The Kingdom by the Sea (11 page)

“Stuff it, Merman,” said Artie. “The kid does no harm. He goes to the NAAFI for us.”

“And a
dog,”
said Corporal Merman. “That’s against King’s Regulations. Does the sergeant know about this,
Corporal
Blenkinsop?”

“He does, as a matter of fact,
Corporal
Merman.” The bunk door had opened silently, and the massive figure of the sergeant stood there, his braces hanging round his legs,
and a towel round his neck. “This dog - and this kid - are battery mascots. And very popular, unlike
some
I could mention, Corporal Merman.”

Corporal Merman swallowed and smiled a thin cold smile, as if he’d swallowed an acid-drop whole.

The sergeant turned to Harry. “Nip down to the NAAFI for me, kid. An ounce of Player’s Uncut.”

Harry took everybody’s order, and left. When he got back, the atmosphere in the hut didn’t seem any better. He gave out the things and change, but all the time he felt Merman’s cold eyes watching him. How could one man destroy the fun for so many? He didn’t want to stay tonight. He wished Artie would ask him to go for a walk. But Artie was oddly quiet.

In the end, the incoherent Scotsman suggested a game of football. Everybody played rougher than usual, and even Harry got one or two nasty kicks, though he was sure they weren’t meant. Merman kept watching out of the open window by his bed, with a superior sneer on his face.

Finally, he yelled at Harry, “Boy, boy come here!” Harry tried to ignore him as long as possible; but he wouldn’t be ignored. The game stopped; another silence fell. With everybody watching, Harry walked across to the window.

“I want you to go to the NAAFI for me, boy. I need a tube of toothpaste…”

“He only goes down to the NAAFI once. Once every night,” somebody shouted.

“Leave the kid alone,” shouted somebody else.

“He doesn’t
really
need toothpaste.”

“Just trying to spoil the kid’s game of football.”

“Well, will you go or won’t you?” asked Merman. He looked at Harry with pale, pale blue eyes. They reminded him of the eyes of a wolf he’d once seen at Edinburgh Zoo. He felt that if he went the errand for Merman, he’d somehow be in Merman’s
power.
And that was the very last thing he wanted. He never wanted to go near Merman ever again. Merman made him want to shiver.

“Gotta get home to me mam,” said Harry, and walked away.

“I’ll remember that,” said Merman.

“Goodnight, kid,” shouted the football players. And went back to kicking the deflated ball about, miserably.

The next day was Saturday. Harry went across to the barrack in the afternoon. As he approached the door, it seemed unusually quiet. But he walked in anyway, and then he wished he hadn’t.

There was nobody there. Except Corporal Merman, sitting on his bunk.

“Where’s everybody?” Harry faltered.

“Your friend Corporal Blenkinsop had to march them down to the airfield for a shower. It was his turn.”

“What about you?”

“Oh, I’ve had my shower. I have a shower every day, if I can. What do they say? Cleanliness is next to godliness?”

“Tell them I’ll come back later.”

“No, no, they’ve been gone over an hour. They’ll be back any minute. Come and sit by me, boy.” He patted the bed beside him. “I’m expecting them back any minute.”

Harry hesitated. One part of him was yelling at him not to go near Merman at any cost. But another part… it was creepy… wanted to make friends with Merman, get Merman on his side, so he didn’t have to be afraid of him any more.

“I’ve got a Mars Bar here,” said Merman. “Like to share it with me? I know all you boys love Mars Bars…”

That decided Harry, against his better judgement. He could never resist a gesture of friendship. Maybe the awful Corporal Merman was human after all.

He sat down. Corporal Merman got the Mars Bar out of his bedside locker, put it on top, unwrapped it neatly, without tearing the wrapping paper, just folding it back like a bedsheet. Then he got out his very sharp shiny clasp-knife and cut it in nine thin slices, like a loaf of bread.

He picked up the first piece, precisely, between finger
and thumb, and held it up to Harry’s mouth. Feeding him like a baby. Harry did not want to open his mouth, but he had to. He did not like the feel of Merman’s fingertips on his lips.

“You’re a big strong lad,” said Merman. “You’re very
brown.
I’ll bet you have lots of girlfriends… no? Not any? Not ever? I would’ve thought you’d have had a girlfriend by your age. Aren’t girls nice to
squeeze
?” He put an arm round Harry’s waist, found a fold of skin and nipped it very playfully.

