Airship Over Atherton

By Christopher Cummings

Air Cadet Willy Williams is 14 years old and in Year 9 at High School in Cairns, North Queensland. Because his ambition is to become a pilot in the Air Force Willy takes every opportunity to go flying. He is also a very passionate young male who is discovering girls. To complicate his love life he is torn between the beautiful red-haired Barbara in his class and Marjorie, who is a year younger. The problem is that Barbara, the object of Willy's admiration, does not respond to his advances while Marjorie is making a very determined play for his attentions. But because Marjorie is only a Year 8 Willy is scared that his mates will tease him for 'cradle snatching'- and when it comes to looks Marjorie can't compete with Barbara's figure and fiery beauty.

Willy is mad keen on all aspects of flying and is famous around the school for his risky experiments. His current fad is airships. Not content with reading about them and making working models he decides to build his own- and to keep it secret from his parents.

The experiment almost ends in disaster during a weekend at his uncle's farm. But worse is to follow when his uncle is the victim of a very grisly murder the next night. It is Willy who discovers the body and during the following weeks he is tested both emotionally and physically as he struggles to cope with rejections in his love life, with bullying by a rival for Barbara's affections, and with his sanity as he tries to make sense of life.

Throughout this time he is helped by his friends and by his parents who encourage his interest in airships. This leads to another dramatic incident which places both Willy and his friends in dire peril. During this testing time Willy learns much about himself and is forced to choose which girl is the one for him.

Come for the flight and share with Willy his adventures in the mountains of tropical Far North Queensland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DoctorZed Publishing
• Release date: Apr 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9780987249517

Christopher Cummings

Christopher Cummings is a Vietnam veteran, teacher, parent, traveller, Officer of Cadets, and author of 35 books. Bushwalking, history and travel have added depth to his experiences. He grew up in Cairns and Cape York Peninsula, experiencing many adventures in the North Queensland bush and at sea in his father’s ships, adventures he has woven into his books.

Book preview

Atherton

CHAPTER  1

AIRSHIP No. 1

You’re a mad bugger Willy! You’ll kill yourself! Stephen said.

Fourteen year old ‘Willy’ Williams looked up at his friend Stephen Bell. It’ll be OK. It will fly, he insisted. He glanced up briefly from watching the pressure gauge on the gas cylinder to look at his home-made airship.

Stephen shook his head. But why risk it? he persisted.

Because I want to fly an airship, that’s why, Willy replied.

It doesn’t look very safe to me, Stephen went on. Are those nylon ropes strong enough?

Of course they are! They would hold down an elephant. I tied all the knots myself, said Willy. He bent back to study the pressure gauge.

He was in the process of filling a plastic Weather Balloon with Hydrogen gas. When it was filled he closed both taps on the cylinder and hose, sealed the end of the balloon and disconnected it.

Here you are ‘Stick’, he called. A tall, thin youth with limbs so long and thin they resembled tubular steel framework ambled over to take the balloon. Without a word Stick’s sister Marjorie came over with another empty balloon. She smiled at Willy and bent over to help him clip the balloon to the gas cylinder.

As she did the front of her blouse sagged open. Willy couldn’t help looking. She had been doing it all morning, as he was uncomfortably aware. Every time she did that her breasts were clearly visible. They were quite large and well rounded for a 13 year old girl. That she was doing it deliberately was embarrassingly clear to both him and Stephen.

Willy looked up into Marjorie’s hazel eyes and returned her smile, but inside he just wished she would go away. Not only was she Stick’s sister, she was a year level below at school. She had been chasing him for a month and he was finding it a bit wearing.

The four of them all went to the same High School in Cairns. Stephen was a Year 10, a year ahead of Willy and Stick. Stick was in Willy’s Year 9 class and they had become friends because both were Air Cadets. Marjorie was only in Year 8. For that reason alone Willy would have resisted Marjorie’s advances, although he was in fact only a few months older than her, having turned 14 only two weeks earlier.

