The Cadet Sergeant Major (8 page)

“What's his problem? Is it medical?” Capt Conkey asked.

“I'll be his problem if he keeps it up,” CUO White grated angrily. “He says it is a medical condition sir; and that he is scared because he has never been away from his home before in his entire life.”

“How old is he?” Capt Conkey asked.

Graham answered. “Thirteen Sir.”

Capt Conkey shook his head. “Why do parents do that? And why do kids like that join the cadets? What do they think it will be like? Oh well; we will just have to do what we can to help him. Any ideas?”

CUO White shrugged. “Well sir, no-one else will share a hutchie with him now, so he's on his own as an outcast. It has caused a real problem in that section,” he said.

Sgt Brown nodded. “A real ‘shame job',” he added gloomily.

Capt Conkey looked thoughtful. “Alright, send him over to Lt Standish and she can talk to him,” he decided.

OC and CSM walked on to 4 Platoon. Then they moved to where the six ‘Control Group' members were waiting. Cpl Clyde was sent to collect LCpl Henning and LCpl Parnell. With Graham added to their numbers this gave a 9 strong section. Capt Conkey began talking them through a series of demonstrations of infantry minor tactics that were to be shown to the company in two days time.

First Sgt Crane and Cpl Rankin did ‘Two man fire and movement'. Then the whole squad practiced how to do a ‘Contact Drill' with Graham acting as the section commander. Next they went through two variations of ‘section fire and movement'. Capt Conkey walked them through each move then rehearsed them at the run several times until they had it right. In the process they got all sweaty and dirty. Graham thoroughly enjoyed himself. It aroused his fighting spirit and fed his warrior's pride.

‘I'd love to have a real go,' he thought as he crawled into a fire position. ‘Just to see if I'm good enough.' He mulled that over for a few minutes, sprinted forward on command and went to ground again. ‘Will I be scared?' he wondered. Yes. He knew he would be. He had been shot at before. Sharp memories of exchanging shots with the Kosarian Partisans in the mountains west of Atherton in June came to him. He made a wry grin at those memories. ‘No, I'll be alright. I won't run; and I'll be able to keep on doing a good job. I know it,' he thought with satisfaction.

He decided this with the certainty of past experience. It made him feel almost arrogantly self-confident. He also glimpsed briefly a more unpleasant side to his nature- that he might possibly revel in the cruel joy of battle. Then he shrugged; and thrust the introspection aside.

At the end of the training session the group marched back to camp, grimy and sore; but hot and happy. This was what they joined the cadets to do! Their muscles and bodies were a bit strained because they were still making the transition from being school students to soldiering but they were pleased with themselves.

Back at the hutchies the first person Graham noticed was Allison. She gave him a sparkling smile. He smiled back and knew that his heart had just done a double flip. To hide his feelings he took out a waterbottle and shook it. Almost empty. He drained it, then extracted a second and had a big drink.

‘I'd better fill these straight away,' he decided. He walked over to the nearest water jerry.

Empty!

“Corporal Henning. Get another jerry can for Headquarters. And take this one and put it with the other empties,” he ordered.

“Yes sir.”

Graham stood and looked around. He noted several groups of cadets converging on HQ. “You cadets without webbing go back and get it,” he bellowed. “Don't walk around the bush without webbing. Carry it everywhere.”

“But Sir, we have to carry a jerry can!” wailed Cadet Carleton.

“Too bad! Good muscle development. And girls aren't to carry jerry cans,” Graham replied. He walked over to where a cluster of cadets were grouped around the row of full jerry cans.

“Don't fill your waterbottles here. Take the jerrycan back to your platoon area,” he directed.

“Yes sir,” came the grumbled replies.

“Hello Sergeant Major. How are you?” said a familiar voice.

It was Margaret. She carried two waterbottles and was grinning from ear to ear.

“Hello Cadet Lake. You look a bit sunburnt. Are you enjoying yourself?” Graham replied. He was exasperated but hid his annoyance. She was too nice a person to hurt; and had been through too many adventures with him. Besides, her enthusiasm was infectious. So they stood and talked. Graham was uncomfortably aware that they were in full view of HQ. ‘I wish Margaret would go. If Allison sees us she might get the wrong impression,' he thought.

Margaret's companion struggled over with a full jerrycan and grunted impatiently. She gave a cheery “See you later,” and walked off.

“CSM!” came Lt Maclaren's voice.

“Sir?”

“Have a full jerry brought over here for the officers.”

“Sir! OK Cadet Tully. You are the lucky volunteer. That jerrycan there; over to the officers,” Graham said, detailing the nearest cadet. He took Tully's waterbottle and walked with him over to where the officers sat.

“Just there Cadet Tully. Thank you. Here's your waterbottle. Put it in your webbing.”

Capt Conkey looked up from some paperwork. “Thanks CSM. I see your little girl looking very grimy but chirpy.”

