Stick With Me Kid

Notes: The song Hildy sings is Them There Eyes, which hit the charts at #7 in 1931. Although the story is set in 1933, it would take a while for the latest music to reach that part of the world. Jente is Norwegian for 'girl'. For anyone interested, this link will give you an idea what banyan roots look like. (They're what Tarzan swung from, not vines.) http://www.roddyscheer.com/banyan_akaka.html The "I'd rather be in Philadelphia" quote was by W.C. Fields, in 1925 in Vanity Fair. Asked what he wanted on this tombstone, Fields stated, 'Here lies W.C. Fields. I would rather be living in Philadelphia.'

Stick With Me, Kid Part 4

Mr. Denham and Jimmy began to walk quietly back the way we had come. I could hear a coughing grunt and the sound of brush being crushed underfoot. "Charley, keep an eye on Hildy!" I dropped the knapsacks and canteens and headed after them.

"Hey!" she whispered, indignant, "I can keep an eye on myself! I'm very self-reliant, you know!"

"Sure you are, honey." I pulled the shiv from my pocket. "Stay with Charley."

The two men had parted the undergrowth and were observing the cause of the noise. I peeked over Mr. Denham's shoulder and gulped. "What is that?" I kept my voice low.

The creature was the size of a caboose. Its head was ludicrous, tiny in proportion to the rest of its body. Bony triangular plates ran down its spine in twin rows. On the end of its tail was a quartet of nasty-looking spikes.

"Stegosaurus, Johnny. What they call an armored dinosaur."

I swallowed hard. I didn't know anything about dinosaurs. "What does it like for dinner, Mr. Denham?"

"It's a plant-eater, but that doesn't much matter. If it takes a swing at you with that tail, you're just as dead as if one of the big meat-eaters decides to take a bite out of you. I wonder what got it all riled up."

"I don't think I wanna find out." Jimmy was a sickly white. His eyes blinked rapidly, and his adam's apple bobbed like a yo-yo. He wiped a sweaty palm on his thigh and took a firmer grip on his rifle. This was bravery, confronting one of the things that had been the death of so many men he had known.

"It has poor eyesight. Back up slowly, and we'll beat it out of here," Mr. Denham ordered softly.

Something was pitched in our direction and just missed clipping us.

"What the...?"

"Denham! Psst, hey Denham!"

"Helstrom!" Mr. Denham patted my shoulder and pointed toward a towering tree-like fern that was a few yards away from us. "What are you doing up there?"

"That goddamned thing chased me up this tree! What took you so long?"

Jimmy's jaw had dropped. "How'd you get up there? The lowest branch has to be ten, fifteen feet up!"

"I dunno, I tell ya!" There was tension in the harsh whisper. "I seen that thing, an' it come after me. Next thing I know, I'm up this tree. I been waitin' here forever! You! Denham's Nancy-boy! You go distract it so I can get down!"

"Johnny, you move one foot toward that thing, and I'll whip your ass."

As if I believed my lover would strike me. He didn't have to tell me twice, however. Helstrom could rot up in that tree for all of me. I wasn't about to forget he was the reason we were in this jam.

"Carl!"

"Yeah, Skipper?" Mr. Denham called over his shoulder.

"What's the delay?"

"We found Helstrom. He's got himself in a tight spot."

"For the love of..." We could hear Captain Englehorn grumbling as he stared back along the trail, "Damn it all to hell!"

Jimmy licked his lips, keeping the dinosaur's movements under close scrutiny. "Those gas bombs we had on the last trip would've really come in handy about now, Mr. Denham."

"And how!"

The Skipper came to a dead halt when he reached us and saw the stego-whatever-it- was. "Well, if this isn't a fine how do you do!"

"That settles the question of telling Helstrom about the creatures that live on this island." Mr. Denham tucked his rifle in the crook of his arm, stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, and rocked back and forth on his heels, staring up at the man who was clinging precariously to the trunk. "What are we going to do about getting him down? Anyone have any suggestions?"

"Leave him there?" I offered.

Helstrom objected vehemently. He didn't find my proposal helpful.

My lover swallowed a grin and sent a wink in my direction. If I were a puppy I would have wriggled from pleasure at his approval.

