by Jack Dey
Davis was ready for his meeting with Jennings in the morning. He licked his lips at the taste of the challenge, his greatest yet. He congratulated himself, yawned, snuffed out the candle over his desk and readied himself for bed.
*~*~*~*
CHAPTER 18 - TORRES STRAIT 1881
The moonlight made it easy to find his way. He walked swiftly along the bay side, the two storey house on the hill in darkness but easily seen from the path. He sweated in the evening humidity. It always took him a while to get used to the change in weather from Sydney to T.I. His solid, athletic frame made him a formidable sight to anyone considering challenging him in the dark. The gateway in the stone wall came into view and the path to the double doors. He trudged slowly and carefully, trying not to make any noise as he approached the house. He dropped his bag on the porch and it made a thunk noise. He chided himself and listened. No one stirred.
Now, where was that key?
Jennings stirred at the unusual noise; Elaine fast asleep next to him. He took the lantern by the bedside, the little flame trimmed to give a soft night light as they slept. Jennings turned the little knob to raise the wick and the room burst into light. He quietly got out of bed, reached into the cupboard and retrieved his musket.
Jennings slowly made his way to the entry hall, while the main door creaked in the quiet as the stranger carefully pushed it open. Jennings took aim at the shape stealing into his home. The two men, suddenly face to face and the sight of the musket made the man call out.
“Don’t shoot! It’s me! John.”
Jennings held up the lantern and recognised the face. Relieved, he lowered the musket and ran forward to hug the man.
*~*~*~*
Jennings rose before the sun. The debacle with John arriving late last night had interrupted his slumber and he had found it difficult to get back to sleep again, tossing and turning all night, wondering at Davis’ plan. He sat in the drawing room, drew back the curtains and watched the sunrise over the bay. As Jennings stared out of the window from his house on the hill, he could see his small fleet of luggers moored in the bay from where he was standing, the worry lines of his face reflected in the glass of the window.
His plantation interests in Java had taken a severe turn for the worst. Last year, floods had wiped out the bananas and this year, drought and blight. The pearls were meeting the bills, but only just. The Javanese local government was corrupt and it was easier to pay their protection money than fight the corruption and have his crops destroyed by machete wielding bandits, as before. He had often thought about selling the plantation but there was no interest in a highly risky venture in an unstable country.
He was caught and if he did nothing, he would be bankrupt.
To add to his woes, the native divers were getting antsy at the dangers involved with free diving. Recently, a diver had died from the bends after being spooked by a hungry hammerhead shark. He had panicked and lunged for the surface, up from sixty feet, causing dissolved nitrogen in the bloodstream to form into bubbles in his brain. The skipper tried to get the distressed diver to go back down, but he had refused and died on the deck.
*~*~*~*
The tiny office Jennings used for business purposes was in the middle of town. When it was not being used for business, it doubled as a storeroom. The room was dank, smelled musty and offended Davis’ nose.
He was not impressed.
Jennings and Davis had been talking now for the best part of the morning. The offensive room had taken a back stage as Davis went to work convincing Jennings. Davis laid out a sophisticated plan on every part of the pearling venture, including the financing part. Jennings baulked at the proposition, but Davis convinced him that mortgaging his property and assets would give the needed security the bankers would need for such a big loan. The venture would quadruple the take of pearl shell, easily repaying the huge debt.
He, of course, would put in all his assets to add to the partnership.
Jennings wanted a couple of weeks to check the document, as Davis had expected. His eyes dilated as the plan exactly followed his choreography and he agreed to Jennings’ request.
Jennings stayed in the dank little storeroom after the meeting concluded. A deep foreboding ate at his good sense and he felt like a trapped animal.
*~*~*~*
Davis’ mind danced in victory, tantalised that his scheme had gone exactly to plan, and just as enthusiastically, glad to rid himself of the detestable storeroom. He walked confidently up to the telegraph office and gave the telegrapher the details for the lawyer.
