Bomb (9780547537641) by Taylor Theodore

Author:Taylor, Theodore [Taylor, Theodore]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy, commander of Operation Crossroads, told the international press that the Bikinians could be returned to their island in a matter of months.

3

Heart thudding, Sorry sat strapped in, life jacketed, along with Chief Juda, Abram, Jeton Kejibuki, and Manoj Ijjirik, who held tightly to the seat piping, eyes closed. The engine noise mounted to a fury, and the seaplane began its takeoff run across the lagoon, slamming into low waves until it rose into the air.

All the other members of the council had refused to go, frightened by the white man's flying machine. The navy had offered to fly Juda and the council in search of a suitable island to temporarily replace Bikini as home. A four-engine aircraft, larger than the usual Catalmas, was being used.

Once they were in the air, Sorry began to breathe easier. His heartbeat slowed. Never in his life had he thought he'd be sitting in a roaring, vibrating airplane.

Soon the sailor in the cabin told him he could remove his seat belt and look out one of the window ports. Below were the sea and drifting clouds, a new and exciting view of them.

A naval officer, pudgy, red-haired, freckle-faced Lieutenant Hastings, the military governor's representative, accompanied them. He shouted above the engine pound, "We'll go to Ujae and Lae first."

The plane finally swooped low over Ujae and Lae, islands much smaller than Bikini. The people there waved as the winged shadow rumbled across their sands and palms.

Sorry still couldn't believe he was actually up in the sky, and now enjoying it. But Chief Juda, whose face was almost milk white, sat grasping the seat-frame pipes.

Abram said in English to Hastings, "The council decided against any island that is already inhabited."

Juda, vomiting into a bag hurriedly given to him, finally gasped, "Rongerik." He'd been told that Rongerik, 120 miles east of Bikini, had no residents.

The name, for some reason, bothered Sorry. Long ago, he had heard bad things about the island from Yolo, and 120 miles seemed halfway around the world to him.

Abram said that the navy really didn't care where they went, just so long as they soon left Bikini with their pandanus mats, outriggers, chickens, and dogs. It was up to them to select a new island.

Jeton Kejibuki was also sick and throwing up. Sorry himself felt a little queasy as the plane drummed on for another two hours. Then it descended a bit and Lieutenant Hastings, coming back from the cockpit, said, "Rongerik."

Chief Juda staggered out of his seat to look down.

"Do you want to land?" Lieutenant Hastings asked, and Abram interpreted for Juda, who shook his head.

"We should land," Abram said, but Juda refused.

To Sorry, the atoll, much smaller than Bikini, did not look too bad. There weren't as many palm trees or pandanus, but the beach of the main island was wider than Bikini's.

Sorry saw sudden tears in Manoj Ijjirik's eyes; Jeton Kejibuki stared down at the aircraft floor. Abram was clearly frustrated. They were all unhappy with Juda's decision not to land.

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