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THE BOAT WAS STILL going in and Bubba’s little corner of the world slowly came closer, and easier to see. Randy could now see the low dark lines of old seaweed on the sand, the stuff that for one reason or another he and Piho had not hauled away over the last few days. It was well past it now – rotting and crawling with insects – so he hoped the people on the boat didn’t recognise it or they’d probably want to go straight in and start taking samples, and then Bubba would come down, and Piho and Billy, and then he’d have to do the introductions, and then ... and then ...
... Then his whole day would turn to ... (let's be polite for once) Horse Apples.
“Nothing much here!” he announced loudly, peering under his hand as if he were doing a serious search for Evil Toxic Dumpers, “Let’s go check out that farm!” He pointed urgently onwards. But no-one listened to him and the boat continued inwards, the throttles back and the engine burbling gently. One of the boffins spoke to Bob and he eased the boat right in to where the big sea-waves came rippling up out of the depths before making their final rush for the beach. Dr Antler took up her binoculars and scanned the sand.
“Masses of it!” she exclaimed, “Absolutely masses of it!”
There was a lot of excitement.
“It must be growing here somewhere!” said Tammy, “Real close!”
“Yes.” said Professor Tan thoughtfully, gazing back towards Scone Island.
“No, no!” cried Randy, “Further up, further up!” He waved his hand in a wide circle, almost clipping Tammy on the ear, “The current sweeps right around here! Sort of backwards. Very tricky! Not what you’d expect!”
Professor Tan looked at him doubtfully. After all, she was the expert on coastal currents. “You sure?” she asked.
“Yes! No! But it’s obvious, right? It’ll swing around the island and come back!”
Then he had a rather good idea.
Well, actually a totally DESPERATE idea.
“Tell you what,” he said cheerfully, “there’s someone up at that house. I’ll just go and ask him!” And he jumped over the side.
#
THE WATER WAS DEEPER than he thought, and colder. If it wasn’t for his life-jacket he would have gone down like a stone. Instead he popped up again to a chorus of protests and consternation from the people on the boat. “It’s okay!” he shouted, “I’ll find my own way back to town!” A wave caught him and shoved him towards the beach. He heard the boat engine rev up as Bob tried to follow him. Arms waved towards him over the side, the boat lifted high on the swell, then the next wave caught him and swept him out of reach. He heard Bob curse anxiously as the boat momentarily hit the bottom, then the engines roared as he hastily backed it seawards.
The waves were turning into breakers now and Randy body-surfed into the shallows and splashed his way to dry land. He turned, waved cheerfully, and headed purposefully towards Bubba’s bach. Behind him the boat mover further back, hesitated, then turned and went on its previous course, eastwards and away from Scone Island.
Randy breathed a sigh of relief as he watched it go.
The beach stank. The seaweed was rotting vigorously all around him. Quickly he went on. At the top of the path he met Piho and Billy, gazing down to see who the unexpected visitor was. Puffing and dripping Randy grinned up at them and said, “Told you I’d make it!”
“What were you doing on that boat?” asked Piho, ‘Wasn’t that Tammy?”
“Yeah, she and those scientist ladies got this whacko idea that the hormone stuff was getting dumped from up this way. Something about the currents...”
“That’s right.” said Billy unexpectedly.
“What d’ya mean?” asked Randy, suddenly worried.
“The currents do sweep past here, then on to Haulaway,” said Billy, “So it makes sense. They probably did dump it out this way.”
“Couldn’t be!” answered Randy, “They found it in that creek in town!”
“Didn’t,” said Billy, “Didn’t you read the news? That scientist lady; she found a piece of seaweed in that creek, but it could have come from anywhere.”
Randy stopped dead while his brain suddenly flew into top gear. Currents: Seaweed: Super-growth: Hormones: Scone Island: Contamination ...
“ARRRRRRRRRRGH!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Our stuff! Our seaweed! It’s all contaminated! It’s been sitting right in the current; sucking up that stuff; growing like blazes; - that’s why there’s so much! That’s why Bubba’s never seen so much of it before!” he grabbed at his own hair and pulled hard, “Arrrrgh, arrrrgh, ARRRRGH!”
“So?” asked Piho, puzzled.
“So we can’t sell it! All our hard work for nothing! Those health freaks will never take it!”
“Oh my god! Oh my god!! You’re right!!” squawked Piho.
“Arrrrrrgh!!” said Randy.
“Arrrrrrrrrrgh!!!” said Piho.
“Guys, guys, guys!” shouted Billy over all this, “Guys!! Didn’t they have it tested? Didn’t they say it was good?!”
“Oh!”
“Oh yeah!”
