High Seas Series : The Mary Joyce

Andy was not sure that Pat wanted or was ready to command a ship again, but, the more he thought about it, the better it sounded. At supper that night, he bounced the idea off Wil. Wil thought about it and then said, "Ya know, that might just be the thing to bring Pat back to us. He is so unhappy and sad and considers himself useless because of his missing leg. Yeah, I will work with you on locating another ship!" They finally reached Nawiliwili Harbor and the two ships eased their way to their home pier, Both were blowing their horns to let everyone know their voyage had been successful and that they had a load of children to offload! Doc Ben and Doc Tom groaned and got up from their supper. They grabbed their bags and headed out to the pier, there were kids to repair!

They started making inquiries about another ship and a wartime buddy of both Wil and Oscar told them that there was a British Mine Ship in Honolulu, partially converted when its owner ran out of money. He was pretty sure they could buy the ship for charges owed.

Wil and Oscar said nothing to Patrick and took the next flight to Honolulu. They found the vessel at Dillingham Yards and, after speaking with the Dillingham General Manager, they found they could have the ship for what was owed.

The GM said, "Look guys, we know what you do and what you want this ship for, how about you pay the current charges and we will throw in a coat of paint, how about white and blue, same as your other two ships, along with two red stacks?"

Wil and Oscar agreed and asked that they paint the name, "Patrick O'Toole" on the ship.

All the armaments had already been removed and the engines had recently been overhauled. According to the GM, as soon as they got a coat of paint on the topsides, the vessel would be ready to go.

Wil and Oscar decided to remain in Honolulu and try to line up a crew for their new ship. They checked with the Navy Reserve and the Coast Guard Reserve units and found enough crewmen to get the vessel home. In fact, they were mobbed by young sailors, wanting a chance to help children!

On a hunch, they contacted the CO of the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center and came up with a winner. They found Gunnery Sergeant Bill Owens and two Corporals, Pete Gunther and Todd Banks. All three were going stir crazy ashore and the Gunny said that if he had to, he would help row the damned thing, just to get off Oahu!

The "Pat" was larger than either of their other two ships, but it could carry more kids and stay at sea for a longer period of time. It also had reserve fuel tanks and pumps that could be used to refuel their other two ships.

They told only Min what was going on, Wil asked that he maneuver Pat to be on the pier when they brought his ship home. Min chuckled and replied, "Sounds like a winner to me, that guy is going nuts ashore, he is a sailor and has salt water for blood!"

Wil replied, "Well, we will have to send him to get his Master's Certificate, but I don't think that will slow him down!"

It was just a short run from Honolulu to Kauai and, three days later, the folks at O'Toole House heard a mighty blast of an air horn they did not recognize.

Min hustled a bewildered Patrick James O'Toole down to the pier as this huge, two stacker mine ship eased into the outer harbor and dropped anchor. It was painted in the O'Toole colors. All he could do was stare at the new ship. Min noticed drool starting to form on Pat's lower lip!

Min handed Pat the binoculars and then had to grab him to keep him from falling into the water when he read the new ship's name! Poor Pat had to sit on the bench, he kept repeating, "BbbbBut but........."

Min sat beside and said, "Bro, just ask your Dad, they are putting a boat over now, Captain Pat O'Toole!"

When they got Pat calmed down, Wil and Oscar took him out to the ship. They had made arrangements to have him "Piped Aboard" and a grizzled old Chief Bosun's Mate blew the pipe while a Yeoman Chief announced on the PA system, "Captain O'Toole, ARRIVING!"

Pat was speechless; he could only stutter, finally, he was shaking so badly, Wil took him into the mess, where the Cook was able to find a cup of fresh coffee for him.

He had tears running down his face as he looked at his Father, "dddDDDad, tttthis is mmmmy ssship?"

Wil grinned and replied, "Yup, it sure is Captain O'Toole and, as soon as you are ready, we are gonna go hunting. Just think how many kids you can stuff on board this ship!"

Patrick spent the next several days on board his new ship; he crawled all over the Patrick O'Toole, learning about every nook and cranny.

