Flight of the Jabiru (28 page)

“I'm sorry, Jerry,” Betty whispered.

“I guess she won't be joining me here for a drink after all,” he said and left the bar.

Betty watched him drive away. “When two men love the same woman, someone's going to get their heart broken,” she said.

Rick finally stopped kissing Lara but he held her warm body against his, reluctant to let her go.

“That kiss was worth waiting for,” Lara said breathlessly. “But I'm curious about why it took you so long to do it.” She'd been kissed before, but never while soaking wet in the rain, and never like that by a man that she truly loved.

“I've wanted to kiss you a thousand times,” Rick admitted with his characteristic cheeky grin. He remembered how hard it had been to hold back the first time he took her on his boat. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

“And I've wanted you to kiss me a thousand times,” Lara replied. “So why did you hold back? Did you really think I was in love with Jerry?”

“I hadn't considered it until today, which was arrogant I suppose. You hired me to do a job and that didn't involve taking advantage of you as my employer. It just wasn't right.”

“Why didn't you say so? I would've fired you weeks ago and put up with the crocodiles. Look at all the kisses we've missed?”

“I promise I'll make it up to you,” Rick said, kissing the tip of her nose.

“You'd better get started right now,” Lara said with a cheeky smile.

“I plan to do just that,” Rick said, claiming her lips again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

February 19, 1942

“I hope you get your wages today, ladies, but I seriously doubt there'll be anyone manning the office in the education department,” Colin said to Lara and Jiana, as he drove them to the city. As if his driving wasn't hair-raising enough, he swerved sharply to miss yet another waterlogged pothole on the Arnhem Highway and the car jerked side-ways, almost colliding with a tree.

“Watch out, Colin,” Lara snapped. She was thinking they were in less danger from the Japs than they were from Colin's driving. Poor Jiana was sliding about the back seat amid rubbish that included old smelly boots and fish bait buckets. At this rate the eighty-mile journey was going to feel interminable!

Lara knew that Colin was referring to the likely situation in the city after Singapore had fallen to the Japs a few days earlier. He felt fairly confident that the few civilians that had remained in Darwin would now have also been evacuated. When Pearl Harbor was bombed in early December, and the news reached Australia, everyone was shocked, but the war still seemed far away. Now that the Japs held Singapore, they were within striking distance, which was terrifying. It was all everyone in Shady Camp could talk about.

Betty was especially worried and upset. She'd been fed up in general for some time, and had always hated the heat, but with the Japanese breathing down their necks, she now felt it was urgent that they take the children to Tasmania. Colin was torn because he wanted to stay in Shady Camp, but Betty was insisting that she'd go without him if she had to, and he didn't want to lose his family.

The city schools, along with the college that Jiana had been attending, had closed before Christmas and hadn't re-opened in the New Year since most of the staff and pupils had fled to the safety of towns and cities in the south of the country. For the past few months there had been a skeleton staff in the administration office of the education department, so the girls had been able to collect their wages.

“I guess we'll soon find out,” Lara said. She had considered going south with the evacuees, but all of the residents in Shady Camp had elected to stay because they believed they were a safe distance from the city and almost hidden in the wetlands. Their decision, and the fact that Rick was staying, helped Lara make up her mind to stay.

“Do you think you'll be able to buy any supplies for the store, Colin?” Jiana asked as she shuffled uncomfortably on the back seat and then realized she was sitting on fishing tackle. “You said there wasn't much tucker about last week.” She threw a broken reel out of the car and hoped Colin didn't notice as he was concentrating on the road.

“I should be able to find something,” Colin said. “I know most of what's been coming up from down south is being sent to the troops camped near the airstrip in Bachelor, which is only right.” The little town had been an Aboriginal settlement but strategically it was well placed for an airstrip. The strip was built by the Australian army, the 2nd/4th Pioneer Battalion. They'd also built campsites to accommodate themselves and an American Air Force Squadron. “I guess they need most of the supplies that reach the Top End. We won't starve, though. We can rely on bush tucker and fish from the billabong if we have to. Croc meat isn't too bad, either. Meanwhile I'll see if I can find a pub that can spare some beer. Monty's been rationing our beer in case the pub runs dry, but I don't know how long I'll cope with just a couple of beers a day.”