He was absolutely sure of Jennings’ decision.
“Please add urgent to the bottom of the communication,” Davis commanded.
Davis waited, to make sure the message was sent with all his detail. The telegrapher tapped away in Morse code for near on five minutes. At the end of the message, the telegrapher waited expectantly for the received and understood reply. The overland telegraph line stretched under the sea from Thursday Island, before joining the mainland and travelling all the way down the coast. Between T.I. and Brisbane were several relay stations and it took an hour for the understood message to finally tap its way back in reply. Davis waited the hour, reassuring himself there was no mistake. He argued with the telegrapher when he was charged a pound for the transmission. The telegrapher explained that he was not responsible for the charges and he should take up his case with the Post Master General in Brisbane. Upon handing over his pound, Davis turned on his heels and fumed out.
Now, Davis had a couple of weeks to kill and he became quickly bored with his surroundings. Returning to his lodgings, he overheard the desk attendant speaking to a large native man. There was to be a closed room of gambling in the small hotel on Horn Island over the next week.
He enquired of the desk attendant and she tactfully said, “With respect, sir, it is not a place for a gentleman. The people involved are of ill repute and could easily take offense at your presence.”
Davis said stiffly, “I will take my chances.”
*~*~*~*
The morning had started early. Jennings was up and gone before Elaine had risen, eager for his business in town with Davis. Elaine wandered into the breakfast room, the table set for the morning meal, three places as normal. Elaine sat down, expecting Robert to enter from wherever he had gone, at any moment. Elizabeth entered, limping but dressed and ready for breakfast. Elaine looked up in surprise as she entered but decided to hold her tongue. Martha was speaking to someone in the drawing room and the two women expected to see Robert enter. Instead, John entered, smiling largely.
Elaine stared at him in disbelief and Elizabeth jumped up and threw her arms around him squealing, “John!”
John lifted Elizabeth and twirled her. She winced from her injuries. Elaine jumped up and John did the same with her.
“When did you arrive?” Elaine enquired.
“My ship came in late last night, but I have to be back aboard this afternoon. My voyage contract finishes in two weeks and then I am yours.”
The breakfast meal lasted a goodly time. The events of the past year, since they had last seen John, had been discussed with great hilarity as John explained his mostly misadventures.
“Are you still unattached?” Elizabeth asked with a twinkle in her eye.
John reached over and took her hand. “You are still my only princess, Elizabeth,” John teased.
After the maids began clearing the remains of the breakfast away, Elaine ordered Elizabeth back to bed. John followed and waited until Elizabeth was comfortably back in bed and then asked her about her fall, listening intently as she explained.
“So, you have an admirer?” John teased.
She picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “You know you are the only one for me.”
Elaine left the two young people in Elizabeth’s room in search of Martha.
“Martha?”
“Yes, Miss Elaine.”
“Where, and what time,
did Mister Robert go?”
“Early, Miss Elaine, into the village, I think. I don’t know what for,” she replied apologetically.
The afternoon passed quickly as John and Elizabeth chatted. Elaine wandered in and out, expecting Robert at any moment, constantly peering through the window that overlooked the village path. The time had gone all too quickly and John was required to meet his ship. He kissed Elizabeth on the forehead and told her to keep out of trouble. Elizabeth reached up and hugged him, longing for his permanent return. Elaine kissed John’s cheek and made apologies for Jennings, then saw him to the door. John hefted his bag onto his shoulder, gave Elaine a final hug and disappeared down the path to the village.
*~*~*~*
CHAPTER 19 - TORRES STRAIT 1881
Elaine had noticed Robert’s withdrawal. He had been distant and distracted the past two weeks and had spent many hours sitting alone in the drawing room, staring down at the bay. He would only say he was thinking about business when she cornered him on his behaviour. When she informed him that John would be coming home tonight, he just nodded and continued staring.
