Stick With Me Kid

Note: A ladder, on a ship, refers to a set of stairs.

Stick With Me, Kid Part 2

"Enjoy the moonlight swim, Johnny?"

"Yeah, Mr. Denham." I leaned into his side. "I'd never have known what I was missing if I hadn't met you." Only I wasn't talking about swimming. I wondered if my lover knew it. "I didn't realize we were gone so long."

"What?"

I pointed to the sky ahead of us. "The sun's already coming up."

"That's the West! Jesus, Johnny, that's not the sun! Something's on fire in Dakang!"

"Not the Venture, Mr. Denham!"

"No." He broke into a run, and I followed on his heels. "It doesn't look like it's coming from the harbor. Oh, sweet ..." A tent behind the bar where we'd dined was burning fiercely. "That's Peterson's tent!" Simian shrieks filled the night. "Oh, those poor little bastards!"

The fire raged out of control, and the bucket brigade had given up on the tent. Men were frantically wetting down neighboring structures in hopes of saving them from the inferno.

"Help me! Please, help me!" The little girl, clothed in a nightdress streaked with soot, was trying to drag an inert figure from the blazing canvas. Mr. Denham and I jumped forward to each grab an arm and pull the old man the rest of the way out. His clothes were a charred ruin, and the odor of burnt flesh almost overcame me.

I stared in horror at my hands, which were covered in the ash that had been his shirt and skin. "Is there a doctor in the village?"

Mr. Denham had his ear pressed to Peterson's chest, listening for a heart beat. He sat back on his heels, caught my eye, and shook his head. "It's no use."

The little girl burst into tears. "Daddy! Daddy, you can't leave me!" Her little hands fisted in his shirt, and she shook him. "You can't leave!"

Mr. Denham put an arm around her and urged her to her feet. "I'm sorry, Helene."

"Hildy." Her eyes glittered with tears.

"Excuse me?"

"Daddy said 'Helene' sounded more professional, but my name is really Hildy."

"Is there anyone you can stay with, Hildy?"

She sniffled and ran the heels of her hands under her eyes. "No. It was just Daddy and me."

"Mr. Denham, who's going to look after her?"

"I can take care of myself." The little girl's voice cracked on a sob. "I'm... I'm very self-reliant." She burst into tears again.

A large woman dressed in a sarong stepped forward. "I take li'l missy. She come home with me."

My lover looked relieved. "Good. We'll take up a collection so she has a little money. Where are you staying? I'll bring it to you in the morning."

The woman gestured to a row of ramshackle houses. "Just ask for Mai Ling." She put her arm around the little girl and hustled her away.

One of the men in the group snapped his fingers and pointed to the body on the ground. "Bury him. Bodies no keep in this heat."

My lover was gazing intently into the shadows. "Is that Helstrom?"

"I don't see anyone." I stared after the Malay woman. "Does she look familiar, Mr. Denham?"

"Hmm?" He brought his attention back to me. "Oh, they all look alike, kid. You probably saw someone who looked like her when we were sightseeing."

But I didn't think I had seen her in the streets of Dakang.

"It really isn't much, Mr. Denham," I murmured as we walked through Dakang late the next morning. "What's she going to do?"

"This is a lot of money for these islands, kid. She'll make out fine. Hey," he hailed a boy of around twelve, "where does Mai Ling live?"

The boy leered at us and pointed to a house whose roof was in dire need of repair. Mr. Denham frowned, but walked to the doorway.

"You give her to me, Mai Ling," we heard someone say in a low, harsh voice. "Her father promised her to me!"

"I no t'ink so! Li'l missy stay with me!"

"I told you she'd be oke, kid," Mr. Denham whispered. He rapped on the doorframe. "Mai Ling, I have some money for the little girl."

"I be one minute," she called, but it was longer than that. "So sorry, Joe. You give Mai Ling the dough."

"Who was that in here?" I asked her, seeing that there was no one else in the room.

