King of the Coral Sea (1954) - full transcript
Ted King, aided by Jack Janiero, is in charge of a company owned by Peter Merriman, reputed playboy, which he inherited from his father. Merriman decides to have a look at the company which is getting shells and pearls from the ocean's bottom. King discovers a body out in the ocean and brings it in, which sets off a police investigation into the possible smuggling of undesirable aliens into the area and they ask for King's help. Merriman arrives and falls instantly for King's daughter, "Rusty." He also shows them that the use of modern equipment can streamline the operation as well as save lives, which he does for King when he is trapped under the sea. When the smugglers learn King is on their trail, they take "Rusty" hostage, but King, Jack and Merriman, with the use of Merriman's aqua-lungs, follow and rescue her and capture the crooks and killers before the police arrive.
Tighten your main halyard.
Come on, lively now, come on.
Sake, stand by and kip.
Sake, lay low.
Hands on the main sheet.
Come on, you two.
You'll never take me at this side of the island.
Over this way, Mr. King.
Motorboat.
Not yet.
Steady as she goes.
What you found?
A body.
Sagigi.
Turn him over, let's have a look at him.
Looks like the barracuda got at him.
Yeah, he's a bit of a mess.
Do you know him, Yusep?
Never seen him before in my life.
Any of you other fella, you know this fella?
This man don't come from Thursday Island.
He must have fall off some boat coming through the strait.
Cover him over, I don't like the way he looks at me.
Never could stand the glassy stare.
Funny thing to find, Mr. King.
A fella just floating around like that.
Yeah, city dress too.
Alright, Bandos, Sagi, stand by
your ship, we're coming about.
Sabe, Guji, run up a dead man's flag.
Tell the other boats to fall in line astern, Yusep.
Come on, you fellas, get into line astern
behind the H.B., we've got a dead man aboard.
Laylo, come here.
Come on, come on.
Get forward.
Miss Rusty, there's a couple of boats coming in.
They've lost a diver.
Janiero, Janiero, we've lost a diver.
What's this, what's this?
It's Mr. King's boat, he must have lost a diver.
It couldn't be.
What?
No.
Get hold the end of this, gully.
You can look after the shell, Yusep.
See it's all in the shed before dark.
I make 'em work.
Come on, you men, bring the dinghy back here.
Quick and lively, now.
There's a man dead.
No, we found one.
Two or three mile out the other side of Weekend Island.
Who is he?
I don't know, just found him
in the sea floating on his face.
What's left of him.
Stranger to me.
Yeah, must have fallen off a steamer, Charlie.
Hardly been in the water couple of days, what's left of him.
Hey Ted, just a minute.
Where are you off to?
The shore.
Well do you want to know more about this?
Yeah, I know, red tape.
You coppers always wanna know something about something.
I'll drop into the station when I get the shell organized.
Right, but don't make it too long, mate.
You're not up in an hour, I'll send a couple
of strong arm in there to get you.
Oh gee, it's good to see you.
Who was it, dad?
None of our men.
I thought it might have been you.
I'll get out of this.
Welcome home, Ted.
Nice to see you back.
G'day, Jack.
How's Uncle Sam's wandering boy?
Oh, fine, just fine.
Yeah?
Well I haven't had a meal all day
so what's say you get off home
and organize something to eat, I'm hungry.
Alright, but don't you be too long.
- I won't.
- Oh, dad.
Funny business here, Janiero.
Found a man out there floating on his face,
city dressed, too, collar, tie, city shoes, the whole works.
Been in the water about two days.
Who was he?
Oh, I haven't a clue.
Musta took a dive off a steamer.
Yeah, about the only way he coulda got there.
But it's a funny business, who's this from?
Wait and see.
Merriman, what's he coming up here for?
There was a letter from him a couple of days back,
looks like he wants to take over.
Oh he does, does he?
Let's have a look at this letter.
Sorry to hear about your...
Save it, Grundy, save it.
We never lost anybody.
Well, it does look as though he intends
to come up here and run things.
Must have closed up all the nightclubs down south.
Yeah.
A big time playboy.
I looked him up in Who's Who.
Peter Benedict Merriman,
born 1925 with a mouth full of silver spoons.
