THE YOUNG ADVENTURERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 153, 29 June 1940, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE YOUNG ADVENTURERS

Altogether the nights' were not a bit estfulj. people : kept -..'on moving about nd killing ' things,. and I , wasn't surrised when, the flay, after the captain Papa came to me and tojd me. Mama ras not very well,-. ; She wanted some lore of her drops, he said, and did I hink I could go back; to the wreck to etch them, ITe himself had- lost his peetacles, and couldn't see a thing without them, Aunt Emma .couldn't limb aboard, and 110 one else would :now what to look for. Richard and I were fishing in one f the pools when Papa came up. It ras very dSisy fishing. You let down , string with any thing,on it, even a bit f bright-coloured wool, mid the fish, all orta of them, some of lovely colours, ook it. They were like the boobies nd the crabs,, not at all shy. I said of course I would; then I caught ticliard's eye looking at me with a most anguishing, yet threatening, expression. Ve had spent hours gazing at the wreck nd wondering what was happening on ioard her. "Can Richard come too, Papa?" X said. [ He can help me look and give me a ia»d getting about." Papa nodded his head absent* ojndcdly. V Vv "■ "And need -1 wear this skirt V* ' For a moment he - looked horrified. Chen he smiled, rather grimly and said 10 I needn't, skirts didn't seem to mater as much as they . had. > , • So back we went to the Duncan Bunjar, Richard and I, Mr. Grant and Papa, md a couple of sailors. We rowed to the ship. , A sailor, with. l very red face and his head tied .up n a Spanish shawl that I recognised as iunt Emma's, looked over the side down it us, ■ Ho howled out something I didn't understand. Papa said, "Drunk, the lot )f them. We ought to get the spirits ishore." ; .* / ■ Mr. Grant nodded his head, but he and )ur sailors were too busy fending. off ;he wreckage and keeping us from bumpng against the ship to talk. A more sober sailor let down a rope ladder and ip we went. I don't think I should ever lave got up it 'in- a skirt, even with Papa and Mr Grant each side of me. Richard climbed like a monkey, but then ie does that kind of. thing at school yhile lm doing deportment. • . .The Duncan Dunbar was. a dreadful right. One half of her was fixed on the reef $ v coral is a fairly soft kind of •ock, so that half of her was wedged irmly; the other half was all on one iide, wrenched and torn and twisted, winging to and fro with every wave. (There was .not a plank that was not oose and working with the most dreadul groaning and creaking. The gulls yere still screeching overhead and we ould hardly hear ourselves speak. The nasts had come down, tearing all the igging with them; it was lying in, great teaps that -we had to climb -.before we ould reach what had been our cabins. Ve went carefully, holding on to anyhing steady 1 , we could -find every time he ship lifted and crashed. 7 .