Free Flight of the Jabiru by Elizabeth Haran

scanning the sky. “But there’s more than one plane.”
    â€œCaptain Callaghan,” Edith screeched, as she scrambled to her feet. “You said we were safe.”
    The captain had been watching the passengers from the wheelhouse. He stuck his head out of the door. “We are safe,” he called. “Look to the starboard side of the ship.” He pointed to his right at a ship half a mile away. “That’s an Australian navy frigate. They’ve been escorting us for the past twenty miles.” Again, he sounded completely unperturbed.
    Ron turned around and used the binoculars. The passengers watched him with baited breath. “It is an Australian navy ship,” he said.
    â€œWhat if the Jap’s try to bomb the navy ship?” Edith said, thinking aloud. “They might go for us, too.”
    â€œThey won’t chance getting shot out of the sky,” Ron reassured her, still looking through his binoculars. “That navy ship’s decks are covered in anti-aircraft guns, and they’re well-manned.”
    â€œLet me see,” another male passenger asked and the binoculars did the rounds.

CHAPTER SIX

    June 1941
    Lara struck a lonely figure standing at the railing of the MV Neptuna as the ship approached Darwin Harbor at sunset, thirty-one days after leaving Southampton. Barefoot, with her shoes in her hands, she took a long, slow breath of tangy, salt air and gazed up at the Heavens, trying to ignore the tight knot growing in her stomach. It was a relief not to see Japanese planes in the sky, especially since they were no longer being accompanied by a navy frigate.
    The western horizon was aflame as the sun dipped into the molten, rolling sea. It was a breathtaking sight, simply stunning; like nothing she’d ever seen, certainly not in County Suffolk. All that was missing was someone she loved to share it with.
    â€œOh, Dad! I wish you were here,” she whispered, overwhelmed with loneliness and fighting tears. She never thought it possible, but she missed her dad more with each passing day.
    Lara’s heart ached as the ship plowed through the Timor Sea, leaving a wake of white foam. As her destination got closer and closer, so her trepidation grew. She was about to start a new life in a foreign land, never more conscious of the strange and unexpected turn of events that had led her to this moment. The prospect of the unknown and possibly more unexpected twists and turns was terrifying, and yet strangely exciting at the same time.
    Three days earlier, all but five passengers left the ship in Fremantle, Western Australia. Lara had envied them as she was desperate to set foot on dry land again. She soon missed her cabin mates and the children aboard, but their exodus had not been without drama.
    Surprisingly, one of the crewmen jumped ship in Fremantle. Even more unexpected, it was to start a new life with one of the single female passengers leaving the ship. While this alone was a shock to those left on board, the most bewildering part was the people concerned. They were the most unlikely of candidates.
    Frederick Haslinger and Isabel Simms had been friendly on board, but their association hadn’t seemed out of the ordinary. Quite the contrary! As with everyone sharing a confined space, Freddie and Isabel had been forced to spend a lot of time in each other’s company. But their feelings were not in the slightest obvious, so it came as a complete shock that they’d been carrying on a romance right under everyone’s noses. For just how long this had been going on, no one had a clue, although there was plenty of speculation.
    Freddie was best described as shy and withdrawn. For the most part he only spoke when spoken to, so largely went unnoticed. This wasn’t helped by his indistinguishable appearance. He had a beard that covered most of his round face, he was a little overweight, and he didn’t carry himself with confidence. The