Free Coasts of Cape York by Christopher Cummings

floating in the water while a huge shark circled him. Then it dived and he could no longer see it. That raised the jeopardy to an unbearable level and he cried out, waking himself and his parents.
    His mother came to sit with him and to wipe his face. Willy was ashamed of himself and found that his pyjamas were soaked in perspiration. “It was horrible Mum,” was all he could say.
    She sat with him till his father brought him a cold drink. Then they left him but with the hallway light on. Willy gulped the drink down and then lay back, fearful of going back to sleep again. But he did drift off and managed the remainder of the night without another nightmare.
    The next morning, being Monday, meant school. Willy briefly toyed with telling his mother he was sick but then changed his mind. His father helped by calling him to the kitchen and showing him the newspaper.
    â€œYou are in the paper son,” Dr Williams said cheerfully. “It was very well done to spot that man.”
    Willy was both embarrassed and pleased. He saw that the rescue was the headline and that the colour cover photos included ones of the ‘Catalina’, of Jacob, and of himself. The article was so long it went over onto the next page and included a picture of Mr Southall and a map showing the location of the rescue.
    â€˜I’d better go to school,’ Willy decided. ‘All my friends will want to know about it.’
    Feeling tired and drained Willy made his way to school. On arrival the first people he met were his friends and rivals from the army cadets and navy cadets. Most were a year ahead but the group had formed as a natural reaction to the negativity of most of the students to any sort of military association. The leader of the army cadet group was Graham Kirk, a fit and handsome Year 10 and an acting sergeant. With him were his mates of the ‘Hiking Team’: Peter Bronksy and Stephen Bell, also Year 10s and corporals, and Roger Dunning, a lance corporal who was in Willy’s class.
    Stephen waved and called Willy over. “Hey Willy, tell us all about it,” he said.
    So Willy joined them and proceeded to tell his tale. While he talked three students who were also navy cadets joined them: Andrew Collins, Arthur Blake and Luke Karaku. All were in Year 10 and Luke was a Torres Strait Islander.
    By the time Willy had finished more students had joined the group. Among them was one who set Willy’s heart a-flutter with frustrated desire- red-haired Barbara Brassington. Willy had suffered a futile crush on her earlier in the year but she had rebuffed all his advances. Despite that he still had secret hopes and yearnings. Barbara was everything he dreamed off: intelligent, strong-willed, beautiful, long-legged, slim-waisted, and with very prominent boobs.
    â€˜Not like Marjorie’s,’ he mused, noting Marjorie walking towards him. Marjorie’s breasts were big but hung down and wobbled a lot. Even so the sight of them was enough to make Willy’s mouth go dry with desire and for his hands to become sweaty.
    On reaching the group Marjorie pushed through and slid in to sit beside Willy, squashing her left boob hard against him as she did. Willy was filled with a mixture of conflicting emotions; wishing she would not be so possessive; regret that Barbara would think he was taken; and sheer animal lust.
    As Willy finished his tale Peter asked the question that was now nagging at Willy. “So what was this van der Heyden bloke looking for Willy? Is it a treasure?”
    Willy shook his head. “Don’t know,” he replied. To divert the conversation Willy pointed to a magazine that Stephen had been reading when he arrived. “What’s that Steve?”
    â€œA magazine about vintage aircraft,” Stephen answered. “It’s got some really interesting articles about old restored planes and replicas, and there is a really good one about plane wrecks in North Queensland from