Meet Pearlie Read online

  It took a few tries for Beake’s car to start. Finally, with a splutter and several loud backfires, it moved off.

  ‘If Reddy doesn’t get here soon, it’ll be too late,’ Naoko said.

  Pearlie bit her lip as she looked up and down the road.

  But as Beake drove off, an old red truck chugged up the street and stopped alongside them. The passenger window was wound down.

  Pearlie didn’t recognise Reddy at first. He was wearing a battered felt hat and had stuck on a false moustache. ‘Hurry up, get in!’ he yelled.

  Pearlie found it hard to keep a straight face as they climbed in beside him.

  ‘I like your disguise,’ Naoko said.

  ‘It’s my dad’s best Sunday hat and the moustache is horse hair stuffin’ from the old couch.’ Reddy grinned.

  Pearlie looked down at the floor on the driver’s side. Tied to each of Reddy’s feet by rope was a block of wood. Without them he wouldn’t have been able to reach the brake and clutch pedals. She nudged Naoko and pointed at the floor. They giggled.

  ‘Quit the laughing, will ya?’ Reddy said, blushing. ‘I gotta concentrate.’

  Pearlie and Naoko forced shut their mouths but their shoulders still shook with laughter.

  The engine spluttered then died as Reddy tried to take off. He pushed down on one pedal while moving the gear stick with his left hand. There was an angry, grinding sound. Then he turned the key and pumped the pedal. ‘C’arn, baby,’ he said. The truck purred like an old tabby cat. ‘You little bewdy. Right – hold on!’

  This was the first time Pearlie had been in a moving vehicle. The noise inside the cabin was so loud they had to yell. The rocking and bumping and Reddy’s wobbly steering made her feel quite sick.

  They drove along the coast past Fannie Bay Gaol. After a while Reddy grew used to driving on the road and even began to whistle.

  Half an hour later they saw Beake turn off onto a small bush track.

  ‘I knew it! It’s the track to Diamond Cave,’ Naoko said.

  Reddy braked, pulled into the bushes and switched off the motor. ‘We better go on foot from here,’ he said, untying the blocks of wood.

  They didn’t see Beake’s car until they were almost on top of it. He’d covered it with long feathery branches that had been hacked off a nearby tree.

  When they thought it was safe enough, they climbed down the cliff. This time Pearlie wasn’t scared at all. She’d done it before and knew what to expect. And besides, she couldn’t show her fears to Reddy. What would he think of her?

  They hid behind a rock with the entrance of the cave in clear view. Then they saw Beake emerge holding what looked like a small kite attached to a fine wire. He held the wire with one hand and let the kite go. A gust of wind lifted it in the air. Then Beake went back inside the cave.

  ‘Looks like an aerial,’ Reddy whispered.

  ‘For the radio transmitter?’ Pearlie said.

  ‘Yep.’

  Naoko unclipped the cover of her dad’s camera and snapped four shots of the kite.

  ‘Listen, hear that?’ Reddy cocked one ear in the direction of the cave.

  From inside could be heard a tap tap taptap taptap tap sound.

  ‘Morse code,’ said Naoko, her eyes lighting up.

  ‘I wonder who he’s signalling?’ Pearlie glanced out over the calm waters of the harbour.

  ‘It might be a submarine. Let’s go up top,’ Reddy said.

  They scrambled up the cliff face and stood scanning the sea.

  ‘There!’ Pearlie said, pointing to a faint ripple.

  Then they saw something that looked like a stick coursing through the water. A periscope!

  Naoko lifted the camera and took a few more photos. ‘I think we got our proof,’ she said with a satisfying nod.

  Pearlie gave a little sigh of relief. Soon this horrible ordeal will be over, she thought, and life can get back to normal.

  PEARLIE and Naoko had felt excited all morning. They finally had proof that Beake was a spy. As soon as the photographs were developed they’d show them to Colonel Mitchell. Pearlie wouldn’t have to be scared anymore and everyone would believe that Mr Ito was innocent.

  Just before lunchtime the bell rang to gather the pupils into the yard.

  ‘That’s weird,’ Naoko said to Pearlie. ‘Assembly again?’

  The students stood at the bottom of the steps looking up at Mr Plumber. His face was ashen and the teachers, standing around the sides, seemed strangely on edge.

