Ross River Fever

by Christopher Cummings

  The powerboats (There were three, each towing a water skier) also forced them to keep right over against the bank. Thus it was that Andrew could study closely the south bank. He noted several small backwaters which led in amongst thickets of tall reeds and trees. He wanted to explore each one but was overruled as all appeared to be choked with reeds. A breeze had sprung up out on the river but in the backwaters it was stifling. The still air allowed the mosquitoes to swarm in hundreds.

  Almost opposite the point where a dozen people, who were obviously the water skiers and their families, were picnicking on the north bank, they discovered a very large backwater. The entrance was about ten metres wide and it led in under a gloomy tunnel of overhanging trees. Granted tantalizing glimpses of a swampy inlet which appeared to stretch off for several hundred metres Andrew at once wanted to examine it.

  Carmen said no. “If we stop to explore every backwater we will get nowhere. It is nearly lunch time and we have only just reached the stretch of river we planned to paddle along. We will keep on and explore that backwater on the way back if we have time.”

  So to Andrew’s annoyance they kept going. A powerboat raced past and the canoes pitched and bobbed quite alarmingly in its wake. Two shapely young women in bikinis sat in the back and a third was the driver. Andrew eyed them with interest. The friends soon learned to anticipate the waves generated by the speedboats and Andrew began to enjoy the challenge of steering to meet them.

  As they passed the boat ramp below the Pioneer Park scout huts Mark pointed ahead to the other bank. At the point where the river curved from flowing north to heading east a group of teenage youths could be seen swimming and swinging from a rope under a tree. “That might be them,” he suggested.

  “Could be. We will have to get closer to check,” Andrew replied.

  “But won’t they recognize us?” Carmen objected.

  “Probably, but what other choice do we have?” Martin put in.

  “We could land a couple of people to walk past along the bike track, then pick them up again further upstream,” Andrew suggested.

  Carmen nodded. “Good idea. Jacob and I can do that,” she agreed at once.

  So they waited till the powerboats were all well upstream and crossed over to the concrete boat ramp. Carmen and Jacob climbed ashore and took off their lifejackets.

  “Do you think it is safe?” Andrew asked.

  Carmen nodded. “Yes, it will be OK. We will run across the road to those houses if it is the gang, and if they chase us.”

  The two canoes then crossed back to the other side of the river and set off upstream again while Carmen and Jacob set off along the bike path. The river was wider along that reach and the current was less but it was still hard work to paddle and they could barely match the walking speed of the two on the other bank.

  Mark wiped sweat off his face and splashed river water on himself. “I wish it would rain again,” he grumbled.

  Andrew studied the sky. There were plenty of cumulus clouds but nothing that looked like it might bring a shower in the near future. After that he concentrated on the group of youths across the river. With some anxiety he watched Carmen and Jacob approach them, then walk past along the top of the bank.

  As soon as he thought it safe Andrew turned and led the other canoe across to meet the walkers at a small grassy ‘beach’, dodging a speedboat in the process. Long before they arrived Andrew could tell from Carmen’s body language that the youths had not been the gang. She was concentrating on Jacob and was quite calm. She even laughed loudly at something he said.

  This was confirmed when the pair re-embarked. So the upstream journey was resumed, still in blazing sunshine.

  “Do we stay next to this bank?” Andrew asked.

  Carmen nodded. “Yes. We can look at the other bank on the way back,” she replied.

  Martin supported this: “The police said the gang might be hiding in a house in Rasmussen and that is this suburb.”

  “But Rat and his mate reckoned they have a hideout over there somewhere,” Andrew replied, indicating the southern shore.

  “That’s Sheena’s territory don’t forget,” Mark said with a grin.

  Graham snorted. “Oh, Sheena my bum!” he cried. “That is just a story to scare little kids.”

  So they paddled on upstream, helped by a following wind. Andrew studied both banks very carefully, searching for drains and landing places. He also found the variety of bird life fascinating: cormorants, ducks, magpie geese, water-waders (‘Jesus Birds’ Martin called them) and even a lone pelican.

