Ross River Fever

by Christopher Cummings

  Carmen stroked the cat. “Hello Tiptoe. My, you are a lovely cat aren’t you?” she said to the cat. Andrew sniffed. He wasn’t fussed about cats.

  Dinner was then served, Letitia making a point of serving Andrew. Every time she brought out a dish she leaned forward and brushed against his shoulder and he tried not to look at the soft swell of her breasts so close to his eyes. He noted Mark’s eyes following her every move and that Jill was again shooting little green daggers at him- and at Letitia.

  When the food was on the table they all sat down to eat. Mr Schipholl was very old fashioned in that he said grace before they commenced, a procedure which made Andrew uncomfortable as it was a long time since he had last done such a thing. His discomfort was then heightened by Letitia continually brushing her arm against his while they ate. She chattered away about her school and asked numerous questions about Cairns and the school they went to.

  Later in the meal she increased the pressure (‘Or am I just imagining it?’ wondered Andrew) by touching his leg with hers under the table. It had an electrifying and arousing effect on him. For Andrew it was a relief when they rose from the table and moved to more comfortable lounge chairs. Even here Letitia made herself obvious by bringing coffee and mints and leaning forward to serve him. He couldn’t help looking and what he saw made him blush fiercely.

  The dog, the cat and the tortoise were all allowed to return and were made much of. Andrew realized there were also budgerigars out in a cage in the breezeway beside the lounge. He rubbed Snoopy’s tummy, gave the cat a perfunctory stroke and allowed Terry to nestle against his shoe. The conversation alternated between the pets and their attributes and exploits, school and holidays.

  “How long are you in Townsville for?” Letitia asked Carmen.

  “Another three weeks, almost till school starts,” Carmen replied. She gave Andrew a wink and that made him go red again.

  At the mention of school there was a unanimous groan and the conversation shifted to the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of various teachers. After a while Letitia turned to Andrew and asked directly: “Will we see more of you over the holidays?”

  That put Andrew on a spot. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to say yes or no. “I suppose so,” he muttered, going red. “We haven’t anything much on our program.”

  “Oh Andrew!” Carmen cried. “That wasn’t very gallant. We’d love to Letitia. We don’t have a program at all. Our Aunt and Uncle are both at work all day so we are at a bit of a loose end.”

  “That’s great! I’d love to see more of you,” Letitia said, looking directly at Andrew. His mind grappled with what she had said, wondering if it had a double meaning. At the thought of that he blushed again.

  Mark spoke next. “What would we do?” he asked, obviously including himself and Jill in the general invitation.

  “We could go places, Magnetic Island and so on,” Letitia suggested.

  “Could we see your model ships sail Martin?” Andrew asked.

  Martin sat up. “Yes, I suppose so. I’d have to do a few repairs. They haven’t been out for months.”

  “There are the canoes too, if you were interested,” Letitia added. That idea did appeal to Andrew and he nodded.

  So it was arranged that they would all come over the following day after lunch and spend the afternoon on or beside the river. Martin agreed to spend the morning fixing his models. The adults then made hints at ending the evening. To Andrew it was both a relief and a source of regret. He had been enjoying talking to Jill and looking at Letitia.

  As they made their way out the front door and said goodnight Letitia managed to squeeze through the door at the same time as Andrew. Thus she pressed against him briefly and he was granted a tantalizing waft of her perfume. The scent and the touch were enough to set his imagination on fire and to get his heart pounding. He muttered a flustered goodnight and reluctantly made his way to the car.

  It had been agreed that Mark and Jill were to be driven home by the Collins’ so they all had to squeeze into the car. This put Carmen in the front and Andrew, Jill and Mark in the back. In this way Jill ended up pressed against Andrew and he was granted the pleasure of her closeness for ten minutes. He noted that she smelt quite different from Letitia, a much nicer smell he decided.

  Their route took them back across the Charles Barton Bridge and as they crossed Andrew looked out at the place where he had jumped and could not repress a shudder at the memory of how close he had come to drowning.

