Rocky Island by Jim Newell Page A

lift. In the lifeboat he could see a man wearing what appeared to be an officer’s uniform and four rowers. The officer was carrying a rifle. As he watched, they cast off and started rowing in a direction that was going to take them to the west, but then they turned, following the shore line.
    “They’re going around the island,” he thought. When they disappeared from sight, he crawled out of his hiding place and ducking low, he scuttled along the pathway to follow the boat, taking pains to keep out of sight. After an hour of following the lifeboat’s slow progress around to the northwest side of the island, he understood that they were planning to come ashore not far from the house. He left the trail and ran to hide himself in the small shack that housed the Zodiac. He took the safety off the shotgun, checked to make sure there was a shell in the firing chamber, and waited.
    *
    The instructions the First Mate had received from Captain Braun were to go ashore and see whether anyone lived there and if so, kill him and bring the body to be dumped overboard when the Helen of Troy freed itself from the reef. The Captain was certain in his own mind that such an eventuality would happen. He had no idea that the whereabouts of his ship was known, that a Canadian Naval submarine was within a mile of him or that his vessel was irretrievably grounded on one of the most notorious reefs in the area. He did know that he was on Rocky Island. When the fog lifted and he could see the lighthouse beacon flashing the Morse signal RI, the Second Mate had finally figured out the location.
    The First Mate had set off on his manhunt with some misgivings, but he knew better than to disobey Braun’s orders. He finally made out the landing place and instructed his crew to go as quietly as possible into the small cove. There they beached the boat and got out, cautiously looking around. He decided to attack the house, figuring that at such an early hour, anyone there would be sleeping. He had no idea that the whereabouts of the ship were known or that a man with a shotgun was tracking his own location. He carried his rifle in both hands, ready to lift and fire if necessary.
    When they had passed the shack, Toby stepped out behind them and in a loud voice commanded, “Drop the gun and raise your hands.”
    All five whirled in surprise and the Mate lifted the rifle as though to shoot. Toby, already aiming for the man’s legs, pulled the trigger and a load of buckshot tore into the legs of the man with the rifle. He fell hard, screaming, the rifle flying off to one side. Toby pumped the shotgun, ejecting the cartridge and moving another into the chamber.
    “Anyone else want a load of buckshot?” he asked in a hard voice.
    The four Filipino crewmen stood with their hands in the air, obviously frightened. The First Mate continued to scream in pain.
    “Lie down on your faces, hands behind your back,” commanded Toby. “Now! Quick!”
    The four responded as fast as they could.
    Allison had heard the gunshot and came flying out of the house.
    “Toby!” she yelled.
    “It’s okay, Allie. One man’s shot, I need some rope to tie up the other four. I’m okay. Can you get some rope, please? Fast?”
    Allison was back in about five minutes with a couple of lengths of nylon quarter-inch rope. While Toby held the gun on them, she stood to one side of the men lying on the ground, and tied up their hands. The fifth man was still yelling in pain. Toby walked forward and stood over him.
    “Shut up—now—or I’ll make it so you can’t yell.”
    That worked.
    “Toby honey, I was so scared when I heard that gunshot. The RCMP will be here any minute. An hour ago, Corporal Brock told me they’d be here in about an hour.”
    Even as she spoke, the sound of a helicopter could be heard. In a couple of minutes a big Air Force chopper landed on the pad and a dozen Mounties, armed with rifles, jumped from it. The two crewmen wrestled a Zodiac from the side