"I no know what you talkin' 'bout, Joe. I all alone."

I studied her eyes, but they revealed nothing. "Where's Hildy? I'd like to say goodbye."

"Li'l missy still asleep, Joe. She cry long time for father. You go now. Mai Ling got t'ings to do."

"Let's go, Johnny. The cargo's been loaded, and we'll be leaving in half an hour." He gave the woman a polite salute and walked out. I followed him, reluctant to leave without seeing the little girl.

"Mr. Denham," I said urgently, "she's American. We can't just leave her."

"She can't come with us! The men on the ship are some of the worst scum I've ever come across. The Skipper didn't have much choice; he was in such a hurry to leave that he had to take what he could get to man her. We can't expose a little girl to riffraff like that!"

"But Carl..."

His head whipped around at my use of his name. "Johnny, we can't..."

"Denham!" It was Nils Helstrom, who'd captained the Norwegian bark, and I hoped he wouldn't keep us standing there long. If the Venture was leaving soon, I'd have to come up with some damn good arguments to take the little girl with us.

Mr. Denham studied Helstrom from the soles of his worn canvas shoes to the dirty cap on his head. "What?"

"You gotta take me with you on the Venture!" He grabbed my lover's arm and I could see his fingers digging in. My hand was in my pocket, reaching for my shiv. "Englehorn's a good man, he'll go along with it if you ask him."

"No." Mr. Denham shook off Helstrom's grip and stepped aside to walk around the edgy man.

"Listen, Denham! Listen to me!" He dogged after us. "I didn't tell you everything about Skull Island."

"No?"

"No! Behind that wall! I know what's behind that wall!"

"No fooling, Helstrom. And what would you know about what was behind the wall?"

"The native I found, he told me there's a treasure! Jewels! "

"What?"

Satisfied that he had caught my lover's interest, the Norwegian drew in a deep breath. He licked his lips, his eyes darting this way and that, almost as if he was trying to buy himself some time, I thought. "He... uh... he said there was a temple, an old temple, to their god, uh... before Kong... behind that wall, and... uh... in that temple was a fortune in jewels. Diamonds. Sapphires as blue as this kid's eyes. Rubies as big as your nose! Worth a king's ransom, he said!"

"A god before Kong? Why didn't you mention this when you wagered the map?"

"I thought I had the winnin' hand, that I couldn't lose. An' then when I did, I was sore, an' decided I wouldn't tell you. I figured I knew the latitude an' longitude, I'd maybe go sail there myself. Only I lost my ship before I could, an'..."

Mr. Denham's lip curled, and he turned and walked toward the pier.

"No, wait," Helstrom pleaded, and he ran after him.

I stood there undecided for a moment, then went back to the Malay woman's house.

"You're not hungry, Johnny?"

I gave a guilty start and stared down at my food, which I'd been pushing from one side of my plate to the other. "Not really, Mr. Denham. I grabbed a bite at the marketplace before I came back on board," I lied.

"So that's what held you up." He leaned forward and ruffled my hair. His action loosened it from the tie that kept it out of my face. "You nearly missed the boat, you know."

"I know," I said in a subdued voice, brushing my hair back behind my ears. "I'm sorry. Thank you for not sailing without me."

My lover frowned at me as if he found my statement perplexing, but it was Captain Englehorn who said, "Not at all, young man. Carl would have been unbearable to live with if you'd been left behind. However reticent he might be about it, I think you're good for my friend."

I risked a glance at the Skipper. He really thought that? But he was mopping up a bit of gravy with a chunk of fresh bread and didn't notice my hopeful expression. "Thank you, Captain. Um... I think I'll turn in, if you don't mind?"

"You going to leave your plate here, Johnny? Skipper and I will split your dinner. No need for Charley to know you didn't want it."

"Oh. No. That's oke, Mr. Denham. I wouldn't want to hurt Charley's feelings. I'll just... er... take it with me for later."