As Marjorie handed him the balloon their fingers ‘accidentally’ touched. Willy went red with embarrassment as he was confronted again by Marjorie’s cleavage. Stephen pushed his glasses back up his nose and a grin split his freckled face. This made Willy even more embarrassed. He turned away and concentrated on fastening the balloon. To his annoyance his fingers trembled and he had trouble screwing the valve onto the connection. Marjorie remained squatting beside him leaning forward.

Through Willy’s mind flashed images of another girl, a beautiful red head with a lovely bosom and tantalizing long legs: Barbara Brassington. Barbara was in Willy’s class at high school and he was sure he was in love with her. ‘I wish it was Barbara and not Marjorie,’ he thought.

Stephen spoke again: How will you know when you’ve filled enough balloons to get this monster airborne?

I worked it out. Hydrogen has a lift of about point one of a kilogram per cubic metre, give or take a decimal point. I weigh sixty five kilograms. The bicycle and propeller weigh fifteen. The ropes and net are another fifteen- bit less actually; and the empty balloons weigh ten kilograms. That’s almost exactly one hundred kilograms. So we need one hundred cubic metres, which is ten balloons.

Doesn’t it depend on the air temperature? Stephen asked skeptically.

Yes, and on the altitude. I factored that in. We are about 400 metres above sea level here. I could calculate it exactly but I reckon if we just keep adding gas until the airship starts to lift, until it is just off the ground, that will be fine, Willy explained. He pointed. That is why that last balloon has a long plastic tube on it. We will put it into the net empty and fill it up until the airship lifts off the ground.

Stephen looked doubtfully at the ‘Airship’. He shook his head. To him it was just another of Willy’s mad ideas. But it did seem to be working. The lift was being provided by hydrogen in weather balloons. These were being pushed into a huge bag made of nylon fish net. Already this formed a mass half as big as the farm machinery shed they were behind. Are you sure this will work? he asked.

Certain. I saw it done on ‘Mythbusters’ on TV, Willy replied.

Oh on ‘Mythbusters’! Stephen replied in a tone laded with sarcasm. Then it has to be true.

I saw that too, Stick added. But they had a long string of balloons, dozens of them.

Stick stood holding one of the nylon ropes which fastened the ‘balloon’ to a bicycle. The balloon was now floating aloft and tugging at the bicycle. The bicycle was another of Willy’s crazy inventions. He had bolted a frame to the back on which was mounted a two metre diameter wooden propeller. The propeller mechanism was connected through gears to the bike’s chain drive. To propel the airship Willy proposed to sit on the bicycle and pedal. To steer it he had fashioned a bamboo frame covered with painted calico which was fastened to the bike’s front wheel. By turning the handlebars the ‘rudder’ would also turn.

It was a Saturday morning. The weather was still and clear. The morning mist had evaporated and the breeze had not yet begun. It was April, so North Queensland’s ‘wet season’ had now drizzled to a stop. The four were spending the weekend on the Atherton Tablelands on the farm of Willy’s Uncle Ted. The farm was located near Davies Creek, not far from the main highway between Kuranda and Mareeba.

Willy had been working for this day for months, ever since he had seen the photo of the pedal-powered Airship in the Aircraft Magazine. It had taken a lot of effort to obtain all the parts but Willy was lucky in that both his parents were doctors and they gave him a liberal allowance. The balloons had been the hardest to get but Stephen had obtained them somehow and sold them to him.

Keeping it all secret from the adults had been the most difficult bit. The two big cardboard cartons had been easy enough to place unnoticed in the trailer, but not the two gas cylinders or the propeller. The bike was just a bike. Secrecy was why the four were now down behind the machinery shed beside the bottom paddock soon after dawn.

Willy filled another balloon. Marjorie went to get another while Stephen took the full one over to Stick. The two boys had to haul the net down to insert the balloon through the opening. When the net was released the ‘balloon’ floated up so fast it almost jerked the bike off its stand.

I reckon one more should do it, Stick called. She’s nearly lifting off now.

No. Two more according to my calculations, Willy replied. He looked up as Marjorie walked back with another balloon. Her breasts wobbled so much in her thin cotton blouse that he suspected she was walking that way deliberately. Again she bent over to give him an eyeful. Again Stephen grinned. Willy blushed and tried to concentrate on his task. He was uncomfortably aware of the first strong stirrings of lust and didn’t want anyone to notice.

