The new bivouac area was about a hundred metres long and consisted of two lines of overhanging paperbark trees, each about ten metres apart. On one side was the water of the river and on the other the wide area of sand. To Graham it looked like a lovely spot and he was happy to dump his pack and flop down on the clean, white sand. The others joined him, Kirsty making sure she was next to him.
That got Graham worried again. After what he saw as the debacle on the patrol course he did not want further problems from Kirsty. ‘Not if I ever want to be a sergeant!’
But how to tactfully put her off until after the camp?
That kept him puzzling for the next ten minutes before 5 Section arrived. They were neatly lined up on the other side of the ‘avenue’ by Gwen. Graham found himself looking into Barbara’s green eyes and she gave him a friendly smile.
“How did it go?” he asked.
Barbara made a face and laughed. “A few little problems I think,” she said.
“Problems!” Gwen cried. “Disasters you mean! And with the OC watching.”
They discussed the patrol course until the arrival of 6 Section. Stephen plonked himself down next to Roger and Graham and began to bewail how his section had been annihilated along the way.
“Bloody Hutchie Men! They scared the crap out of me!” Stephen said. “My bloody glasses were fogged up in the heat and then these huge things jumped up from behind the bushes right next to me. I thought they were wild pigs and nearly shat myself.”
They all laughed and talked about the Hutchie Men. The first section of 3 Platoon arrived looking all hot and bothered. Soon afterwards CSM Cleland came along. He at once instructed them to start collecting firewood. “Two lots, one for your platoon fire, which will be here, and one for the company fire back there where Lt McEwen is sitting.”
There was no shortage of driftwood brought down by the floods and Graham enjoyed walking around on the sand without his webbing. Kirsty and Roger both walked with him, Kirsty chatting away happily the whole time and continually meeting his eye.
“What do we do tonight?” she asked.
In his anxiety Graham nearly snapped ‘read your bloody program!’ but managed to hide his irritation and bite this back. Instead he said, “It is down as reserved, but I think we are getting a free night.”
“Ooh! Goody!” Kirsty cried, flashing him a ‘come-hither’ look.
That set Graham sweating again as CSM Cleland had just emerged from the trees nearby and was watching them. “Just the people I need,” he said. “Dunny digging details. Round up your section Cpl Kirk and go up to the vehicle to get two shovels, two washbasins and two more jerry cans.”
“Oh bummer!” Roger cried.
They dumped their loads of firewood and Graham called to Andrews and Halyday to join them. Pat and the other two girls appeared with more wood and were told to follow. Graham then led the others back along the cattle pad across the flood channels and up to the top of the bank. On their return they were met by CSM Cleland at the main grassy flood channel and he took the three girls upstream to dig the girls latrine and then came back to site the boys latrine. This was in among the bushes on the ridge between the two grassy flood channels.
The digging was easy enough in the sandy soil and the work only took twenty minutes. Graham walked from one site to the other to ensure they were dug correctly, not wanting CSM Cleland to find his section at fault. He actually enjoyed that. By then the heat had gone out of the afternoon sun and a cool breeze had begun blowing along the river.
‘This is a really pleasant spot,’ he thought, pausing to look out over the river bed to the trees lining the far bank.
He was also pleased with the section. Even Andrews worked without too much grumbling. ‘They are developing into a real team,’ he thought. The only fly in the ointment, he decided, was his relationship with Kirsty. ‘And that is my own stupid fault for giving in when she started flirting.’
The remainder of 3 Platoon had come in by the time they finished and the area under the trees was now quite crowded and busy. Not uncomfortably crowded though, as there was plenty of room to walk along between the people and lines of packs. Each platoon was separated by about ten metres of sand from its neighbour.
As 4 Section returned to their area Lucy asked, “Where do we put up our hutchies?”
Graham looked around then shook his head. “Under one of these trees I suppose, but I don’t think that is the plan.”
“You mean we just sleep out in the open again?” Dianne asked.
Graham nodded. “I’d say we just sleep here on the sand under the trees. They will keep the dew off us.”
“What if there is a flood?” Andrews asked.
Graham groaned inwardly at the looks of concern that crossed the other’s faces. He shook his head in exasperation. “It is September. There hasn’t been any rain for weeks. I’m sure Capt Conkey has thought about that. If he didn’t think it was safe he wouldn’t let us camp here.”
Andrews looked doubtful. “I hope so,” he said.
“You can go and camp up on the bank if you like,” Graham replied. “But I am sleeping here. I reckon it is a great spot to camp.”
Their discussion was ended by the arrival of the CUOs and sergeants. That meant that the exercise was over. In the distance Graham saw 4 Platoon filing in under the trees down past where the officers were standing. CUO Masters was with them but Sgt Grenfell came along to join them. He dumped his pack and said, “Swim time.”
