THE WASHAWAY.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18803, 26 November 1932, Page 15 (Supplement)

THE WASHAWAY.

By Hari (C< “You're talking rubbish. I can r hear anything. All aboard for U cruise of the "Nancy 1’ Hurry up, Jani We'll have a lovely time, and perlia-j pole our boat down to the mouth t the inlet.” “it is really getting louder,” mui ■/mured Janie, as she stepped into tli punt. "Can't you hear it, I) aw son'.' "Yes,” said Dawson, pausing as b dug his pole into the sand. “I won der what it is 7” The moaning ha changed to a rushing, roaring souiu “Look Look" shrieked Janie, point ing to the opening in the distant can yon. "The tide! the tide! Oh I wha shall we do?” A great wall of loam crested sea was advancing through til narrow inlet of the cliffs. “Sit tight,” said Dawson, quietlj although his face went white. “La your pole in the punt and sit dow T n 01 the floor and hold on just as hard a you can.” lie seated himself, and Janie follow ed his example, although she gazei with terrified eyes at the advancin; tide. "Don’t be so scared, Janie, he said “There is plenty of space, and onct the tide is through that bottle-neci of cliffs It’ll spread out. See, hen is the first wave. Luckily we fount this old punt just at the right time. 1 gives us a fighting chance. A great wave, foam-crested, spreat over the washaway. In a few minute; it reached them, caugiit the punt, am for a few seconds they were whirlei from side to side, while the wavi eddied and swirled around them. Thi punt did not capsize, hut floatei serenely after each buffeting. Then were a succession of waves, and ver; soon the washaway had become a blj inland sea, Oe whole glittering llk< silver in the sunshine. Now the danger was past, Janie recovered her spirits and was- ready foi any amusement. With many a laugf and joke they set out on a voyage of discovery. To their surprise the sea suddenly began to ebb. It was sinking almost as fast as it had flowed in. There was no need to use their poles, the punt drifted gently down with the ourrent towards the opening in the cliffs. Once or twice they touched a jutting sandbank, or a floating tree trunk, but these dangers were easily avoided. Once they . came up against a great trunk wedged 1 into a sandbank, around which the ebbing tide was swirling. “Here’s your 'gator I" exolalmed Janie, and pointed to where the alligator had drifted and been caught by Hie branches of the stranded tree. "Can’t we take it in tow? I’ve a shark line in my bag. It’s ever so strong." "Ripping idea,” cried Dawson, as he caught hold of a branoh of the tree and contrived to work the punt into position olose to the body of the dead reptile. It was secured and they pushed off, and rounded the tree, carefully dragging the alligator after them. The tide was sinking so fast that sandbanks appeared in every direction, and they found that they were now in the main current that, in spite of the drag of the alligator’s body, whirled them along at a tremendous rate. They oou'ld do nothing. "At this rate we’ll come up against the Great Barrier Reef," said Dawson, as, after many twisting and turnings; they left the dlffs behind and floated out Into the open sea. "We're lost, and I’m Jolly hungry." "And so am I. I wish we hadn’t eaten our lunch so dreadfully early." The sun set and the moon came up, big and golden, and still they drifted on. They had no means of telling whether they were drifting far out or not. They could only sit and wish that something would happen—something that would rescue them. Dawson sat with his hands clasped behind his head as he sprawled on the bottom of the punt. Suddenly lie sat up. "I'm sure tills silly old punt is slithering over ntud. 1 believe we’ve grounded. • Here, hand along that pole.” A deep mud patch, a few inches under the surface .allowed his pole to sink deeply. He was not prepared for this, and with a splash went overboard. Janie made a rush to save v him, and the unwieldly punt canted up and threw her into the mud. Then righting itself, it drifted off again, leaving its unfortunate passengers in a layer of mud covering a quicksand. * * * * ‘‘lt is dreadful,” said Nliss Dacre. Ever since two blackfellows had come and announced that two "piccaninny whitefellows, all same boat runabout slllyfellows,” she had been out in the launch seeking for the lost girl and boy. Now she had returned, and sto'od, looking sadly at the little group of girls and Mrs Murray, sitting around the Are. The Murray boys had stayed in the launch. "1 have found I lie boat,” she added, as Mrs Murray gazed at her with anxious, tcar-tllied eyes. “Rut there, is no one in ii. One edge of the bulwark is covered with black mud. . . and it had shipped a little water.” "Perhaps it isn’t the boat Hie blackfellows saw,” said Judy hopefully. "Perhaps lliey were never in it." "I am afraid there is no hope, for. . . . and Miss Dacre hesitated, “for Dawson’s rifle, and Janie's handkerchief arc lying in the bottom of j the punt." "How dreadful." echoed Mrs .Tackson. who had just come down |o see . if there was any sign of the wander- / ers. "Mary, you must, be brave, and j come home with me.” : "T can't be brave.” sobbed Mrs | Murray. "I wish I had not trusted j that, wicked Janie. . . . My darling boy. . . . always so good and so delicafe." "What did I tell you. Janie?” mill- t tercel an indignant voice out of the

T. Clarke, inued.) darkness behind the little group. "I told you the first words I should hear would be ‘good’ and ’delicate.’ I’ve struck. Let’s go. . . .” Everybody turned and gazed behind them. Then they all' roared with wild laughter. For standing in the full light shed by_ the blazing Are were two awful, black objects. Dawson and Janie alive, but coated from head to foot in black, oozy mud, that hung in great drops from every part of their persons and streaked their faces.

“I’m so tired," moaned Janie, as she collapsed in a heap in front of the fire. "And I’m dreadfully hungry!”

There is nothing to eat,” sobbed Judy. Nothing 1 Dawson hid all their food, so the boys ate up all of ours. They’ve been too busy looking for you to go up to the station for more!”

Why didn’t they look In their tucker box?” moaned Janie sleepily. Then, because she was so dreadfully tired, she laid her muddy head down on the warm sand and dropped to sleep, while Dawson firmly and Indignantly resisted all his mother’s efforts to cuddle him, and went off with his brothers to the bathing pool to get rid of the mud that clung to him. Here, he recounted the story of their escape from the mud into which they had tumbled.

"It was horrid, like thjck glue. I was stuck fast, and the'more I struggled to lift my foot the deeper I sank. Janie was no end of a brick. She knew all about bogs and quicksands, and yelled to me to throw myself flat. Then she squirmed away, and I yelled at her because I thought she was deserting me. But she’d only gone to get hold of a small tree that had been washed down with the tide. This she pushed until she contrived to get ia close to me, then lying down among the branches, she pushed them down under me, and tugged and pulled until I could drag my feet clear. Then we squirmed away to dry land, and that Is the end of the story. But Janie was a brick and no mistake about It. You’d love to explore that old washaway. But we’ve no boat." "Your flat-bottomed craft Is quite all right. That was salvaged by us when we were searching for you. . .” "And the ’gator?” asked Dawson eagerly. "■We’ll have to take that on trust. There was only a bit of dangling line. Your ’gator had disappeared.” Dawson gave a groan of disgust.