Coasts of Cape York

by Christopher Cummings

  “My mistake,” Graham commented. “I should have put you all ashore as soon as we left the river mouth. I think he means to force us away from the coast.”

  Willy looked ahead. The tip of Bathurst Head was now almost abreast of them. In the distance beyond it the rugged shapes of the Flinders Group began to come into view. “What about the islands?” he suggested.

  Graham nodded. “Probably our only choice. If we can play hide and seek among them until dark we should get away.”

  “That boat has got radar,” Carmen pointed out.

  Willy looked and saw the small scanner on a short mast. It surprised him that such a small vessel would have such a fitting.

  As the minutes went by the sea became rougher as they go further out into open water. Then the Rattlesnake Channel through into Bathurst Bay began to slowly open up. They all kept looking hopefully in all directions but the horizon remained empty of shipping.

  But any chance of turning east to follow the main shipping route was now clearly lost as the Saurian was directly abeam of them and only half a kilometre away. ‘She is creeping closer all the time,’ Willy noted bitterly.

  That only left the option of going to the west of Blackwood Island. Graham turned that way. As they did Saurian was forced to change course to get around Pullen Point, the most southerly point on the island. The boat sped past it only a hundred metres off the shore.

  “What about going ashore there?” Andrew suggested. To Willy that seemed like a good idea. The island looked large enough and rugged enough to provide plenty of hiding places.

  Graham shook his head. “No water, not that I know of anyway,” he replied. “You might be lucky to find a brackish rockpool. We will try for Denham. I know where there is a spring on it.”

  So they pounded on along just off the coast. For a few anxious minutes they lost sight of the Saurian and Carmen voiced the fear that it might be hurrying along the east coast to cut them off.

  “In that case we are up the proverbial creek,” Graham commented.

  That brought more whimpers from Julie and her mother. Jacob said, “Oh do something!”

  Graham eyed him coldly and snapped back, “We are. We are risking our bloody lives for you. If you don’t like it then bloody well jump over the side and swim ashore.”

  Then the Saurian appeared behind them and still at least half a kilometre back. “Good!” Graham hissed. “We have a chance.”

  For five more anxious minutes the boat roared on northeast along the shore. By then they could clearly see the even larger and more rugged Stanley and Flinders Islands to the north. “What about them?” Willy suggested.

  Graham shook his head. “No. We need water.”

  So he followed the rugged coast around to the east. Willy saw the mountainous pile of Denham Island come into view about 3 kilometres away. ‘But will we make it in time?’ he wondered anxiously as he watched the Saurian come into view only five or six hundred metres behind.

  Three minutes went by. ‘One kilometre down. Two to go,’ Willy estimated. But the launch was still gaining, its bow wave creaming foam as it ploughed through the waves that the boat skimmed over.

  Carmen sighed. “This is really pretty. I wish we were visiting under more pleasant conditions.”

  “Doesn’t look tropical though,” Andrew said. “Looks more like pictures I have seen of Scotland or cold places like that.”

  “Scotland,” Graham agreed. “It reminds me of that place called Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands; the place where the British based their battle fleet during the world wars. It is a ring of islands like this.”

  Willy had seen photos of Scapa Flow and he could only agree it had a similarity. He opened his mouth to suggest it was a bit too rugged to really compare but he left the words unsaid when the motor suddenly gave a cough and began spluttering.

  “What’s wrong?” Mrs van der Heyden shrieked.

  “Not sure,” Graham replied.

  “Fuel?” Carmen queried.

  Graham unscrewed the fuel cap and looked in, then swore. “Fuel,” he confirmed. “The tank is nearly dry.”

  “Bloody hell!” Jacob cried. He stared at the small beach on Denham Island that Graham was aiming for, his face a mask of near despair.

  “Only a kilometre,” Willy estimated. ‘But will we make it?’

  The motor gave another cough and nearly died, then resumed spluttering. The boat noticeably slowed. Looking astern Willy estimated that the Saurian was now only between 300 and 400 metres astern. Details on the launch were becoming visible and two dark blobs that were the heads of the two men were just visible in its cockpit.