"If...you're... sure, kid?" His words were measured, and the way he was watching me made me nervous.

"Yes. 'Night." I hurried out of the cabin. How long would I be able to keep my secret? And what would Mr. Denham think of me when he found it out?

The lantern shed a dim light in our cabin. I stared morosely at the shadows that were cast on the wall.

When the door opened, I shut my eyes and tried to regulate my breathing, pretending to be asleep. I could feel Mr. Denham's eyes on me. "What are you up to, John Smith?" he whispered, running his hand over my blond hair. "And when are you going to tell me?"

"Hmmm? Huh? Oh, Carl." I pretended to waken. "You say something?"

"What's wrong, John?"

"Nothing. I swear."

His hands dropped to his belt, and he began to undress. "Why don't I believe you?"

I rolled onto my side, huddling in on myself, chilled in spite of the muggy night air. Suddenly I felt my nightshirt sliding up over the backs of my thighs, over my ass, to be abandoned over my ribs.

Warm palms stroked their way back down and pushed me onto my belly. They gripped my cheeks and parted them. I tried to hold myself still, uncertain what my lover had in mind for me, but my control was shattered by the touch of his tongue first licking delicately at my hole and then curling to penetrate it. I buried my head in my pillow to prevent my stunned cry from going any further.

He turned his head, and his lips caressed the curve of my ass. Teeth bit down into it, and then lips and tongue began to work, marking it. I knew when he was done there would be a deep purple bruise.

Slicked fingers probed my hole, finding entry made even easier by the actions of his tongue. I tried to get my knees under me so I could push backwards. "No. I don't want you to move. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I bit down hard on my lip to keep myself from crying. I was lucky he had taken the time to prepare me, but I understood. He was going to fuck me, to teach me a lesson for keeping things from him. I wondered if he'd put me off the ship, leave me behind at the next port we came to.

I held myself motionless, but I couldn't prevent the shudders that wracked my body.

"Easy, kid. Easy."

His prick thrust in smoothly, a huge intrusion stretching my back passage, and his body blanketed mine. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me snug against him, then twined our fingers together and eased us over onto our sides. My ass was cradled against his groin, and he started a gentle rocking motion. I would have sworn that I could feel each wiry hair that surrounded his prick brushing against my buttocks.

He changed the angle just a bit and hit my sweet spot, and I felt a tidal wave of heat rush over my body. I made a low, desperate sound. His laugh was just as low, just as desperate. I tried to free my hands so I could stroke my prick, but he tightened his grip.

Each time I came close to climaxing, he'd slow until the claws of need that tore at me would subside. Finally he placed my hands around my aching, oozing shaft, folded his hands around mine, and let me take control of the movements. I gasped out disjointed phrases, of want, and need, and ... It didn't take long after that. I was spilling my seed into our joined hands, and he was filling me with his heat.

I thought I heard him whisper something about... No, that was stupid. A man... like Carl Denham... would never lo... I fell asleep, the thought unfinished.

I was in the wheelhouse, trying unsuccessfully to plot out a route Captain Englehorn had given me, from the island of Tinian to Leyte. The Skipper was at the wheel, one hand cupped around the bowl of his pipe, and Mr. Denham was leaning against the hatchway, smoking a cigarette he'd rolled himself.

I watched him hungrily. His eyes were brooding as he stared at the ocean rolling away behind us. He'd been cool to me, hadn't touched me, since the night of our departure from Dakang more than a week before, and it was breaking my heart. I became tense whenever he was near me.

Something down on the weatherdeck drew his attention and he stiffened. "Uh oh. What's this? A committee of the workers in Russia?"

"What are you talking about, Carl?"

"Better come take a look, Skipper."

I suddenly had a funny feeling in my gut. I joined them on the companionway. Below us was about half the crew, men who weren't on duty.

"What's going on, men?" the Skipper called down.