They had found a retired Merchant Marine Chief Engineer, who was bored living ashore, to run the Engine Room and Pat scooted over to Honolulu to sit for his Master's papers. The Coast Guard Yeoman looked down at his artificial leg and Pat stood there, daring the Yeoman to say something.

The Yeoman just grinned and said, "Captain, my wife and I just adopted a little girl your Dad rescued, next time, how about finding me a son out there?"

Pat calmed down and replied, "I need a Yeoman to keep all the records, are you interested?"

The man almost shrieked, "God Yes! I was just gonna re-up next week, but my wife has been after me to take my 20 years and run! Is it OK if I report next week?"

Pat smiled and asked, "Does your wife work?"

The Yeoman replied, "Yes Sir, she is a schoolteacher."

Pat said, "Would she be willing to teach at our Home for Children?"

The man said, "Heck yeah, anything to get us off Oahu! Let me give her a call" Pat could hear the woman shrieking over the telephone, telling her husband not to let that guy go until she could get there!" Twenty minutes later, a woman came running into the Center, carrying a little blonde-haired girl about four or five years old.

So it was that both Yeoman Ivan Trask and his wife, Jenny, decided to move to Lihue with their little daughter, Emily. It was a move neither of them would regret, ever!

Pat brought his new acquisitions home with him and told everyone that there was a Yeoman and his school teacher wife coming the very next week.

Andrew breathed a sigh of relief, he had run out of resources and they desperately needed another teacher in their after-school remedial education system.

Pat began taking the "Pat" out for one and two-day training runs, they were working off the north coast of Kauai when they spotted a large yacht at anchor near the shallow bay of Kalalau. It was not an unusual event and they didn't pay much attention until the Bridge lookout hollered, "There are kids on that boat!"

Pat swung his glasses over to the yacht and saw a man beating a child and shoved, what looked like a young boy, down the forward hatch. Something didn't look right and he rang down "All Ahead Full". He told the Helmsman to head towards the yacht. He could hear the English Cooper Diesels come up to full power and the whole ship shook as the screws tried to bite the water.

They sped up to the yacht and circled it, not a soul appeared on deck, although he had seen a man and a boy only minutes earlier. He hollered for the Bosun to break out the firearms and he wanted a boarding party of six men to stand by to board the yacht.

Despite his injuries, Patrick O'Toole was a superior ship driver and he brought the Pat alongside the yacht at a dead stop, not yet trusting a helmsman in training, he steered the ship himself.

Boats and his five armed men jumped across to the yacht from the Patrick's fantail and began a search. They located three men hiding in equipment lockers and sixteen boys stuffed in a compartment under the forward deck. They were all young teens, filthy and clad only in their undershorts.

The boys were scared to death and were holding on to each other in fear of their lives. These new people all had guns and they looked like they knew how to use them! They had been told that they were going to be sold and that they were waiting for the buyers to arrive!

Boats saw what was happening and he rushed forward, telling his men to lower their guns. He knelt beside the shivering teens and said, "Guys, we are new at this, in fact, this is just a training cruise for us. Even the ship is brand new; so, please forgive us if we frightened you. This ship is the Patrick O'Toole and we are from O'Toole House and Causey Boy's Plantation in Lihue. We will take y'all there and get you checked out by the Docs to make sure you are OK."

Meanwhile, Pat had his new Yeoman on the radio contacting the Coasties to come get the yacht and the men aboard it. The Yeoman discovered he was talking to one of his former shipmates, so he added, "Tim, tell your Skipper that Captain Patrick O'Toole is looking longingly at his pistol and I think those damned slavers would make fine target practice. So, if he wants live prisoners, he better get here PDQ!"

Yeoman Ivan Trask turned around to find Pat standing right behind him, all Pat did was raise an eyebrow and grinned, saying, "Mighty fine Radio Procedure, Yeoman Trask!"

He walked off, chuckling to himself, it was the best day he had had since his accident and he felt "on top of the world"!

It took the Coast Guard a bit more than an hour to get there, they had the slavers handcuffed to the railings of their own boat and the boys were in the process of getting showers.