Spent the first 15 years of his life
being protected from society
and the next 30 being inflicted on it.
But you got to admit there,
Mr. Merriman's got a very nice taste in dames.
Could be.
Shell's in.
Okay Yank, let's go.
Everything in off your boat, Yusep?
That's the lot, Mr. King, everything's here.
Good.
- Jack.
- Huh?
I gotta to up to the police station.
You look after the rest of this weigh in, will ya?
Okay.
A blasted nuisance having to go
dragging all the way up there.
Nothing I can tell 'em they don't already know.
Well, you won't go finding things.
You want this stuff cased tonight?
You know I want it, guys hardly all sit down.
Nice large shell, your hand?
Yep.
Petri, go get some cases and pack this stuff up.
Righto.
Mr. Janiero, Mr. Janiero.
Janiero, come quick.
Hey hey, hold it.
Shoulda hit him with a railroad track.
Okay, let's take him into the office.
And you haven't any idea who hit you?
No.
And they didn't take anything?
No, not a thing.
It's crazy, Sergeant.
They turned out his pockets
and walk off and leave the dough.
Whatever it was they were looking for I didn't have it on,
get my coat for me, will you Jack?
Mm hm.
That was a pretty vicious sort of attack there.
They coulda killed you.
Yeah, you can say that again.
This might have something to do with it.
It was on the body.
What about coming up to the station, Ted?
Well I.
Okay okay, I got things to do.
See you in the morning, boss.
Righto, Jack.
You've got no idea how important this can be.
No?
There's a bit of smuggling going on, Ted.
There's always a fair bit of that sort of thing
but we've got a special brand of our own up here.
What do you mean?
This'll give you an idea what I mean.
Top secret?
Read it.
Canberra.
Further to report FBS, SS, Han Sing, Hong Kong, Sydney.
Hong Kong operative advises this vessel
on last three voyages transported
five prohibited European nationals.
None of these men possess passport entry phases
to this country and none was listed
on passenger or crew declarations.
European nationals not on board Han Sing
on arrival first to stay in the port of entry.
Where'd they get to?
Well, the theory is they dropped off in the Torres Straits
and taken to the mainland in a pearling lugger.
Could be, too.
It's not a haphazard business, Ted.
It's a very carefully prepared plan.
And somehow or another, this body ties up with it.
Now, what I'd like you to do, Ted,
is to come in with us on this thing
and help us find out what's going on.
Yeah, he'll be in in about an hour, Serena.
Everything okay up at the house?
Well don't make it too nice for him,
he might decide to stay.
But of course.
What's that?
Oh yeah, he's a big time playboy
from the big wicked city, don't you know?
Yeah, he's probably got all the old ladies
on the old sand for their dinner.
What?
Yeah, Mr. King will be bringing him up,
he'll make sure he doesn't frighten you.
Yeah, yeah okay.
What are you doing here?
I'm waiting to see Mr. King
to get a position with the company.
You always make like you're praying for rain
when you're waiting to see somebody?
Well, you see, Mr. Janiero.
Listen, Grundy, if I ever catch you
in here again, I'll cut off your both ears
and feed 'em to that animal, now beat it.
Boo.
What was that all about?
I caught him in the office.
Steal anything?
The whiskey.
Ah, you've gotta watch him.
He'd take the eyes out of your head.
The old Elsandra, dead on time.
Yeah, better get down there and meet Mr. Merriman.
Yeah, few things I wanna talk over with ya, though.
Wait til I get my new bonnet.
Thanks, Jack.
How's that?
Eh, fine.
Yeah.
Salapata.
Okay, boy, let's go.
Well, hello Grundy, you think
you get free drinks from me too, eh?
Janiero caught me in the office.
You should watch out.
I had a good look around, the wallet's not there.
You couldn't look so good.
Give a look.
- G'day, Mr. King.
- G'day, Yusep.
Down to see the grog I murdered?
That's right.
Looks like that King's out of a job today, eh?
We got a new boss of the Coral Sea.
I'm getting a bit involved with the coppers, Jack.
Top secret stuff.
But according to old Charlie Wright,
there's a mob smuggling illegal immigrants through here.
There's supposed to be one planted somewhere
in the straits now, they want us to help track him down.