As the gas hissed into the balloon Willy surveyed the field. It had been freshly ploughed. On three sides of it were tall white-trunked river gums, but they were a good few hundred metres away and on a slight downslope. The field sloped gently down on one side to the creek which was marked by a green belt of rainforest trees.

Willy looked up. Not a cloud in the sky. He licked his finger and held it up. Still no breeze. Good! Conditions couldn’t be better.

This time he went with Stephen to help insert the full balloon into the net. It took all three of them to haul the net down low enough to push the balloon in.

How do you stop it going up? Stick asked as they eased the ropes to allow the balloon to rise.

The last balloon has got a valve on it to release gas, Willy replied.

Don’t balloons just keep on rising until they burst? Stephen asked.

Yes. Once they get past their ‘Pressure Height’, where their pressure and the air pressure are the same. After that they expand as the air pressure decreases with altitude. That’s why we have the valve, to vent gas, Willy explained.

What are those bags of sand tied to the bike for then? Stick asked.

Bags of sand? They are ballast. They make the airship heavier and help hold it down, Willy replied.

They don’t look very secure, Stick said.

They aren’t. They are only tied on with slip knots, Willy answered.

Stephen tugged at one of the ropes and felt the bike. This thing is ready to lift off, he observed.

They all looked up at the net full of balloons. It looked enormous. Stick let go of the bike and stepped back to get a better view.

Hey!

Stephen suddenly made a quick grab at the framework. His fingers closed on the frame as the bike shot up level with their faces. Willy also snatched at the bike. The speed at which it had risen gave him a worrying surprise.

Stick stood there looking both astonished and foolish. Strewth! That was quick, he cried.

Stephen nodded. Too right! She is ready to fly now, he agreed. They pulled the bike back down to the ground.

See if one person can hold her, Stephen suggested.

Wait! Willy cried. Grab hold of this mooring line first in case he can’t. He passed Stephen a nylon rope as thick as his finger which was attached to the bike frame. Willy stood tensed, ready to grab at the bike. OK Stephen, let go. Stick, you keep hanging on, he instructed.

He let go himself but his hand hovered close to the frame. Stick gripped the bike frame. Yeah, I can hold her down. But only just, he said.

Willy smiled with satisfaction Good! Keep holding her. Come on Steve, let’s fill that last balloon, he cried, feeling the excitement bubble up. He and Stephen walked over to where Marjorie waited with the last balloon. Returning her smile he took the balloon from her.

Go and take hold of the mooring rope Marjorie, he instructed. We will half fill this before we put it in, then fill it right up.

Stephen jerked his head in the direction of the mountains to the east. We’d better hurry. The sun is coming up, he said.

Willy looked. The tops of the trees and of the ‘airship’ were bathed with a russet glow. He bent to fasten the balloon’s long plastic hose to the gas cylinder.

Hey! cried Stick.

Willy looked around. Stick was bending down. One of the ballast sacks had fallen off.

What did you do? Willy called.

Nothin’. Just bumped it and it came undone, Stick replied. He reached for the bag.

Don’t let go! Willy cried.

Too late! The airship suddenly shot upwards. As it did a pedal whacked Stick behind the ear and he stumbled.

Willy sprang to his feet in alarm. Marjorie! Hold on! he shouted.

Marjorie was caught by surprise. The mooring rope suddenly pulled through her fingers. She closed her grip at Willy’s yell. The rope scorched through her clenched hands and she cried out in pain and fright. The airship rocketed upwards at what seemed an incredible rate.

Hold on! Willy yelled. He raced towards Marjorie. Stephen also sprang up but caught his foot in the plastic hose and went sprawling.

Marjorie shrieked. She tried to grip the rope. The end had a stainless steel snap-catch spliced onto it. This came flailing up between her legs and into her hands.

Aaaah! she screamed. The snap-catch slipped through her fingers and caught in her wavy long hair. She reached up to grab it just as the ten metre long rope jerked taut.

Willy couldn’t believe his eyes. Even as he ran towards her he saw Marjorie start lifting off the ground! She screamed again, her mouth wide from fear. Her hands clutched at the rope entangled in her hair.