Some of them came topside, wrapped in clean towels, to jeer at the men who had snatched them and made suggestions to the Coast Guardsmen to see if those guys could swim with a lead swimming suit or an anchor for a collar!

Pat signed the receipt the Coastie Skipper asked him to sign and then the small cutter departed with the yacht in tow.

Pat said to the helmsman, "Let's Go Home! These boys need to see the Docs and get some clothes!" The Helmsman pushed the Engine Order Telegraph up to "ALL AHEAD FULL" and they heard the engines begin to wind up as the Engineers down below ran the throttles up against the stops.

The Pat was a fast ship, she was doing twenty-three knots, somewhat in excess of the speed limit around the coastal waters of Hawaii. As they rounded Kilauea Light House, he had the Yeoman contact O'Toole House on the radio and let them know what was up and that they were headed for home.

Despite the rules, it felt so damned good to be on the bridge of a ship again; Pat left their speed up and enjoyed the feel of the breeze in his face. For the first time since he lost his leg, he felt alive and happy with himself!

They rounded Nanini Point, its light flashing brightly in the growing dusk, and headed into Nawiliwili Harbor. Pat was yanking on the ship's horn for all he was worth, letting folks know that he had "Cargo"!

He eased the "Pat" as close as he could to their pier before he dropped the anchor. Both ship's boats hit the water at the same time as the anchor, and boys were seen climbing down the rope ladders, their towels wrapped tightly around their waists.

Doc Ben and Doc Tom were waiting on the boat landing to collect the boys. The boys had all been told what to expect, so the appearance to two strange men did not frighten them.

The Docs led them all over to the Clinic, while Pat and his crew secured the ship and rowed to the pier, where Wil and Oscar were waiting for them with open arms.

Wil noted the happy grin on his son's face and it warmed him all over, he had his son back from his gloom and unhappiness! Now, if he could only get him to call his girlfriend and get her to come out to Hawaii.....

None of the rescued boys had anything seriously wrong with them, but three of them refused to allow their parents to be called. Doc Ben sat down with each of them and found their stories to be similar, their parents had sold them to the slavers!

Ben was so angry, he was sputtering.

Yeoman Ivan Trask had followed the boys over to the dispensary and he was standing nearby as Ben was trying to calm his anger, he whispered to Ben, "Me and Jenny will take two of them boys for our own, Sir." Pat arrived just as Ivan asked Ben about the boys and he asked him, "Which two?" Ivan grinned and replied, "Awe Hell, Sir, we'll take all three!"

After three months of wrangling with the CPS lawyers and with the help of Andrew's Attorneys, Johnny, Peter and Billy became Trask sons and joined their baby sister, Emily!

Four more of the rescued boys had parents, but they refused to come get them, saying they were dirty now and they didn't want them.

All four boys were of Japanese ancestry and they hardly had time to find their rooms at Causey Plantation when Mrs. Tangimora had four families up there to take the boys home!

The rest of the boys were picked up by grateful families, Kevin Lacklan's family flew all the way from Boston to recover their son, who had gone missing from a school trip to Hawaii. Every year after that, there was a check in the mail from Kevin's Father for ten thousand dollars thanking them, yet again, for recovering their only child!

All three ships trained for about two weeks before they were ready for rescue operations, their staying power and range had been greatly increased by the Pat and her auxiliary fuel tanks. The two smaller ships could be refueled at sea.

They had a new coordinator in Washington, this time there was no pretense, he was Captain James Tollander from ONI! He came out to Lihue with three members of his staff and went over the situation with the three Ship Captains.

They were told that, somehow, they just had to cut the shipping chain of young children slaves going into Portland and Seattle. The situation was getting tense and foreign governments were demanding action!

They came up with a plan, The Patrick would patrol the Gulf of Alaska, the Joyce would patrol the Columbia River leading to Portland and the Wil would stand guard outside the Straits of San Juan de Fuca.

Every three weeks, the Pat would come south on patrol and refuel the other two ships, they figured they could remain on station at least two months, perhaps longer if the weather remained calm.