  ‘This is going to be close!’ Willy thought.

  CHAPTER 33

  WILLY DECIDES

  For a few more minutes the outboard motor ran smoothly. Willy kept looking forward and then astern. ‘About a half a kilometre to go,’ he estimated. But he also noted with sickening concern that the pursuing launch was creeping closer every minute. ‘Must be only two hundred or three hundred metres behind,’ he estimated. He knew from his cadet training that they were now inside effective rifle range and the knowledge chilled him. He went even colder when he saw that one of the men now had his head above the cabin roof and was holding the rifle.

  The motor suddenly coughed and spluttered again. Blue smoke billowed from it and Graham shook his head, his face a mask of determination. Then the motor fired again and roared steadily. Willy looked ahead and estimated they were now only about 300 or 400 metres from the shore. A glance astern showed that the Saurian had narrowed the distance even more.

  Movement beside Willy caused him to glance sideways. It was Carmen. She was quietly pounding her clenched fists on her knees. She met Willy’s eyes and gave a tight-lipped smile. “Come on! Go boat, go!” she said.

  ‘Less than 200 metres,’ Willy calculated. ‘We might make it.’ With every second his hopes crept up. He began studying the island, trying to pick the best place to hide. The end of the island nearest them was a rocky headland on which the waves were breaking. It was obviously unsafe. A hundred metres along to the left was a short length of sandy beach backed by a steep rock and scrub-covered slope. ‘We can’t climb straight up. We will be like ducks in the shooting gallery,’ he thought. At the far end of the beach a straggle of mangroves stood in the water. The hillside behind the mangroves was studded with huge boulders. He said, “Graham, try to put us ashore over near that little patch of mangroves on the left,” he said.

  Graham nodded and changed course slightly. The distance shortened with every second. Another glance astern. ‘We will make it,’ Willy decided, seeing the launch still at least 200 metres behind.

  Then the motor began to cough and run rough. At once their speed fell away. Dismay and fear swept through Willy and he could tell the others were equally frightened. They were now only 100 metres off the beach. ‘We can swim if we have to,’ Willy thought, but he knew it would be a desperate last resort. Images of them being shot as they struggled in the water or on the beach swirled in his mind.

  75 metres.

  50 metres

  25 metres - the launch still at least a hundred astern. ‘We will make it,’ Willy decided.

  But even as he thought this the engine spluttered to a stop. Andrew twisted the throttle but nothing happened. But the boat’s momentum kept them sliding forward on the calm water behind the headland. Willy glanced astern and then said, “When we hit the beach run to the left behind those mangroves, then scatter and climb up among the rocks.”

  “Where will we rendezvous?” Carmen asked.

  “The top of the hill?” Willy answered.

  Graham shook his head. “Too obvious. The spring is just above high tide level in a sort of cave on the south side of the island. We will meet there,” he said.

  10 metres.

  The boat was slowing but Willy could now see the bottom. Carmen dug her hand in the water, “Paddle!” she ordered.

  Willy did so, as did Graham
and Julia but Jacob seemed mesmerized by the approaching launch. The boat slid forward another five metres. Willy paddled frantically. Then Andrew stood up and sprang over the bow, holding the anchor.

  As he did there was a shout and a shot from the launch. The bullet cracked over Willy’s head, the fear almost causing him to lose control of his bowels. He heard the bullet strike the rocks behind the beach. Then he felt the boat grind onto the sand and he stood up, only to be shoved aside by Jacob, who went bounding ashore.

  Willy swore and glanced back as Carmen followed. Then he sprang over the side into waist deep water. The water was warm and that sensation came as a shock but it was the way the bottom dropped steeply away that really alarmed him. As he tried to hurry ashore his boots slipped repeatedly on sand which slid from under them into deeper water. He went down but managed to keep his head above water and frantically clawed his way back into shallower water.

  Andrew, who was holding the boat with one hand, reached down and heaved him right onto the beach. As Willy stood up Julia and Mrs van der Heyden scrambled over the bow and onto the beach. Graham went over the other side of the boat in a flat dive which took him in to the beach. As Willy started running he heard more shouting and another shot which caused him to twitch in fear and run even faster.