Well, all ties up with that body, I guess.
Yeah, now look here's what I want you to do.
As soon as we get through with Merriman,
pop down to the Pilot's Association and get
the course of the last ship to come through the straits.
When you've got that, go down to the slipway,
break out the northern channel charts
for me, the graph, and all the HB.
I'll meet you down there just as soon
as I've got rid of the little gentleman.
The great white master.
Yeah, fancy suit, eh?
Maybe I shoulda worn me new hat.
I'm Ted King.
How do you do, Mr. King?
This is Jack Janiero, my second in charge.
How do you do, Mr. Janiero?
How are ya?
Peaceful spot you have here.
Yeah, nothing much happens around this part of the world.
No, I suppose not.
That's for you, Mr. Merriman,
it's a sort of a welcome.
The Merriman name used to stand pretty high in this area.
Yes.
What about the rest of your gear?
I shouldn't think it'd be off for now, sir.
Well, Janiero, look after that.
Oh, I'll get Yusep to bring the carry down, Captain King.
I've gotta go down the slips and get the HP moving.
Righto, Jack.
I'll see you around, Mr. Merriman.
Yes.
Not much chance of doing anything
else in a tiny place like this.
No, that's right.
I'll see you down the slipway, Jack.
I'd like to look at the office setup.
After I've seen the house, of course.
That can be arranged.
You'll find that time passes pretty slowly
around this part of the world.
Yusep, get Merriman's bags as soon as they
come off the boat and take 'em up to the house, will ya?
Okay, Janiero, I fix that.
Another thing, don't go hanging around the place
when you deliver 'em, keep away from Serena
while she's working at Merriman's house.
She's my woman.
Nobody's gonna argue with you, Yusep,
but like I said, don't go hanging around the house.
So this is the Merriman house?
Yeah.
I was at sea when your telegram came,
didn't have a chance to get the fence fixed.
Inside's alright, though.
Mm.
This is Serena, Mr. Merriman.
She's going to look after you while you're here.
How do you do, Miss Serena?
Well Serena, haven't you got a drink for Mr. Merriman?
He might as well learn the local customs.
Morning, Harry.
How are ya, Jack?
Who wants a shot at the $64 question?
I'll take a nibble at it.
What was the last ship you guys
brought through the straits?
That'd be the Han Sing from Hong Kong four days ago.
That's right.
The Han Sing, huh?
You keep a record of the course she took?
Yes, do you want to see it?
Mm, it'd be a help.
Come on in, we'll dig it up.
Hello?
No, he's right here beside me, just a minute.
It's for you, the police.
Hello?
Righto, Sergeant Wright, I'll come down straight away.
When you've settled in, you might like
to drop down to the office, I'll show you
how we've been operating your company.
Yes, I'd like to start looking into things straight away.
Yeah.
How'd you go?
Do you have to creep around like that?
I'd have been down earlier but I had to
go up the police station, what'd you find?
Well, the last ship through here
was the Han Sing from Hong Kong.
The nearest she got to land to drop
anybody off was east of Weekend Island.
Yeah, Weekend Island.
10 degrees, 35 minutes south, 143 degrees, 11 minutes east.
Well, didn't think your memory was that good.
It's not, I got that information from the police.
You can wrap the chart up now,
Jack, we won't be needing it.
You can think of more ways to mess a guy around.
Things have changed.
What do you mean?
That bloke we picked up was a commonwealth security man.
Federal agent, huh?
Yeah, one of the top boys from Canberra.
There was a lot of interesting information in his wallet
including the position for Weekend Island.
What was he doing floating around the channel?
He was dumped off the Han Sing.
The police reckon he was following
some important cloak and dagger bloke from Hong Kong.
They musta woken to him.
So they sent him for a swim, huh?
Yeah.
Thought the sharks would get him.
Nice playmates.
We'll take a look at Weekend Island, Jack.
The police seem to think it might be
a dumping ground for this mob.
There's a 30 fathom shell bed out there
that I've been meaning to survey for some time now.
A survey trip's a good excuse to get out to the island
without drawing too much attention to ourselves.
Check.
Pass the word around.
We'll leave day after tomorrow.
Take your boat?
Yeah, see she's ready to leave on the top of the tide.