Help! Help! It’s caught in my hair. Help! Aaaargh! she screamed.

It all seemed to happen so quickly! Willy saw her feet rising up past the level of his face. Without thinking he sprang up and grabbed one of her ankles.

To his amazement his feet did not come down onto the ground. He looked down and was dumbfounded to see that Stick was below him!

Stick jumped up to try to grab Willy’s feet but didn’t quite make it. Willy noted the look of amazed horror on his face. Suddenly it dawned on him that a real crisis had developed. He was airborne; and so was Marjorie!

‘It isn’t possible!’ Willy thought as he looked down. He was appalled to see how small and foreshortened Stick and Stephen looked. ‘If I don’t let go I will hurt myself badly when I fall,’ he thought.

Marjorie!

She was above him, screaming in fear. Willy looked up and bit his lip. ‘If I let go the lightened balloon will shoot up to God knows what height,’ he thought. With a horrible feeling of dread he realized that if she then fell off she would be killed- and it would be his fault. ‘I can’t leave her!’ he thought. Again he looked up to see what could be done. Marjorie was still screaming and kicking with her other leg. Several times she kicked his hands.

Stop kicking Marjorie! Calm down! Willy shouted.

Help! Oh help! It hurts! I can’t hold on much longer. Oh help! We’ll be killed! she wailed. She ended in a whimper of pure terror.

Willy looked down and saw with a shock that she was right. To his horror and seamy he noted that he could see over the roof of the machinery shed! They were up level with the tops of the trees and still rising. ‘If I let go now I will be seriously injured, even if I’m not killed.’

A wave of cold fear washed over him and he clung on with both hands to Marjorie’s ankle in near panic. ‘How long can I hold on?’ he wondered. Already his fingers and arm muscles were feeling the strain. How high would the balloon rise? Another spasm of fear hit him. He had no valve to vent gas.

‘We will just keep rising until the balloons burst. Then we will.... he made himself articulate his worst fear... will plummet to our death.’

Willy cried out in fear. Then he realized that was stupid. ‘We won’t last that long. And it doesn’t matter how strong my arms are. It all depends on how long Marjorie can hang on.’ Both their lives depended on her strength- or until the hair was ripped from her scalp!

Willy looked around desperately for some solution. Dimly he was aware that he could see out over miles of farmland to distant mountains.

CHAPTER  2

MARJORIE

Marjorie screamed again, long and piercing- pure terror. Help! I can’t hold on much longer! she shrieked.

You must, Willy cried. He looked up. Could he climb up over her to reach the rope? And what then? Could he somehow climb it to the airship? And what about Marjorie? How could he then save her?

He didn’t know. Desperately he cast about for a plan. He noted that their weight had pulled the airship down on its nose so that the bicycle hung against the netting. If I can climb up I will be able to puncture the balloons, he told himself.

But could he reach them? In his heart he doubted it. To climb up over Marjorie he would only have her person, and her flimsy cotton dress to grip. ‘It will rip under my weight!’

Gulping with fear Willy looked down. They were now at least 50 metres up and were still slowly rising. He also noted they had begun to drift down the field. Stick and Stephen looked incredibly tiny. They capered about, waving their arms helplessly and shouting encouragement.

Marjorie squirmed. I can’t hold on much longer, she whimpered.

Try! Willy pleaded. I’m going to climb up over you to let gas out of the balloons. Hang on. Here I come.

He reached up and attempted to get a grip on Marjorie’s leg above the knee. With a desperate heave he was able to haul himself higher. He clawed at her clothing to get a firm hold.

Rip! The dress tore. He let it go and started groping at her body, trying to decide what to hold on to.

Hurry! she screamed. I’m slipping. My fingers are starting to cramp!

‘Dead!’ Willy thought. He swallowed and hunched his muscles involuntarily.

Bang!

Willy twitched in fright. What was that?

Bang!

Through eyes blurred by fear he looked around. A man stood below him on the field. It was Uncle Ted. He had?- yes, a gun.

Bang!

Willy clearly saw the puff of smoke from a gun barrel.

They were coming down!