“But I haven’t got any bathers!” wailed Halyday.
“Swim in your dirty uniform and wash it at the same time,” Sgt Grenfell replied.
“But I’ve only got one uniform,” Halyday replied.
“All the more reason to wash it, you grub! Where is your second uniform?” Sgt Grenfell asked.
“In my kitbag,” Halyday replied.
“Too bad,” Sgt Grenfell replied unsympathetically. “You were told to have it packed.”
Graham sighed. He had warned them there would be a swim as it was on the printed camp program they had all been issued. For that reason he had stuffed a pair of old shorts in his pack, along with his second uniform.
Andrews looked anxiously around. “There are no change rooms,” he said. “Where do we change?”
Graham straightened up from rummaging in his pack and looked at him to see if he was making a joke. When he realised Andrews wasn’t he was astounded. With a disbelieving shake of the head he gestured downstream to the trees. “There are hundreds of kilometres of trees and bushes Ando. Hop behind one and change.”
“But what if someone comes along?”
Again Graham shook his head. Stephen answered for him, “It’s not that bloody big! No-one will notice. Stop being ridiculous.”
The girls all giggled. Andrews sniffed with injured pride and stalked off with his bathers. Graham shook his head and dug out his shorts. The girls went off across the open sand towards their latrine area to change. Stephen, Roger and Graham walked down past 3 Platoon and HQ and then across into the bushes on the nearby dune.
Leaving his shirt on Graham pulled off trousers and underpants and then went to pull on his shorts. As he did three people came around the bushes: Pigsy, Waters and Moynihan.
Pigsy sneered and pointed. “Hello! We’ve caught the three poofs at it.”
The other bullies laughed and Graham felt anger surge in his blood. Stephen hauled up his own bathers and turned to them, “Is that what you jokers do, sneak around to watch other boys change?”
“Listen four-eyes!” Pigsy snarled. He raised his fists and scowled.
Graham hauled up his shorts as quickly as he could. As quickly as he could he zipped them up then turned to face Pigsy and his mates. He was angry now. “Piss off Pike! Why don’t you go and join your porky mates.”
For a second Graham thought he had gone too far and Pigsy would attack. But all he did was sneer and scowl, while Moynihan laughed. To Graham’s relief the bullies moved on, Waters saying, “Let’s find a place where these faggots can’t perve on us.”
As they went out of sight Graham heaved a sigh of relief. He shook his head, bent to scoop up his clothing and boots, then stood watch till Roger and Stephen were changed. The three friends walked back together. By then dozens of cadets were splashing in the water. Capt Conkey and CSM Cleland stood on a small sandy island in midstream and the other officers sat or stood on the bank. The depth varied from ankle deep to knee deep. Only in a few small gutters did it reach waist deep. The water was cool and very refreshing. There was just enough current to make it pleasant.
Graham lay down and then sat to wash his shirt and trousers. Having thoroughly rinsed them he walked to the bank and returned to the platoon area to drape them across the branches of a tree. As he did Barbara and Gwen came along in their bathers. Graham badly wanted to look as both appeared to be very attractive, but he didn’t want them to think he was leering at them so he concentrated on spreading the wet clothes.
Kirsty, Di and Lucy appeared, also in bathers, and Graham felt another surge of interest. Kirsty wore a white one-piece which made her look very nice, although it did emphasize that she had small breasts. ‘Lovely hips and thighs though,’ Graham conceded.
They all waded in and Halyday and Andrews started a splashing game. Predictably all the girls shrieked as the drops of cold water hit them and there was a lot of laughter and running around for a few minutes. After that they lay in the shallow water and talked. Much to Graham’s annoyance Kirsty stayed close beside him, frequently touching him. That got him quite aroused as well as anxious as Capt Conkey and CSM Cleland were still watching.
To hide his condition Graham lay on his front. Kirsty lay beside him. She nudged his arm and gave an impish grin. “I thought we were going to go skinny dipping?” she whispered.
“Not now. After camp,” Graham replied with rising excitement.
“We could go upstream behind those rocks,” Kirsty suggested, indicating some clumps of rocks and bushes a hundred metres away.
Graham shook his head. “No, we have to stay here.”
“You just aren’t game,” Kirsty replied.
That annoyed Graham. “I am. I just don’t want to get into trouble.”
Kirsty gave him a curious look. “I heard you have been skinny dipping with girls before.”
Graham blushed and grunted. Heated memories of these occasions flooded through his mind. Mostly they were of him with Margaret. That caused him twinges of guilt because he knew Margaret really loved him. “Not at cadets,” he replied.