Well, there you are, Mr. Merriman, the Torres Straits,
all the way from the Arafura to the Coral Sea.
Dead ahead of us here is Wednesday Island.
There's a chain of islands stretched north of that
right up to the coast of New Guinea.
You can paddle a surfboard from here
up to New Guinea if you wanted to.
That's Tuesday Island out there
and beyond it in the distance, 20, 25 mile away
you can see Cape York Peninsula.
It's where all our winds come from, the southeast trades.
This is Horn Island here, used to be
a big Air Force base during the war.
And that's Prince of Wales.
It's run as a cattle lease by an old fella
named Frank Joyce, he hasn't got too many
cattle there now but he's got quite a few head of deer.
You keep in well with old Frank
and you'll probably get yourself a haunch of venison.
Out here to the west is Friday Island
and beyond that, the Arafura Sea.
And down there, the world's number one pearling port,
the township of Thursday Island.
You can see our office on the waterfront, past the jetty,
the big white place next to it's the shell shed.
Thanks.
Come on, come on, what do you think this is?
Push week?
Well, here we are, Mr. Merriman.
This is your office and there's your chair.
Now just a minute, Mr. King.
You've been running this organization
quite satisfactorily for 27 years.
As long as the Coral Sea Company operates
and you want to stay with it, you sit in that chair.
But I thought.
The Sydney playboy was going to take over?
Well, Mr. King, I'm here to get a firsthand
idea of how the company operates.
If there's room for improvement,
I'll see that improvements are made.
I have a couple ideas already.
If you're not satisfied,
I didn't say I wasn't satisfied.
Shall we say I'm simply taking
a more active interest in my company.
I see.
Incidentally, that phone call from the police.
Was that anything to do with the company?
- No.
- Good.
Oh, and one other thing, the girl at the house.
Serena?
Yes, Serena.
She's your housekeeper, Mr. Merriman.
She does your housework.
In that case, as she'll probably be spending
a lot of time at the house, I'd appreciate it very much
if you'd ask her to keep her boyfriends out of sight.
Very well, I'll speak to her about it tonight.
She'll be at the dance.
Dance?
Yeah, it's a native dance, ceremonial stuff.
It's another welcome for you.
Hello, dad.
Mr. Merriman, this is my daughter Rosalind.
How do you do, Miss King?
- Oh, Rusty.
- Rusty.
How do you like the dancing?
Very interesting.
Most spectacular.
I hope they dance again.
Yeah, oh look there's Yusep over there.
He's our head diver, the big fella
in the colored shirt with Serena.
You see what I mean about the?
Yeah, yeah I'll speak to them about it.
She's pretty, isn't she?
Yes, she is rather for a native.
She's not a native, she's a Malay.
There's a lot of Malays on the island.
You seem to know all about it.
I'll know where to come when I'm looking for a guide.
I'll show you around the island some time, if you like.
I might take you up on that.
By Jove, yes I might.
Hi there.
Ha.
I shouldn't have crept up on you like that.
Oh, that's alright.
You were there to be my guide, remember?
Tell me about these old guns of yours.
Oh, they were brought up here before the last war.
A lot of people will tell you they've been here
for over a century, but that isn't true.
You seem to know all about it.
You must spend most of your time up here.
No, I spend most of my time down there,
catch crayfish over that reef.
You catch 'em yourself?
I get them for dad, he'd eat them
three times a day if he could.
Mm, so would I.
You must show me how to catch 'em sometime.
There's nothing to it, you swim out across the reef
until you see one, stand up, sight it with your spear,
and crayfish.
What a beauty.
Look over there, turtle.
That's alright, do it again.
Look out for him.
I got him.
Watch out he doesn't bite you.
Isn't he a beauty?
Isn't he?
What are you gonna do with him now you've caught him?
Oh, let him go.
There he goes.
Come on, hustle up you guys.
You're supposed to leave tomorrow, not next week.
Now, you guys all through?
Well what do you think you're doing
parking stuff all over the place
like it was a jump shark, now get it outta here.
What!
What is this box and why is it on the trolley?
Mr. Janiero, Mr. Merriman told us to put this box here.
You got that box alright, Janiero?
Uh box, box, which box would that be, Mr. Merriman?
