“What clan?” Jack asked. It was the first time I ever heard anyone ask that question. Everyone else was surprised that Poles had barons.
“The Augustus clan,” Kaz answered, pride evident in his voice. “But please call me Kaz. Most Americans do.”
“Then so shall I,” Jack said. “I had no idea there were Polish forces in the South Pacific. Are you two stationed around here?” He sounded genuinely clueless about why we were here. But the Kennedys didn’t get on top by telegraphing their moves, so I thought I’d play along and see what was what.
“For the time being,” I said, which was true enough. “We met Sergeant Vouza this morning, and he came along.” Vouza stepped closer, his hand raised in greeting.
“Hao Nao, Jacob!” Jack said.
“Mi olraet nomoa!” Vouza said. “Jack savvy gud Pijin. Hao Nao, Deanna.” He grinned and gave Deanna a salute, which she returned with a gracious nod, her hands busy wrapping a roll of gauze around Jack’s foot.
“Jacob taught me some,” Jack explained as Deanna tied off the bandage, ignoring her and whatever pain she inflicted on his foot. “It’s not hard to pick up if you pay attention.”
“I go now,” Vouza announced. “Captain Sexton and other Coastwatchers wait for me. Jack, soon we kill many Jap fella. All inna ground. Lukim iu!” With a wave of a hand, he was gone.
“He’s an excellent fellow,” Jack said. “The Coastwatchers organization is having a major confab in a villa down the road. Jacob is a big wheel with them.” I wondered if he’d be as admiring if he knew Vouza was ready to use that machete on him if necessary.
“Lukim iu?” Kaz asked.
“Goodbye,” Jack explained. “See you, to be precise.”
He winced as he moved to a chair and motioned for Kaz to join him. He walked gingerly on the heels of his feet, which obviously were not fully healed. He shifted a few times in his seat, getting his back as straight as he could. His back was always giving him fits, and being run over by a Jap destroyer couldn’t have helped much.
After a deep breath, Jack began asking Kaz questions about Poland and the Polish Government in Exile. What was their position regarding the Soviets? Post-war borders and the British government? It was like watching a sponge absorb water. Jack had a way of taking all the intelligence you had to offer and giving little in return except his undivided attention. It was charming and callous at the same time.
“So, Miss Pendleton, I didn’t think there were any Australian nurses on staff here,” I said, making conversation while Kaz and Jack talked about the consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
“There aren’t, and I’m from New Zealand,” she said, her accent soft and melodic. She wore army coveralls which were way too large for her. The belt was cinched twice around her tiny waist. “Call me Deanna, please. I am a nurse, but I was with the Methodist mission on Vella Lavella. We stayed behind after the other civilians were evacuated, hoping the Japanese would respect a religious community providing medical care for the Melanesians.”
“I’m guessing they didn’t,” I said.
“No,” Deanna said, shaking her head as she absently twisted the white bandages around her hand. “We heard rumors of Catholic nuns on Bougainville being bayoneted. As word of Japanese atrocities against the natives filtered out, I decided to get out. A Coastwatcher on Segi sent a canoe, and I ended up working as his radio operator until they brought me here.”
“That’s the short version, Billy,” Jack said. “Deanna helped rescue two B-17 crews and came back here with fourteen Jap prisoners.” He turned back to Kaz and talked of Stalin’s plans for Poland without missing a beat.
“That’s impressive,” I said, meaning it.
“It isn’t,” she said. “I wasn’t alone, and the Japanese were fairly meek. They have no concept of surrender, so when they are taken prisoner-which isn’t often-they have no behavior to fall back upon. They feel cut off from Japan and believe they can never go home, having shamed themselves. Pathetic wretches, really.”
“Why did you stay on with the Coastwatchers? Couldn’t they have gotten you out?”
“My sister was a nurse with the army. Stationed at Singapore,” she said, her voice low and halting. “They brought the nurses out on the last ship before the garrison surrendered, but it was torpedoed off Sumatra. They all made it ashore in a lifeboat, where unfortunately the Japanese were waiting. They shot the wounded men and then forced all twenty nurses to walk into the water.”
“Back into the ocean?”
“Yes. Then they machine-gunned them. One of the women was only grazed by a bullet and simply floated until the Japanese left the beach. Natives gave her shelter and she worked her way to Australia. That’s when I found out my kid sister was dead.”
“You wanted to avenge your sister,” I said.
“I never thought of it that way,” she said. “I simply didn’t want anyone else to suffer like that because they’d been captured. And I wanted those prisoners we had to know what their people did.”
“You told them?”
“Yes, one of the officers spoke English. He told the others and they wept. What a strange people they are. Chopping off heads, shooting and bayoneting women, and then squatting in their loincloths and crying a river of tears for my dead sister.”
“Perhaps they were ashamed,” I said.
“I think they were, Lieutenant,” Deanna said. “But that may have had more to do with the carbine I had pointed at them. Not only did they fail to die for their emperor, they were prisoners of a mere woman.” She laughed, softly, to show it was a bit of a joke. But the laughter ended on a sharp note, and I knew there was a measure of vengeance in it.
“Enough of me, Billy,” she said, brushing the dark hair away from her face. “What brings you to Tulagi?”
“Looking up an old friend,” I said. “We heard about Jack’s boat and decided to see how he was doing. We missed him last night.”
“We were at a party. Hugh Sexton is in charge of the Coastwatchers in the Solomons. He’s got a bunch of his chaps in for a confab and we got together for drinks. They don’t see each other too often, so it was an occasion for celebration.”
“What was it like being a Coastwatcher? Lonely?”
“Hardly,” Deanna laughed. “You’re much too busy to get lonely. Lugging a heavy radio set, working with the natives, always looking for a better observation post, and evading Japanese patrols tends to focus your attention.”
“Are the natives on our side?”
“Oh yes,” Deanna said. “Even the ones who didn’t appreciate the British administration long for those days. The Japanese abuse them terribly. The Japanese might have done better if they’d befriended them, but word spread quickly about their brutalities.”
“The Japs did us a favor,” Jack said, his interrogation of Kaz complete. “Otherwise the natives might not have been so helpful.” Cynical, but true.
“I’ll let you fellows get on with your visit,” Deanna said, gathering up her medical supplies. “Jack, I’ll be back after lunch and we’ll take a walk, alright?”
Jack nodded as Deanna gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek and patted his shoulder on her way out. Even in army coveralls, she cut a great figure, which Jack viewed with proprietary interest.
“Are you up to walking, Jack?” I said, bringing us back to the present.
“Yeah, I get around okay,” he said. “I have deck shoes I wear loose, and a pal of mine gave me this cane.” He hoisted a long wooden cane with a heavy knobbed head and intricate carvings. “He said he got it from a native chief, but who knows? Sometimes friends keep the truth to themselves.”
Silence filled the hut as the three of us stared at each other.
“Are we friends, Jack?” I tried for an offhanded tone, but the bitterness hung in the air.
“I think we’re about to find out,” Jack said. “Now that we’re alone, why don’t you come clean and tell me why General Eisenhower’s personal cop comes all the way from North Africa to this dump. Are you going to arrest me for the murder of Daniel Tamana?”