Hang on Marjorie. Hang on! We are coming down, he cried. He looked up. Yes! Uncle Ted had shot holes in the balloons. He could even see one and could hear the gas hissing out.

Bang! Willy saw a balloon twitch and a hole appeared in it.

Thank God! They were saved!

He looked down and saw that Stick and Stephen were getting rapidly larger. Then Stephen had his ankle. Next moment he was on the ground and Stick grabbed Marjorie. The balloons and netting began collapsing on top of them.

Stick jumped up and pushed the balloons away. Willy had a glimpse of Stephen slipping Marjorie’s hair free of the snap-catch. Willy let go of Marjorie’s ankle and she curled up in the dust in a sobbing heap.

Stick kept pushing the balloons aside. Stephen bent over and twitched the remains of Marjorie’s skirt over her. Willy lay back and closed his eyes. His fingers curled up and the muscles of his forearm went into cramp. He began to shake and tears trickled out.

Uncle Ted spoke from beside him: I wondered where you kids were- and what you might be up to.

Willy opened his eyes and looked up. His uncle stood there, gun under his arm and his grey eyes twinkling. He shook his head in disbelief as he looked at the subsiding mass of the airship.

Trembling with reaction Willy sat up. Thanks Uncle Ted, he croaked.

What is this contraption then? the farmer asked.

My... my airship, Willy replied. He stood up and realized he was shaking like a leaf. He looked at the airship. It had now sagged into an untidy tangle of ropes and netting over the bicycle.

Hmmm! Uncle Ted mused. He took out a pipe and began to fill it. Leonardo would have been pleased; but I doubt if the Montgolfier brothers would have been impressed. I’m not. His tone hardened. It was a bloody silly thing to do. You could have killed young Marjorie here. You are damn lucky I was up and about early and had my gun handy.

Yes Uncle Ted. I’m sorry, Willy replied in a small voice. He wiped his tears and turned to look at Marjorie. She still sat on the ground and was sobbing. Dust from the ploughed field was streaked down her cheeks by her tears.

Willy’s father ran into view around the corner of the big shed. What on earth is going on? What was that shooting? he called.  Willy’s mother and Aunty Isabel followed.

Help Marjorie up you kids, Uncle Ted ordered. Stephen and Stick took her arms and hoisted her to her feet. She was still trembling and sniffling. Uncle Ted quickly explained what he had seen to the other adults.

I heard Marjorie scream- thought it might be a snake so I grabbed the gun- just as well too. Then I saw this thing lift up above the machinery shed. I couldn’t believe my eyes! There was this enormous bag of balloons going up in the air with this pair dangling at the end of a rope underneath it. Willy was hanging onto Marjorie’s ankle and it obviously wasn’t a controlled ascent. So I blasted a few holes in the balloons and brought them down to earth.

As Uncle Ted described the event to his parents Willy relived those awful moments and shuddered. The two women took over with Marjorie, leaving the boys to stand crestfallen and uneasy.

Willy’s father turned to him. So that was what the two gas cylinders in the trailer were for? I thought they were only oxy gear for Ted. You could have told us you know! It sounds as though it might have worked, if you’d had a bit of advice and supervision.

Yes Dad, Willy murmured.

Where the devil did you get this hare-brained idea from? Uncle Ted queried.

Willy blushed with embarrassment. From watching the ‘Mythbusters’ on TV. They did an experiment to see how many balloons it took to lift someone, he mumbled.

Mythbusters! his father cried in astonishment.

Stephen now spoke up: I think our ground-handling drill needs improving.

That is an understatement! snorted Uncle Ted. I seem to remember reading once that it took hundreds of men; whole battalions of them, to get those big airships, the Zeppelins and what-not, safely out of their sheds.

Quite right. I think a bit more research is needed William, Dr Williams said. And a bit more trust and honesty too.

Yes Dad. Willy blushed and hung his head. He had kept the whole project secret because he was sure his parents would veto it.

Dr Williams looked at the tangle on the field and shook his head. Now, let’s secure the wreck. After you have cleaned up and we have had breakfast we will salvage what we can. Then we will talk about this, he ordered.

Stick untangled the mooring rope and they dragged the wreck over to the side of the field. The mooring rope was clipped around a large tree and the group made its way back to the farmhouse.