This black box.
It's to go on the boat with the other gear.
Thinking about going out with us tomorrow, Mr. Merriman?
Yes.
Rusty said she was going so I see no reason why I shouldn't.
No, that's alright.
Give you a chance to see how we operate.
Alright, you've got plenty of air.
Okay.
I got the idea, it's very interesting.
And how many divers do you work from each lugger?
Three usually, but this is only a survey trip.
I'm going down on my own.
This boat's in pretty poor shape, isn't it?
Yeah, she is in poor shape but she's been worked hard.
She's the top earner of your fleet this season,
Mr. Merriman, 18 ton of shell.
You see her in about three weeks' time
when she comes off the slipway.
If you know anything at all about boats.
Pretty well over the darkly bed now, Ted.
I'm going right on, Jack.
Work the drift back.
Right.
There's about 30 fathom of water under us here.
What's the name of this place?
Weekend Island, the Japs used to work here before the war.
Nobody's had a look at it
for some time, now it's too deep.
There's a Japanese fleet operating the Arafura now,
they tell me they're getting a lot of shell.
Yeah, with 25 boats working,
they'll probably take 1,000 tons this year.
It'll force the price down.
Hm, nothing surer.
There's only one answer to competition like that,
drop your production costs.
We operate cheaper than any
other pearling company in Australia.
You can still work cheaper.
For a start, simplify your diving methods.
The helmet and corset is the best method there is.
We proved that in the past.
In the past, yes, but...
And Thursday Island's the only area
where the helmet and corset's used
and we still take the most shells.
Maybe.
But your output per man is still low.
I did a bit of underwater work for the British Navy
during the war, we used the Aqua Lung gear
they developed for the frogmen.
That fancy stuff might be alright for Navy frogmen,
but they're not in the pearling business, Mr. Merriman.
Alright, Jack, get ready for the drift.
Check.
- Sagigi.
- What?
Take over, we're coming about.
Right, Jack.
Okay, Ted, don't go frightening any sharks.
12 fathoms.
12 fathoms, check.
Keep plenty of pipeline to him, Laylo.
14 fathoms.
14 fathoms, check.
Sagigi.
Okay Jack, I'll pull young guy.
Three divers, six tenders, nine men to get the shell.
Too much gear and too many people.
26 fathoms.
26 fathoms, check.
Dad shouldn't go to that depth.
Diver's on the bottom.
Stand by to hold the depth, Sagigi.
She working now?
No, not yet, not til he calls to slack line.
Taking up shell.
He's gotta keep straight up and down in this gear,
otherwise the water will shoot up inside the helmet.
Dangerous.
It's the safest and fastest method
of shell diving there is, Mr. Merriman.
The diver gets in trouble,
he can slip out of the helmet and swim up.
From 30 fathoms?
No, not 30 fathoms, it's 180 feet.
We don't usually work that depth.
In deep water, you've gotta be very very careful.
How much slack pipe you got out there, Laylo?
Half pipe's down.
Pipe is fouled, keep the pressure up to him,
he's not getting into the helmet.
Pressure's rising.
What's the drill now, Janiero?
He's fouled on coral, I have to go down.
Rusty, you can tender for me.
Well, I've never tendered anyone at 30 fathoms.
Now's the time to learn, kid.
Engineer, get me another helmet and corset
and get it coupled up quick and lively.
But Janiero, if you go down, who'll tender dad?
You tender your dad and Merriman can tender for me.
Hey Merriman, what do you think you're doing?
I'm going down.
In that fancy dress?
There's nothing fancy about an Aqua Lung.
You want me to have to bring you both up?
This is no time to be the big hero.
Get back on that line, Janiero, you're wasting time.
Listen, Merriman, Ted King may be drowning down there.
That's the point, exactly,
now do what you're told and stay on that line.
You're drifting, Sagigi.
Rusty.
You're drifting off shore all the time,
Sagigi, now hold us steady.
I know what the tide's doing, hold her steady.
Now try dropping the anchor but hold her steady.
What happened, is he alright?
Yeah, he's alright, his air pipe's jammed in some coral.
We need a crowbar or something.
No dice.
We're drifting away from him all the time.
There's only 40 or 50 feet of air pipe left.
