Flight of the Jabiru (36 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“I've got the radio working,” Monty said in urgent panic as he entered the store where Charlie and Rex were talking to Betty and Colin. “I'm picking up snippets of broadcasts from Alice Springs. The announcer says that Darwin has been bombed again, and the Japs are targeting radio towers in outlying communities and towns right across the Top End. I thought somebody told me once that there was one around here. I've never seen it, though.”

“There's one about four miles from here, near Melaleuca homestead,” Rex said.

“Four miles!” Betty said hysterically. “Why haven't you ever mentioned it before?”

“The subject never came up and it's in country that's inaccessible from here on foot or by vehicle. I believe it's on a ridge that overlooks Melaleuca Station,” Rex said. “I haven't seen it myself. I only know about it because a buffalo hunter told me about it.”

“Tom and Martha Bolton most likely know about it then, if it's near Melaleuca Station? They have three kids out there?” Charlie asked.

Betty shrieked. “That's just great! Now the Japs are bombing innocent people in wetland communities and we can't get out of here because there's no gas. This is your fault, Colin Jeffries. We should've taken the kids and gone weeks ago, but you had to be stubborn about it. If anything happens to my children...”

“We'll be safe, Betty,” Monty promised, trying to calm her. “We have the air raid shelter, remember?”

Betty huffed, folding her arms, and pursing her lips. “The damn shelter keeps filling with rain.”

Monty couldn't argue with that. He was worried about Colin. In ten years, he'd never gone without a beer for more than twelve hours, let alone days, and he couldn't do anything to cajole him. Beer was likely to be rationed, but that wouldn't matter if Colin wasn't drinking.

Charlie and Rex immediately thought of Rick. He hadn't returned and they were really worried. They'd sat on the jetty keeping a look out for his boat that morning, speculating about why he might not have come back. One theory was that he might've found Lara in the hospital and refused to leave her side. They'd also considered the idea that his boat had been attacked before he got to Darwin. They'd even thought Darwin might've been invaded by land and Rick had been taken prisoner. Now all they could think was that he'd been in Darwin when it was bombed again and lost his life. Otherwise, he'd have returned to bring Lara and Jiana home, or at least to tell them what had happened to the girls. As each hour passed, any hopes they'd had that the three of them would return to Shady Camp safely was rapidly fading.

The community had held a meeting and come up with a plan. If any planes were spotted in the sky over the town, the school bell was to be rung and all the locals were to drop everything and head for Monty's air raid shelter. No one knew how smoothly the plan would work until Margie Martin thought she heard planes, panicked, and rang the bell. Within a few minutes the townsfolk had scrambled into the shelter, only to find that Margie had been mistaken and what she'd heard was visiting government officials checking areas that hadn't been evacuated. They were using airboats, which could go into shallow creeks easily. With their big fans, they sounded different to outboard motors.

The locals were all cross with Margie, but at least it turned out to be a good trial run and the officials assumed the whole town had evacuated when they couldn't find anyone. Betty had locked the door to the store before going into the shelter.

“I'm not having the Japs stealing our stores,” she'd claimed. Later she found a note pinned on the door from the government officials to say they'd been.

“We'll take turns to keep a look out for planes,” Rex said. “I'll make sure the rest of the townsfolk are on alert.”

February 22

“We're not too far from Corroboree billabong now,” Jiana said to Lara as they trailed behind the three Aborigines. They were on the edge of a flood plain and large flocks of noisy magpie geese were visible, along with many other varieties of birds. They'd camped the previous evening with the Aborigines. Lara found them to be nice boys. They were relaxed with each other, laughing and joking, and that made her feel relaxed in their company. They told Jiana they were going to an area near Corroboree for an initiation ceremony for young men and that no women were allowed. Jiana tried to explain to Lara that it was likely to be painful for them, as their bodies would be scarred as part of the process. Lara thought it sounded barbaric, but she didn't comment.

Lara was wishing they were still beside the billabong they'd left behind. She'd never been as hot in her life as she'd been the past couple of days. She literally felt like she was melting. She longed for another swim, but was grateful they had water to drink and the Aborigines had found them food that consisted of water python, grubs, and fruits. Lara ate, doing her best not to think about what she was actually eating. She'd come to the point where everything seemed surreal. She could hardly comprehend the situation she was in, and wondered how she would tell her father that she'd eaten snake meat, crocodile meat, and grubs. If she hadn't been so exhausted she might've smiled at the idea because she was sure he'd never believe his fussy daughter would live off the land, eating wildlife and grubs. She just hoped he hadn't yet heard that Darwin had been bombed, but she knew that was unrealistic.

As they trudged along in the oppressive midday heat, Lara kept her gaze on the ground in front of them or on the geese, because the Aborigine's bottoms were completely naked, and it was rather disconcerting to be gazing at three naked bottoms — something else her father might not believe.

“Perhaps Jerry Quinlan will be in the township visiting a patient,” Lara said to Jiana. “Won't he be surprised to see us?” The hope that they'd meet up with him was all that lightened her heart.

“Listen! Can you hear that?” Jiana asked with a sense of urgency.

“What?” Lara asked. “The geese?”

“Planes,” Jiana said in alarm.

“I don't hear planes ... oh wait,” Lara said, listening intently. She could hear the drone of distant engines. “Is it boats? Perhaps the sound is carrying from the billabong. You said it wasn't far away.”

Jiana shook her head and looked skywards.

“It can't be planes ... out here, can it?” Lara said in disbelief.

They listened and then realized the sound was coming from the sky.