Various ideas were tossed around ranging from plausible to wildly ridiculous. The dinosaur finally solved the problem itself by losing interest in the man it had treed. It turned and lumbered away, its movements graceful for such a huge beast. I said as much, and Mr. Denham grinned at me. "You think he's big, wait till you see his daddy, kid."

The Norwegian somehow managed to slide down the trunk of the fern, and a new color joined the rotted yellow-green that stained his damp clothes. He tugged his jacket into place. "I'll take one of those rifles." His gaze shied from the Skipper to Mr. Denham to Jimmy, and Helstrom reached for Jimmy's.

"Nix!" the wireless operator growled. "Put your mitts on my rifle, and I'll blow you from here to kingdom come!"

Mr. Denham gave a choke of laughter. "Jimmy, you're a seaman, not a hood! You've seen too many moving pictures when you've been on shore leave."

With the dinosaur gone, the younger man was his optimistic self again, and the corner of his mouth curled into a cheerful smirk. "Keeps me out of trouble, Mr. Denham."

"Englehorn, I'm senior officer to this man!" Helstrom griped. "Order him to give me the gun!"

"I don't believe I will, Helstrom. However, if you don't belay your nonsense, I do believe I'll let him... er... blow you to kingdom come. Let's get back to the others. I want to find a place to camp for the night before we lose the light. The sun goes down early in these latitudes."

We returned to where Charley and Hildy waited for us, the knapsacks and canteens beside them. They sat leaning against the shattered stump of an evergreen. The break looked fairly recent. Sap had oozed down one side, and the scent of pine filled the air, an incongruous reminder of Christmas where we would least expect it.

Hildy was sucking on what looked like a piece of bamboo. "Charley found a stand of sugar cane! We got one for everyone. Well, except him. He can get his own." She sniffed at Helstrom.

I didn't like the look the Norwegian threw her way, and I liked even less the amount of time it took before he turned his back to her.

"Here, Johnny." Hildy handed me a stalk of sugar cane. "And here's yours, Jimmy." With a sweet smile she extended one to him.

"Thanks, Hildy." He walked back a few paces and took up a watch toward our rear. "I'm gonna keep an eye out to make sure nothing creeps up on us."

The creatures were so large they would have been hard put to take us by surprise, but if it made him more comfortable to feel his actions gave us an edge, I had no quarrel with it.

I put the end of my sugar cane in my mouth and sucked, but got nothing.

Captain Englehorn and my lover were a few yards to the fore, examining the faint path that continued on into the jungle.

"What do you make of this, Skipper?"

"It looks like some sort of paving material."

"It's not concrete or macadam. I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I, Carl. It's barely overgrown by the moss or whatever it is that's covering it. And look at this here!" They walked on a bit, making the odd comment, intently studying the ground.

I glanced uncertainly from them to the Norwegian to Hildy, then left them to their exploration and sat down beside the little girl. I tried sucking on the sugar cane again and still got nothing. I frowned at it and muttered a swear word under my breath.

Charley laughed. "Like this, Johnny." He notched a hole in the length of sugar cane, raised it to his lips, and his cheeks hollowed. He swallowed and grinned around the stalk. "Now you try."

I did as he had demonstrated, and this time I was able to suck out the sweet juices. I hummed in pleasure.

"That's the ticket, Johnny!" Hildy leaned her head against my arm and stared upward dreamily. "That's so pretty."

I followed her gaze and traced the lacy patterns the sun etched through the foliage. "Yeah, it is."

"You know something, Johnny? You're my family now," she confided.

"Yeah, honey?" I said absently. Her words suddenly registered, and I dropped the cane. "Oh, no, hold on, Hildy!"

"What?" Her expression was concerned.

"I'm... I... you can't want me for family!"

"Yes, I can."

"No, you... Hildy, you're not old enough to make a decision like that."

"Yes, I am," she said with a stubborn tilt to her chin. "I'm eight years old!"

"Hildy, you're seven!"

"And a half!"

"That isn't eight."

"Well, it's almost eight," she pouted.

"Listen, in four years I'll be twenty-five. That doesn't make me 'almost' twenty-five!"

"Johnny, that doesn't make much sense."

No, it didn't, and I wondered if I was suffering from heatstroke; I could barely think straight. I was floored by her announcement that she wanted me to be her family. No one had ever wanted me for that before. "Hildy..."