How much air is he getting down there?
Rusty, get something to put on this, will ya?
Blood will bring the sharks.
He's not getting any air down there.
Can't send him any more,
it gets forced back into the tanks.
What happens when you run out of hose?
Uh, pipeline breaks away from the compressor coupling
or cuts away where it's cord down there.
What's the score?
What's our next move?
Listen, - Rusty, just get
a rubber glove and some sticking plastic.
With the pressure dropping,
it's only a matter of time before the water
shoots inside the helmet and drowns him
so there's only one thing we can do.
There's no guarantee that'll work.
Take out that other helmet,
tell him we're gonna have to change while we're down there.
It's been done before.
Good, nice and tight.
That's it, right, let's get this halter down to him.
Good boy, give him a hand Laylo.
You too, Rusty.
Here, Mr. Merriman.
Easy on the helmet.
He's signaled to come up.
I'll take it, kid.
Okay, Laylo, lay that old pipe and help with this new one.
Let me know when pressure's
right to be staged from 12 fathoms.
12 fathom check.
He'll be alright, Mr. Merriman?
Yeah, he's alright.
He's taking it easy, nice and cool down there.
We'll have to stage him,
he's been down there for quite a while.
Yeah, 15 minutes at 70 feet.
25 at 60, 30 at 50, et cetera, et cetera.
All accounts
- bring diver to surface fully.
- Bring diver to surface fully
- over the last 10 feet.
- 10 feet.
Ooh.
Out of air.
I think he's wonderful.
I guess he's alright.
Ah, thanks Rusty.
Tastes a lot better than that salt water down there.
You must have drunk quite a bit of it
when you changed over those helmets, Ted.
You can say that again.
Anyway, what do you
think of the Aqua Lung gear now?
Aw, it's not a bad sort of a contraption.
Handy if you couldn't swim.
I'll never convince you.
I don't know, Pete.
Might come in handy if a trucker
shoaled or something like that.
Where goin', Jack?
The shore, Ted.
Gotta get some water, they forgot
to fill the tanks before we came out.
That's a bad blue.
Yeah, I'll pull 'em out when we get back.
Well hang on, I'll come with you.
Stretch me legs a bit.
Do you mind if I come?
Oh, you'd better stay there, Pete.
Somebody's gotta watch the boat, y'know?
You want me to come, dad?
No, Rusty, you stop with Pete, I'll be right.
Give us a push off, Ted.
That coulda been nasty this morning, Ted,
after taking all the trouble
to get out here just to look at the island.
Yeah, nearly messed up the real purpose of our being here.
Merriman did a good job for a pink gin boy.
He's like a fish down there, Jack, like a fish.
Now, what's the pitch?
Well, we just wander about
like two blokes looking for water, that's all.
But watch your step.
There's the pool, right across the other side.
It's the only one on the island.
Well, what's the plan?
You cover me from here.
Check.
Watch your step.
There is somebody in there.
I could feel him watching me.
There's a little camp.
Yeah?
Want us to go back in?
No, we'll keep out of it for a while, yeah?
I've got an idea how this thing's gonna develop.
Who is it fishes this area on his own, Janiero?
Who's been down here four times in the last six months,
hasn't got enough shell to fill your hat,
then gone straight down south and fished the mainland beds?
Why, that dirty.
Yeah, it tallies with what the coppers think, too.
I think our man will be back here again very soon.
You want to get rid of him, and quick.
That's right.
If I had a good excuse to fire him,
might drag him out into the open.
Yeah.
He could get into a brawl or something.
Yeah?
Yeah he might, at that.
He's just the boy who might.
I never get a chance to see you now that you have the hat.
When I'm not with the lugger,
I'm diving all day and getting lots of pearl shells.
Thanks for lending the dinghy, Yusep.
Okay.
Are you sailing today?
That's right.
Well, good luck, you divers can always use it.
Yusep does not need luck, Grundy.
If the shell is there, he will get it.
For me, there is always good fishing on Weekend Island.
I fish there two or three days
then I move on to the mainland beds.
Serena going with ya?
No, she working for that Merriman now.
She got to stop ashore.
Here comes Janiero, you better scram.
Alright, you men, come on, get into it.