The Pat would carry additional supplies for the other two ships so that they could remain on station the maximum amount of time.

Each ship loaded weapons and ammunition, along with three enlisted sailors from ONI. None wore uniforms, but Pat was convinced they were all at least First Class Petty Officers or even Chief Petty Officers!

They had to use the old mine boom to take on large cases of spare ammunition and weapons to be stored on the Patrick O'Toole and he cringed when he saw several rocket launchers come on board his ship.

An older man, who he finally knew as Master Chief Joe Bennegan, chuckled when he saw Pat grimace as the launchers were swung on board, he said, "Captain, those won't be used until AFTER we get your kids off those damned boats. I won't promise to get the crews off before we have had our target practice!"

They finally set sail on April fifteenth, headed east for the west coast of North America. Pat was to follow his Dad, who was on the Joyce, and offload supplies and fuel to them before departing to do the same for Oscar and the Wil at the mouth of the Straits.

He hugged his Dad before they departed from the Columbia River, he said to Wil, "Thanks Dad, at last I am back in Command of my own ship again!"

He left with a happy smile on his face and Wil knew that his beloved son, Patrick, was, at last, a happy man again!

The Patrick met up with the Wilson O'Toole just inside the Straits of San Juan de Fuca and topped of her fuel tanks and passed some crates of food and ammunition to them. He gave "Uncle" Oscar a big hug and thanked him for the Patrick. All Oscar could think of when he saw Pat and his huge smile was a kid with his toys at Christmas, screaming, "DUMBO"!

Pat then took the Patrick north, towards the Gulf of Alaska, he planned on taking station just off the Aleutian Ridge, south of Chirkoff Island. He laid out a large, lopsided figure eight course that would take them deep into the Gulf on each circuit. Their radar would reach nearly to the Canadian Islands of Queen Charlotte Sound.

It was early in the season, but the weather remained fairly stable and calm as the Patrick sailed back and forth across the Gulf, an area notorious for bad weather! On their reverse turn, heading back west from the center of the Gulf, they spotted a radar contact at the furthest reach on the screen. It was moving south at nine knots and appeared to be a small vessel, perhaps a fishing boat or pleasure craft, although it was too early for fishermen and rather cold for pleasure boaters as yet.

Patrick had the Yeoman get on the radio and contact Oscar on the Joyce with a "heads up" about the radar contact. He didn't hear anything more about the contact and a week later, they picked up a strong contact, indicating a metal ship of some size. It was moving very slowly and hugging the coastline of the Aleutian Chain. Patrick ordered the other engine brought online and ordered "All Ahead Full". They had been running on a single shaft with one engine so that they could cruise slower.

The old English Cooper Engines had been fully rebuilt and were equal to the challenge. Pat could hear the engine exhaust billowing up the two stacks behind the bridge, as it finally became a roar when the engines attained full revolutions.

The Patrick was zipping along at twenty-two knots in calm seas. The lookout on the starboard Bridge Wing shouted, "Ship twenty degrees off the starboard bow, sir!" Pat called down to the engine room and said, "Gimme all ya' got, guys, it fits the description of one of the slavers we are looking for!"

The Watch Engineer must have slipped the emergency wedges in, under both governors, the exhaust gases coming out of the stacks were screeching in protest and the exhaust was liberally sprinkled with sparks of burning carbon. The pit log rose to twenty-six knots, actually bouncing off the bottom of twenty-seven knots! The Patrick was bearing down on the ship as the Patrick O'Toole was trailing black smoke, her engines were laboring to get every ounce of thrust possible out of her screws.

Pat yelled to the Security Chief Petty Officer from ONI, "Put a rocket across their bows!" The old Chief grinned and yelled back, "Aye, Aye, Sir, its 'bout time we were shooting at them, bastards!"

Pat brought the Patrick up, midships to the freighter and got out the loud haler, "STOP YOUR ENGINES OR THE NEXT SHOT WILL BE THROUGH YOUR WHEELHOUSE!

They could see a small boat being launched on the other side of the ship, and the Chief yelled,, "Let's get em!"

