You people had better hide in the jungle until we come back- just in case.”

  “Yes sir,” Andrew replied.

  As the Officers of Cadets climbed back into their vehicle Tina said, “Sir, please phone the police and also the wildlife rangers.”

  Sub Lt Mullion held up a satellite phone and said, “We will do that right away.”

  “Thanks ma’am.”

  Stella then said, “Can I come with you please ma’am?”

  Tina was amazed at Stella’s apparent selfishness but she said nothing. Lt Ryan shook his head. “No. You people stay together.”

  “But we are going home aren’t we?” Stella cried. She looked very pale and was trembling.

  The officers looked at each other and Lt Ryan said, “We will ask the police for advice on that. Probably not. We will also call your parents and see what they want.”

  “But we must!” Stella cried.

  Both Andrew and Blake tried to reassure her. While they were doing this the sunlight went from the road and it became quite gloomy. Tina looked up and noted that there was still sunlight up on the tree tops across the road but even that was fading fast.

  “We had better collect our packs,” she suggested. “Or we will be spending a very cold and uncomfortable night.”

  Stella looked appalled. “Oh, we aren’t camping here? Surely we are going home?”

  Lt Ryan looked uncomfortable. “First we will gather everyone together and make sure you are safe. Then we will consider getting people home. Besides, I am sure the police and rangers will want you to show them where these nets are. Tina is right. Go and get your packs and we will meet you back here.”

  The vehicle sped away and the cadets walked back onto the old road. Stella was clearly reluctant to go into the jungle. Andrew tried to reassure her. “It is alright now Stella. The adults have things in hand. The police will arrive soon. We will be quite safe. Besides, we can’t leave our packs there.”

  “Oh I can!” Stella said with vehemence.

  Blake looked annoyed. “You might be able to but my mum spent a lot of money buying that gear and I need it. I’m going to get my pack.” With that he set of back along the old road.

  Tina hesitated for a moment but then followed him. To her annoyance Andrew dithered and tried to reason with Stella. That really needled Tina’s already jangled emotions. “Leave her here Andrew. She can hide in the jungle if anyone comes.”

  Stella let out a little whimper and that irritated Tina even more. ‘Silly cow!’ she thought. Her own response was to walk even faster. But as soon as she rounded the bend she was almost overwhelmed by a sense of dread. ‘What if there are more crooks here in the jungle?’ she thought. That worry began to oppress her as she strode along. It caused her to continually glance into the jungle on both sides and ahead.

  At the bird poacher’s camp she found Blake standing and contemplating the place. He gestured, “Should we have a look?”

  Tina shook her head. “No. Leave it as it is. The police scientific people won’t be happy if we mess up any clues.”

  Blake nodded and continued on. Tina followed him. As she did she glanced back and saw that Andrew was not far behind and that Stella was now hurrying to catch up. The going was relatively easy as the bird poachers had cleared tracks around all the big fallen logs and bushes. But it was now quite dark and gloomy in under the rainforest canopy and Tina began to fret that they might not find their packs and be back at the road before it got dark.

  As it was they just managed it by the last of the twilight. It was further back to their packs than she remembered and she found it a hard puff up the hundred metres or so to where the packs were hidden. They were there but pulling them on was a cruel little shock as all the sore muscles and chafing instantly complained. Tina bit her lip and swung the pack on but Stella whined and complained until Blake snapped, “Well I’m not going to carry your pack for you.”

  They set off back at 5:45pm, pausing at the creek crossing to refill their water bottles again. Then it was just a slow and painful plod in the dusk back to the road. To Tina’s enormous relief the Officers of Cadets were back and so was the ‘Bronze’ team. As soon as she had dropped her pack Tina hurried to Lt Ryan and asked if the police were coming.

  Lt Ryan shook his head. “They say they will arrive tomorrow morning about 0900. They want us to stay here.”

  “Is that safe sir?” Tina asked. She was now torn between fear and the desire to help the police.

  “They said to keep in contact but they believe so. The ‘Bronze’ team saw the vehicle you described. It skidded to a stop when it met them but then accelerated past and the driver gave them a filthy look. I think he thought we were police. They wear dark blue work uniforms when they are doing scrub bashing.”

  “Scrub bashing!” cried Blake. “That’s what we’ve been doing. I’ve done enough to last me a long time.”

  “Me too,” Andrew agreed. “No more jungle for me. Our next expedition will be by water.”

  Lt Ryan laughed with them but then held up the satellite phone. “Now we will call your parents to check what they want, but they will have to come and get you. Just remember that they will have to find their way up these jungle roads in the dark if they do.”

  This was done. Each cadet was allowed to talk to their parents after Lt Ryan had explained the situation to them. Both Andrew and Blake told their parents they wanted to stay. Hearing that made Tina give a wry smile. ‘Andrew thinks it is a big adventure,’ she thought. But she didn’t. She was really scared. But nor she did not want to worry her parents or have them trying to drive the jungle roads in the dark so she said she was fine and that she wanted to stay. Only Stella asked to be taken home but her parents said they couldn’t as they had no car. That got Stella crying and pleading but in the end she had to stay.

  Once that was done Lt Ryan pointed along the old road and said, “You can set up camp along there. I will park the vehicle here to block the entrance so you will be quite safe. You boys go last in line so that the girls aren’t on the end.”

  “Oh sir!” Andrew cried in mock horror.

  Stella looked back along the old road, which was now just a tunnel of darkness. “But what if more crooks come out of the jungle.”

  Blake snorted with d
erision and said, “Look at it! Nobody is going to be pushing their way through that stuff in the dark, not without lights and an awful lot of noise.”

  Andrew said, “Blake’s right. Anyway, we will protect you. Come on, let’s set up out tents and then have tea.”

  So they did. Tina found that Andrew was right. In under the trees it was so dark that she literally could not see her hand in front of her face and they had to use torches to set up their tents. Then they joined the others out on the edge of the road in the slightly less dark starlight. The officers lit a lantern and that at once cheered her up. The others wanted to know all about the meeting with the bird poachers so there was plenty of talk over the next couple of hours. Tina had to recount her meetings with Danny and Marco and the floatplane at Croydon and that got her feeling very apprehensive.

  ‘Danny said he would get me,’ she thought. But had he recognized her that afternoon? She did not think so but it was still a niggling worry. It made going to bed an anxious experience and once all the lights were turned off and there were just the jungle noises in the utter blackness fears began to crowd back in. ‘What if he comes back to get me tonight?’ she thought.

  CHAPTER 23

  LOOKING OVER HER SHOULDER

  That thought came to dominate Tina’s mind as she lay there in the darkness. Her rational mind told her it was ridiculous. ‘The crooks will be trying to get away. They won’t come back here in case the police are here. And even if they do, how will they know which tent I am in?’ she reasoned. But it was no use. Irrational fears gripped her until she was shivering with emotion.

  Then a sniffling, whimpering noise beside her attracted her attention. It was Stella and she was crying. Tina reached out and touched her and Stella twitched convulsively and cried out. Tina was shocked at the reaction and got a fright herself but said, “What’s the matter Stella?”

  “I… I’m.. sniff.. sc.. scared…sniff. I .. sob.. j..j..just w.w.w..want to g..g..go h..home!” she answered.

  ‘I can identify with that!’ Tina thought. But she reached across and put her arm around Stella’s shoulders. Then she tried to calm her by using all the same arguments. But even as she said the words her mind conjured up images of Danny and Marco sneaking stealthily past the parked vehicles, past the officer’s tents and then past the other tents. The images had the effect of causing her to tense up and hyperventilate until Stella’s clinging grasp reminded her of what she was trying to do.