  The powerboats continued to roar up and down, still towing water skiers. One boat pulled a young boy in a black and yellow wet-suit. Behind another, two men in their thirties in flotation jackets were being towed. One was a big, burly man who was practicing skiing on his back as well on his bare feet in various poses. It was interesting to watch but it wasn’t what Andrew wanted to see.

  A line of blue buoys nearly blocked the river off. As the canoes drew closer to them Andrew saw they were suspending a thick plastic pipe which led to a suction pump on a grey barge. On the far bank among the trees were large plies of sand and gravel. This was the limit of the powerboats area and it was with some relief that the group passed it. Ahead of them, a few kilometres away, a huge rainstorm moved slowly across their path, blotting out the distant hills which Mark said marked the site of the Ross River Dam.

  On the right a flat area of grass, trees and weeds, moved the river channel away from the high bank which had overtopped them for the last two kilometres. The flat appeared to be virtually submerged by the floodwaters.

  As they paddled past this the sound of voices and splashing told them that there were people ahead. Andrew kept the canoe close to the bank but as soon as he caught sight of the people he regretted he had. Two naked youths of about their own age were standing on an overhanging branch. For a moment Andrew feared they might have blundered into the gang but saw with relief they hadn’t.

  One of the youths swung out on a rope to drop into the river about twenty metres ahead. The other reached forward and grabbed the rope as it swung back. At that moment the youth caught sight of them. For a moment he looked alarmed, then he called to some others on the bank and remained standing on the branch. Andrew looked hard at him but was relieved to see he wasn’t one of the gang. Then he blushed with embarrassment and wished the youth would cover himself.

  But the youth didn’t. As the canoes made their way closer he watched them with a hostile, defiant glare. Andrew met his stare for a moment and then looked away, ashamed at not saying anything.

  But Jacob did. “Cover yourself! There are girls here,” he yelled.

  The youth just returned an insolent stare. Jacob called again and this time the youth responded. “Get stuffed! Piss off outa here before we bash ya,” he shouted.

  That clearly angered Jacob who yelled back, “Cover yourself in front of these girls you disgusting beast!”

  “Don’t call me names, ya jerk!” jeered the youth defiantly exposing himself even more.

  Andrew blushed with embarrassment and felt a knot of anxiety form in case the confrontation turned physical. ‘We must be trespassing on their territory,’ he thought. Then he became even more worried when he saw five more people on the bank. Three were teenage girls of about fifteen. There were two boys, one wearing wet jeans, the other in wet jocks. The one in wet jocks looked much older and had a well-muscled body. He held a bottle in his right hand and held a cigarette in his left hand which was draped over the shoulder of a girl in a bikini. She was smoking as well and also held what looked to be a bottle of beer. One of the girls was nude and was just about to climb the tree. She hid herself behind the tree but a second, wearing only a bikini bottom and holding both a bottle of beer and a cigarette, sat on a towel and curled her lip at them.

  Again Jacob called. “You are breaking the law, get dressed!” he yelled angrily. “Get dressed or I will call the police.”

  Th
e youth remained defiant. “You do ya jerk and you’ll regret it. If you get us inta trouble with the cops we’ll come lookin’ for ya.”

  The older youth in the wet jocks looked very hostile. “That’s right. And when we find ya those girls of yours will be the ones who pay. Now piss off outa here. This is our part of the river,” he shouted, shaking a fist at them.

  The memory of Snoopy and the dead cats filled Andrew’s mind and he felt a swirl of sickening fear. It made him angry and ashamed to realize that he was scared of these youths and that he did not want Jacob to call the police. ‘Am I a coward?’ he wondered. He was even more ashamed when he could not bring himself to say anything and just kept on paddling.

  The gang of youths all called out crude insults and jeered at them as they went past. Andrew noted a savage looking Alsatian tied to a tree and hoped they would not release it. The boy in the water swam out with the apparent intention of tipping them over but Carmen raised her paddle.