Jennings was scheduled to meet Davis the following morning. He had sent the rough document to his lawyers for checking and they said it was fine as long as there were no amendments prior to signing, so the partnership could go ahead. However they expressed concern at the size of the loan and the ambitious nature of the venture.
The partnership included the purchasing of eight four-year-old schooners. The schooners would have six sets of davits, each vessel with one swimmer boat per davit. The swimmer boats could be hauled aboard on the davits at the end of each day and let down again for the next day’s diving. Also fitted was crew accommodation; a galley; diving apparatus; hand driven air compressors; shell processing equipment and all that would be required for a live-aboard lifestyle. The diving apparatus consisted of a heavy canvas suit, lead weighted boots and a helmet that attached to the suit. It had a clear window in the front, with air lines coming into the sealed suit for breathing, allowing the diver to work deeper and for hours at a time.
The crew would find a patch of shell bearing reef and anchor over it, work the patch until it had been picked clean and then move to another patch. The vessel would not have to return to land but would remain anchored to the patch, repelling any chance of itinerant vessels taking over. Davis said the venture would give them a clear advantage over other vessels. Both men would have responsibility for paying back the loan and the assets would be split down the middle. Davis and Jennings would have four schooners each and would work independent of each other. The earnings would be pooled at the end of the month, costs taken out and the profit split down the middle.
At their previous meeting two weeks prior, Davis had said he would have the contract officially drawn up ready for their next meeting. If Jennings did not like the plan, Davis would simply destroy the contract.
Jennings mind kept replaying Davis’ phrase, ‘simply destroy the contract’.
If the partnership did not work out, he would have everything he owned mortgaged up to the hilt and he would be bankrupt. If he did not go ahead, he would be bankrupt anyway.
His stomach churned as he stared out the window.
*~*~*~*
It had been two weeks since Elizabeth’s near tragic fall and she was antsy to get outside.
“I am fine, Mother!” she responded, when Elaine asked her about her injuries. “Merinda is coming soon and we are going for a walk.”
“I am glad that you have a friend like Merinda. She is a lovely person,” Elaine commended.
Merinda had been true to her word. She came each day to see Elizabeth and brought her flowers picked from her favourite spot and today, she wanted her to meet someone. Someone special to her.
Merinda knocked on the heavy door. Martha met Merinda’s smile and let her into the entry hall, while Elizabeth danced out and twirled in front of Merinda.
“See, all new again,” she said with a smile.
Merinda giggled and then chided her, “Don’t overdo it.”
“Not you, too! Mother has been chastising every move I make,” Elizabeth teased.
“I want you to meet someone today, remember,” Merinda reminded her.
“Yes, I remember.”
“Mother! Merinda is here. We are going now,” Elizabeth called.
Elaine came from some place in the house. “Hello Merinda,” she said, giving her a hug.
Merinda returned the hug.
“Please stay away from cliffs, you two,” Elaine teased.
Elizabeth pulled a face, gave her mother a hug and the door closed behind the two women as they walked slowly towards the village. Elaine watched them disappear down the path, smiling at the new friendship Elizabeth had made.
“It is funny how things turn out for good. It took a near disaster to bring the friendship together,” Elaine mused contentedly.
*~*~*~*
Elizabeth had chosen a light blue house dress for her walk with Merinda. Her green eyes sparkled and her auburn hair caught up under a smart, blue bonnet.
“You are so pretty,” Merinda complimented.
Elizabeth curtsied. “Why, thank you, my lady. I feel plain next to you though, Merinda.”
Merinda shyly looked away and the two women giggled.
*~*~*~*
Davis peered at the two official contracts, sitting side by side on the writing table in his lodgings. They had just arrived, nearly a week late, testing his patience. His confidence spiralled skyward at the sight of the documents. Both had the authentic, official seal stamped on the top right corner, the identity of an official and binding legal document. He would present the official original document to Jennings, the one he had agreed to. Once Jennings signed the original document, he would study his signature and forge it onto the counterfeit document with the added clauses, and then send it to the financiers for their records. Then he would destroy the original document Jennings had signed, snaring him in Davis’ web of deceit.
