High Seas Series : The Mary Joyce

All the folk who had come to welcome the boys home were invited to the feast and many came away envious of those that lived at O'TOOLE HOUSE, they had the best food in town! When all their guests had departed, the new boys were either carried or led into the house and shown the big bedroom where they all could sleep together, until they became used to living with them. That is, except for the little boy whom Jowto and Trong had carried up to the house, he was headed for their bedroom! They gently washed the boy and found some pajamas that kind of, almost fit him and they laid him on their bed, sleeping between the two big boys. Trong sang softly, the Sleeping Song that Jowto had written, just for him to sing to their new son. The adults were standing in the hallway, just outside the bedroom where the little boy had been taken. There was not a dry eye in the lot of them, after Trong had finished the song. Wil was not sure how he was going to arrange it, but that little boy belonged to those two and he was determined it was going to happen!

Wil hired a throng of lawyers to work on Jowto and Trong's case. Jowto was the only one who could speak with the child, Trong was doing all he could to learn to speak the Exalted Language, but it was hard going, since he was taking a full schedule in High School so that he could graduate with Jowto.

Wil had given up trying to call Jowto, Johnnie, and had begun to call him Jowto himself. They had named the child WangLi. He had been a street urchin and had never had a "real name" before. For several days he had marched around, shouting his "real" name to all who would listen!

The Child Welfare people had come around and attempted to take charge of the boy and drag him off to a home for boys. That went over like passing gas in church and Jowto's brothers had chased the woman off the property, threatening her with bodily harm! She had no problem believing they would hurt her, they all were carrying sticks and tree branches that whistled over her head whenever her pursuers got close enough.

The lawyers were quick to get an injunction and the problem became a Mexican standoff. Little Li was a precocious child and was frequently seen imitating the Big Boys. He loved to play "bisbul" and the boys would make sure that he got to hit the ball, no matter how hard he hit it, he always made a "homerun"! Wil and Oscar had to laugh, watching the "big boys" fumble the ball!

WangLi also loved to sing with Jowto, unfortunately, the child, like Trong, had a voice like a frog! That didn't stop him, however, and everyone learned to tune out his squeaks and squawks.

Wil had a team of six Lawyers in the case and they had to fight the case all the way to Federal District Court before the State would accept defeat!

They kept the knowledge of the legal battle from Li, but, when it was finally over, Jowto and Trong rushed home and grabbed up their son and danced with him in joy that he was finally, legally their son!

Li patted each of their cheeks and said, "Me be always boy you," and he began his own rendition of the Happy Boy Song. Everyone ran out of the room, holding their ears, Trong and Jowto just sat there with happy smiles on their faces as the child squeaked and squawked his way through the song.

As his language skills advanced, he started the second grade and his first report card was all pluses. Halfway through the second semester, Li brought home a note from Mrs. Matamori, his teacher, asked to have a meeting with his parents.

Mrs. Matamori was aware of the unusual makeup of the boy's family, but she was anxious to make them aware of Li's progress. Trong and Jow' went to the elementary school after their last class for the day to meet with Mrs. Matamori. She asked the boys to step into the Conference Room, and began by saying, "I guess I really should address you as Mr. O'Toole and Mr. Robbins, but, would you be OK with my using your given names?"

Both boys told her that would be fine, so she began, "WangLi does not belong in my class. At first, I thought he was cheating on his Arithmetic Test, but I was wrong. He was doing the work all in his head! I tried giving him some third-grade work, and he did the very same thing!"

She continued, "Guys, there is nothing this school can offer as a challenge for WangLi! In fact, I am not sure that even Middle School could slow him down. What you have in that child is a genius! I would like to send him to Honolulu to be tested at the Gifted Student Center; I rather suspect that he could challenge most High School classes. I know he reads at least at the tenth-grade level and probably higher. His space concepts are beyond my skills to even evaluate!"

Jow' and Trong were astounded, they knew their son was smart, but a genius?

They gathered up Li and assured him he was not in any trouble and they hurried home to talk with Papa Wil and Papa Osc and get their advice, they were in over their heads on this one!

They sat down after supper and told their Dads what Mrs. Matamori had told them. Li was sitting on Jow's lap, playing with his little cars and "varooming" them up and down the length of the table.