In the city, Colin parked his battered Ford on Smith Street amid a few military vehicles. If not for soldiers and a few civil servants, Darwin might've been a ghost town. The non-essential shops were closed, with the windows boarded up, and there was only one other civilian car on the street, apart from Colin's.

Colin consulted his watch. “It's nine thirty-five, so I'll see you girls back here in an hour.” He'd noticed that most of the pubs were closed, with the windows and doors boarded up, but the bar in The Victoria Hotel appeared to be open — a Godsend for a man with a thirst for a cold beer.

“You're not going to go into the pub to drink, are you, Colin?” Lara asked, knowing Betty would strongly disapprove. “You only had breakfast a short while ago.”

“It's lunch time somewhere in the world,” Colin insisted with a smirk. “Besides, I'm looking for some beer for Monty, remember? See you in an hour.”

“Any excuse,” Lara mumbled as she walked away with Jiana.

Lara and Jiana were walking along the street, attracting plenty of attention from army personnel, when Lara spotted the back of someone familiar up ahead. His shape and swagger stood out amongst the fit GIs. “Sid,” she called and he turned around.

“Lara!” Sid was overjoyed to see her. Uninhibited after a few beers at the Victoria Hotel, he did something quite unexpected. He came towards her and clasped her in a bear hug. “It's so good to see you,” he declared joyfully. “I've been wondering how you've been getting on but you were the last person I expected to see on the street.” He glanced at Jiana and considered the possibility that Lara had gone ‘native'.

“The residents in Shady Camp are all staying put. The men built a bomb shelter at the back of the pub. It will hold the entire population of the town if it's needed.”

“Now there's foresight, a bomb shelter close to a pub. The locals in Shady Camp sound like my kind of people.” He laughed.

“Have you been drinking this early?” Lara asked.

“Is it early? It feels like lunchtime because I've been up since four thirty this morning.” His grin was sheepish. “How's the school?”

“It's going very well,” Lara said. “This is Jiana, my assistant. Jiana, this is Sid. Remember I told you I came to Australia on the
MV Neptuna
. Sid worked on the ship. He took very good care of the passengers. He even found us ladies a bottle of rum, or two.”

“And they still gave me a terrible time,” Sid joked.

Lara laughed. “Are you here on the
Neptuna
?”

“Yes, she's in the harbor. But we're not carrying rice anymore. I'm on my way back to the ship now. Are you going that way? I'd like to hear all about the school.”

“We're on our way to the education department. Hopefully someone is still manning the office. We'll walk with you, though, as it's not that far out of the way.” The three of them set off together.

“It's good to see you are no longer the color of a bed sheet,” Sid said referring to the golden-brown skin on her arms and lower legs.

“I spend a lot of my spare time on a fishing boat these days,” Lara admitted with a sheepish smile. She loved being out on the billabong with Rick, even in an afternoon storm when it was pouring rain. It was peaceful and romantic.

Sid made the wrong assumption. “You've fallen in love with fishing! I never thought that would happen.”

“I'm not in love with fishing, although I have tried it, and I caught a huge barra.” She knew Sid would not approve so she didn't add that she'd insisted the fish be released.

Sid looked momentarily confused, but then he smiled. “Well I doubt you love boats, so I'm guessing you're in love with a fisherman.”

Lara caught the familiar twinkle in his eye. “That's right,” she blushed.

“He'd better be a good bloke,” Sid warned in fun.

“He's the best,” Lara said proudly. She was so pleased to see Sid. She'd missed his sense of humor.

When they reached the top of Stokes Hill, overlooking the wharf, Lara was taken by the gravity of the scene before her. It was so different from the day she'd arrived. The harbor was a hive of industrious activity, with both armed-force personnel and civilians all getting on with different tasks. American and Australian naval vessels were tying up after returning from sea patrols, and other vessels were lying in anchor just offshore. Towards Darwin's east arm, there were several fixed-wing seaplanes, known as flying boats. They were used for patrol and sea rescue.

“There's the
Neptuna
,” Sid said proudly, pointing the ship out amongst the other vessels on the right-hand extension of the pier.

