I had to figure a way to flee.
A vignette played in my mind ... The Crab, Mutt and I , lathered in sweat, writhing and pounding away with three emaciated jungle princesses to the tune of their only eight track ..... another nightmare .
My khaki shirt hung heavilly with sweat as we negotiated the terms of a refrigeration storage fee for the tons of fish that would be stored here and then shuttled to the highland resorts until their freezers were full and then I had to scheme a load of something else.
Luckilly, this time I had about four loads of croc skins to be flown to the North coast of New Guinea. Here's how it works.
Fred, an unknown Swiss wierdo had a barge with four big outboards that plied the delta area for fish, crabs and crocs. He towed three punts behind, each with an outboard, that were used after dark for croc hunting. Three in a boat they would go along the banks with a huge spotlight ... into the darkest of dark you can imagine. The eyes light up like two flashlights ... but you don't have a clue how big it is. On the south coast, there is a size limit and I think it was thirty inches across the tender belly .. armour to armour. On the North coast, there was no limit. Perfect for a businessman like myself.
How did you know how big he is? You don't .. they all look the same in the sights.
Fred caught Barrimundi fish in his nets. He would get really p*ssed off when a sawshark would get caught in the net and the beast thrashed about with the huge saw and ruined his net. He would bring them close to the surface and shoot them with a .303 rifle and cast them adrift. Later, I experimented with selling the shark meat to the native fish shops that were identified by the swirling balls of flies.
On landing in Goroka, the ATC would often say, "Clear to land, flies are moderate today."
I excused myself from the negotiations to clear my mind. Flee ... I have to flee. I walked to the bank of the river surrounded by thirty coy, giggling children all dashing hithertoo.
I couldn't believe the good fortune that burst upon my predicament....