  “Back off or you’ll regret it,” she snapped. The youth sensed she meant it and did so, offering only a few crude obscenities and a filthy gesture as they left him behind. Andrew began to paddle as hard as he could to get quickly away from the embarrassing.

  “I thought that was the bullies for a minute,” Mark called.

  “So did I,” Martin added. “I was worried that we might get tipped out and have to fight them.”

  “I wonder if that was the famous Sheena’s gang?” Andrew said.

  Mark shook his head. “Don’t think so. They must live somewhere along here but those looked like older kids. That guy in the tree looked about twenty.”

  “Didn’t he have a big one!” Letitia cried.

  Andrew was shocked. “Letitia! You shouldn’t have looked.”

  “Oh Andrew! Don’t be so stuffy. Anyway, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all,” Letitia replied.

  That made Andrew flush with guilt. It also saddened him. Letitia was obviously a lot more worldly and experienced than he was, and it hurt. It also hurt to see the disapproving looks Carmen and Jacob gave her.

  “Disgusting creatures!” Jacob added. “They should be locked up!”

  “Are you going to call the police?” Mark asked, voicing Andrew’s question. To Andrew’s relief Jacob just shook his head and shrugged but the decision not to act also made Andrew feel that he was not being brave.

  They paddled on for another half hour until they came to a half flooded park. A road led up the bank and there were barbeque fireplaces and playground equipment. The place was deserted.

  “Lunch,” Carmen said. No-one disagreed so they turned in and landed.

  CHAPTER 26

  THE BACKWATER

  Andrew sat and studied the rugged mass of the Mt Stuart range. It loomed up a few kilometres beyond the trees on the other bank of the river. The area he was staring at was particularly grand as it included massive boulders and sheer cliffs hundreds of metres high. Dark clouds massed above them and as he watched a mist of rain began to obscure them.

  “I think we are in for another shower,” he said.

  Carmen nodded. “Yes. Time we were moving,” she agreed. “It is nearly one o’clock and it will take us at least three hours to get home.”

  The remains of lunch were packed away or consigned to rubbish bins and the group re-launched the canoes and adjusted their lifejackets. By the time they were all waterborne again Andrew noted that the rain had completely hidden the mountains. He shrugged. It didn’t matter. ‘It is tropical rain. It will cool us down,’ he thought. He found it a real relief when the cloud blotted out the sun.

  Andrew led them across to the other bank. As he did he heard the stutter of what sounded like shots in the distance. He looked in that direction is surprise.

  “What’s that?”

  “Machine guns. There is an army firing range over there,” Mark replied.

  Andrew listened with great interest. It was the first time he had ever heard real machine guns. Then the rain swept down on them and the sound stopped. Rain drops lashed the surface of the river and drenched them to the skin within a minute. To Andrew’s surprise the rain was icy cold. His skin popped up in goose bumps and he began to shiver. To warm up he paddled harder.

  They paddled downstream along close to the other bank. Andrew was worried that the gang of youths who had offended him might still be swimming but when they reached that area he was relieved to see that the river bank was deserted.

  On the way downstream they stayed over against the right bank. This was about five metres high and lined with trees and long grass. A fringe of reeds and lilies kept the canoes about ten metres out. It was easier going because of the current but as the rain eased off a wind sprang up which blew straight up that stretch of the river. This added to the chilling effect and Letitia again began to grumble that she was cold.

  A large pump and massive pipes were passed. Jacob explained that they drew off water for the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, the city’s main supply. Soon after passing them they paddled past the gravel dump and sand dredge, actually slipping over the partly submerged plastic pipe. As they did the rain ended and the sun came out again.

  “Like commandos sneaking over the boom around an enemy battleship,” Mark commented.

  Ordinarily the comment would have aroused Andrew’s imagination but by now his interest was focused on exploring the backwater. He had a feeling that it was the place where the gang was hiding. This theory was given a setback however when the sound of motor bikes came to them and two trail bikes roared past along a track among the trees on top of the bank.