  There was a low chatter as the pupils wondered what was so important that they were having two assemblies in one day.

  ‘Quiet please, children,’ Mr Plumber said.

  The noise immediately died down.

  Mr Plumber looked at the ground a moment as if summoning up the courage to speak. Pearlie noticed his hands were clenched. He took a deep breath and lifted his head. ‘I learned today, children . . . that Pearl Harbor, the American navel base in Hawaii, has been bombed by Japan. The entire fleet in the Pacific has been destroyed.’

  Pearlie didn’t understand what that had to do with them, and she looked at Naoko, feeling confused. Naoko shrugged.

  ‘The United States and Australia are friends . . . allies . . .’ Mr Plumber continued. ‘And because that country is now at war with Japan, so are we. Australia declared war with Japan this morning.’

  Naoko gasped. She and Pearlie grabbed one another’s hands and held on tightly. Pearlie felt her stomach bubble in fear.

  A snigger came from behind. Dulcie leaned forward and whispered, ‘Frankie told me the government’s going to lock you up, Naoko Ito. You’re a risk to our country and we all know your dad’s a spy so he’ll go to prison for sure.’ She drew the blonde ends of her ponytail to her mouth and sucked them. Then she stepped back into her row.

  Naoko spun around red with rage. ‘I’m Australian just like you are,’ she shouted.

  The whole assembly turned to stare.

  Miss Lyon stepped forward. ‘Come with me,’ she said quietly. ‘That includes you, Dulcie McBride – you too, Pearlie Chan.’

  They followed Miss Lyon to the back of the school building. ‘What’s this all about?’ she asked.

  ‘Dulcie said the government’s going to lock Nao up. It’s not true, is it, Miss Lyon?’ Pearlie said. She turned to glare at Dulcie, waiting for Miss Lyon to reply, ready to give her a triumphant smile.

  Miss Lyon said nothing and Pearlie’s smile faded.

  ‘I’m afraid we don’t know what’s going to happen, Pearlie,’ Miss Lyon said, placing a comforting hand on Naoko’s shoulder. ‘Nothing makes sense when men are at war.’

  ‘But they wouldn’t put children in jail,’ Pearlie said.

  Naoko stood silently, her head bowed.

  ‘They will – you’ll see,’ Dulcie chimed in.

  ‘That is quite enough!’ Miss Lyon said. ‘Let me tell you, Dulcie, there are many things you do not understand – things that most of the children who go to this school have understood from birth. Two of the finest human traits are tolerance and humility, and these you do not appear to possess. You have a lot to learn.’

  Dulcie raised her eyebrows and looked bored, although Pearlie could see that her face had reddened.

  As they all traipsed back to class, some of the children sneered at Naoko. Pearlie glanced at Reddy, whose desk was by the window. He gave her a sympathetic nod. Pearlie put her arm around Naoko’s shoulder.

  As the day wore on, Pearlie’s fears faded. Nothing much happened. Miss Lyon read them some poems and had them write another story. She said the best ones would be read out in assembly. Everything seemed normal.

  ‘I can’t do this,’ Naoko said, putting down her pen and slumping back. ‘I don’t know what to write about.’

  Pearlie looked at Naoko’s page. Pearlie had almost finished her piece while all Naoko had done was rule a margin in her book and put the date at the top in very neat handwriting.

  ‘Write about one
of your adventures,’ Pearlie said. ‘You’ve told me so many. Write about the time you came face to face with that crocodile, or the journey from Broome to Darwin.’ Then in a quieter voice, she said, ‘Write about us, how we’re best friends . . .’

  Pearlie could feel the sadness in Naoko’s body. Her shoulders drooped and she sighed a lot and there was nothing Pearlie could do or say to help her best friend.

  The next morning, there was a commotion outside the classroom and the door was flung open. Pearlie’s mouth dropped as two soldiers came in carrying rifles with bayonets on the ends.

  Miss Lyon stepped in front of them as if to block their way. ‘What in heaven’s name is going on?’ she said.

  ‘Is Naoko Ito in this class?’ one of the soldiers demanded.

  ‘What do you want of her?’

  ‘She’s an enemy alien and under arrest. She is to come with us immediately.’

  Pearlie threaded her hand into Naoko’s arm to make them both stronger. The blood had drained from Naoko’s face. The whole class stared at them, wide-eyed.