Both Wil and Oscar agreed, that the child should be tested and then they would have a basis to go on. They both agreed to go with Trong and Jowto to the Testing Center in Honolulu and find out what they had to say.

Both Jow' and Trong had already decided to oppose any suggestions that Li be taken from them and placed in the school in Honolulu. Their dads strongly agreed with them. Li was a member of their Family and was not going to be palmed off on some state institution!

The next day, Wil called the testing center to make an appointment, the receptionist looked up Li's name and said, "Oh, Mr. O'Toole, Doctor Gibbons is scheduled to come to your house next week to test WangLi. He feels it is best for the child to be tested in familiar surroundings. I have a note here that I was supposed to call you tomorrow to set up an appointment. I am sorry about the mix-up."

Wil laughed and replied, "That's OK, I am just the poor old Grandpa, my son and his partner are the boy's parents."

The receptionist replied, "Well, they should be there to meet with Dr. Gibbons, also." They set up the appointment for the Tuesday of the next week and Wil marked the big calendar they kept in the front hall.

For the next several days, they all observed Li and they wondered how they could have missed what they were seeing. His word comprehension was clearly near adult level and he readily understood space relational concepts that would challenge most adults!

It was in arithmetic that he truly excelled, once he was shown how the spherical trigonometry works in a navigation problem, he was able to solve complex navigation problems in Oscar's old Merchant Marine Text Books!

After they had sent Li out to play, Wil said to Jow' and Trong, "Boys, we have a tiger by the tail here, we need to provide every opportunity to Li to expand his destiny, otherwise, he will discover destructive ways of challenge, maybe even crime!"

Both Jowto and Trong agreed that Li had to be given every opportunity, even if they had to move with him to Honolulu.

They worried and fretted about Li all through the weekend and, by Monday, Wil, Oscar, Jow' and Trong were all nervous wrecks. What they did not know, was that Dr. Gibbons was as worried as they were, he had a seven year old child whose IQ was already "off the charts" and he had no idea how to help him!

He flew into Lihue Monday evening and spent the night at the hotel before calling O'Toole House for a ride. Danny Tangimora was on duty, and he went to get the man. Dr. Gibbons was surprised at all the security that surrounded the "O'Tooles and Danny explained to him the "hows" and "wherefores" of how it had come about. He asked Danny, "These folks are the ones that made all the papers some time ago?"

Danny laughed and said, "Yes sir and I and my Brothers make damned sure none of those guys get anywhere near these folks. Even if little WangLi does not turn out to be a genius, this family is a National Treasure!"

Dr. Gibbons chuckled and said, "Mr. Tangimora, I would stake my life on that child being a genius, what we need to find out is just how much of a genius he is! I already fear he is going to tax me, I only hope I can point him in the right direction!"

Over the next three days, Dr. Gibbons became more and more frantic, finally, he asked for a conference with Li's parents and Grandparents. He closed the door and said to the group, "I cannot test Li further, I don't know how! He has gone through every known method of testing a child and I just cannot find an end point for him to stumble over!"

He showed them the papers that he and Li had created and said, "While he lacks the experience and life tools, he has amply demonstrated the ability to work concepts that would challenge a much older person, even one with a doctoral degree, ME!"

Dr. Gibbons asked, "Would you allow me to tutor Li, it would be best if it be done here, in a place he already knows and has the support of his family?" Trong asked, "We are not going to turn our son into a Geek, who needs assistance in tying his own shoes, are we?"

Dr. Gibbons laughed, "Heavens no, that boy is more down to earth than most adults. I only hope that I am good enough to teach him, he has a mind like a bear trap. He seems never to forget anything and he can form imaginative solutions for complex problems all in his head! I just fear I am not good enough for Li!"

Wil stood and said, "Well, let's give it a try, we will set you up in one of the guest bungalows and we will convert one of the downstairs rooms here, for your class room. We will supply all your meals and living needs and I would offer you a stipend the same as you are receiving now from the State of Hawaii."

Dr. Gibbons said, "My, for a chance like this, I would do it just for living expenses. You are indeed generous and, for me, it is a chance of a lifetime, Yes sir, I will work with Li for however long it takes for me to run out of ability to help him further!"