  After Mark and Jill had been dropped at their respective homes, Carmen moved into the back next to Andrew. On arrival at Uncle Mel’s house she said to him: “Letitia’s got her eye on you little brother.”

  “Oh she has not!” Andrew replied hotly.

  Carmen laughed. “Of course she has! She was flashing her boobs at you all night.”

  Andrew went very red. “She can’t help it if they are so big.”

  Carmen laughed again. “No, but she doesn’t have to show them off like that either. You watch out she doesn’t get her claws into you little brother.”

  “Oh fair go sis. She’s alright. Anyway, I don’t particularly like her,” Andrew replied.

  Carmen smiled and said: “You spent enough time looking at her. Anyway, you have been told. Time for bed. I’m first in the bathroom!”

  Later, lying in bed, Andrew reviewed the evening. The memories of Letitia made him very hot and aroused and he experienced some real twinges of lust. He began to fantasize about what might develop and, dreaming thus, drifted off into a deep sleep.

  The following afternoon found the four friends seated on the lawn across the road in front of the Schipholl’s house. The lawn sloped down to the river. A tiny timber pier about three metres long extended out from the bank amongst the overhanging trees. Reeds and floating lilies fringed the banks. Andrew lay sprawled on the grass feeling very contented. From where he lay he could watch both Jill and Letitia without making it too obvious. He also had a good view along that reach of the river and decided again that it was a very pleasant place.

  A gentle breeze was rippling along the river, pushing up tiny waves which lapped the bank nearby and which set the water lilies bobbing. The water appeared to be a surprising blue and the trees and grass on both banks were a brilliant green. A variety of waterfowl were in evidence: pelicans drifting along like galleons under full sail, black swans gliding in with extraordinary grace, ducks, herons, water-waders, cormorants.

  Martin Schipholl was busy on the end of the pier, fiddling with one of his models; a two metre long submarine. It was a scale model of a World War 2 German U-boat. This was made of plastic and had a battery powered motor and controls and was radio controlled. Painted on its conning tower was U 47. In the water bobbed an equally large model. This was the model of a clipper ship Cutty Sark and had an impressive array of masts, spars and rigging. At present the clipper had her sails furled.

  Mark indicated the floating lilies and weed and said: “Won’t all that muck tangle the props Martin?”

  Martin nodded. “Yes it will but I will send her out where it is deeper water. That is mostly clear of weeds here. Then she should be alright.”

  “What will you do if she dives and gets tangled up?” Jill asked.

  Martin shrugged. “Do what I’ve done before; go out in the canoe and go diving till I find her.”

  Andrew eyed the water and had a flashback to the previous day. “You’re game,” he said. He had no desire to swim in the river again; and the thought of diving into its murky, weed-filled depths appealed to him even less. Martin seemed to view it with equanimity which surprised Andrew when he considered how close Martin had come to drowning the previous day.

  Martin finished making adjustments and fastened a small panel in place. He placed the model U-boat so that the stern protruded out over the edge of the pier and picked up a radio control unit. A click of a switch set the shiny propeller at the stern of the U-boat spinning in a blur of light. Another control made the diving
planes go up and down. Andrew sat up to watch and was impressed. It was a very good model. It even had tiny details like railings, periscope standards and so on.

  Andrew pointed to the model. “How do you control her when she is under water?” he asked.

  “Can’t,” Martin replied. “She has a gear system that makes the diving planes turn up to bring her back to the surface after thirty seconds.”

  This had to be demonstrated. Andrew got up for a closer look and knelt on the pier beside Martin. Mark and Letitia joined them and Andrew found Letitia close beside, near enough to smell her and to feel the touch of her arm on his. Because Letitia wore a loose cotton top and was leaning forward it also granted him tantalizing glimpses of her bosom. He pretended not to notice and concentrated on the model.

  Martin placed the U-boat in the water and held her until she was rocking gently and the ballast tanks had equalized. He then made some adjustments to bring the sub almost to negative buoyancy. With the deck awash he started the motor going and turned the model to face out into the river. The U-boat was released and Martin picked up the control unit as she began nosing out ‘to sea’.

