Coasts of Cape York by Christopher Cummings Read Free Book Online

started up the companionway with the gun and I panicked and ran. But she is only a tiny little launch and there was nowhere to hide and no weapon handy so I dived overboard.”
    He shuddered, though whether from the recollection or the cold Willy could not tell. Then he said, “Just as well I did. Gator fired at me and I had to dive under.”
    â€œWhat time was this?” Mr Southall asked.
    â€œAbout eleven o’clock last night,” Jacob answered. “If it hadn’t been so dark he would have easily seen me and shot me. As it was he and Corey got the boat under control and came back looking. They circled for half an hour, shining torches and calling out saying they wouldn’t hurt me.”
    Mr Southall obviously did the same calculation Willy had as he said, “So you have been in the water for about eleven hours?”
    â€œYes,” Jacob replied. He took a sip from his refilled cup.
    Mr Southall shook his head and said, “You are lucky this is the Coral Sea and not the North Atlantic! You wouldn’t have lasted eleven minutes in that.”
    The navigator spoke up, “You are bloody lucky it is October too. The average sea temperature at the moment is about twenty three degrees.”
    Jacob swallowed another gulp and nodded, then said, “Yes, I know. The sea felt quite warm. It was my head that felt cold, with the wind chilling it.”
    Mr Southall again took out a notebook and pen and said, “What is the name of your boat?”
    Jacob looked unhappy and said, “Not my boat. She‘s ‘Gator’s’. She is a motor launch called the Saurian. It means crocodile or alligator.”
    Mr Southall then looked at Jacob and said, “Your name is of Dutch origin isn’t it?”
    Jacob nodded. “Yes, van der Heyden is Dutch. My grandfather was from the Netherlands.”
    Mr Southall said, “But from your accent you aren’t Dutch. You are dinki-di Aussie.”
    â€œYes,” Jacob agreed. “My father was born in Australia and so was I but my mother is from Holland.”
    For a moment Mr Southall stared unseeingly out the porthole, then he said, “There was a Dutchman named van der Heyden on the first ‘Sandringham’ I ever flew on. Back in 1965 that was, flying from Rose Bay in Sydney to Lord Howe Island. He was our navigator. The ‘Sandringham’ was a large, four-engine flying boat.”
    Jacob’s face at once lit up with interest. “My grandfather was a navigator on the big flying boats. He did that for about twenty years.”
    â€œWhat was his name?” Mr Southall asked.
    â€œCornelius, Cornelius van der Heyden,” Jacob answered.
    â€œThat sounds like the name,” Mr Southall said, nodding thoughtfully. “I was only a young second officer then but I remember him. He flew in flying boats during the Second World War and settled in Australia after the war.”
    â€œThat would be my grandfather,” Jacob agreed. “He was an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy back then. He flew from the East Indies to Australia in a Royal Netherlands Navy flying boat when the Japanese invaded.”
    â€œIs your grandfather still alive?” Mr Southall asked.
    Jacob shook his head and Willy thought he saw tears form in the corners of his eyes. “No. he died a few months ago,” he answered.
    â€œSorry. He was grand chap,” Mr Southall answered. He then tapped his pencil on the notebook. “OK, let’s get a few facts. Can you give me your address so I can notify the authorities.”
    Jacob gave an address and phone number in Sydney. The house was in Manly and Willy could picture that, having been to Sydney a few times on holidays to see relatives. ‘Great beach. Lots of pretty girls,’ he thought.
    Mr Southall then asked, “This boat, the Saurian , describe her please.”
    â€œA small launch, a cabin cruiser, ten metres long, white hull, the