They had to take two more trips to Honolulu to put down the objections of the Child Welfare people, especially after they learned that Li was a Child Prodigy!

They did not like going to Honolulu, the whole island of Oahu was overrun with "flower children hippies" all chanting anti-war and anti-military slogans. The first time, they were caught unaware and Li became so frightened, he had to be put on medication in order to sleep at night!

When they returned home, Danny gave them "orders", "No more trips off Kauai without an escort!"

Danny had the glass in the van changed out, so outsiders could not see who was seated in the passenger seats and a riot gun was permanently mounted alongside the driver's left foot. Danny would have to be the driver as he was the one with a special Federal Permit to use the riot gun. It was actually, a short version of a 12 ga. shotgun!

Danny, also, had come to love little Li and, at last, after meeting Li, his girlfriend, Alice Satomora had finally agreed to marry him! They both knew he was unable to father a child after what had been done to him as a child and they had asked Mr. Wil to keep a lookout for a child for them.
   
Dr. Gibbons had hired Alice to assist him in working with Li and she told Danny that she wanted a son just like Li! The very next trip the Mary Joyce went out on, Wil came back carrying a tiny child, a little boy who said his name was JingLo.

It was love at first sight, they had a little boy before they had time to get married, but they never bothered explaining it to anyone. Those who did not understand, meant little to the new parents, they doted on that little boy who would grow up to adulthood and finally put finish to the State Children's Welfare Department for good.

When Wil and Oscar heard about Alice's agreeing to marry Danny, they went and spoke to Danny's Mother, Mrs. Tangimora, "Mrs. T, we want to provide the wedding for Danny and Alice. Our Grandson, Lo, loves her to death and we have come to look at Danny as a son of our own. We want to do this for them, they are FAMILY!"

Mrs. Tangimora replied, "You know that they both want traditional Japanese wedding..."

Wil interrupted her and said, "Who cares? They can have a menehune (a mythical race of very small Hawaiian Natives who supposedly lived on Kauai before the coming of the Polynesians) officiate if they want, just so long as Oscar and I can provide this for them."

Mrs. "T" agreed and both Wil and Oscar went into high gear, planning an "all out" wedding for the happy couple. The wedding was to be held with the Christmas Program at the Waikiki Shell. Little JingLo would stand between his two parents as they said their Vows during The Christmas Program. It was televised and was even seen on the mainland!

Captain Peter Bullard called, he needed a "hurry up" meeting with them, there was a ship ready to leave Singapore that intelligence reported was laden with stolen children, headed for the West Coast.

It was the largest shipment they had ever gotten news about. The Navy and the Coast Guard were fully committed in the Middle East and the Joyce was his only resource to stop them and rescue the children!

Jim called almost as soon as Wil had hung up the phone, Wil told Jim to come on out and join the nuthouse! Jim laughed and told Wil he would be there the next afternoon.

Wil contacted the crew and told them to start preparing the Mary Joyce for a long, hard voyage. They would probably be sailing before the end of the week and it looked like it was going to be a fast voyage, the good weather season was nearly over and this might be the last time they could put a stop to these slavers until the next spring.

He had to forbid Jow from going, but he absolutely needed Trong, he and Pedro were the only ones who could keep the Engine Room running on a long trip and Pedro was headed to college in Galveston. Jowto understood the need for him to remain behind and care for Li, but he was going to miss Trong desperately!

The crew got busy and brought the Joyce "on-line", checking everything out, filling the fresh water tanks and ordering up fuel oil. It would take them several days to load the consumable stores and wash all the sheets and blankets.

Both Wil and Oscar had a case of Déjà vu when Captain Bullard arrived; he came in a Mine Sweeper of the same vintage as their old ship from their "Navy Days". He had the small ship loaded with ammunition and weapons for them.

He was laughing, he said, "Gimme a dollar." Both Wil and Oscar looked at the man as if he had taken leave of his senses, the Captain held out his hand for the dollar and, when Wil pulled a dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to Pete, he gave Wil a handful of papers.

He said, "Well, Captain O'Toole, ya just bought yourself a new boat, THIS ONE!"

Both Wil and Oscar were scratching their heads and wondering what they were going to do with a mine sweeper! Both of them had the same idea at the same time, make a small cargo ship out of her, it would extend their search radius and their time at sea!