"There's a Chinese custom," she interrupted me. "If you save someone's life, that life is yours. I belong to you, Johnny. " She said it as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Where did you hear that?" This conversation was taking one strange turn after another.

"Daddy told me."

I groaned. "I didn't save your life, Hildy."

"Johnny, I may be little, but I've traveled all over the South Seas with my father since before I learned how to walk." She sounded unexpectedly mature. "I know what Mai Ling planned for me, what that planter was going to do to me. White kids don't live long on that peninsula. You saved my life. You're my family now."

She had a point, and I couldn't see a way of arguing around it. I didn't think I was fit to take care of anyone, but it was obvious she thought I'd make the perfect big brother.

"All right, honey." I dropped a kiss onto her hair.

"I knew you'd see it my way." She twinkled up at me and gave my hand a light squeeze. "Kid."

"You've been listening to Mr. Denham!"

"I like him, Johnny. I think you like him, too."

"Well... well, sure, he's a good man."

Her eyes were shrewd, but she didn't say anything. Instead she started to sing softly, "'I fell in love with you first time I looked into Them there eyes.'"

"Hildy!" My jaw dropped and my eyes widened.

"Yes?" The face she raised to mine was as innocent as an angel's.

The little girl couldn't know how deep my feelings for Mr. Denham were. Even my lover didn't know.

I happened to glance up in time to catch Helstrom scowling at us. His eyes flickered between the little girl and me, and there was something in them, a kind of sick, vicious hunger, that had chills running up my spine. My hand crept into my pocket. Finally, curling his lip, he unbuttoned his trousers, took out his prick, and began to relieve himself. I angled myself to block Hildy's view.

Jimmy saw what was going on. He swore and strode over to us, squatting down to make sure the little girl was spared the spectacle of the man pissing in plain sight. Fortunately, she was distracted by the return of Captain Englehorn and my lover.

"Helstrom, come over here," the Skipper ordered, and the Norwegian hastily righted his clothing. "I want you where I can keep an eye on you. Everyone ready? Then let's move on, shall we?"

I shouldered my knapsack and my lover's, as well as our canteens. Hildy had hers. She took my left hand in a tight grip; she hadn't missed the avidness in the Norwegian's face. We fell into line and continued following the barely perceptible path.

After a couple of hours, Hildy began to wilt, and I scooped her up. Before I could drape her over my shoulder, she was out like a light.

For the last hour I'd been carrying her. My shirt was plastered to me from where she clung, and my hair hung in sweaty tangles, having escaped from the tie. She was drooling against the side of my neck, and her lips made little kissing movements every so often.

We entered a clearing, and the contrast to the closed-in space we'd just left was remarkable. It almost felt cool.

"Want me to take her, kid?" My lover had his hands on her waist, ready to transfer her weight to his arms.

"No, you need to have your hands free so you can be ready to shoot." I staggered, and his eyes narrowed.

"Skipper, I think it might be time to take a breather. What do you say?"

Captain Englehorn glanced back at us. "Good idea, Carl. This clearing is a good place to stop. We'll take a break here and have some breakfast. Charley, see what you have in your knapsack, all right?"

I put Hildy down, and she knuckled the sleep out of her eyes and yawned. "Johnny? Is something wrong? Why did we stop?"

"Breakfast, honey."

She tugged me down to her level. "I have to... you know."

"You can't go alone." I didn't want to frighten her, but there were... things in the brush.

"I go with the little jente." Helstrom was reaching for Hildy.

I knocked his hand away from her. "No."

"Listen, Nancy-boy..."

"You don't have a rifle, Helstrom," my lover said easily, stepping between us. "I'll go with her, kid."

"Thanks, Mr. Denham."

They left, and I stared into Helstrom's pale blue eyes and waited to see how he would react. He raised a fist as if to strike me, and Captain Englehorn's hand shot out to seize his wrist.

"You might want to keep your hands to yourself, Helstrom." The anger in the Skipper's eyes belied his mild tone. "I'm a very easy-going fella, but you know Denham. He can be a hot head. And for some reason, he doesn't like you."

With a pained grunt, the Norwegian twisted his wrist free and grabbed a tin that the Chinese cook was handing out. He went to the far end of the clearing, muttering under his breath, a sullen expression on his face.

Among the provisions Charley had been able to throw into the packs were tins of various meats and fruits, and packages of hardtack. He'd forgotten a can opener in his rush, but that was oke; I had my shiv, and that worked fine.