What was that pickpocket doing with the company dinghy?
He borrowed it to go and look at his boat.
Don't get so liberal with the company gear, Yusep,
or you'll find yourself in trouble.
I don't wanna see you talking to that deadbeat around here.
I don't talk to him, he talks to me.
So tell him to stay away,
we don't want him hanging around the joint.
You tell him, Janiero, it's no use telling me.
Now don't get smart, Yusep.
And another thing, that girl
shouldn't be hanging around here.
Serena, I told you to stay up at the house
and keep away from this guy, I told ya a dozen times.
Stay where you are, Serena.
Go on up to the house, now beat it.
Okay Yusep, you asked for it.
Cut it out, you two, cut it out I tell ya.
What's this all about?
He started it, I chipped him about lending Grundy
our gear and he just hauled off and hit me.
You're fired, Yusep,
I've had enough of you and your brawls.
Pick up your money at the office.
Well, it came off.
Thanks Jack, the company won't forget it.
If I knew he coulda hit that hard,
I would worn a baseball mask.
He's without a boat now and that's the main thing.
He can't leave that European bloke on the island forever.
He might pinch a lugger.
He might but he wouldn't get it crewed,
and if he did we'd know about it.
He's playing right into our hands.
Hello dad, how is Janiero,
whatever's happened to your face?
An oyster bit me.
Oh, Janiero.
He fell over a dinghy.
Hm, you look very sweet and lovely today, my dear.
Do you like the dress, dad?
I think it looks beautiful.
Don't you, Jack?
Um, exquisite.
How'd you like to do something for me, Rusty?
Love to.
Well, pop down to Merriman's place
and ask him to meet me at the Grand at 4 o'clock
and to bring his compressor attachment with him.
Compressor attachment, 4 o'clock, okay dad.
I hope your face is alright, Janiero.
By golly, Jack, if you ever get married,
you see you only have boy babies.
Police station, these girls,
y'know, can be a bit of a problem.
Hello Charlie, yeah.
I thought you might like to know we just sacked Yusep.
He hasn't got a boat anymore.
And that just suits him fine.
Here comes the girl.
Go up the house and tell Serena what she's gotta do.
She's not going to like this.
You just tell her what she's
gotta say to the girl, that's all.
Hello, Miss Rusty.
Ooh, a new dress eh?
- It looks nice.
- Thanks, Grundy.
Where would a pretty girl like you
be going in a nice dress like that?
Oh, I'm going up to Mr. Merriman's place for dad.
Oh now, isn't that a pity.
I just seed he'd gone swimming with his costume
and them things whatever he puts on his feet.
Oh, oh well I'll go up anyway.
He mightn't be long.
Hey hey, did you see them two fellas fighting
down on the beach this morning?
Fighting?
Yeah, Janiero and Yusep.
They were fighting in the water.
Oh, he come up, he can fight, that Mr. Janiero.
Fell over a dinghy, an oyster bit him.
Yeah, and your father just come down
stopped it when it was getting interesting, too.
Thanks, Serena.
Hello, Serena.
Good morning, Miss Rusty.
Is Mr. Merriman inside?
Oh, no, he's gone to catch crayfish.
He said if you came, he's down at the reef.
Oh.
Why don't you have a drink?
Wonder what's keeping Merriman.
I can guess.
Two six please.
Hello, is that you Pete?
Yeah.
What's the holdup?
What do you mean?
You're supposed to meet me
up here at the Grand at 4 o'clock.
First I've heard of it.
Didn't Rusty tell you?
Rusty, no, was she supposed to?
Yeah, I sent her up to your place with a message.
That's funny.
Didn't you see her?
I saw her talking to Serena but I didn't get any message.
I'm sorry, Ted, if I.
Okay, Pete, don't worry.
I'll dig her up.
Serena.
Serena.
Serena.
Lindy, where's Serena?
She went this way, to the church.
I, you.
Well I gotta go now, Ted.
Okay, John.
Luck.
If I see Rusty around, I'll send her on home.
Yeah, I'll be pleased if you would.
So long, John.
Hm, nice guy huh?
Yeah, good fella, good sailor too.
Mr. King, I'd like to see you.
Not now, Grundy, I'm busy.
Too busy to talk about your daughter?