Pete looked at them both as the possibilities streamed across their minds, he said, "The ship is in fine condition and we think it will help in the future. By you guys buying it, the Navy can honestly say that we have no control over a ship that is privately owned. These damned hippies and peaceniks are driving us nuts with their flowers and love philosophy. The only things the pirates and slavers understand are bullets and bombs!

The more Wil and Oscar thought about the old minesweeper, the better they liked the idea. They planned on taking it over to Oahu before they left on their present assignment and have it refurbished at Dillingham Shipyard.

Captain Bullard told them to send the bill to him, the Government would foot the bill to make it a private ship.

Trong and the two enginemen climbed all over the Mary Joyce, making sure she was ready to go to sea. They replaced bad lights and the radar antenna needed a new bearing in the rotator. The demister screens on the distiller looked suspicious to Trong, so he went ahead and replaced them. It was a whole lot easier to do, tied up at their own pier than out at sea with empty water tanks!

Pedro watched all the activity sadly, he would be leaving for school in a few days and he kept telling himself that he would come back with his Medical License and become the Chief Doctor for his Papas in the new Medical Service for Children that he and his Papa had discussed!

It was a vow that he would make good on in just a few short years, but he would be astounded by the ship they proposed he run, it would be a traveling Medical Hospital and would travel all over the Pacific!

That, too, would come about and Dr. Pedro Oscar Robbins would be known all over the Pacific Ocean as the BOY DOCTOR, the one who fixes damaged boys! (he also would help girls, but the slave and sex population was mostly boys)

The Joyce was finally ready and Pete Bullard sent them the latest "sit-rep" on the tramp freighter. Its name was the Gwang Loc and was registered in Hong Kong, it was an 11,500 ton tramp steamer and was overdue for a bottom inspection and there were charges against the ship that its owners were using unlicensed crew to operate the ship and there were various fees they had skipped out on. There was an old Maritime Commission photograph of the ship when it held American Registry many years earlier.

Wil exclaimed, as he and Oscar were looking at the picture, "My God, it's an old Hog Islander! I didn't think there were any of those old wrecks still afloat!" (a Hog Islander was a cargo ship popular during the First World War - Author's note)

Li seemed to understand that his Poppa "Twong" had to go help rescue boys just as he had been rescued, the little boy stood on the pier, waving at the Mary Joyce as they sailed out of Nawiliwili Harbor.

Jowto looked down, tears were flooding down the little boy's face. Jow picked him up and wiped his tears, telling him that Papa Trong would be back in a few weeks that he was going to save little boys just like he had been saved.

Trong had made several recordings of him singing to Li, and the child nearly wore out the tape player, listening to his Papa Twong's voice, he would play it several times every night, before he went to sleep.

Jowto prayed that the Mary Joyce would be back before Christmas, not only for Li's sake, but he wanted Trong to be able to come to the Christmas Concert at the Hawaii Shell in Honolulu. He was going to be the featured singer and, then it would be his turn to go away, he was scheduled to start at the Julliard the next summer. He had plans for a "special surprise" for Trong during his concert at the Waikiki Shell.

They headed for the Gulf of Alaska again, Wil wanted to try to intercept the Gwang Loc just off the Aleutian Ridge, south of Unalaska Island. The Joyce was a fast sailor and could easily overhaul the old Gwang Loc. By all reports, it was a tired old ship, long overdue for the breaker's yard.

Despite the lateness of the year, they enjoyed mild weather all the way north and they set their search in a "racetrack" course, north and south, with the radar reaching out its furthest distance. The weather remained clear, if cold and the seas were calm.

They had been "on station" for two weeks, several ships had passed by, but none of them matched the description of the Gwang Loc. Wil and Oscar were getting a little worried that maybe they had miscalculated where the ship might be.

There were not too many places or routes in that part of the world for a ship to be in, so they held on and prayed the slaver would show up.

Jim had been watching the radar display that morning and he hollered out, "Got a slow moving blip, looks like about seven knots!" Both Wil and Oscar rushed into the bridge and watched the radar along with Jim. The ship was not steering a steady course and they could only hope the ship was not in trouble.