Pat said, "No, let them go, there might be kids prisoners on the ship, what if they had set a bomb to sink it?" Chief Bennagan agreed and asked to be on the boarding party.

The freighter was still underway, but slowing rapidly as fuel to the boilers began to fail. Chief Bennagan hollered, "Bring us alongside, we can jump to their fantail!"

Pat noticed that all of the ONI men were in the boarding party and they were all carrying fifty millimeter automatic weapons! He almost felt sorry for any crewmember still on board.

Doctor Tom had been included in the Patrick's Crew and he came up to the bridge to see what was going on. He asked Patrick, Do ya' think I oughtta open up Sick Bay?"

Pat replied, "I dunna know, Doc, this is my first time at this. From what I have heard, maybe ya' had better open up for business, just to be on the safe side."

Doc went below to get sick bay ready if it was needed. It was!

The quarters and accommodations of the Patrick were luxurious by Navy standards, the ship had been completely refurbished inside, with staterooms, air conditioning and heating and carpeting throughout. They could sleep fifty to seventy-five people in addition to the crew, by doubling up the staterooms.

They watched as the boarding party climbed aboard the ship and, in a few minutes, the ship came to a stop. Shortly after that, they heard Chief Bennagan on the handheld, he was clearly in a panic, "Cap'n O'Toole, Sir, we gots kids here an' theys been hurt! Send the DOC!"

Pat replied, "Calm down, Chief, how many kids and how bad are they hurt?"

The Chief sent back, "Yes sir, sorry about that, it just slammed me in the face. I never seed such a thing as kids what been hurt! So far, we have found forty boys and the boys tell us there are another twenty girls in another hold. The boys are plenty bloody and, at least three of them have broken legs from being thrown down the hatch. I am pretty sure they have suffered some other hurts that they are not telling us about yet. None of them have any clothes, sir. Is that normal?"

Pat replied, "Yes Chief that is what my Dad told me. Get the kids back here as fast as you can."

He called down to Sick Bay on the Bitch Box and warned Doc there were incoming hurt kids. He then hollered at the Yeoman to get in touch with the Coasties at Adak to come get the ship or sink it for all he cared.

Shortly, Yeoman Trask came up on the bridge and said, "Captain O'Toole, the Coast Guard was monitoring our traffic and two cutters left Adak twenty minutes ago and are headed our way at Emergency Ahead, sir! According to the Radio Operator, they left Adak with their turbines wound up and their bows were up on plane!"

Pat sat in his Bridge Chair and shook his head, thinking, "This is an all-out war out here, if this keeps up, I am gonna need more medical help, poor Doc Tom is gonna be swamped!"

The first boatload of kids came up to the accommodation ladder and a sailor led them up on deck. Pat went down to meet them, "I am Cap'n Pat and I'm gonna take y'all down below to see Doctor Tom, then we are gonna see to it that y'all have a warm shower and some good food before ya' take a nap in a clean bed."

A couple of the younger boys began crying and Pat picked them both up in his arms, blood and all, and said, "It's over guys, you are all safe now."

One of the older boys was standing nearby and said, "Sir, theys don' speak English, I thinks theys speak Dutch or mebbe, German." Another boy, who had a blond fuzz on his head said, "I's spek onglis, sar, me talk them fer yu."

The ONI men carried the three boys who had broken legs, Chief Bennagan was holding a tiny boy, he could not have been more than four years old. The old Chief Petty Officer had tears running down his face and glowered at Pat, daring him to say anything!

The boys had all been shorn of their hair, but they all had white skin. For the life of him, he could not figure out where they had come from. He was to learn later that the smaller boys had been on a Dutch School Ship that had been attacked by the pirates and sunk. The entire crew had been murdered!

The older boy, who could converse a little bit in English, translated for the boys and volunteered to remain with the Captain until all the boys had been rescued. He told Pat that he thought the girls were from Indonesia, although he was not sure of that.

They ended up with sixty-five rescued children on board. A very nearly exhausted Doctor Tom came up, after several hours of treating hurt children. He sat on a stool on the bridge and said, "Thank God my Uncle Peter made me learn German when I was a boy, it is close enough to Dutch that all the Indonesian girls and those Dutch boys could understand me."