"That's what we'd like to know!" They separated, and left standing in the center of the deck was the little girl. She stood quietly, her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself. Her hair was braided down her back, and she wore a man's shirt, belted at her waist with a length of rope.

"That's Hildy Peterson, Skipper," Mr. Denham said, his hands clenched on the rail. "The little girl from Dakang. How did she get on board?"

"Dames is bad luck at sea!" Red hollered, shaking his fist and glowering up at us. "I say we t'row her over the side!"

My hand went to the shiv in my pocket.

"Nonsense!" the Skipper barked. "That's simply superstition, and foolish superstition at that! Come up here, little girl."

Hildy rushed up the stairs. Her eyes were huge, and they settled on me with every sign of relief. "I'm sorry, Johnny. Eddie came down to the galley for something, and he found me before I could hide."

I dropped to one knee, opening my arms to her, and she went into them. I could feel the tremors shaking her slight body and tightened my hold, trying to make it as comforting as possible. She slid an arm around me and buried her face against my shoulder.

"I brought her on board, Captain." My mouth was dry. "I'm sorry, Mr. Denham, I couldn't leave her there. Mai Ling was one of the whores who was in the bar that night; that's where I recognized her from. She was going to sell Hildy. She already had a plantation owner lined up. Seems he had a taste for little girls." I couldn't disguise the bitterness in my voice.

"Ah, hell. Why didn't you tell me, kid?"

"You told me no. I disobeyed you."

"Is that why you've been so skittish? And here I was thinking... You're a dope, you know that?" He tipped up my face and ran his knuckles under my chin. "We've got a partnership here, don't you realize that yet?"

"We do?"

"We do. Next time, come talk to me. Don't let me think... Never mind, you don't want to know what screwy things I was thinking!" He looked Hildy over, and his eyes narrowed. "Say, that shirt looks familiar." He rubbed the collar between thumb and forefinger.

"It's... uh... it's one of yours, Mr. Denham. I borrowed it. All Hildy's clothes were destroyed in the fire."

"Johnny..." He sounded exasperated, but he was smiling, and I knew everything was jake between us. He threaded his fingers through my hair and gave a little tug. I rubbed my cheek against his hand.

"Where have you been keeping her, Mr. Smith?"

"The first night I hid her in one of the lifeboats, but it was too dicey; anyone could have found her, so I talked to Charley, and he let her stay with him, Skipper."

"So that's why he's suddenly developed a chronic headache!" the Skipper chuckled.

"All the men know he sleeps with that meat cleaver under his pillow. I thought that was the safest place for her."

"And were you ever going to tell us she was on board?"

I rose to my feet and looked away.

"Never mind. How do you do, Miss Hildy?" Gallantly he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"I do quite well, thank you, Captain Englehorn. May I ask the same of you?" An adult's response. Had she ever sounded like the little girl she was?

The Skipper smiled at her, then turned to see the men still gathered around on the deck. "This was a working vessel, the last time I looked. You men get back to work."

"Yeah, well, what about him?"

This time Nils Helstrom was shoved forward.

"What the hell are you doing on this ship, Helstrom?" my lover demanded.

The Norwegian gave a sickly grin but addressed his words to the Skipper. "I had to leave Dakang, Englehorn, but I couldn't get a ship. I was goin' batty; the heat, the bugs, the liquor that tasted like donkey piss. An'... er... uh... They was blamin' me for that fire!" He licked his lips nervously, and his eyes darted to the little girl. "Didja ever hear such a load of hooey?"

Hildy clutched my hand, her grip strong for a child. "Johnny, he killed my daddy!" she said in a clear voice, her eyes glittering with anger. She had vowed she was done shedding tears a couple of days after we'd sailed from Dakang.

Every eye in the wheelhouse turned on Helstrom. "Is that true?"

"No! The girl's talkin' crazy, I tell ya! She don't know what she's sayin'!" He scowled at Hildy as if trying to will her mouth shut. "Why would I want to hurt her old man? I didn't hardly know 'im! An' besides, I wasn't even there!"