Hildy had returned and settled herself between Jimmy and Charley. I opened a tin of fruit and handed it to her.

"Drink the juice when you're finished, honey. It will give you some extra energy."

"Thanks, Johnny." She smiled gratefully.

"Go easy on the supplies, men," the Skipper advised. "We don't know how long these will have to last us, and until we can find a reliable source of food and fresh water, we're going to be on strict rations."

"Me too, Skipper?" Hildy asked.

"You're a little girl, Hildy. I don't think you eat enough for there to be a problem." The Skipper peered into his own tin and sighed. "Salt pork. Why did it have to be salt pork?"

"That ain't fair!" Helstrom complained from where he sat. He was using his fingers to scoop out the contents of his tin. Something about that bothered me, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"It isn't fair that we've been marooned on this island because of you," the Skipper snapped, losing patience with the man. "You were the one who changed our course; no one else on board knew the coordinates to Skull Island!"

"I don't know what you're takin' about, Englehorn." The Norwegian's eyes darted away from his.

"I became ill at a very opportune time for you, Helstrom. What did you do while I was laid up in my cabin? Slip into the wheelhouse to alter our course by a fraction of a degree every night, until we were headed the way you wanted us to go? It wouldn't take much."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about!" Helstrom insisted stubbornly, his eyes becoming hooded.

"Don't you? You convinced the men it was my plan to return to Skull Island. Your intention was to take over my ship, to once again have a ship of your own. The only reason why you didn't succeed was because the men decided they'd be better off with no skipper than with you!" Captain Englehorn spat on the ground and started to stalk toward him.

Charley caught his hand. "You sit here, honorable one. Charley no be happy if that round eyes give you indigestion."

The Skipper gripped his hand and sat down next to him. A little more relaxed, he took a sip from his canteen and passed it to his friend to share.

I observed them for a moment, then went to join my lover.

Mr. Denham was sitting a little away from the others. I'd gotten my second wind and was feeling better. I crossed my legs and sank down beside him, and offered him a slice of peach from the tin I had selected. He looked around quickly, and when he saw that no one appeared to be paying us any mind, he dipped his head, parted his lips and took it from my fingers.

"Mr. Denham, what are you..."

He grasped my wrist to keep me from withdrawing my hand, and I stared in disbelief as he took my fingers into his mouth one at a time, sucking the juice from each one. He'd never done anything so blatant around other people. My prick hardened, and I could feel the heat in my face. I shifted, hoping my arousal wasn't noticeable.

"I'm glad you walked into that saloon that day, Johnny Smith." He bent his knee and rested his forearm on it, never releasing his grip on me. His thumb rubbed idle circles on the thin skin above the pulse in my wrist. "Say, is that even your real name?"

"Of course it is, Mr. Denham. I'd never lie to you."

"You wouldn't? Fair enough." He regarded my fading blush pensively. "Tell me, then, what do you think of Kong's island, Johnny?"

I'd torn a page out of an old magazine once, to stuff a hole in my shoe, and I remembered what I'd read. I pretended to pick at a loose thread on my sleeve, hiding a grin. "On the whole, I think I'd rather be in Philadelphia." I risked a quick peek through my lashes, to find he appeared troubled. "What's wrong?"

His voice was very low. "You know the odds of us getting off Skull Island aren't good?"

"I know," I said quietly.

"You're in a tight spot because of me, John."

"Because you took me with you when the Venture sailed from New York? Mr. Denham, you've been nothing but... but swell to me from the very beginning. I wouldn't have missed these last months, even the time I was seasick, for the world. And... and if these are my last months, then they've made my whole life worth while."

"Aw, kid..."

There was a rumbling, and the ground shimmied. It felt a little stronger than the last tremblor at the bay. Reactions varied, cries, swearing, nervous laughter, audible gulps.

Captain Englehorn cleared his throat and said brusquely, "All right, no point dallying here." He studied his watch before replacing it in his vest pocket. "Let's be on our way."

Sometime in the afternoon we caught a lucky break. We found a banyan tree whose roots grew close enough together to form a shelter. Hopefully, it would also provide us with some protection from the prehistoric creatures who called Skull Island home. As well as the armored dinosaur, we'd seen a few of the great beasts that Mr. Denham assured us were harmless except for their tremendous size. We'd frozen in place until they'd passed us, but we had heard others crashing their way through the underbrush in the distance.