He sat for a bit and added, "Maybe not, maybe it would have been better if I did NOT understand them, Pat, those children have been to Hell and back! We had best watch them very closely, some of the girls might try suicide!"

Pat replied, "Oh God, not that. Not when we finally have them safe!"

Tom said, "Pat, those girls consider themselves soiled and dirty, no respectable man is going to want them, not even their own fathers!" Pat scowled and said, "Then, dammit, we WILL find them new fathers, fathers that will love them and care for them!"

He called the First Mate, John Collier, and said, "John, I'm gonna go below for a bit and check on our new passengers." He walked by Doc Tom and said, "Come'on, lets go for a walk."

The men went through the passenger cabins checking on the boys first. Pat and Tom sat in the Port side Common area, where all the boys were berthed, and sat down. They just waited for the boys' natural curiosity to bring them out of their cabins.

With Tom translating, he spoke to each boy as he ventured out of his room. Most were wearing bath robes that they had found in each closet. The heating was on and the boys had finally warmed up and their teeth were no longer chattering.

It was not long before Pat had a lap full of small boys and the older ones were hanging on him, even just touching him seemed to make the boys less afraid.

The Dutch boys told him their school ship had been attacked in the South China Sea and that the Indonesian boys had already been on board when they were thrown down the hatch, after their heads had been shaved.

One Dutch boy, who said his name was Johann, told them that the sailors would come down where they were thrown and grab a boy to take topside, where they had to perform sex acts to please the sailors.

Johann started crying and said, "I can never go home and face my father, he would hate me." A number of other boys shook their head that they felt the same way.

Pat said, "Look guys, you don't know that for sure, but, you can always stay with us in Hawaii, we operate Causey Plantation, where homeless boys have a real home and a chance to grow up with a good education. That is what we do, we have three ships that chase these bad men down and make sure they go to prison or they die. They will never hurt you again." We even send boys to university, so don't worry, you will be cared for! He knew that the word, "college" had a different meaning for people of Europe.

It was two hours before the two men could get away from the boys and their questions about living in Hawaii. Neither of them looked forward to sitting down with girls who might take their own lives. They entered the Starboard side Commons area and sat down, hoping the girls would come to them. An older girl came out of her cabin, wrapped in a towel and asked, "Wut want yu? We not do sex more, we free!"

Pat said gently, "Yes, you are free and you will never be asked to do things like that again. That I promise you!"

The girl moved a little closer and said, "Thin wat want yu?"

He replied, "Doctor Tom and I just want to meet you and make sure you are all comfortable. Is there anything you want of need?"

The girl asked, "Yu cloths got girl us?"

Pat smiled and told her, "Yes, we have night clothes for you, they are hanging in your closets."

The girl said, "Me lok go!"

They could hear her squealing in delight, and then they heard closet doors being thrown open and the room was full of girls showing off their new night clothes.

The first girl came back and said, "Sori me, no understand clothes us for."

Doc Tom was doing his best to keep his eye leakage hidden as the girls showed off their new clothes. Finally, he had to leave the room, he went running to his own cabin, where he could cry in private.

With so many children on board, Pat decided to get on the radio and check with the other two ships. Both Wil and Oscar reported they were full, they decided that the Patrick should come and take off the children from them and they would refuel from the Patrick and continue on station, while Pat took the children back to Lihue.

The Patrick O'Toole got underway, after reporting to the Coast Guard Station that they were headed south to collect the children that had been rescued by the two other ships and take the children on to Lihue. The two other ships would continue their patrol and the Patrick would return to station as soon as the children were settled at Causey Plantation.

Pat got the ship headed towards the mouth of the Straits of San Juan de Fuca, running the Patrick all the way up to All Ahead Full! The seas were calm and he wanted to get these kids taken care of as fast as he could. The three boys with broken legs were stabilized, but, with no X-ray unit, Doc Tom could not set their legs. It would have to wait until they got them to Lihue.