  Water swirled at the stern as the tiny propellers bit. Small waves washed over the deck and broke against the conning tower, drenching it in spray. The model rolled and pitched just like a real sub in big waves. She pushed her way out into the deeper water, to the consternation of several ducks, which took off in alarm and went skittering off downriver.

  When the U-boat was ten metres out and clear of any weeds and lilies Martin adjusted the controls and the bow suddenly dipped and the U-boat started to submerge. Andrew was thrilled. “What a great model!” he cried as she dipped lower until only the periscope standards were visible in the swirl of water. The U-boat ploughed along until even the tip of the periscope, which was actually the radio control aerial, slid out of sight. Only a ripple and a dim shadow underwater showed the sub was there.

  There was tension for few a moments until the periscope broke surface twenty metres further out. The model came up amidst a very realistic welter of foam. Martin manoeuvred the U-boat around till she was heading back inshore, then made her dive again. In this he miscalculated and she did not resurface until she was close in to the shore. The result was that she became entangled in weeds and came to a stop with just the tip of her bow sticking out five metres from the bank.

  Martin did not hesitate. He was already clad in bathers so he simply waded in and retrieved the model. She was placed on the pier and he set to work to remove the entangling weed and slime. While he did that he instructed Andrew and Mark to unfurl the sails on the clipper. Letitia moved forward to help and again brushed against Andrew. She had to kneel and lean forward and Andrew was uncomfortably aware that the front of her blouse was again sagging open beside him. He noted she was wearing a yellow bikini top which appeared to be too small and very loose.

  While they worked, Martin finished cleaning the U-boat and sent her back out to sea. Once she was well clear of the floating lilies he set her on a circular course in mid-river. When the sails on the model clipper had all been unfurled, Martin came over and bent to hook the ‘sheets’ leading from the corners of each sail to small nails protruding from the deck and sides of the model. It took ten minutes to set all the sails to his satisfaction but the model then looked truly magnificent- a veritable cloud of white cloth, all straining in the wind.

  Martin adjusted a thread which held the tiller at a particular angle, then turned the model till the wind was on her beam. The sails flapped and filled, causing the model to heel alarmingly. With a shove she was sent surging out into the open water, foam creaming at her bow and washing over her lee rail.

  Carmen gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “She will capsize!” she cried in alarm.

  Martin shook his head. “No. She will turn into the wind before she does.”

  Letitia shook her head. “We’d better get the canoes out just in case,” she suggested. “Come and help me Andrew, and you too Mark.”

  Andrew rose to follow, his eyes distracted between the sight of the sailing ship model surging out across the river; and of Letitia’s delightful form.

  “Won’t the model run into the weeds on the other side?” Carmen asked.

  “Oh my gosh yes!” Martin cried. “I can’t control her once I let her go. Quick, the canoes!”

  They hurried up the bank and across to the house then along the driveway on the right of the house to the shed. This was a large, garage type structure. Two ‘Canadian’ canoes of fibreglass construction were stacked one above the other on shelves. Taking up nearly all of the shed were two machines of some sort draped in canvas covers.

  Andrew pointed to them. “What are they?” he asked.

  “Oh, just a couple of my experiments. I haven’t finished them yet,” Martin replied off-handedly.

  Mark moved to look. “But what are they? Can we look?” he asked.

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” Martin replied.

  Letitia laughed. “They are just more of Martin’s crazy gadgets. He’s always making some mysterious machine that flies or floats- or sinks!”

  Martin smiled, but was clearly embarrassed. He turned to the canoes. “Come on, help me.” It was the work of moments to lift the canoes out, but it took longer to find paddles and lifejackets. As these were being tossed out onto the lawn, Andrew looked to check on the progress of the two models. The U-boat was still circling but the clipper was nearly at the far bank.