Two hours later they were back in the field. Marjorie, recovered and now dressed in a new blouse and jeans, came with them.

As they untangled the ropes Willy asked: Can we have another go please Dad? We’ve got some spare balloons.

No you may not. We will pack the whole contraption up. Then you will show me your plans and tell us how this wonderful scheme originated. Then we might do some research. If I can be convinced an airship can be built and flown with reasonable safety we might, I stress might, set about doing it properly.

So all the balloons were deflated and the damaged ones sorted, the ropes untied and coiled, the net rolled up, the bicycle dismantled; and the whole lot neatly stowed back in the trailer. Then they returned to the farmhouse.

Over morning tea on the wide east veranda Willy described how he had seen a photo of a pedal-powered blimp on the cover of the Aircraft Magazine. He produced the magazine from his suitcase and it was passed around. The TV ‘Mythbusters’ program was described. Then Willy took out the sketch pad with the plans.

Uncle Ted shook his head and gave a wry grin as he studied these. You’ve got a great future Willy- if you don’t kill yourself first, he commented.

Willy watched his father’s face as he studied the photo and plans. Seeing the change in expression caused his hopes to rise. ‘He’s interested,’ he thought. He asked: Dad, can we please make a real one?

I’ve told you what we will do- some proper research first, his father replied. Now you kids go off and play- something sensible this time.

The four friends went off to sit on the back veranda to listen to music. Marjorie came and sat beside Willy. She sat so close her arm touched his. He tried to move away but she moved to keep the contact. She said: I’m sorry Willy. It was a good airship. It really flew. It’s just that I was terrified. She gingerly touched her scalp where some of the hair had been ripped out.

Thanks, Willy replied. It wasn’t your fault. You did try. I’m sorry I nearly got you killed.

Marjorie leaned against him and gripped his arm. That’s alright, she said, but she sounded a bit upset still. Willy felt a bit perturbed at her closeness and was very conscious that her left breast was pressing against his arm. It gave him uncomfortable thoughts and he started to get aroused, which was very embarrassing with Stick and Stephen present. He tried to think of some way to get her to let go which wouldn’t hurt her feelings but was unable to think of one.

So Willy sat and endured the pleasurable torment for the next hour. ‘Blast Marjorie!’ he thought. He didn’t love her but he found his mind was starting to dwell on her more and more; and increasingly with sex as the uppermost thought. He had never had sex, indeed had little experience of girls, but he knew he wanted some.

‘But not with Marjorie. It is Barbara I love,’ he mused. He was dimly aware that if he showed Marjorie any attention she would be encouraged to redouble her efforts.

After lunch the adults went off to visit an orchid nursery in Mareeba. Before they left Dr Williams said to them: You kids stay out of trouble. We will only be a couple of hours.

As the adults drove away Stephen said: What will we do? I’m bored.

Let’s have a swim, Stick suggested. It was a hot afternoon so this idea was accepted.

I didn’t bring any bathers, Willy said.

Nor did I, Stephen added.

Just swim in the nuddy, Stick said. Marj won’t mind.

I might, Marjorie replied with a sniff.

Stick jeered. You never have in the past, he replied disdainfully.

This sent Willy’s mind into a tailspin of conjecture and he eyed Marjorie speculatively. So, he noticed, did Stephen. That nettled him a bit.

Marjorie solved the problem by saying, Swim in your shorts. They will soon dry in this weather.

So they prepared, to the extent that Marjorie went and put on her bathers and collected towels. Then they trooped off down to the creek. It was only a small creek but it flowed clear all year and there was one nice pool which was neck deep. A rope hung from an overhanging branch as a swing.

When they arrived the boys took off their shirts. Marjorie undressed down to a skimpy white bikini with red polka dots on it. The top straps of this were tied behind her neck. From the way she wobbled and appeared to be in imminent danger of spilling out at any moment Willy suspected she had deliberately tied it too loose.

That thought made him scowl. He was feeling quite ambivalent about Marjorie and she, so it seemed from her flirting with Stephen, about him. She spoke to Stephen more and giggled a lot as he splashed her with water and dunked her. Willy waded in, finding the water colder than he had expected. He watched Stephen grab Marjorie again, and wondered if the annoyance he felt was a residue from his guilt over the morning’s debacle; or jealousy.