When it finally appeared on the horizon, black smoke was pouring out the single stack that leaned at a crazy angle and they would hear the old engine pounding and wheezing. The registry said it was a steam engine and old B & W Scotch Marine Boilers. (Babcock and Wilcox, a large boiler manufacturer headquartered in Canton, Ohio. - Author's note)

They watched the ship head for Unalaska Island. There was no habitation on the island, except for Dutch Harbor, but there was a deep fjord on the eastern end of the island that provided a sheltered anchorage. The old ship seemed to be headed for the southeastern coast of the island. They watched the tired old ship drop over the horizon and Wil ordered the two engines brought on line, He told everyone that they were going to follow the ship and see what was going on.

As they rounded the point that marked the entrance to the fjord, they saw the ship drop its anchor and it began dropping its boats. Oscar said, "My God, they are abandoning ship, where are the kids that are supposed to be on that damned floating wreck?"

Tempers at the outrageous atrocity began to rise. Wil started steering for the old ship, not caring if its crew saw them. Both engines were on-line and straining their mounting bolts to get there in time!

They came up on the Gwang Loc, there was no sound of machinery and the stack had ceased belching out heavy, black smoke, just a few white wisps of steam could be seen. Oscar said, "There is something very wrong over there, I'm gonna take the boat and some sharpshooters and go see what th' Hell is gong on!"

They put the launch over the side and ten sailors, armed with rifles and shot guns, clambered in the boat. Oscar had taken his 45 caliber Police Special pistol, the one that would stop a charging water buffalo in its tracks. He almost hoped the slavers would challenge him. The Second Mate cranked the outboard motor and it coughed to life, speeding them towards the stopped vessel.

It took a very few minutes to reach the Gwang Loc, its crew had left the ladders hanging over the side, so Oscar led his armed team up and onto the stricken ship. They searched the entire ship and found not a living soul, until they hit the forward hold!

There, they were assaulted with a stench that would have made a carrion eater run away! They opened the inspection hatch and the awful smell gagged them, along with pitiful wails of hurt children!

Oscar whipped out his handheld radio and called the ship, telling the rescue crew to get over there, PRONTO!

The sailors climbed down into the hold, some gagging and a couple lost their breakfast. There were two cages in the hold, one held about twenty small boys and the other held about the same number of girls. All were filthy and smelled of feces, vomit and fear.

Oscar turned on his flashlight and held it on his own face. "Do any of you speak English?"

A boy waved his hand out between the bars, "I do, I am an American!" A girl said that she did also, but they found her English was very poor.

Min Tangimora had come along for the trip and he spoke both Chinese and Japanese, and, maybe, a little Malay.

They found out that the children had been collected in Singapore, the American boy was Andrew Causey and he had been sold by his stepfather from his parent's vacation cabana in Singapore! That was a problem a bit different than what they had experienced before.

They had to shoot the locks off the cages and, it was evident, the ship was sinking, they could hear water sloshing in the bilges of the hold. Andrew told them that the ship had hit something the night before, pretty hard.

They got the children out of the cages, all had been beaten and none had any clothing. One of the older girls gathered up the girls and shook her fist at their rescuers, "Yous not gonna hurt us, I yous kill!"

Oscar went to stand near the girl and he said calmly and quietly, "No, we will not harm any of you, as soon as we get you off this terrible ship, we will find something you girls can wear. It may be only a blanket or a towel, but you WILL have something!"

The girl said, "No do sex things us?"

Oscar replied, "No, we will not do sex things with any of you, girls OR boys!" He looked over at the boys and said loudly, "I promise you all that you will be cared for and taken care of, no sex, no beating, NO HURT you!"

He called for Trong to come down into the hold and he said, "This is Trong, he is my son now, but we rescued him just like we have rescued you, go ahead, ask him any question you wish."

Trong spoke in both Malay and Chinese, "My Papa will NEVER hurt you and my other Papa is back on our ship, waiting for you all to come home!"

Several of the boys and also the girls began to cry, one girl cried out, "Me Papa not want me now, me dirty, used, no get husband me."

Trong walked slowly and carefully over to the girl and looked her straight in the eyes, "I do not know your name, but you are a pretty girl, there are lots of boys where I live who will line up to ask for a date from you! You will have a pretty dress and your hair will be shiny and sleek, you will have more young men asking for your hand than you can count!

The girl asked, "You where live?"