  Movement on the water caught his eye- two canoes heading up-river. For a moment he paid them no attention. After all canoes were a common sight on that reach. In fact there were two more visible in the far distance upstream. But something about these two canoes made him shield his eyes and look more closely. They were black kayaks, each with two people in them. As he watched the one on the left changed direction and began angling across towards the sailing ship model.

  “You’ve got a problem Martin. Some jokers in kayaks are heading for your model,” he said.

  Martin came out of the shed carrying two paddles. He squinted and stared, then swore. “It is those bullies! Forman is in that front kayak.”

  Andrew bit his lip and swore under his breath. “You mean that bully Rocky?”

  “Yes.”

  Carmen snatched up a paddle and tossed it into a canoe. “Come on! We must beat them to it,” she cried.

  They set to with a will but it was painfully obvious they were going to be much too late. The clipper slid to a standstill among floating weeds near the far bank before the first canoe was even carried down to the water. By then Forman’s kayak was upon it. He threw something. They couldn’t see what, but they could see how the sails suddenly jerked and the model leaned over. With a whack of his paddle Forman smashed a mast and capsized the model. The sound of his laughter carried across the water.

  Andrew’s blood boiled. “The rotten filth! How could he just do that? He doesn’t even know who owns it.”

  “Yes he does, the bastard!” Martin snarled. “I took it to school once. Come on!”

  But they weren’t ready and there was confusion over who should go in which canoe.

  “Andrew and Mark with me,” Carmen ordered. “We are trained in canoes and make a team.”

  Then she insisted they put on lifejackets. With fumbling fingers Andrew did his up. The second canoe was grabbed and carried quickly down to the water. Even in the rush Andrew could not help noticing how Letitia’s breasts wobbled as she helped carry the canoe. The sight was enough to make him shake his head in dismay at his own naughty thoughts. With an effort of willpower he turned his attention to launching the canoe. By then Forman’s kayak was almost opposite them and the second kayak had also battered the sailing ship in passing.

  Martin cried in dismay. “All that work! What animals!”

  “He is heading for your U-boat Martin,” Carmen called.

  Andrew had been holding the first canoe steady for her to get in. He looke
d up and saw that she was right. Forman was paddling fast towards the still circling model of the U-boat. “We won’t be in time,” he said.

  “Make her submerge Martin,” Carmen cried.

  Martin sprang to the remote control and clicked a switch while Carmen, Andrew and Mark clambered into the canoe. Now the training told. They were smoothly under way in an instant. Andrew was in the front with Mark behind him and Carmen at the stern as captain. Even as he dug his paddle in Andrew could see it would be very close.

  The model U-boat began to dive. Forman let out an oath and began to paddle faster. Andrew held his breath. The model slid from view and he breathed easier. But Forman back paddled and pointed down, while calling to Troy who sat behind him. To the dismay of the friends the periscope of the model broke surface out to starboard of Forman’s kayak. A few seconds later it surfaced, circling towards him.

  “Paddle! Paddle!” Carmen cried. They increased their stroke. Andrew gasped in great gulps of air, then swore as he saw the U-boat bump into Forman’s kayak. The bully reached down and grabbed it, hauling it aboard. As he did, surly-faced Troy tapped his shoulder and pointed to the canoes.

  Forman looked up at them. For an instant his face looked puzzled. Then a grin showed and he lifted the model clear out of the water and slid it down inside the kayak between his legs.

  Carmen’s voice shrilled across the water: “Leave that model alone you thief!”

  “Don’t call me a thief, ya moll!” Forman snarled back. He was only about fifty metres away by this time and they could clearly see his face. Again he looked puzzled as he studied them. The second kayak slid up alongside his. Jay sat in the front. Behind was a tall, thin youth with lank, shoulder-length hair. On his black T-shirt (none wore lifejackets) was a skull and the word ‘MEGADEATH’

  “Give the model back!” Carmen called again.

  Forman made a rude gesture. “Get stuffed slut!” he replied. He laughed and started to paddle. “Go the other side of them Jay. Let’s tip these dorks over.”