  To his further dismay the beach was a poor one to run on. It was composed as much of pebbles and sea shells as sand and it had a steep profile so that there was no hard, damp sand near the water’s edge. Instead his boots sank in and slid back with every step. But terror kept him running. As he ran he sucked in hot gasps of air and was dimly aware that his vision was all blurry and only the beach ahead was really in focus.

  Willy was aware that there were people running with him and he could see both Jacob and Carmen ahead of him. At every second he expected to feel a bullet slam into his back and he kept tensing and gasping as he ran. The skin on his whole back seemed to crawl in anticipation. ‘Nearly at the mangroves,’ he thought.

  As he ran he glanced back, noting with dismay that the launch was nosing in to the beach. Through sweaty, blurred eyes Willy noted that the man on the foredeck was standing ready, but that he was holding his rifle at the point of balance in his left hand and the anchor in his right. ‘That is why he isn’t shooting,’ he reasoned. ‘But the moment he is standing on firm ground we are in deadly danger.’

  Another glance ahead, then another back. Jacob was sprinting in behind the mangroves along a narrow belt of sand and small rocks. Carmen followed him. Behind were Graham and Andrew and then Julie and Mrs van der Heyden. As though in a nightmare Willy saw the man jump ashore and toss the anchor up the beach. ‘Run!’ he thought, his skull gripped by goose bumps of terror.

  A cry of pain behind Willy made him glance back. It was Mrs van der Heyden. She had stumbled on a small rock and gone sprawling on the beach. Julia turned back and bent to help her mother up. Willy slowed and kept looking back but almost tripped himself. Then Graham pushed him. “Keep going!” he snarled.

  Willy did, but he didn’t feel good about it. Leaving someone to the mercy of the enemy went against the grain but another glance back showed Mrs van der Heyden hobbling slowly after them. ‘But not fast enough!’ Willy reasoned, seeing the first man start running after them and the second jumping ashore from the launch, pistol in hand.

  Another ten seconds of frantic running had Willy in behind the mangroves and big rocks. As he reached the first large boulder he again looked back, causing Andrew to collide with him. “Keep running Willy,” Andrew gasped.

  “But the crooks have got Mrs van der Heyden and Julia,” Willy croaked, glancing back and seeing the first man reach the badly limping woman. Julia began to scream as the man raised his rifle. She grabbed at the rifle, spoiling his aim. He smacked her hard with one hand and shouted, “Shut up girl!”

  That caused Willy a spurt of deep anger which mixed with his own fear and apprehension to bring his emotions to the boil. But he could not see what was to be gained by going back. ‘Without a weapon we can’t do anything,’ he thought unhappily.

  Another glance showed that the men had stopped running and were standing with weapons pointed at Julia and Mrs van der Heyden. The men appeared to be shouting angry questions at them and threatening them but no words registered in Willy’s consciousness.

  By now Jacob was scrambling up the hillside. This was a mixture of granite boulders and numerous small rocks. Growing in tufts between the rocks was a wiry grass and clumps of a prickly bush. The rugged slope was quite easy to climb and offered plenty of cover and hiding places. The problem was one of fitness. Within a minute Willy found his chest heaving, his breath coming in great rasping gasps and dots dancing before his eyes. He came to a standstill about a hundred paces up from the beach.

  Jacob was leaning on a rock just above him, his whole body heaving as he sucked in air. Carmen was just the other side of another boulder. Just below was a panting Andrew. Graham, plainly the fittest of them all, was already up level with Willy and off to his left.

  Crack! Sreeeeooo!

  A bullet struck the rocks near Willy and went shrieking off up the hillside. Willy flinched and ducked down, still gasping to get his breath back. He was aware that his heart was hammering so hard it made it hard to hear. ‘God, I hope I don’t have a heart attack!’ he thought in dismay.

  A quick glance around the side of the rock he was crouched behind showed him that they were about a hundred metres away from the men. Then he noted that both Mrs van der Heyden and Julia were kneeling on the beach near the start of the mangroves and the second man was standing behind them with the pistol aimed at them. Both men still had their balaclavas rolled down, the sight adding an extra chill of evil to their appearance.