Trong said, "Now, I live with my new family in Hawaii, in America. My two Papas saved me from a hell on earth, they are sending my Brother, Pedro, to University and I go next year to University." He continued, "My beloved, Jowto is a singer and he is going to Julliard School of Music in New York City!"

The girl replied, "You luv other boy? You Papa not hate you?"

Trong said out loud so everyone could hear him, "My Papas, us all not care who you love, they love Jowto and me, they care for Pedro and all the other children they have rescued! They feed us good food, they buy us new clothes, they protect us and make the bad mens go away!"

He turned to Oscar and said, "This is one of my Papas, the other is the Captain of our ship, come, this old wreck is sinking, we must get over to our ship to be safe, come with me, I take you all!"

They got all the children up on deck and sent the girls down the ladder first and took them over to the Mary Joyce.

Wil came back on the return trip of the boat and helped the boys clamber down the ladder. The boat was overloaded, but Oscar didn't like the way the ship was beginning to wallow in the waves, it would not be long before it went under!

The Mary Joyce was crowded, Wil sure wished they had that old minesweeper with them right now; it was gonna be a tough trip home!

The boys were still on deck of the Mary Joyce, waiting for their turn in the showers when the Gwang Loc gurgled and slid beneath the waves. The rescued boys shook their fists at the ship as it slid under the waves and said it was fit only for fishes and serpents!

Wil had called the Coast Guard to tell them that the crew from the slave ship had landed in Unalaska and were hiding there. He told the Yeoman who took the message, "From the looks of these kids, you ought' to wait until next spring to pick them up!"

The Yeoman replied, "I know sir, but we can't do that, they gotta have a trial." Wil said, "I got a hundred kids here who will want to testify at that trial, be sure to let me know the dates!"

As soon as the launch was back in its cradle, Wil got the Mary Joyce underway and headed south to warmer waters. They had plenty of fuel and the sails were drawing well, it was water they were hurting for. Trong went below and tried to work some of Pedro's magic on the distiller, it helped some, but they all had to be careful and conserve as much water as possible.

The assistant cook was drafted to run the laundry, he was sure the machine never cooled off until they reached Nawiliwili Harbor! He tried conserving water as much as he could, but he just was NOT going to send smelly clothes back for the children to wear!

Wil and Oscar had stocked extra food, knowing they were out looking for children who had been abused, Cookie cooked mostly soft foods that were easily digested for the first week, then shifted over and broke out the steaks he had been hording. He made sure each child got a steak and baked potato before he allowed the crew to come through the chow line.

Andrew was a big help, both the boys and the girls looked up to him and he would sit with them at night, while they cried out their fears.

One day, they were back into warmer waters and Wil had slowed the Mary Joyce down a bit so it wasn't throwing everyone around, and Andrew came up to the bridge and spoke to Wil, "Cap'n, I am small for my age, but I am nineteen and have one year of college. Would you let me stay with you, so that I can help these kids and anymore you find. I suspect that you do this regularly, you have everything down pat and you seem to know exactly what you are doing, sir."

Wil replied, "I suppose you could stay on with us, but, why not finish your college first?"

He replied, "My Mom's new husband, I refuse to call him even stepfather, told me he would never pay to send me to school, I was a waste of the air I breathe!"

Wil stepped back in surprise, this young man was intelligent and a great help with the children. He shook his head and asked, "Why?" Andrew looked down at the deck as he replied, " 'cause I'm gay, sir and he hates all gays."

Wil threw his arms around the young man and hugged him, "Who cares if you are gay or not, you love these children and have done your very best to make sure they all survive, what were you taking in college?"

Andrew replied, "I was taking Early Childhood Development, I wanted to help children who had been neglected or harmed. I wanted to help children, I have no sexual interest in children, I had a boyfriend, well, I had hoped for more than that, but he ran when my stepfather started beating me."

Wil said, "We will speak more about this when we get home, but you figure on staying with us in our home until we can figure something out, ok?"

Wil noticed a happy gleam in Andrew's eyes as he said, "Yes sir, I sure will stay with you!"

To get out of the cold the fastest way possible, Wil headed the ship for Midway, planning on following the island chain down to Kauai. They hit the island chain between Midway and Maro Reef, there was a large yacht sitting there, it carried no flag and appeared to be just sitting there.