Her hand tightened. "He brought Daddy booze! Every night after a performance!" She tugged me down to her level again, and her breath was warm against my ear. "It scared me, the way he would look at me, and Daddy said I should never go with him, no matter what!"

"Ain't a man innocent till proved guilty?" Helstrom's tone was sulky.

The Skipper glowered at the man, working the stem of his pipe between his teeth. "You're here on my ship, Helstrom, and I can't very well toss you overboard. But I've heard of you; you're bad news, and I don't need your sort of trouble. I intend to put you off at our next port of call. In the meantime, you'd better watch your step. If I see you starting anything with my men, I'll have Charley chop you up for fish bait! Have I made myself clear?"

"Sure, Skipper. Sure." Helstrom's lips were smiling, conciliatory, but his eyes were filled with resentment.

During the next couple of weeks, we seemed to have run into a streak of bad luck. Captain Englehorn came down with some sort of stomach ailment and was laid up in his cabin. While he was recovering, most of the day-to-day running of the Venture was left to Dutch.

We lost a man or two each time the Venture sailed into port, usually through run-ins with the local law, although a couple decided they preferred the easy-going life on the Spice Islands to the taut way the Skipper ran his ship.

Of course, none of the men left behind was Helstrom. The Norwegian was never anywhere to be found when we berthed, not turning up until after the Venture had sailed again and was safely out of sight of land. Captain Englehorn had recovered by that time. He didn't push it because we'd become so short-handed. Besides, it appeared as if Helstrom was pulling his own weight.

Something jolted me out of a restive sleep in the quiet hours after midnight.

Mr. Denham had taken to sleeping curled around me, his chin resting on my hair as it fanned out on the pillow. I savored the sense of belonging that embrace gave me, and I lay like that, trying to determine what had disturbed me. Finally I came to the conclusion it must have just been the urge to relieve myself. I slid out from under my lover's arm and made my way to the head.

I was too edgy to go back to sleep, so I decided to go up on deck and contemplate the constellations in the southern sky. Quietly I pulled on a pair of trousers, making sure my shiv was in the pocket, put on my shoes and tucked in my nightshirt..

Mr. Denham had kicked off the covers, and gooseflesh pimpled his arms and legs. I drew the blanket over him, rubbing my cheek against his before pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, and then left the cabin.

Before I had gotten very far, I heard footsteps pounding on the deck. It sounded like thunder, it was coming this way, and I got that funny feeling in my gut again. I slipped into a narrow stowage compartment where mops and buckets were stored, keeping the door cracked so I could see and hear what was happening. About half a dozen men came storming down the passageway, and they burst into our cabin.

"What the..." Mr. Denham demanded, groggy from being awakened from a sound sleep.

"Grab 'im, boys!"

He quickly came to full alertness. "What's going on? What do you think you're doing?"

"We're takin' over this ship! Get 'im up on deck with the Old Man!" I recognized Red's voice.

Mr. Denham was dragged out in his nightshirt, struggling. I started to go to his aid, and he saw me, although the others didn't. He gave a shake of his head, indicating I should stay put, and stopped trying to get out of their grip. "All right, boys. I guess you've got me," he said with the same tone of voice he must have used when he matter-of-factly announced that, 'It was Beauty killed the Beast.' "At least let me get some clothes on."

"Red?"

"What the fuck are you still doin' here?"

"He needs somethin' to wear."

"Fuck it. Here." A pair of trousers was tossed from the cabin.

"Shoes, Red?" Mr. Denham asked as he drew on first one trouser leg and then the other, tucking his own nightshirt in and buttoning the fly.

A stream of curses came from our cabin, and then a pair of shoes was flung out. "Now get 'im the fuck on deck."

They disappeared up the ladder.

I stayed hidden. Once I learned what was going on, I'd figure a way to rescue my lover.