Then Randy remembered something Tammy had said about the stuff. “Hey! It can’t be detected! Even if it’s been in the seaweed and caused the growth, it disappears after that! So the seaweed’s still okay! It’s not actually contaminated! Sure, it’s grown better because of the stuff, but look! - ” he waved his arm around, “-Bubba’s been putting it on his garden for months! We’ve eaten his veges and we haven’t died. It’s not actually poisonous!”
“Fair go?!”
“Yeah! Tammy told me! It’s true!”
“Alright!” said Piho, relieved.
“Excellent!” said Billy, grinning.
Randy shook his hair, spraying everyone with sea water, “Phew! Oh boy! I was really worried there for a while!”
“Me too!” added Piho.
“Yeah,” added Billy, “Even me. I mean, those barrels yous guys filled; they’re going to be worth like: - about a thousand bucks each, at least!”
“Yeah; a thousand bucks for each of us!” added Piho.
“After costs.” corrected Billy.
“Yeah,” agreed Randy, “yeah, and it can’t wait now. We’ve gotta get it into their cool-store today! And soon! Like before that boat gets back!”
“Huh?” said Billy and Piho together.
“Well, like, it occurred to me that; - just theoretically: - If they saw those barrels, and thought that they were the source of that hormone crap...”
“Oh, yeah.” said Billy, sounding worried, “They’d be all over them like flies on a dead horse!”
“Geez!” said Piho, “We’d better pull fingy!”
#
BUT IT DIDN’T HAPPEN quite that fast. Bubba arrived and started fussing around, insisting that Randy get changed out of his wet stuff and into some of Piho’s spare clothes and have a hot drink before anything else. It was hard to refuse this. Randy was starting to shiver violently after his early morning dip.
Finally they got into Billy’s van. Randy tossed Bob’s life-jacket into the back. It would give him an excuse to see Tammy again. – Yeah; and next time he saw her he was definitely going to tell her about the seaweed. It virtually proved the stuff was coming from out this way. He’d be a hero! And she’d be so impressed! Oh wow! This was just going to work out so good!!!
Billy started the van and began the seemingly perilous ascent of Bubba’s driveway. Five minutes later they were over the highest part of the hill and nearly at the bottom where the bush-track turned off. Billy slowed to a crawl and started the tight turn, but suddenly he swore and jammed on the brakes. Coming up out of their familiar track was a car that the boys recognised instantly.
“Shit!” they yelled together, “It’s Boyd!” and they dived to the floor.
Billy stopped and backed up, making room for the other car to get out. They heard him call out of his open window cheerfully, “Nice day for it, eh, Boss?”
“What the hell are you doing here at this time?!” they heard Boyd snap, “I thought I told you to do it at night?! And I’ve been ringing and ringing you! Have you had your phone on?...”
“Oh fudge, man! I though, like, - after that last call...?”
Boyd ignored this and went on, “And have you been down there rearranging things?!”
“Rearranging? No, not me,” said Billy innocently, “And as to you first question well see: people notice things more at night; y’know: headlights, noises, comings and goings. So this is the best time, really. You gotta trust me, man. I know what I’m doing.”
“Alright, alright!” growled Boyd, “But don’t screw up! And don’t go through Haulaway. Take the back-road, and for Pete’s sake cover them up! I don’t want anyone seeing anything!”
“No worries, man. You can count on me!”
“Good. And have you got my phone there? I’ll have it back now.”
“Ah yeah, sure.” Billy began looking around for it. He couldn’t find it. The boys could hear Boyd opening his car door.
“You’d better have it there!” growled Boyd, his voice getting closer.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s here.” Billy said, frantically gesturing at the boys with his hand. Randy found the phone under the seat and passed it up, urgently. Billy handed it out the window. “Thanks, man,” he said to Boyd with a chuckle, “I only called London twice, he-he! Now, about the second payment...”
“You trust me on that one!” snapped Boyd, “Now get out of sight and get on with it! And not a word to anyone!”
“No worries, mate. Not a soul in the world will know!” Billy put the van into gear and moments later the boys saw the trees closing over them as they headed on down the track. Up they popped, once it seemed safe.
“Geez!” said Randy, “So that’s the guy you’re working for!”
“You know him?” asked Billy, very amused.
“Er, no!” said Randy quickly, “Just.., like.., well; actually yes.”
“Thought so,” chuckled Billy.
“Yeah, we know him,” said Piho grimly, “Are you really working for him?”
Then suddenly Randy was flapping his hands and making choking noises. Piho had seen the phenomenon before so he wasn’t that worried, but Billy saw it different.
“Shit! He’s choking!” He jammed on the brakes, causing the boys to both fly forwards and smack their faces on the inside of the windscreen.
“No, no!” spluttered Randy, “It’s not that! It’s Boyd! He’s the Toxic Dumper!”