The trap was set.
Davis felt a surge of euphoria at his brilliance. He looked into the shaving mirror by the wall and imagined a jewelled crown sitting on his head. He hadn’t felt so good since manipulating Lewis and his friends, playing cards at the Horn Island Hotel last week. He had gone there with the express intention of losing a sizeable sum to the men and thus courting their cooperation and dubious friendship. In the near future, Lewis and his friends would be a handy and an expendable commodity.
Feeling the need to be by the sea, Davis walked out of his lodgings, heading for a bench by the bay. As he stepped out of the Colonial Inn, he walked straight into Elizabeth and Merinda.
“Beg your pardon, madam,” Davis bowed, apologising.
Elizabeth gave a quaint curtsy and hurried on.
“Who was that?” Merinda asked, noticing the crumpled look on Elizabeth’s face.
Elizabeth shuddered, feeling his stare following her. “He is the reason for my fall… well, the reason I was sitting on the cliff, which led to my fall.”
The two women continued on toward the village in silence. Elizabeth turned around once to look back and found the man still following her progress with his stare. The frightened look on Elizabeth’s face alarmed Merinda.
“Who is he?” Merinda asked again.
“He is someone my father brought home recently. Apparently, they met aboard the new steamer that came in a few weeks back. My father commanded me to be favourable towards him and we argued. I don’t normally disagree with my parents, but that man makes me feel... cheap and hollow. I was really upset after the argument and I went out to the cliff to be alone. I guess I wasn’t thinking and sat right on the edge... and the rest you know,” Elizabeth explained, turning around again to check whether he was still staring. They turned into the village and arrived outside a small hut.
Merinda beckoned, “Come in with me and meet my father and mother. This is where I grew up.” Merinda push
ed the door open and was greeted by her mother. “This is my beautiful mother,” Merinda gushed.
Nirrimi smiled big. “You are such a tease, Merinda.”
“Mum, this is Elizabeth.”
Nirrimi’s face lit up with a smile. “Welcome to our home, Elizabeth.”
“Thank you.”
“Please call me Nirrimi.”
Elizabeth gave a small curtsy. “Thank you, Nirrimi,” Elizabeth smiled.
“And this is my father, Warrammarra,” said Merinda, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Welcome, Elizabeth,” Warrammarra said.
Elizabeth again curtsied. “Thank you, sir.” The hut felt warm and welcoming and the atmosphere was inviting. Elizabeth was at ease immediately with Merinda’s parents.
“I would offer you something to eat, Elizabeth, but I figure Merinda’s tour has another destination. Am I right, Merinda?”
Merinda hugged her mother. “Yes, you are right, Mother.”
“Off you go, then. I will see you later. Nice to meet you, Elizabeth, and you are welcome in our home anytime.”
Warrammarra agreed with his wife and put his arm around her, as they waved the two young women off onto the next hut in the tour.
“I love your parents, Merinda.”
Merinda smiled and noticed Elizabeth’s expression had returned to the happy person Merinda knew. She had forgotten the unfortunate meeting with the man outside the Colonial Inn. Merinda put her arm through Elizabeth’s as they walked, stopping outside another hut some short distance down the dirt road. The front door was open and a large, elderly lady sat on the porch.
“Aunty Rosa, it’s Merinda.”
“Come, child. Come sit with me.”
“Aunty, this is Elizabeth, the one I told you about.”
The old lady’s face burst into a huge smile. “Welcome, child. Come sit with me, both of you.”
The two young women sat with Aunty. The presence of peace and warmth engulfed Elizabeth as if she had stumbled upon some place sacred. She was drawn to Aunty like a fish to water and could see why Merinda loved her. Calling her Aunty Rosa seemed so natural and came easily.