Harry wriggled violently, and Merman let go and fed him another piece of Mars Bar.

“I’ll bet you have fun with that dog of yours though. Running about the beach, wrestling in the sand…”

Harry had a very nasty idea that Merman had been spying on him, when he hadn’t realised Merman was there.

“And of course you’re a great
friend
of Corporal Blenkinsop’s. You spend a lot of time together, don’t you? Walks in the woods and along the cliffs…”

“We do nature study,” shouted Harry, suddenly furious, for no reason he could quite work out. “We watch birds an’… foxes.”

“Yes, of course. Nature study, of course. You must take me to see all these birds and foxes, some evening…” He fed Harry a third bit of Mars Bar, holding it so high that he
forced Harry’s head back. “And… you do other things with Corporal Blenkinsop…”

“Like
what
?” Harry wondered why he was getting so angry and flustered. “We watched gannets,” he added lamely, after a silence.

“Of course. Gannets…”

Just then, there was the crunch of boots on the road outside. Boots approaching at a trot, not a walk.

“Hup two three, hup two three,” came Artie’s urgent voice.

Harry took a quick peep at Merman’s face.

The look on Merman’s face was indescribable.

All the men came barging into the barrack room, hitting each other with wet towels again.

“Hello,
Corporal
Merman. Fancy finding you here.” Artie’s eyes took in, in one glance, the two of them sitting on the bed, the sliced Mars Bar. “Coming for a walk, Harry?”

Harry came like a flash. As they left, Artie shouted back at Merman, “If they ever catch you at it, Merman, they won’t just take away your two little stripes. They’ll put you away in Colchester for five bloody years.”

They walked along the road. The silence was heavy, like the dark grey sky.

“I don’t like him,” said Harry timidly.

“Quite right, son. Never go near him. When I realised what he might be up to, I couldn’t get the lads back quick enough. They did the whole return journey at the double, just for you. I hope you’re honoured.”

“What is he up to?”

“Never you mind, son. I wouldn’t foul up your mind by telling you. Just stay away from him,
right
?”

“Right.”

But nothing did seem to go right, that afternoon. Harry could tell that Artie was very very angry, and that seemed to frighten all the birds and animals away.

Harry wakened on Sunday morning, feeling blackly miserable. It wasn’t just that it was pouring with rain outside, though that didn’t help. He just felt all wrong, jangled, jumbled up inside, and he couldn’t tell what was wrong at all.

Except it was about Merman. He could think of nothing but Merman. He tried to think about Artie, or the incoherent Scotsman, or the man who danced on the end of his bed; but whatever he tried to think about, Merman kept sliding back into his mind. What did Merman
want?
He was like nobody Harry had ever met before. He was used to kind people, like Artie. He was used to brutal people, like the farmer with the shotgun. He had even met
one or two people who were a bit nutty, like Joseph. And selfish people, who didn’t give two damns about you.

But Merman wasn’t any of those. Merman wanted something off him, and he just didn’t know what. It made him feel very unsafe. So unsafe and miserable that he just got the fire going, munched a miserable bit of breakfast, and lay on, snug and warm inside his blankets. He cuddled Don a bit and then Don got tired and mooched off for a walk.

He heard footsteps coming along the path. Leapt up, cursing himself for a careless idiot. The person passing would notice the smoke from the chimney and come and look in. After all his carefulness, his hiding place was discovered.

Then he recognised the scrunch of hobnailed boots. A soldier. It must be Artie, come to see what was the matter with him. Artie would listen to him, explain the odd way he felt. Artie would make things better.

He looked up with an attempt at a grin, as the doorway darkened.

But it wasn’t Artie. It was Corporal Merman.

“There you are,” said Merman. “Snug in your little nest.”

Harry couldn’t think of anything to say to that. He just screwed up in a ball, inside his blankets, and stared at Merman, trying to read his face in the half-light. Merman was smiling; it wasn’t a very nice smile. It was a sort of
smirky triumphant smile, pretending to be friendly.

“Very comfy you’ve made yourself. You and Corporal Blenkinsop.” Merman came and sat down close to him, as he had the other time. There was nothing that Harry could do about it. Merman was between him and the door.

“I’ll bet you have a lot of fun in here,” said Merman. “With your
nature studies
.” He sort of sniggered to himself.