As Wil turned the Mary Joyce to follow the island chain towards Hawaii, they could hear the engines on the yacht start up and they began chasing the Mary Joyce. Soon, rocket and self-propelled grenades were being launched at the Mary Joyce from the yacht. They could see no crewmen on the yacht; they must have been crouched down the engine well.

Wil called Oscar up to the bridge and neither of them liked the looks of the situation. They started breaking out the firearms; Trong took one of the five inch rocket launchers up to the top of the wheel house, along with a fifty millimeter machine gun.

Trong started launching 5 inch rockets at the boat. Most slid off the sloped foredeck, but he finally put one down the vent and the whole yacht shuddered with smoke coming from the foredeck vents.

Andrew came topside to see what was going on and he began passing ammunition up to Trong.

Trong looked at him and asked, "Think you can handle a fifty?"

Andrew replied, "I sure as hell will try!"

Trong pointed out another fifty millimeter machine gun and the box of ammo for it and helped Andrew tug them up to the roof. Trong showed him how to sight the gun and to not shoot long bursts that only wasted ammunition.

Both young men lay down on the rooftop, letting the railing mask their bodies from the yacht. The yacht was quickly overtaking the Mary Joyce, Trong stabilized the rocket launcher on the handrail and lobbed a five inch rocket at the pursuing ship. The larger rocket packed more wallop if he could only connect with the yacht.

He told Andrew to hold off shooting the machine gun, not to let their opponents know what they had.

Andrew passed the ammunition for the rocket launcher to Trong and they had a running battle. Wil jived and jerked the Mary Joyce in an attempt to confuse their attackers and ruin their aim.

Jeff was on the radio, trying to contact Midway Naval Air Station to get some help.

Trong finally laid a rocket on the foredeck of the yacht, it exploded and there was a fire on the yacht that slowed it down, but they soon got the fire out and resumed the chase.

Andrew leaned over the edge of the wheel house and asked for the binoculars. Someone passed them up to him and he focused them on the pursuing vessel. He hollered, "That damned ship is my Mother's husband's yacht! Kill the SOB!"

They were starting to run short of rockets, so both young men started firing the machine guns at the yacht. The yacht was rapidly overtaking the Mary Joyce again, when Jeff finally contacted the Naval Air Station, they promised to scramble some planes and come to their assistance.

It had taken a few minutes for Jeff to get the Base Commander on the horn, then things began to happen.

The Mary Joyce was getting shot to pieces all around them, holes began to appear in the upper structure and the enginemen reported taking on water in the engine room! The pumps were taking care of for now, but anymore were going to be a problem.

Trong made a lucky hit with the last rocket they had, he dropped it down on the engine compartment of the yacht. Smoke started billowing up and flames shot out of the engine space.

But, the yacht still came on.

Both Andrew and Trong began aiming at the wheel house of the yacht, pouring fifty millimeter bullets into the wheel house as fast as they could feed the belts through the loader!

The damned thing seemed unstoppable! They were nearly out of ammunition; they had just one case of belts left for the 50's!

Just as two Navy PBYs started circling the yacht, there was a monstrous explosion, blowing the hatch off the engine space and it was obvious the vessel was on fire, BIG TIME! Flames shot out of the wheelhouse and the yacht went DIW (Dead In the Water)

Trong signaled Andrew to stop firing and wait to see what was going to happen, they were going through their supply of ammunition at a frightening rate!

A second explosion broke the yacht in two and both pieces sank, almost immediately, leaving everyone on board free-swimming in the open ocean! The activity must have attracted sharks because, almost immediately, several triangular fins were spotted circling the yacht.

Wil swung the Mary Joyce about and went back to pick up the survivors. As one of the survivors clambered on board the Joyce, Andrew picked up his fifty-millimeter machine gun and pointed it at him, "Make a move, you SOB, please, just make a move and I will end your problems for good!"

He told Oscar that was the man who had married his Mother and had sold him to the slavers! He turned back and screamed in the man's face, "Where is my Mother, you filthy dirtbag?"

The man sneered and said, "I got rid of her in Singapore, all I wanted was her money and I got that!"

Andrew was so angry, he sent a slug through the man's knee, crippling him for life!