Lara smiled. She hadn't enjoyed the heat when travelling through the Suez, but except for her homesickness she only had fond memories of her time on the
Neptuna
. She often thought of Suzie Wilks and wondered how she was getting on.

“We're carrying a near full complement of explosive devices,” Sid whispered. “But keep that to yourself.”

Lara was alarmed. “Oh, Sid. That sounds like dangerous cargo.”

“I won't deny all of the crew will be glad when it's unloaded. Actually, it would've been unloaded yesterday, but there was a dispute with the wharfies. It was settled late last night at the pub, so they've promised to have the cargo unloaded by this evening.” He consulted his watch. It was three minutes to ten. “They should've started by now. I can't deny we'll all breathe a sigh of relief when it's done.”

Lara wanted to ask what the explosive devices were for, but Sid was looking skyward because he could hear the drone of plane engines.

“What's that?” Lara asked, listening. She could see that Sid looked concerned, as the frightening sound was getting louder. The three of them looked skyward, shading their eyes from the sun with their hands. Down on the wharf, work had stopped as everyone was looking towards the vast, blue skies, dotted with white cloud.

“You beauty!” Sid said excitedly as he spotted the planes in the distance. “I reckon its Curtiss P-40 Warhawks.”

“That's good, is it?” Jiana asked.

“You betcha,” Sid said and they all relaxed.

A minute later the sky overhead was suddenly full of planes. When they dropped in altitude the red dot under their wings was clearly visible.

“Christ!” Sid shrieked in alarm. “It's the bloody Japs!” He observed heavy bombers going over, escorted by Zero fighter planes.

Pandemonium broke loose on the wharf, as everyone ducked for cover, some even taking to the water for safety.

“What's happening?” Lara shrieked. She couldn't comprehend the sense of panic.

“Get out of sight,” Sid yelled as he scampered down the hill, towards the wharf.

“Come back, Sid,” Lara cried. “Don't go down there!” She heard a high-pitched whistling sound and saw bombs being released from the planes. Then explosions went off everywhere. Behind them, parliament house was hit, and in front of them, the wharf was under heavy attack. A flying boat was blown to bits, and an American ship was hit, also some buildings alongside the wharf.

Lara was terrified for Sid, as he seemed to be running right into the path of explosions. Screaming, she was almost unaware that Jiana was dragging her towards thick vegetation on the side of Stokes Hill while Jap planes flew right overhead.

“Hide,” Jiana shouted above the deafening noise, as she dragged Lara inside the bushes. The girls were scratched and their dresses caught on thorny vines and branches, but at least they were out of view. As they crouched in their hiding place, they could see the full width of the harbor as it was obliterated by an endless stream of Japanese planes. The planes were flying so low over Stokes Hill that the girls only had to look up through the vegetation to see the pilots.

The scene they were witnessing was devastating. Wave after wave of planes flew over the harbor and city, dropping their cargo with deadly accuracy. Some planes deviated towards the airstrip and army base to drop their bombs.

The US destroyer
Peary
was sunk. After several more ships were hit, including the US transport
Meigs
, the wharf area was blanketed in billowing, thick, black smoke. From within the darkness, the flames of burning ships glowed. It was a surreal scene.

In the brief lull between explosions, the terrifying sound of screams from men either on fire, or injured by bomb blasts, could be heard. The girls covered their ears, but it didn't help. They were transfixed by the macabre scene playing out before them.

A direct hit cut the wharf in two, stranding men at the far end as they scrambled off sinking or burning ships. Lara noticed with horror that the
Neptuna
was ablaze. Soon after, her cargo ignited and began exploding. Boom! Boom! Boom! Lara thought of Mick Thompson, the cook on the
Neptuna
, and Kevin Callahan, the captain. They would not have survived. “Sid!” she whispered tearfully as she didn't know whether or not he'd made it to the ship. Jiana put her arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

An oil tanker was hit, and its flammable cargo caught fire, spraying flames across the harbor. Men, whose clothes were on fire, leapt screaming into the sea, but the oil on the surface was burning, so they were no better off. A Jap plane came in really low over the hill and Lara and Jiana were sure their bright clothing had given their hiding place away. They both ducked their heads and awaited the inevitable, but the plane went overhead and began strafing the city streets with gunfire. It then circled around and began strafing the wharf.