“I heard about some cadets swimming in the nuddy at a bivouac earlier this year,” Kirsty answered.
Graham glanced sideways to see if Stephen was within hearing. He shook his head. “It wasn’t us. It was some other corporals.”
“What happened?”
“Ask Gwen. She was there,” Graham replied. He thought Kirsty would drop the subject but to his surprise she called to Gwen. Both Gwen and Barbara paddled over. Kirsty put the question and Gwen looked serious. She also glanced to see if Stephen was watching.
“The girl was Stephen’s girlfriend,” she explained. “A girl named Elli. We were on a navigation exercise at a place called Bridle Creek.”
As Gwen told the story Graham experienced sharp flashbacks to the event. The images aroused him but also filled him with concern for Stephen. Stephen had been devastated to find his girl swimming nude with Brooks, Crane and Costigan. It had been a bad time for both of them. Elli had ended up out of cadets.
The story was interrupted by shouts and splashing. A group of boys came running through the shallow water. It was Pigsy and Co. They pushed Roger over then ducked Halyday before running over to Graham. Before Graham could get up Pigsy ran over and jumped on top of him, placing a foot in the middle of his back and forcing him under. Other feet kicked and pushed. A moment’s panic turned to anger.
As soon as the pressure was removed Graham surfaced and sprang to his feet. He found Pigsy being confronted by Barbara. She had her hand ready to slap.
“You touch me buster and you will regret it!” she snapped.
Pigsy sneered and said, “Big talk, bitch!” but he turned away and kept on running. The group of bullies ran over to duck several more boys then descended on a couple of First Years with shouts and jeering laughter. There was a flurry of foam and Graham glimpsed Moynihan running off holding a pair of bathers. More cruel laughter echoed along the river.
“Stop that nonsense!” bellowed Capt Conkey. “Sergeant Yeldham, keep those people under control.”
Pigsy and his mates stopped running and flopped down in the shallow water, but they kept on snickering and glancing at the boy they had just ducked. Graham saw that it was young Bragg and that he was looking anxiously around.
“I think they just dacked Braggy,” he said. “Took his bathers.”
Gwen looked and shook her head. “Sgt Yeldham is there.”
“I think he was involved,” Graham added.
Gwen and Barbara both stood up and began wading towards Bragg. Bragg saw them coming and paddled off away from him. They sped up and so did he. Suddenly Bragg curled up, his hands holding himself. He had no bathers on alright. It was obvious he was fiercely embarrassed and afraid.
Gwen called loudly, “Are you alright Cadet Bragg?”
Graham saw Bragg shake his head but he did not hear his reply. Whatever he said incensed Gwen as she turned and snapped at Moynihan, “Give Cadet Bragg back his bathers.”
Moynihan scowled but did as he was told. Bragg squirmed and struggled to get his bathers back on while keeping himself hidden in the shallow water. Then he floundered to the shore and went scuttling up into the trees, followed by jeers and mocking laughter. Gwen turned her back on him and directed a withering glance across to where Sgt Yeldham and a dozen others were kneeling or standing in a group. “You should have controlled that,” she said.
Yeldham scowled back. “Mind your own business,” he snapped. He was red with anger and shame.
Gwen turned on him in righteous fury. “You! Call yourself a sergeant! You make me sick!”
At that moment Capt Conkey’s voice called from the bank, “What’s going on now?”
They all turned to look. Graham saw Yeldham’s face drain of colour. Gwen began wading to the shore, followed by Barbara. “Cadet Bragg has been assaulted sir,” she said.
That got Capt Conkey’s attention and he and CSM Cleland turned and hurried to meet the two girls. Pigsy and Co looked worried and began dispersing quietly among the crowd.
‘Poor bloody kid!’ Graham thought. A touch on his thigh caused him to jump in fright. It was Kirsty and she had her fingers on the big scar on his left thigh. “Is that a scar?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, subsiding back into the water. His eyes met Stephen’s and Stephen frowned.
“How did you get it?” Kirsty asked.
Again Graham’s eyes met Stephen’s and this time a look of intense distress crossed his face. “In a knife fight,” Graham mumbled. He was assailed by sharp images of those moments of sheer terror on the dark mountain road above Cairns back in March. He had been stabbed and left to bleed to death by a man who had just cut the throat of a young boy. Only Stephen’s courageous night walk had saved him.
That led to further images, of how he and Stephen had marched all night to cross the Lamb Range then crept up to the paedophiles secret camp at a gravel quarry. More nightmare images came to him: of his own fear as he had tried to escape from the same man and of his terror while he scrambled desperately to escape from the front-end loader the man was driving. The memories threw into his consciousness the whole question of courage. ‘I was game to go with Stephen but I was really scared,’ he thought. Other images of fear and weakness came to shake his selfconfidence.