"Skipper, I'm going to scout out the lay of the land, see if I can find some fresh water, maybe a game trail."

"Good idea, Carl. If you do, set some snares. I'd like to keep the tinned goods as a back-up if it's at all possible," he reminded us. "Go to the east." He tossed him a compass, and my lover's raised eyebrow questioned him silently. "We'll be following the path, but don't worry. That's a spare. I have no intention of getting lost, and I don't want you to, either. Be back before nightfall, all right?"

"Aye, aye, Skipper. Johnny, come with me."

"Oke, Mr. Denham." I propped our knapsacks against the base of the tree, but kept the canteens looped around my neck. "Hildy, I want you to stay here." She cast a nervous glance toward Helstrom. "Jimmy," I lowered my voice. "Keep Hildy close to you."

"Sure thing, Smitty. Because of ..." he nodded toward the Norwegian.

"Yeah. The Skipper said it. Helstrom's bad news. Whatever you do, make sure you don't let him anywhere near her."

A fleeting look at the Norwegian and the way he was eyeing the little girl, and Jimmy nodded again. He swung his rifle to his shoulder. "I'm gonna look for stuff to make us beds. Hildy, you wanna come with me?"

She nodded happily, relieved.

"Would you mind gathering some wood for a fire while you're with Jimmy, Miss Hildy?" Captain Englehorn asked as he paced off the perimeter of the camp.

"Aye, aye, Skipper!" She gave a skip and caught Jimmy's free hand, and they left, making sure they gave Helstrom a wide berth.

Captain Englehorn stared around the camp a final time, then nodded to himself. "Helstrom, I want you to come with Charley and me. We're going to head west and see what we can find in that direction."

"Someone should stay in camp an'... " The Norwegian's eyes lingered on the spot where Jimmy and Hildy had disappeared, and his expression became sly. "An' keep an eye on things."

"With us, Helstrom! Charley, you have your cleaver?" The Chinaman nodded. The Skipper checked the chamber under his rifle's hammer, then cradled it in his arm. He spoke around the pipe stem in his teeth. "Very good. Let's go."

"But I'm a captain!" Helstrom protested, reluctantly following them.

"Yeah, one who couldn't get a boat," Mr. Denham snorted. "I wonder how he lost that bark of his. Let's move out, kid. Say, what's that tune?"

I'd been whistling the same song Hildy had sung earlier. I chopped it off. "Uh..."

"Never mind." We walked in silence for a few minutes, and then he stopped and faced me. "The fact of the matter, kid, is that I really just wanted to get you away from the others."

"You know that's always jake with me, Mr. Denham."

"I do know." He tipped my chin up and kissed me, taking me by surprise once again. It was brief but thorough, and when he was finished I knew the grin on my face was sappy. He looked up at the sun. "We'd better get moving. The Skipper will have kittens if we come back empty-handed."

But instead of moving on, he ran the pad of his thumb over my lower lip, which felt swollen from his kiss, then brought his thumb to his mouth and licked it. I leaned toward him, eyes closed and lips parted, and he kissed me once more.

"Oh, god, I..."

"What, Johnny?"

I gave him a lopsided grin. "I think we'd better get going."

For a second I thought he was going to challenge me, but then he touched my hair and smiled, his smile as lopsided as mine had been, and we started walking toward the east again.

We must have gone a mile or so when I suddenly caught a whiff of something and sniffed the air.

"Are you trying to hint I need a bath, kid?"

Only if I got to scrub his back. "No, Mr. Denham. I thought I smelled... I dunno, some kind of fruit?"

"Hey, bananas! Well, what d' you know!" We stared up and up. The stand of trees rose over thirty feet high. "I don't remember seeing banana trees the last time I was here."

"Maybe you were preoccupied with something else, Mr. Denham?" I teased gently, thinking of King Kong.

"Maybe you're right, kid," he chuckled. "Think you can get up that tree and cut a bunch down for us?"

"Duck soup, Mr. Denham." Although I didn't think any such thing.

"On our way back, then. No sense dragging them along with us now. I want to explore a little further." He took a bearing on that spot so we could find it on our way back, and we pushed on through the undergrowth.

tbc