The pilot of the lead PBY radioed the Mary Joyce that Captain McEavers, the Midway Base Commander, asked that they come back to the base so they could file charges against the survivors of the yacht. They were going for "Piracy on the High Seas", an internationally recognized crime!

Andrew gloated, "You hear that, dirt-bag? You ain't gonna see the outside of those prison bars in two centuries!"

Wil replied, "Does he know we have about fifty kids on board who are nearly all naked and horribly abused?"

The pilot sent back, "He does now, sir, I just told him and he says to come anyway, the medics are standing by to help the children and the sailors are running around the base gathering up clothing the children can wear, sir."

Wil swung the Joyce around and headed her for Midway Island. The medics and a doctor, came on board as soon as they arrived, the medics were carrying large laundry bins filled with white tee shirts, and skivvies that both the boys and the girls could cover their nakedness.

On an island base full of only male sailors, that was the best they could do and the children were grateful. Each one of the girls gave the sailors a kiss and the boys hugged them.

Those sailors felt on top of the world, they would repeat the story for years to come! Some would come back to Hawaii and look up The Mary Joyce and ask to be part of her crew!

The doctor and the medics worked for the rest of the day, patching and repairing damaged children's bodies. It was emotional work and both doctors and medics had to be relieved often, they would overload and begin crying.

Jonathon Gordon, Andrew's supposed stepfather, was screaming "law suit" as he was hauled away by the SPs. (Shore Patrol) They had patched him up a bit and dumped in the brig, along with everyone else who had been on the yacht.

The prisoners were offered neither a hot meal nor a shower. They got cold rations and a garden hose!

The Base Legal Officer asked Andrew if he wanted to press charges against Mr. Gordon and Andrew replied, "Sir, I would rather slit his throat, but I guess charges will have to do. How about murder, theft, slavery, piracy and embezzlement just for starters?"

He laughed and said, "Give me a few minutes and I can come up with some more if you need them!"

The officer laughed, "Son, that's enough to keep me busy for a month, if I need any more information, I will get back to you."

Andrew glared at his stepfather and said, "I hope they hang you and, if the Navy won't, I WILL!" I can claim justifiable homicide and I got a hundred witnesses who will vouch for me!"

The man made a lunge for Andrew's neck and the SP swung his baton against the man's neck, knocking him unconscious.

They spent three days at the base, they told the group that it would take two weeks to arrange transportation to get them back to Honolulu, they all said they would prefer going back on the Mary Joyce, even if it was a bit crowded.

Two days later saw them getting underway to head down the island chain towards home.

The sailors at Midway had dyed some of the white tee shirts and found some walking shorts that the children could wear and they gathered up enough rubber sandals that every child had some kind of footwear. They were a bizarre group, standing at the rail of the Mary Joyce, waving goodbye to the kind sailors who had helped them.

One of the sailors had taken a picture of them all standing at the rail of the Mary Joyce and sent it to his Mother in Honolulu. The picture got there before the Mary Joyce and made the front page of the Honolulu Chronicle, in full color!

Min Tangimora had to hire more security, every newspaper reporter, it seemed, in the Western World was trying to get the first picture of the Mary Joyce as she came into Nawiliwili Harbor and the O'Toole Family private dock!

Diplomatic staffs from a dozen Asian countries were frantically trying to identify the children and claim them. The notoriety had forced many countries to face up to their problem and try to reclaim their stolen children.

Some, still, however, refused and Andrew made up his mind that those countries were going to get LOTS of news coverage!

The Mary Joyce came sailing into Nawiliwili Harbor; Wil was draining the compressed air tank, blowing the ship's horn! Hundreds of automobiles were parked, so that their occupants could watch the ship enter port, they all returned with their own horns blaring in greeting.

Parents of children who had disappeared had arrived and lined the fence as the children stepped from the ship to solid land. Sadly only a few children were claimed by a parent and even fewer were taken in by their governments.

They were dirty, soiled and undesirable; Children who nobody wanted anymore. Andrew was in a pure rage, but he had an idea, he would need to talk to Captain Wil about it, but he had the funds and it could be done.

How are they going to handle a group of about fifty children? Who will take them in? Where will they go? You can bet that no government agency is going to step forward and say, "Send them to me! I will care for them!"