He gave Kirsty a brief account of how he got the wound, being helped by Stephen. Kirsty then said, “Show me your scar again.”
Stephen gave a smirk and said, “Are you sure it’s his scar you want to see?”
Kirsty poked her tongue at him. Roger frowned and shook his head warningly. Graham flamed with embarrassment. The situation was ended by the return of Gwen and Barbara.
“Bloody Yeldham,” Gwen said scathingly. “He was there and did nothing to stop that.”
“I think we should get out,” Roger suggested.
By common consent they made their way to the bank and collected their clothes. As they made their way up through the trees Graham glimpsed a very unhappy looking Sgt Yeldham wading towards Capt Conkey and Lt Standish.
The boys made their way off into the bushes to change. Graham put on a clean, dry uniform and felt much better. They made their way back to the platoon area to find that the incident was the main topic of conversation. The consensus was that Yeldham was a bully and a drongo.
Sgt Grenfell came along and told them to have their tea. He also said they could remain barefoot while in the trees. Graham sat on his pack and began cooking. Roger, Stephen, Gwen and Barbara all sat in a circle with him. Graham noted Kirsty looking for a place in the circle and hoped she wouldn’t try to push in. To his annoyance she did, right next to him. Roger grudgingly made room for her. Stephen smirked and Gwen and Barbara both gave him questioning looks. All Graham could do was try not to blush and pretend nothing had happened.
The fate of the bullies was still the main topic of conversation. As the friends talked they cooked and ate the tinned rations, using their hexamine stoves. Kirsty kept whispering to Graham, which annoyed him as the others were obviously aware of it.
“I enjoyed that swim,” she said.
“Yes,” he replied unhelpfully.
“When are we going swimming on our own?”
That got Graham’s attention. ‘She really does want to go swimming with me,’ he thought. The thought of Kirsty nude caused his heart rate to shoot up and he began to fantasize. “During the holidays after camp I suppose,” he said. Then he shook his head. “Oh! No. Sorry. I can’t do that. I am going hiking with Peter, Stephen and Roger.”
“Oh poo! I would be more fun than them,” Kirsty said with a pout. “Where are you going?”
‘You would be too!’ Graham thought, but alarm bells were ringing. ‘She is under age; jail bait,’ he warned himself. ‘Stay out of the water if it is too deep, or too hot, or full of bloody sharks!’ He took a deep breath and replied, “A place called Stannary Hills. It’s in the mountains west of Herberton.”
“What are you going there for?” she asked.
They were actually going to do research on the old mining railways so they could build more of their own model railway layout. However Graham did not want Kirsty to think he was a little boy who still played with trains so he said, “To look at the old mines and ghost towns.”
“Ghost towns! Oooh! Tell me more,” Kirsty cried.
As Graham described the outline history of Stannary Hills and what they hoped to find he saw a very chastened looking Sgt Yeldham rejoin 3 Platoon. Bragg appeared with Lt Standish. It was obvious he had been weeping and still looked upset. CUO Masters and CUO Mitrovitch came along with an angry looking Capt Conkey and they stood with Bragg while he collected his gear. Then they walked on towards 2 Platoon.
“Hello, what gives?” Stephen murmured.
Capt Conkey and Lt Standish stopped to talk to CUO Mitrovitch, who looked most unhappy. CUO Masters walked on with Bragg. Sgt Grenfell went to meet them. After a few minutes talk, during which they glanced several times in Graham’s direction, they continued on. As they got closer Graham hoped that he was wrong. He hoped that it was Gwen or Stephen they were making for.
It wasn’t. Graham was called out. He stood up and moved to join the group. “Yes sir?”
“Cadet Bragg is now in your section. He has been given a hard time so look after him,” CUO Masters explained.
“Yes sir,” Graham replied. He met Bragg’s eyes and managed a smile, but he wasn’t amused. Bragg was a Year 8 with a reputation for being both cheeky and very dumb. His one saving attribute, so it was said around the school, was his good looking sister in Year 10. Having no choice Graham led Bragg around to the other side of the circle and moved his own gear back to make space for him between him and Kirsty.
She pouted at that but said nothing. Tea was resumed. Graham tried to relax and enjoy himself. The setting of the bivouac he relished: the shady trees, clean sand, cool breeze and evening shadows. The field cooking he always enjoyed. Also he was with his friends and knew he had just been paid a huge compliment by having Cadet Bragg added to his section. He decided that he was enjoying the camp and hoped he was doing well enough to be selected for sergeant. The only real worry was that it was getting dark and he was getting signals from Kirsty which indicated that she was going to mount another attack on his will power during the night.