Three days later, the San Juan light came up, over the horizon and they spotted the Wil just inside the mouth of the Straits, waiting for them. Oscar came on board to talk with Pat. He found himself talking to man he did not know, Patrick James O'Toole had a grin on his face, he looked happy and contented at what he was doing.

They refueled the Wil and transferred a couple of cases of food over to them before heading south to hook up with the Mary Joyce. They found the Mary Joyce tied up at the Astoria Pier, some of their rescued children had been taken to the local hospital for treatment and they were waiting for the ambulances to return them.

The kids were not returned until late in the day and the local Mother's group had sent boxes of clothing for the children. One Mother came with the clothing and scolded Wil, telling him that they would have clothing for ALL the children on his ship, all he had to do is get on the ship to shore telephone and they would bring clothing out to the Astoria Pier for them!

Between the children they already had and the additional children from the Wil and the Joyce, The Patrick O'Toole was full up and then some. The children had all learned by now that the men on the ships would not hurt them, and they could ask anyone to just hold them or talk to them.

The old Master Chief Bennagan was spotted trying to show a girl how to use the shower, standing fully clothed with his eyes shut, while twisting the knobs on the shower valves! He growled and dared anyone to say a word. They all just smiled, they had been there themselves!

They refueled the Joyce and headed southwest towards Hawaii and home.

While quarters were a little tight, all the children had beds of their own and some clothing to cover themselves with. Cookie was working overtime creating foods the children would eat, he swore he was going to put some meat on their bones before they got to Lihue! He did, too!

As they entered warmer waters, the steam load on the donkey boiler lessoned and they were able to divert more steam to the distiller making water for the showers.

The children were amazed when the air conditioning came on and they wondered if things were going to be as good for them when they reached this Lihue place. Despite all the nice men telling them that everything would be alright and that they would have a nice home in Lihue, they were not so sure. They worried that it was all a trick and they were headed for more misery.

The closer to Lihue they got, the sadder the children became. Pat knew what was happening, but he was at a loss as to what to do about it. Chief Bennagan had the best advice, ignore it and wait until the children actually saw what was waiting for them, just telling them about it just wasn't registering with them.

At long last, Pat turned the ship into Nawiliwili Harbor and he began blowing the ship's horn. The Patrick's horn was larger than the horns on the other two ships and it could be heard all over the island! The shrieking air horn drew folks from all over, word had leaked out that the Patrick O'Toole was coming home, loaded with rescued children.

Doc Ben was waiting on the pier and Mrs. Tangimora had put out tables loaded with various foods for the children to eat as they were ferried from the ship's anchorage to the pier.

Many of the children living up at Causey Plantation came down dressed in costumes like clowns and ballerina dancers to entertain the children as they arrived. The frightened children could not help but giggle at the other children's antics and the food goodies helped break the ice.

By the time the crew got the Pat fully secured, the two groups of children had become "old pals" and the new ones were led up the hill by their new friends, to get their room assignments.

Andrew was on hand and any child that looked a little frightened, Andy took to their room himself and showed them how everything worked. The Plantation staff was busy sorting out clothing for the newcomers and taking those who needed medical help down to the infirmary.

With the X-Ray machine, it took Doc Ben and Doc Tom only a short time to get the broken legs into a cast and the children into wheelchairs.

Most of the cuts and bruises had already healed up, but they decided they needed to call in a Dentist, there were loose and missing teeth and some terrible cavities that needed immediate attention.

By nightfall, all the children were beginning to fade they all had full tummies and the excitement the new kids had experienced, finally wore them out. It was not long before Causey Plantation was full of sleeping children who felt, finally, safe and cared for.

Now it was time to console some adults, those who had experienced this for the very first time were wrung out and were fighting to keep their tears from overwhelming them. They could not imagine how these children had survived at all and that they were beginning to laugh and giggle a bit and they had only been here for a few hours.

TBC

When are they going to run out of children in such desperate conditions? When are they ever going to find the last slaver and send his ship to the bottom of the sea, hopefully, with him still on it? Lastly, were they ever going to convince parents that their child was still their child and that they were not at fault for having been stolen by a slaver?