  ‘You can’t take her!’ Pearlie said. ‘She hasn’t done anything wrong!’ She looked at Miss Lyon, expecting, hoping, that she could help.

  Miss Lyon stood with her arms by her sides, hand shaking her head.

  Naoko unhooked herself from Pearlie’s arm and stepped quietly out from behind the desk. She walked to the front.

  ‘Told you so,’ Dulcie said loudly and looked around in triumph.

  Nobody else in the room shared her feeling. They were all too shocked when they saw the soldiers handcuffing Naoko’s thin wrists. The handcuffs didn’t even fit.

  One of the soldiers put his hand on her shoulder and marched her through the door.

  There was silence as if everyone had stopped breathing. Pearlie wanted Naoko to turn around, to see her best friend’s face one last time. ‘Nao!’ she called out.

  But Naoko was gone.

  The clomping of the soldiers’ boots could be heard going down the steps. Pearlie joined the crowd that rushed to the window. They stood on desks, craning their necks to see.

  Down in the schoolyard Naoko appeared between the soldiers. Other children were being led away, too, all of them Japanese.

  After a time, Miss Lyon broke the grim silence with a soft clap. ‘Back to your desks now, children,’ she said, dabbing her eyes.

  Dulcie bumped into Pearlie as she passed. ‘See,’ she said, smugly.

  ‘Shut up for once, Dulcie!’ Reddy growled.

  This time it was Dulcie who turned white then scarlet. She slunk to her desk and pretended to search for something inside it.

  Walking home that day, Pearlie felt numb. Images of Naoko being led away flashed across her mind. She passed Mr Hiyogu’s lemon squash shop. It was open but empty. He must have been arrested, too.

  Lost in thought, she didn’t see the van as she crossed the road. It screeched to a halt only six inches away from her.

  ‘Careful there, Pearlie.’ Mr Spiros stuck his head out the window. ‘I don’t want to lose my best delivery girl!’

  ‘They arrested Naoko, Mr Spiros,’ she replied, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  ‘They’ve taken all the Japanese families. It’s a very sad day for Darwin.’

  ‘Where are they taking them?’

  ‘I heard to Adelaide River first. Then they’ll be put on a boat to one of the southern states, where they’ll end up in an internment camp.’

  ‘Is that a prison?’

  ‘I’m afraid it’s very much like one. Nobody can leave unless the government says so,’ Mr Spiros replied. ‘They’ll be there as long as we’re at war with Japan.’

  ‘How long will that be?’ Pearlie asked.

  ‘Nobody knows, Pearlie. But I’m sure Naoko will be fine.’ Mr Spiros waved goodbye and drove off down the street.

  Pearlie’s head was still in a haze. She couldn’t face going home so she turned down Bennett Street and headed towards the beach. For the moment she’d forgotten about Beake the spy. It was Dulcie McBride who was on her mind. Dulcie, whose blonde ponytail was swinging as she walked all alone just three yards in front of Pearlie.

  It’s all your fault, Pearlie thought. It wasn’t true, but at that moment she couldn’t see it any other way.

  Dulcie turned down a small bush track between some houses and Pearlie saw her chance. She dropped to one knee, reached inside her school bag and took out a pair of paper-scissors. They’re blunt but they’ll do the job, she thought.

  Dulcie didn’t hear Pearlie creep up behind her. She didn’t know what was happening until she felt someone grab her ponytail and wrench her head backwards.

  The scissors seemed to take forever to cut through. Dulcie’s hair was fine but she had a lot of it, and she was screaming, trying to twist around to scratch her attacker. But all the hatred Pearlie felt for Dulcie gave her the strength of a crocodile.

  At last the ponytail came away in Pearlie’s hand.

  Dulcie stared then wailed. ‘Oh, oh . . . what have you done? What have you done?’

  Pearlie dropped the ponytail in the dust. As a gust of wind blew it further down the track. Dulcie ran after it screaming, ‘My hair, oh my beautiful hair!’

  ‘That was for you, Naoko Ito,’ Pearlie whispered and turned to walk calmly home.

  PEARLIE sat on the beach hugging her knees. She’d cried so much it felt as if the whole of Darwin Harbour could have been filled with her salty tears. The elation of cutting off Dulcie’s ponytail hadn’t lasted long.