  The man with the rifle now shouted, “Hey you kids! Give us the maps and we will let these women go.”

  “Oh no! They’ve got hostages!” Carmen cried, her face going pale with shock.

  “What will we do?” Jacob croaked, his eyes wide with near panic.

  That really annoyed Willy. “They are your mother and sister. You give them the maps of course,” he snapped angrily.

  Jacob nodded and swallowed, then gasped, “But.. but they might kill me.”

  That much was obvious to Willy. His mind raced and when the man shouted again he yelled back, “OK, but we don’t trust you.”

  “Tough kid! Give us the maps or we will shoot the old duck. Then we will enjoy ourselves with Little Miss Pretty here. And if you still won’t give us the maps then we will shoot her as well and then hunt you all down,” the man shouted.

  “Oh my God!” Jacob croaked, his whole face taking on a ghastly, haunted look. “We must.”

  “Yes, we must,” Willy agreed. “But first we will negotiate.”

  Seeing Graham, Andrew and Carmen nod agreement Willy turned and called, “OK, we agree. We will hand over the maps. But we want to be sure we stay safe. If you hurt either of the women then we destroy the maps and then spend the night fighting you. Do it our way and you get the maps easily.”

  There was a minute’s delay while the two men conferred. While they did Willy noted that the sun was now very low in the west, was already staring to slip behind the bulk of Blackwood Island. ‘Be dark in about an hour. Can we last that long?’ he wondered.

  The big man with the rifle yelled back up the hill, “What’s the deal kid?”

  Willy’s mind had been racing, trying to come up with a plan that did not allow any more of them become hostages or place them in the power of a double-cross. To Jacob he said, “Who is that? Is that Gator?”

  “Yes, and the other one is Corey,” Jacob replied.

  Willy saw that he was trembling and licking his lips repeatedly. ‘I hope I don’t look as scared as that,’ he thought. ‘I won’t make much of a fighter pilot if I crumple that easily!’ But the only plan he could come up with was full of holes. He called back, “We need a few minutes to sort out Jacob’s papers so that he still has his wallet and cr
edit cards and so on. Then I will come down to the beach with the maps. One of you is to leave your gun and bring one of the hostages with you to meet me. The other man stays where he is with Mrs van der Heyden. Got that?”

  “I’m listening,” Gator called back.

  Willy licked dry lips and felt annoyed with himself. He had not meant to consciously choose between the two females but Julia’s age and good looks had influenced him and he knew it. He went on, “You can check that the maps are what you want and then we will step apart. I will lay the maps on the ground and you will walk back to your mate while the girl comes up the hill. I will stay near the maps until you let Mrs van der Heyden go. Once you have let her go I will walk away as she climbs up the hill.”

  There was another delay while the men argued this. Then Gator yelled back, “I don’t like it. What is to stop you just running off with the maps?”

  “Because Mrs van der Heyden will be in full view of you for most of the time,” Willy replied, adding, “And because this is the easiest plan for you. It saves you from more murder charges and all those sorts of problems.”

  Gator thought for a moment, then yelled back, “Yeah, OK. I will meet you at the bottom in five minutes.”

  “Right,” Willy agreed. He turned to Jacob, surprised how calm and determined he felt. “OK Jacob, dig out the maps.”

  Jacob looked sick but nodded. Willy led the way a bit further to the left and crouched behind a larger boulder. The others joined him, crowding in close. Graham touched Willy’s arm and said, “You don’t have to do this Willy. I’ll go.”

  Willy shook his head firmly. “I will do it,” he insisted, surprised at his own determination. Impatiently he held out his hand while Jacob fumbled in the zip wallet on his belt. A bundle of papers, bank notes, coins, notebooks and wallet were dug out and placed on a flat rock. Jacob tried to sort through them but his hands shook so much that Willy impatiently pushed them aside and picked up the wallet. He placed this aside and then quickly sorted out other papers and objects which were obviously not treasure maps.