Marissa tried to follow with the same bravado, but hesitated with one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat. The captain lent her a hand for balance and she was able to step on board.
A handsome, muscular younger man came out of the cabin. He smiled and tipped his lived-in Australian hat to the women.
“This here’s my first mate and dive master, Wynn Jones,” the captain said.
“Knows the reef like the back of his hand, he does.”
Wendy asked if they might tour the boat, then followed the agreeable captain from bow to stern. Satisfied, she sat down in the cabin with the captain and bargained for an all-day dive rate.
Marissa had never seen this tough side of her friend.
Eventually a deal was struck and Wendy and Rafe shook hands. At that point, the captain asked if the women would care for a couple of “stubbies,” which Marissa soon learned were small brown bottles of beer.
After the beer, Marissa and Wend climbed up onto the gunwale and leaped to the dock. Wynn gave Marissa a hand to make sure she made it.
“Goddamn cheap son-of-a-bitch bastard Yanks,” the captain said as Wynn rejoined him in the cabin.
“She got me down so low it will barely pay for the petrol.”
“We haven’t been out for four days,” Wynn reminded him.
“We’ll just go to the closest reef and let them look at some dead staghorn coral. It will serve’m right.”
“Hello!” a voice called.
“Now what?” Rafe said. He squinted through the cabin door.
“Maybe things are looking up. We got a Nip-” “I don’t think he’s a Nip,” Wynn said.
“He looks Chinese to me.”
Rafe and Wynn walked out into the afternoon sunlight.
“What can I do for you, sir?” Rafe called to the man on the pier.
“Are you available for charter tomorrow?” the man said.
“What do you have in mind?” Rafe asked. He could always forget the women.
“I want to do some serious fishing on the outer wall of the. reef,” the man said.
“We’re at your service,” Rafe said.
“But the outer reef is forty nautical miles away. It’ll be somewhat dear.”
“I’m prepared to pay, “the man said.
“But I don’t like crowds.
You got many people scheduled tomorrow?”
Rafe raised his eyebrows at Wynn, trying to decide what to say. He didn’t want to lose this Chinese man’s money, but he didn’t want to pass up the Yanks’ money either.
Wynn shrugged.
Rafe turned back to the Chinese man.
“We just signed up a couple of ladies to do some diving,” he said.
“But I can always cancel them.”
“Two ladies won’t bother my fishing,” the man said.
“But leave it at that. No more passengers.”
“Fine by me,” Rafe said, trying to hide his excitement.
“Come on aboard and we’ll make the necessary arrangements. For a day’s charter to the outer reef, we’ll need some money up front.”
Nimbly, the Chinese man jumped on board.
“The name’s Harry Wong,” he said.
“I don’t have a lot of time at the moment.
How about two hundred dollars to reserve the boat?” He opened his wallet and took out the money.
Rafe took the bills.
“This will do just fine,” he said.
“Any particular time you’d like to depart?”
“What time did you tell those women?” the man asked.
“I told them eight o’clock,” Rafe said.
“But that can change.”
“Eight is fine,” the man said.
“But I might want to sleep on the way out to the outer reef. Do you have a cabin I could use?” “Absolutely,” Rafe said.
“You can use the main cabin.”
The Chinese man smiled.
“See you at eight,” he said. He leaped from the boat to the pier, then walked briskly away.
Willy Tong was pleased. He knew Ned Kelly would be too.
The only weak part of the whole plan had been the problem of getting the women to the outer reef. Now that seemed assured.
He entered The Crab, a pub along the waterfront, and ordered an amber. He hadn’t had a chance to finish his beer when Ned showed up.
“How’d it go, mate?” Ned asked as he hopped onto a barstool.