“We don’t come in here much,” said Harry. “We go for walks.”

“Well, I don’t suppose Corporal Blenkinsop minds where you go. As long as you’re
kind
to him.”

Harry thought that was a very strange thing to say. You weren’t
kind
to adults. You liked them. Or obeyed them. You weren’t
kind
to them.

“We’re mates,” he said at last.

“Of course you are,” said Merman. “Just as you and I are going to be
mates
.” He put a cold damp hand on Harry’s bare arm. It was horrible, like touching a dead fish.

“I choose my own mates,” said Harry, pulling his arm away. He blurted it out, and then wished he hadn’t. He didn’t want to get Merman angry; he thought he might turn nasty. But he couldn’t stand Merman hovering over him like that; touching him.

“Choosy, are we?” said Merman. He didn’t seem annoyed; more excited. “I wouldn’t get too choosy if I was
you. Or you and your mate Corporal Blenkinsop might end up in a great deal of trouble with the police. Corporal Blenkinsop might end up going to
prison
.”

“What we
done
?” squeaked Harry. His mind flew across all the things he had done. Lying to the chip-shop man, hitting the farmer, eating army grub. Not having a licence for Don. How could they send Artie to prison for things like
that
?

“But that doesn’t have to happen,” said Corporal Merman. “Not if you’re as
kind
to me as you have been to Corporal Blenkinsop.” He took hold of Harry’s arm and squeezed it again. A painful nip.

Harry went berserk. He pulled his arm away, and tried to kick out at Merman. But the blankets hindered him, and Merman just edged out of the way, laughing. But it did knock the blankets wide, exposing Harry’s legs and underpants. And Harry caught Merman’s eyes drifting down to his underpants, and he pulled the blankets back round himself, desperately. He’d suddenly got Merman’s number. Merman was like the dirty boys at school. The ones who hung around the toilets and messed about with you when you went for a pee. Poking you in the back while you were busy, and making you pee all over your shoes. Or making remarks about you, or trying to grab your balls, which hurt like hell. Only they never went very far in the
toilets, because there might always be somebody else coming in, who might run and tell tales to the teacher.

He was alone with Merman. Well, nearly alone. Suddenly he was yelling for Don, at the top of his voice.

“That won’t do you any good,” said Merman. “You haven’t got a licence for that dog, have you? If I tell the police, they’ll come and take your dog away. I don’t think he’s really your dog anyway… I think he’s a stray. Or you stole him…”

Harry heard Don bark on the beach. Getting nearer. Then silence. No sound of paws. No more barks. No Don. Hope died.

“Your dog’s not coming,” said Merman. “He’s got better things to do. Perhaps he’s found a bitch on heat…” Again, that smirk. Again, his hand reaching for Harry’s arm.

“C’mon,” Merman wheedled. “You’ve only got to be nice to me. It won’t take long. I can bring you things. Sweets. Mars Bars. Things for your dog…”

“I don’t know what you mean,” shouted Harry.

Then the doorway darkened again. Don was standing there. Don was growling, a deep rumble that was half-choked.

Because a hand was hooked tight round Don’s collar.

Artie’s hand.

Artie didn’t look at Harry. He avoided Harry’s look. He
said to Merman, “Come outside, you filthy bastard. I’m going to give you a hiding you won’t forget to your dying day.” Harry could hardly recognise it was Artie. Artie looked hardly human.

Merman tried to bluster. Merman’s voice shook, but he tried to sound reasonable.

“I’m not wanting anything you haven’t done,” he said. “You sneaking along to this kid, morning and night. I saw you. I followed you here. You’re crazy for the kid. You couldn’t get enough of him.”

“Come out,” said Artie in a dreadful voice. “Come out or I’ll let this dog loose on you. And then I’ll
drag
you out and deal with what the dog’s left…”

“No need to take it that way. We’ve both seen plenty of it in the Army.

“Plenty of what?” Artie turned to Harry. “Have I ever touched you, Harry?”

“Only to bandage me leg,” said Harry. He turned to Merman. “I sprained my ankle. He was looking after me.”

Something seemed to flicker out and die in Merman’s eyes. Leaving him looking pale and ill.

“All right, I was wrong,” he said to Artie. “How was I to know? Be reasonable…”

Harry felt a tiny flicker of sympathy for him; only a tiny flicker. Because he looked so… lost.