Graham's mind raced, exploring the possible meanings in what the OC had said. He decided there was no hidden warning or rebuke- just a natural acceptance that Margaret was his girl- they were often together back at school; it being entirely normal for a Year 11 boy to have a Year 9 girlfriend.

“Margaret? She's fine sir,” he replied as casually as he could. He wanted to deny she was ‘his girl' but didn't. She was part of his group of friends anyway; and his little sister's best friend.

Lt McEwen turned to him. “I've heard she is going to marry you Graham. Is that right?”

Graham blushed. He knew Miss McEwen was only teasing him- or was she?

“Who told you that Miss?”

“She did.”

‘Bloody Margaret!' Graham thought in exasperation. “News to me Miss.”

“The man is always the last to know,” Lt Maclaren added sagely.

The other officers laughed. Graham blushed brick-red. But he could not get annoyed at Margaret.

“You could do worse CSM,” Capt Conkey said absent-mindedly as he read a page of orders. “She's a very nice girl; as loyal as they come.”

“Yes she is sir. But I actually wasn't planning such an event for a few years,” Graham replied stiffly.

This caused a ripple of good-natured laughter from the officers, making Graham blush again. He shrugged. He had never hinted at such a thing to Margaret; and she had never suggested anything to him; but somehow it seemed natural.

While walking back to where the members of HQ were preparing their evening meal he turned the idea over in his mind. He didn't know how he really felt about Margaret. She had been his devoted admirer for about five years. At times it annoyed him intensely. ‘She follows me round like a faithful puppy!' he had cried on more than one occasion. ‘But she certainly is loyal; and honest; and nice,' he conceded. ‘But she hasn't got eyes like Allison's, or tits like Barbara or Kellie Jones. In fact she's hardly got any tits at all.'

Feeling a bit confused he joined the others and sat down. Allison smiled and passed food to him. He smiled back and said thanks. After taking his share he passed it to Peter.

‘Gosh!' he noted with surprise. ‘Peter looks very matey with Kate O'Brien. I wonder.... Nah! Pete's not impressed by girls. He's just being a gentleman.'

The training activity programmed for the second night was a ‘Lantern Stalk' to teach basic field craft; and to develop self-confidence. A kerosene ‘Hurricane' lantern was to be hung from a tree as the objective. Defenders were to patrol the approaches to it. The cadets had to reach the lantern without being detected by the guards. If they were to move back out of sight and try again.

The exercise area was a rough rectangle formed by the Flinders Highway, the Canning Road, Sandy Ridge and the low, timbered ridge running from the camp to the Highway. The lantern was on this ridge, about two hundred metres down from the camp. The start point was the Burdekin Plum tree on Bare Ridge which had been Peter's check-point the previous night.

The ‘defenders' were the CUOs, sergeants and HQ; with the OOCs on the boundaries for safety (and to stop cheating). The platoon sergeants had to move their platoons to the start point where they would be met by the OC, QM and CSM. Before starting they would be given a lesson on ‘Night Vision' by Lt Hamilton and revise ‘Sounds at night' and ‘Night movement'. The OC would then take the CSM and platoon sergeants and deploy them as the forward line of guards.

Just after dusk Capt Conkey gathered all the ‘defenders' at the officer's fire. Peter stood among them and listened.

“There will be three lines of defenders,” Capt Conkey explained. “They will form patrol lines between Sandy Ridge and the Highway. The first line will be the CSM and platoon sergeants. They will deploy in the open valley below Bare Ridge along the line of the small creek there. You are to be in three pairs. The second line, about one hundred paces back from the small creek is to be from HQ. Sgt Bronsky, you group them in pairs and spread them evenly across the front. Position the stretchers and First Aid Kit in the centre.”

“Yes sir.”

Capt Conkey went on, “The last line is to be the CUOs in two pairs.” He looked at them and they nodded. He went on, “Now, remember that Priority One is safety. No running, no physical contact:- no tackling or grabbing and so on. Secondly remember the aims of the exercise. They are- One- to develop the First Year Cadet's self-confidence at moving in the bush in the dark. Two- to practice fieldcraft skills. Our aim is not to defeat them. If they are doing the right thing they should be able to creep past us. Is that clear?”

Capt Conkey looked hard at them all. “I know you all want to win but it is a teaching exercise, not a testing exercise. So we must make it possible for them to sneak past, if they use proper fieldcraft. That means you must patrol up and down, not stand in one place. If you stand still and shine your torch around you block them and they have no chance. The ground isn't broken enough and there isn't enough undergrowth. So keep moving. Only shine your torches on the little grubs who are playing silly buggers.”

He gave more details on how to challenge and what to do with cadets who had lost both lives. “Platoon sergeants, have you all got your bundle of lives? Good. OK CSM and sergeants, get the company moving. Go along the road. I will meet you there. Everyone else come with me.”