  The sun hung low in the sky, a big orange orb slowly hiding its face below the horizon.

  Realising that it would soon be dark, Pearlie looked around. The beach was deserted. She suddenly felt afraid. She’d better get home.

  She stood up and ran towards the path – the only way up to the streets of town. How eerie the bushes on either side appeared now, she thought, like the tunnel of a giant funnel web spider. Pearlie ran up the track, the rustling of leaves loud in her ears. Her bare feet went pad pad pad in the soft sand. Around the bend she went, her legs aching now from the steep incline. At last she saw the light at the top of the path where it met the Esplanade. She was almost there. Almost . . .

  A figure stepped out in front of her, cutting off her escape.

  Pearlie screamed and sank back but Beake grabbed her arm.

  ‘You were snooping around my house the other day, weren’t you,’ he said.

  Pearlie shook her head. Her legs trembled so badly her knees were knocking together. ‘It wasn’t me. I swear, Mr Beake.’

  Beake dangled Pearlie’s gold bracelet in front of her. ‘Then how did this get there?’

  ‘It’s . . . it’s not mine,’ she said, thinking quickly. ‘It belongs to my friend. She was arrested today because she’s Japanese.’

  Beake looked puzzled.

  ‘Now the soldiers have taken her away and I’ll never see her again.’ Pearlie buried her face in her hands, pretending to cry.

  ‘All right, all right, stop your bawling. Go home now.’

  ‘Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr Beake,’ Pearlie said. She wanted to ask for her bracelet back but didn’t dare in case Beake grew suspicious. Resisting the urge to flee, she held her composure until she was on the Esplanade. Then, as soon as she knew she was out of his line of sight, Pearlie raced all the way home.

  It’s only a matter of time before Beake finds out who the real Pearlie is, she thought as she ran. He won’t be fooled for long.

  And then it came to her. In all the commotion over the last few days, she’d forgotten about the most important thing: the photos they’d taken at Diamond Cave!

  She was sure Naoko hadn’t taken the film to get developed yet, which meant that it was still in Mr Ito’s camera. Yes, that’s what I’ll do, Pearlie thought. I’ll go to Naoko’s house.

  The next day Dulcie came to school wearing a sunhat, which she refused to take off. By recess, the whole school had heard about the hair-cutting incident. Pearl
ie kept quiet, thinking that she’d be hated for it. But to her surprise kids came up to her with comments like ‘She deserved it.’ ‘Good on ya.’ ‘About time she got her come-uppance’. Many more smiled admiringly at her.

  Some of Dulcie’s friends were friends no longer. Peggy told Pearlie that they hated the way Dulcie treated Naoko.

  ‘So why’d you hang around?’ Pearlie asked.

  ‘We were scared of her.’

  Reddy chuckled when Pearlie told him. ‘I reckon it would’ve been quite a sight. Wish I’d been there.’

  ‘I just saw red. I couldn’t think of anything but cutting that precious jiggling ponytail.’

  ‘It’s like that Bible story . . . about Samson and Delilah,’ Reddy said. ‘As soon as you cut her hair, Dulcie lost all her power.’

  Pearlie took a long shivery breath. ‘I saw Beake yesterday. At Lameroo Beach. He grabbed me and wouldn’t let me pass.’

  Reddy scowled. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘He’d found my bracelet but I said I wasn’t Pearlie – that Naoko was and she’d been arrested.’

  ‘Good thinking, Pearlie.’

  ‘But then I thought about the photographs we took the other day at Diamond Cave. I know Nao hasn’t taken them to get developed yet so I’m going around to her place after school to look for the film.’

  ‘I’ll go with you.’

  Pearlie shook her head. ‘Thanks, Reddy, but I want to go by myself. It’ll be like saying goodbye to Nao. I need to do it alone.’

  Would this be the last time Pearlie would walk the familiar track to Naoko’s house? She didn’t know what she expected to see. Maybe the Itos hadn’t been taken away at all and she would find Naoko in her room, lying on the tatami mat, drawing. That’s what Pearlie hoped and prayed for. At the same time she kept a watchful eye out for Beake. All he had to do was ask around town and he’d soon learn who the real Pearlie was.

  The front door was ajar when Pearlie arrived. She pushed it open.