Willy looked at Marjorie as she scrambled dripping up the creek bank. ‘Her bum is a bit too big; and her thighs look a bit too pudgy for my taste,’ he thought. And her legs had that puffy whiteness with a few freckles that repelled him. He had noticed that this morning when he was dangling from her ankle.

She grabbed the swing and splashed into the water, then scrambled out again, bouncing around and flaunting herself in a very revealing way. The sight made Willy’s mouth go dry with desire and he licked his lips and felt as though he was afflicted by an itch.

Stick scrambled out of the water to grab the rope for another swing. Stephen then climbed out and also swung out to drop into the pool. Once he was in the water again he grabbed Marjorie and dunked her in such a way that he must have been able to feel her roundness. That made Willy aware that he wanted to grab her too. By this time he was quite aroused- and fairly angry. What was Marjorie trying to do? Was she just a hot little tart? Was she teasing just for fun? What was her game? In his frustration and annoyance Willy tried to ignore her.

With a conscious effort Willy turned his thoughts back to airships. He began to brood over what had gone wrong. ‘Dad is right. We need a better design. And a safer method of ground handling.’

Then his attention was directed back to the others by Marjorie’s shrill scream. Stephen had tried to swing out on the rope but Stick had grabbed his leg and he came off to land with the painful splat of a belly flop. He surfaced looking angry and blinking water from his eyes. Bugger you Stick, that hurt! he shouted.

Stick realized he had had made a mistake and had the sense to apologize but for a few seconds there was tension in the air. Marjorie looked from one to the other and said, Oh don’t fight you boys. Come on, let’s play tiggy. I will be in.

That at least eased the situation and for the next few minutes there was a lot of mad scrambling and splashing. The rule was established that they could not leave the water. Marjorie made a big effort to catch Willy but he managed to evade her and she finally caught Stick. He then leapt across the pool and tagged Stephen.

Stephen at once turned to chase Marjorie, quickly cornering her in the shallows near the swing. Marjorie giggled and scrambled out of the water and grabbed the swing. Stephen tried to grab her. She swung out and landed with a splash. Stephen dived in and chased her. Willy felt anger flare; and jealousy- and desire.

Marjorie scrambled across the pool and grabbed Willy. Save me Willy! Save me! she called; half incoherent with laughter. She climbed around behind Willy and clung to him. He felt her smooth flesh apparently all over him and he was simultaneously angry and thrilled. He was intensely conscious of her breasts pressed against his shoulder.

Stephen splashed across and stood in the shallow water in front of them. Marjorie yelled, Leave me alone Stephen! That’s enough.

That prompted Willy to place himself between Marjorie and Stephen. Stephen tried to push him aside and for a few seconds the boys pushed and shoved at each other. As they did Stephen growled, Get out of the way! This was in such a hostile tone that Willy felt it was a direct challenge. He stared at Stephen, aware that the whole incident was getting out of hand. Stephen was plainly in the grip of lust. But so was Willy. He was angry- but also very aroused, and very jealous.

Stick saved them. He came rushing across the creek. Take it easy you two. Let’s play something else. He grabbed at Stephen’s arm.

Stephen glared at him, then ran off and dived under the water. Stick chased him and a wrestle resulted. Willy and Marjorie watched. Willy became aware that he was gripping Marjorie around the waist, and that she still clung to him.

Sorry, he croaked.

That’s alright, Marjorie replied. Their eyes met. Both were breathing rapidly. She was very close and Willy tried to read her eyes. ‘I wonder if she will object if I kiss her?’ he thought. The urge to touch her, to hold her, was now very strong. Reasoning that the worst that would happen would be a slap and hurt pride Willy put his theory to the test. Summoning up his courage he firmly pulled her closer and kissed her full on the lips.

To his delight she did not resist or pull back. Instead she put her arms around his neck and kissed him in return. Willy had only had a few kisses from girls and never anything like this. He felt desire surge. Lust pounded in his ears.