Lt Standish was to remain by the fire with a few sick cadets. Peter saw Graham note their names and make sure that the platoon sergeants did the same. Lt McEwen walked off to patrol the Sandy Ridge track. Lt Hamilton and Lt Maclaren both climbed into Land Rovers and drove off; the 2ic to park beside the Highway and the QM to wait at the start point. Both vehicles carried First Aid Kits.

Capt Conkey picked up the lantern and led off, the others following in single file. As they dodged around a tree in the dark Peter felt Kate bump into him, apparently accidentally. He then noted that she was walking close behind him. His mind began turning over whom to group with whom.

At once the idea came to him. He knew it was fraught with peril; but the temptation was fierce. The more he tried to reject it the stronger it seemed to become.

‘I can organize it so that I am alone with Kate!'

Peter wrestled with this temptation while they tramped down through the dark bush. ‘It's a risk,' he thought. ‘But it might give me a chance to talk to her.' He knew in his heart it was wrong, a silly idea which could get them both into trouble; but his heart was hammering furiously and his skin seemed to tingle.

Capt Conkey paused to suspend the lantern from a low tree then led them on along a cattle pad. A hundred paces further on he halted and called the CUOs to him. With his powerful torch he indicated their patrol line.

“Two each side of this cattle pad,” he said.

In the distance they could hear the hubbub of noise as the platoon sergeants prepared their platoons to move. From half a kilometre away the CSM's voice cut sharply through the still night air. “Platoon sergeants! Shut those platoons up! This is a military exercise, not Pig Day at Goombungee! Move in silence.”

There was an instant cessation of noise, except for the occasional sergeant's bark. Peter grinned. ‘Good old Graham.'

As he stood in the dark listening to the OC Peter felt Kate bump into him again, her elbow pressing against his.

‘That is not accidental!' he thought. His emotions became a mixture of panic and delight. This swayed him. ‘I could put Costigan and Lacey together right down near the Highway; then Allison and Denton. Kate and I could go in the middle with Kellie Jones and Leah Allen on our right and Henning and Parnell up near the Sandy Ridge track,' he thought.

As the OC led them on Peter turned this plan over in his mind, worrying about whether it was too obvious. He wasn't sure but decided he would have to be with a girl anyway as the sexes were uneven. ‘So it might as well be Kate.'

Capt Conkey stopped in the middle of a wide dip. He used the beam of his torch to point. “Put the First Aid Kit and stretcher there. OK Sgt Bronsky, this is your line. Patrol North-South. Use compasses if you need to. Make sure your people are spaced out all the way to both boundaries. You organize them.”

“Yes sir.” Peter found his throat dry. It seemed difficult to speak. The OC turned and walked on alone towards Bare Ridge. Peter swallowed and licked his lips. His heart was pattering at what seemed a frantic pace and he couldn't seem to hear properly.

Turning to the others he said, “Right, here is the plan. Staff Costigan, you and Cpl Lacey go all the way down to the Highway. Cpl Broadfoot and Cadet Denton will be next. They will link with myself and Cpl O'Brien who will be here. Cpl Jones, you and LCpl Allen go up there on the right,” He clicked on his torch to point. “And Lance Corporals Henning and Parnell go up onto Sandy Ridge as far as the vehicle track. Move off straight away and I will walk along and check the line. Off you go.”

There were a few groans and some muttering from those who had to walk the furthest. To Peter's relief no-one voiced any objection. The pairs went trampling off into the night using their compasses and torches. When they were safely out of earshot Peter turned to Kate.

“Is that alright Cpl O'Brien? Are you happy with that? I mean being with me?”

“Yes Peter, I am,” Kate murmured in a husky voice which seemed to vibrate through the bone of Peter's skull. She stood very close to him.

Peter swallowed to moisten hi suddenly dry throat. “I .... I wanted to... to be alone with you,” he stammered. “So we could .... could talk.”

“That will be nice,” Kate replied. She moved closer so that their elbows touched again. Peter felt his emotions bounding. The physical contact seemed to set him on fire.

Kate went on, “I'm glad you did. It was very clever of you to organize it. I hoped you would. I want to be alone with you.” She pressed closer. “I like you.”

Peter's heart leapt. For a few moments he couldn't speak. No girl had ever said that to him before. ‘I must be dreaming! It's too good to be true.'

He turned to watch where the others had gone. Torches were visible bobbing through the trees. The torches of the two pairs of CUOs were clearly visible behind them. No-one was within about a hundred paces. Distant shouting on Bare Ridge indicated the platoons arriving at the start point. He took off his webbing and dropped it beside the First Aid Kit. Kate did likewise.