“No, not again!” Lara prayed it wasn't the Japs, but in her heart she knew it was. Horrific memories that were in the back of her mind came to the fore in gruesome clarity. She could still smell smoke, gunpowder, and death. She was sure it would never leave her.

Jiana was suffering the same flashback. “There,” she said pointing to the west.

Shading her eyes from the sun, Lara looked to the west and saw planes coming in their direction. “Oh, God,” she shrieked with a hammering heart. “It's happening again.” As the planes got closer they recognized the red dot on the underside of the wings.

“Run,” Lara screamed, grabbing Jiana by the arm. They ran for the shelter of a nearby
Pandanus
forest, fifty yards away, urging the Aborigines to follow.

The three Aborigines looked at the girls as if they were mad. Nothing appeared to be chasing them, so they didn't understand their odd behavior. The planes were soon directly overhead and the Aborigines stood still, gazing up at the sky in innocent wonder. Huddling under a Pandanus tree, Lara realized they might never have seen planes before, and they were curious. She called to them, and so did Jiana in the Aboriginal language, but the noise of at least five plane engines drowned out their voices. They disappeared over the tops of trees in the distance. A short while later the girls heard the familiar sound of bombs dropping and explosions. They crouched low and covered their faces, trying to block out the horrific images in their minds of the poor souls who could be maimed or worse, killed. By the time they looked for the three Aborigines again, they were gone.

“They've left us,” Lara declared in disbelief. “Or maybe they're hiding.”

“They be frightened,” Jiana said, understanding how terrified the lads might've been.

“Surely the Japs didn't bomb the Corroboree township,” Lara cried in dismay. It didn't make sense. How could a small fishing community be of any threat to them?

“What else they be doing?” Jiana said. She didn't understand it either, but then she didn't understand war at all.

The girls stayed under the trees for five minutes, waiting for the planes to pass overhead again. From their hiding place they saw them heading west again after dropping their deadly cargo.

“You don't think they bombed Shady Camp, do you?” Lara asked Jiana, worrying about Rick and the townsfolk, especially the children. She was trying to work out whether in that time they could've covered the distance. She didn't think so.

“I not know,” Jiana said, thinking of her family with a sinking heart.

The girls continued walking, but they were nervous and worried, constantly listening and looking at the sky, especially when they were out in the open.

“We should've all evacuated,” Lara said to Jiana. “Then none of us would be in danger. Leroy said there was a radio tower near Shady Camp. No one has ever mentioned it, so perhaps the residents don't know it's there. If they did, they would've thought twice about staying in the town. Perhaps there was another tower near Corroboree township, too.”

“My mob never said anything ‘bout a tower. It maybe the other side of the billabong,” Jiana suggested. She didn't think they'd know what it was, anyway.

“Perhaps,” Lara said. “But that doesn't mean the Japs won't bomb the town.” A terrible thought crossed Lara's mind. She might've walked all this way to get back to Rick, and he could've been killed by a Japanese bomb. The thought tortured her.

After walking for what seemed like hours, the girls reached Corroboree billabong. Lara was exhausted, hot, and dehydrated to the point of being almost delirious because they'd run out of water again. To see a body of water reminded her of the billabong where they'd swam. She longed for a drink, but she also longed to bathe again.

Jiana told Lara to rest while she refilled their canteens and found something to eat.

“You need to rest, too, Jiana,” Lara said collapsing under a tree close to the water. “You must be just as exhausted as I am.” She was too hot, thirsty, and tired to be hungry.

“I'll rest after I've refilled the water canteens and found tucker,” Jiana said wearily.

“Just sit for a few minutes first,” Lara insisted.

“I be back soon.” Jiana walked away.

Lara admired her practicality and stamina. She had no doubt that she wouldn't have survived the journey without her. Too tired to think, Lara gazed at the billabong. The sun was dancing on the surface, making the water sparkle, and there were lotus water lilies with pink flowers in the shallows and flocks of noisy geese. It was a peaceful setting, making it easy to momentarily forget the hidden dangers beneath the water's surface and in the surrounding harsh and unforgiving landscape.

The settlement at Corroboree wasn't visible from where Lara was sitting, but she assumed it wasn't far away. She needed to think about how they might cross the billabong, but she was too weary. Instead, she closed her eyes, intending to rest for just a few minutes.

Lara didn't know what made her open her eyes, but perhaps it was the instinct to survive. Right in front of her was a crocodile, his mouth open, showing rows of terrifying teeth. Her heart almost stopped. She tried to scream but the air caught in her throat and no sound came out. Instead she found herself gasping for breath. She tried to get up, but she stumbled and fell backwards against the tree, hurting her back. As the crocodile advanced, Lara thought her life was over. Then a gunshot rang out from over her shoulder, and this time Lara screamed. The crocodile, which was at least ten feet long, lay lifeless with a bullet hole right between his eyes.

“You picked a terrible spot to fall asleep,” a man growled in disapproval. He appeared through the trees behind her. “If I hadn't happened to stop by, that croc would be eating you by now.”

Lara gasped again, aware she was shaking and unable to comprehend how close she'd been to a terrible death. “Did you ... have to kill it?” she asked without thinking.

The man looked surprised by the question. “I suppose I could've asked him to leave quietly, but somehow I don't think he would've listened.”

Lara realized the question sounded silly, but she'd come to share Rick's philosophy on animal conservation. “You could've fired a shot near him, and it would've frightened him away, surely,” she suggested.

Her rescuer thought she was slightly mad. “I'm lucky that shot stopped him. I once put nearly a dozen bullets in a croc and he was still alive and coming right for me. It just depends where you shoot him.”