  At that point the bank was accessible without pushing through too many reeds so Andrew used his paddle as a steering oar to turn them towards it.

  “What’s going on?” Mark asked in surprise.

  “I just want to see what that track looks like,” Andrew replied.

  Letitia grumbled but he ignored this. Carmen’s canoe followed them. As soon as the bow slid into the mud of the bank Andrew jumped over the side. Being already soaked by the rain he just ignored the water. “I won’t be a moment,” he called.

  “Sheena’s territory, don’t forget,” Mark reminded him.

  Andrew felt a momentary spasm of anxiety, then snorted in disbelief. As quickly as he could he clambered up the bank, which was mostly bare earth or leaf-litter. On top he found a dirt vehicle track winding along through a forest of large trees and thorn bushes. The track was mostly two wheel ruts full of mud and water. As he stood there he heard more trail bikes and moved behind a tree lest it be the bullies. Two trail bikes roared past along another track about twenty metres away. One bike was bright green and its rider wore a white helmet and cloth over his mouth and nose so Andrew could not tell if he was one of the gang or not. The riders did not see him, being busy with keeping control in the mud.

  Andrew would have liked to explore further but knew time was pressing and it was starting to rain again so he went back down to the canoe. Mark had turned it around and the others sat waiting expectantly. He pushed the canoe off and clambered in, then gave a quick description of the place. The downstream trip was resumed.

  By the time they reached the entrance to the backwater the rain had eased to a light drizzle and the water skiers were active again. As the canoes arrived near the place Andrew studied the bank intently. He noted a vehicle track come down the bank to the edge of the water just before they reached it. That it was a vehicle track was made apparent when the two trail bikes he had seen earlier came down to the edge of the water.

  He wasn’t happy with that because he feared the trail bike riders might tell the gang that canoes were near the backwater. However the two bikes just turned around and roared away up the bank, mud spraying out behind them.

  As the canoes reached the entrance to the backwater Andrew pointed to it. “I want to explore this.”

  Letitia at once protested. “Oh no! I’m cold, and I’m getting cramps. I want to go home,” she said.


  “But it is just the sort of place the gang would use as a hideout,” Andrew replied. He did not want to go against Letitia’s wishes but felt a very strong desire to find the gang. To his relief she shrugged and gave in.

  “Oh alright. But don’t take long. I’m getting sick of this,” she replied. That she was in a bad mood was evident in her voice and posture. She made no further effort at paddling, which suited Andrew as he could keep the speed down. He had expected opposition from Carmen as well but she only looked at her watch.

  When Martin called out to ask which way they were going Andrew turned and placed his finger to his lips. Those in the canoe behind took the hint at once. This might be enemy territory. Andrew felt his heart rate increase and he wiped his hands to dry them. As they turned to slide in under the overhanging trees he felt a tingling sensation which made him come out in goose bumps again.

  On both sides the bank was thick with weeds and bushes under the large trees. Beyond that there was a fairly abrupt change. The backwater divided about fifty metres in, two long arms going off to right and left to form a ‘V’. The water was stagnant and looked black under the lilies which matted its surface. In the still air mosquitoes began to swarm annoyingly.

  The bank on the right was easy of access but because he could see the vehicle track up on top Andrew ignored it. ‘No room for a secret camp there,’ he reasoned. Ahead of them was the point at the tip of the peninsula between the two arms of the backwater. This sloped gently down to the water and was relatively clear and easy of access as well. Andrew steered for it and beached the canoe. They all stepped ashore, glad to stretch their legs.

  Traces of a camp were evident: a sodden fireplace, a litter of beer cans, paper and other rubbish. A foot track went off along the spine of the peninsula. Andrew walked along it for twenty paces but it appeared overgrown and unused. He returned to the others.

  “Could this be their camp?” Letitia asked.

  Andrew shook his head. “No. Too open. Every boat or canoe which comes in here would spot it instantly. No, this is just a place where some other gang comes to drink.”