As Peter turned towards Kate his fingers brushed against hers. It was like an electric shock. She didn't move away. Their hands bumped again. ‘Should I try to hold her hand; or is that going too fast?' he wondered. He didn't want to frighten her off. Almost as though someone else controlled his body he reached out, aware he was risking a sharp rebuff.

There was a moment of fumbling before Kate eagerly gripped his hand. Peter was exhilarated. He was also surprised at how warm her hand felt. ‘And how smooth! It feels very nice.'

His heart began to pound even harder. Physical desire seemed to surge through him. He rapidly became aroused.

‘I'm glad it's dark,' he thought. He didn't want to frighten or offend Kate.

They stood in silence for a few minutes. Peter was in turmoil. ‘What do I do next?' he worried. In the distance he heard Graham's voice as he silenced the company for the OC. It recalled him to his duty.

“I'd better walk along and check everyone is in the right place,” Peter said, his throat feeling so dry he almost croaked. “Come with me and I will leave you with Allison while I walk down to the Highway and back.”

Reluctantly he let go her hand, turned on his torch and began walking. Kate followed. As they walked Peter was very aware of being more aroused than he could remember and it seemed to dominate his whole being.

‘Thank heavens it is dark. No-one will notice,' he thought.

The distance to the Highway was only about 300 metres and the two groups were easy to find. They stood talking beside a small gully about half way down. Peter made the gully the boundary between the two groups then, satisfied they were in the right place, set off back. There was no need to leave Kate so she walked with him. He was still aroused and it showed no sign of subsiding.

Using their torches to light the way he and Kate quickly returned to the centre. Peter could see two torches about a hundred metres to the north, up the gentle timbered slope. Kellie Jones and Leah Allen he surmised. A few minutes walk brought them together.

Kellie shone her torch on them as they approached. “Hello you two. What have you been up to?”

Kate giggled. “Wouldn't you like to know!”

Peter blushed and felt guilty, because of what he had been thinking. He was quite gruff as he checked the two girls knew where to patrol. Satisfied on this he looked around while the girls talked and joked. A torch further up the slope indicated where the two boys were.

‘They are in the right place,' he decided. Now he just wanted to get Kate on her own again. He said, “Come on Cpl O'Brien, we'd better get back. The exercise must be due to start.”

Kellie fired a parting shot as they walked away. “Don't do anything we wouldn't do you two,” she cried.

“We won't!” Kate laughed. Peter blushed. Was it that obvious? Or was he just being hypersensitive?

Back at the First Aid Kit Peter turned off his torch. Kate did likewise. They stood about a pace apart. Peter was amazed that he was still aroused. He hesitated, unsure what to do. ‘I don't want to spoil things by rushing them,' he told himself.

While he was reasoning with himself Kate stepped closer.

“Do you like me Peter?”

“Yes ...yes I do!” Peter replied. “I think I'm in love with you.”

“Oh Peter!” she cried. She stepped close, put her arms around his neck, pressed herself against him and kissed him. Peter was so surprised that for a moment he just stood. Then he put his arms around her and responded.

He was very conscious that his hard maleness was pushing against her. ‘Maybe she won't notice?' he thought in embarrassed confusion. Kate pressed harder against him and Peter flamed with embarrassment and desire. ‘I hope she doesn't mind,' he worried. He groaned with desire and kissed her and without thinking ran his free hand up and down her back.

From the expert way Kate delivered her kisses Peter deduced she had been kissed before. The knowledge made him both sad and jealous. ‘Well, what can you expect? She is beautiful.'

Kate drew her face back but kept her arms tightly around him. She held her lower body against his. Peter squirmed in delighted confusion. His heart pounded.

They kissed again. Peter's senses reeled. He felt himself gripped by an emotional storm of an intensity he had never experienced; had never imagined possible. Half of him responded to the rising tide of passion. The other half registered disappointment that Kate was obviously very experienced. It dulled the aura of perfection he had bestowed on her; but this was quickly evaporated by the heat of his desire.

Peter groaned. Torches were approaching.

“Here come Leah and Kellie,” he croaked. Reluctantly he released Kate and they stepped apart. Peter found he could hardly speak his mouth was so dry. He felt his cheeks. They were scorching, as though he had a severe fever. He shook his head which seemed fuddled. He tried to act naturally as the two girls joined them.

Kellie spoke first. “Hi there! We are bored. Has the exercise started yet?” she asked.

“No, not yet,” Peter replied. He had trouble speaking and was worried there was a tell-tale tremor in his voice. He licked his lips and realized he was trembling. For something to do he went to his webbing and took out a waterbottle. The water felt cold and refreshing.

Then Capt Conkey called on his radio to tell them that the exercise had begun. Peter answered after the CUOs and then told the girls.

In the distance, over on Bare Ridge, they heard the CSM below, “Don't run! Go slow. We don't want any accidents.”

“Sounds as though they are starting now,” Kate said. “Yes. I can see torches across the creek. They must be the sergeants.”