Cold water showered over them. Stop that you two! Stick cried laughingly. Help me cool them down Steve.

Stick and Stephen grabbed them and dragged them into the water, pushing them under. Willy let go of Marjorie in the struggle, but angrily noted that Stephen had hold of her. He struggled to his feet and went to her aid. He pushed Stephen over. Then Stick pushed him and Marjorie over. They went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

Willy struggled to the surface and began splashing water at Stick and Stephen. Marjorie came up spluttering and joined in.  Water flew and Stick and Stephen were temporarily driven back. Then they counter attacked. After a few minutes the game subsided from temporary exhaustion. Willy swam over to sit on some rocks in shallow water. Marjorie came over and sat next to him, so that her leg touched his. She rested her arm on his thigh and pressed against him.

Stephen swam over and began talking to them. To Willy’s relief he seemed to have calmed down and was not antagonistic. But Willy was sure that Stephen was trying to impress Marjorie and that he was jealous of the fact that Marjorie was sitting cuddled up against him. She was gripping Willy’s left arm so that her right breast pressed against it. Out of the corner of his eye he could see it bulging up. It all made him very embarrassed- and confused. But he had to admit he liked the experience. His heart was hammering away and all the water notwithstanding, his mouth was dry.

‘I don’t like Marjorie,’ he told himself. ‘I am in love with Barbara!’ Barbara was his own age and he thought she was female perfection. That Barbara was only dimly aware of his existence was a fact he preferred to ignore.  His plan was to ask her for a date; on the theory that, once she got to know him, she would fall in love with him. So he didn’t want Marjorie- a mere Year 8 (although it was hard to keep that in mind with those big boobs of hers bulging up before his eyes), spoiling his chances.

As they sat talking Stephen kept trying to impress Marjorie with jokes and smart remarks. Willy was irritated and jealous. Marjorie made no comment but gave Willy a hug and put her other arm around his shoulders.

Finally Stick stood up. Come on. I’m getting cold. Let’s go back to the farm.

I don’t want to, Marjorie answered.

Stick snorted. Give it a break Sis! Poor Willy needs a rest. Let him go for a while. Come on Steve.

Marjorie stood up and turned to face Willy, bending over so that all he could see was cleavage. She kissed him and took his hands and pulled him to his feet, then pressed herself against him.

Willy put his arms around her, feeling the wondrous smoothness of her skin. For a few moments her eyes searched his face and then he drew her closer. She came willingly and pressed against him, producing the most erotic sensation Willy had ever experienced.

Stop it! he whispered huskily.

Why? she giggled, repeating the action.

Because.

Don’t you like it?

I love it. But your brother and Stephen are looking.

Marjorie giggled. I don’t care. It’s you I like, she said huskily.

Willy’s sense reeled. His imagination exploded in a riot of fantasy. He licked his lips and gripped her waist tightly.

Stick splashed cold water on them. Come on you two. Save that for later.

Yes, later, whispered Marjorie, her eyes glazed with arousal. She kissed him again and he felt her body wriggle against his.

Willy had to lick lips that had gone suddenly dry. Do you forgive me for this morning? he managed to croak.

Marjorie stepped back and laughed. Of course! But you have to be nice to me.

Willy’s mind framed the question of what she meant by ‘being nice’, but he could not bring himself to utter it. Stephen saved him by splashing them again.

Stick led the way out of the water. Stephen followed. Reluctantly Marjorie let Willy go and waded ashore. Willy watched her as she climbed the bank. She toweled herself dry, moving in a very provocative way as she did. Poor Willy! He struggled with aroused lust. ‘Barbara! Remember Barbara! This is not love. This is lust. Marjorie is just a little hot-pants.’ But he could not keep his eyes or his thoughts off her. Did she just want sex? Or did she love him? He wondered if she was one of those types of girls he had heard about who went all the way? ‘Surely not?’ he thought. ‘She is only 13.’

But she kept smiling at him and moving in ways that showed off her body. ‘Is it just sex she wants? Do I want it?’ Willy thought. Then he answered it in his mind, ‘Silly question! Of course I do!’ He had never had it and was tormented by the desire to try it, and to see if he was able to do it. But he was torn. ‘Remember