There were sounds of the cabin being thoroughly searched. "Smith ain't here, Red."

"No shit."

"Dutch ain't gonna be happy, that's for sure!" one of the other men muttered. The first mate was involved as well? Bile filled my throat. What was happening?

Red growled. "Billy, Eddie, Snitch, go look for the fag! When you find 'im, don't beat on 'im too much. We get rid of the mucky mucks, an' I'm gonna have me some fun with his ass!" I shivered at the venom in his voice. "An' mebbe I'll even share, once I've had enough of 'im. I'm goin' back topside. Dutch wants to keep a eye on the Norwegian. Helstrom says he's only lookin' out for us, but Dutch an' me, we ain't so sure of that!"

Footsteps faded as they left the area and silence descended. I slipped out of the compartment, crossed to our quarters, and stared aghast at the disaster they'd left behind. Clothes had been yanked from cupboards and strewn all over our berth and the deck. Papers were ripped and torn.

I had to get to my lover. I made my way to the top deck, slinking through the shadows, taking care to remain unseen.

Captain Englehorn faced his men, endeavoring to conceal his anger. "What is the meaning of this?" He prepared his pipe, as if dealing with a mutinying crew was an everyday occurrence. Beside him were Mr. Denham, just stepping into his shoes, and Jimmy, who was holding a bloody rag to his forehead. I wasn't surprised to see him ranged with the Skipper. The wireless operator had always been staunchly loyal to his captain.

"I'll tell you what the meanin' of this is!" Dutch mocked derisively. "We're onto you! You was headin' this old tub back to Skull Island, you an' Denham! Helstrom told us what happened your last trip out, all the men that died, an' we got no intention of joinin' 'em!"

Twelve men, Mr. Denham had said. Twelve had died, one trampled underfoot by a horned dinosaur, another crushed between the jaws of a creature that lived in the lake that was almost an inland sea. Most had been shaken off a downed tree that had spanned a ravine by Kong, who had backtracked when he'd heard them following him. They had plummeted to the chasm floor fifty feet below. The lucky ones died instantly, from the fall or from being torn apart by a prehistoric spider so huge it made those 'station wagons' Henry Ford was mass-producing look like a boy's toy. But some... some had been cocooned by the spider as a source of food for her eggs, which she'd laid on their bodies. Mr. Denham had watched in horror from the other side of the ravine, helpless to do anything to save them.

I'd held him when he'd been tormented by the nightmares.

A sailor cried from the bow, "Bottom! Twenty fathoms!"

"An' youse planned the same t'ing for us!" Red sneered. "Well, not on your Nelly, Captain god almighty Englehorn! We's takin' over this ship! The Venture be ours now!"

Dutch frowned and gave him a sharp poke to shut him up.

"That's mutiny!" The Skipper sought to reason with them. "Do you all want to hang?"

"It's only mutiny if we get caught!" Dutch's eyes were shrewd. "An' I aim to see we don't get caught!"

"How will you do that?"

"Listen!" Dutch ordered, pointing to starboard.

"What are we listening for?" Mr. Denham looked from Dutch to the Skipper.

"Them's breakers! We's about a half a mile from Skull Island!" Red was only too ready to gloat, and Dutch glowered at him, irritated.

"Skull Island?" The Skipper sounded horrified, and that was when I really got scared. "We aren't supposed to be anywhere near that part of the South Seas! We're totally off course!"

"Bullshit! Like we'd believe anything you tell us! You were gonna do this all along!" The first mate insisted. "You're lucky we don't throw you to the sharks."

Again the voice floated back from the bow of the ship. "Bottom! Ten fathoms!"

"This ship draws six!" the Skipper said urgently. "Slow her down or she'll tear out her bottom!"

"Think I don't know that, Skipper? I been to sea since I was a snot-nosed kid." But Dutch shouted, "Dead slow ahead!"

The cry came back, "Dead slow, aye!"

tbc