What about my daughter?
I've got her, King.
I'm willing to trade her back to you for a little time.
You've got yourself mixed up in something
that ordinary little people should keep right out of.
You've become a nuisance, King, so I've taken
your daughter to keep you quiet for the next 48 hours.
- Why, you.
- Take it easy, Jack.
What do you want me to do, Grundy?
I want you to do precisely nothing.
In 48 hours, I'll be gone from here and provided
you have kept out of my way in the meantime,
you get your daughter back.
But keep on interfering, King,
you'll never see her alive again.
Get after him, Jack, don't let him
out of your sight for a minute.
Where's Ted?
The lad's bar.
Serena's just told me something fantastic.
Yusep's got Rusty, he's taken her away on Grundy's boat.
Yeah, I know,
- sit down.
- Sit down nothing,
there's something crazy going on.
Yeah, I know all about it.
What the heck are you doing here?
What about Rusty?
Now take it easy, son,
I got an interest in Rusty too, y'know.
Sorry, Ted.
What's this all about?
They've taken Rusty to keep me quiet.
Probably taken her out to Weekend Island.
According to Serena, that's
where she is so let's get out there.
We can't.
If she is there, she'd be dead
as soon as we put a foot near the place.
Can't tail 'em by boat, either.
We can see them, they can see us.
You think they'll be taking a boat out there?
Nothing surer, Yusep's out on Grundy's boat now
and as soon as he gets back, they'll be off again.
Then let's go with them.
How the blazes can we go with them?
The Aqua Lung gear, got a couple of strong screw clamps?
Thousands of 'em.
Come on, then, I'll show you how we we'll go with 'em.
I thought you'd never get here.
Had a little trouble back on Thursday Island.
You ready to move?
Yes, I'm all set.
How's the girl?
She is alright.
Mm, I don't know whether
to take her with us or leave her here.
It was a good idea to snatch her to keep King quiet,
but she's gonna be a bit of a problem from now on.
Well leave her here, that's the easiest.
Yes, it might be too.
There's Rusty.
Get around behind them, I'll cover you from here.
Give me your knife.
Eh, she's the last of our worries anyway.
Why, we moving to other island.
No, we're taking you straight through to the mainland.
But I wasn't supposed to be moved for another week.
Yeah I know that, but...
The boat.
Come on, darling, quick.
Back this way.
I won't miss this time.
You've had it, Grundy.
We're all around you,
you haven't got a chance, Grundy.
That's the police boat you can hear.
This is no time for heroics.
On your feet, Grundy.
Come on.
Which way, Janiero?
This way.
I got him, Charlie, there's no need for any hurry.
Everything alright, Ted?
Yeah, here and there's two more
of 'em back there in the bush.
Yusep and your character from Hong Kong.
But you can take your time about getting 'em out.
Frank, you'd better go and have a look at 'em.
Come on, Grundy.
Come on, kid, let's get cleaned up and get out of here.
Come on, all aboard that's going aboard.
Let's get out of this place, huh?
You go on, Jack, I'll meet you at the boat.
I'm a bit interested in this gear,
you never know it might come in handy for pearl shelling.
Well, Merriman finally talked you into it, huh?
Right here, move your big feet.
Okay, Peter Benedict, let's get out of here.
Sure you're ready now?
All set.
Come on, come on, we got things to do.
And then so it was you, right?
You know how it is, just can't help
being the right place at the right time.
Come on, lively now, come on.
Sake, stand by and kip.
Sake, lay low.
Hands on the main sheet.
Come on, you two.
You'll never take me at this side of the island.
Over this way, Mr. King.
Motorboat.
Not yet.
Steady as she goes.
What you found?
A body.
Sagigi.
Turn him over, let's have a look at him.
Looks like the barracuda got at him.
Yeah, he's a bit of a mess.
Do you know him, Yusep?
Never seen him before in my life.
Any of you other fella, you know this fella?
This man don't come from Thursday Island.
He must have fall off some boat coming through the strait.
Cover him over, I don't like the way he looks at me.
Never could stand the glassy stare.
Funny thing to find, Mr. King.
A fella just floating around like that.
Yeah, city dress too.
Alright, Bandos, Sagi, stand by
your ship, we're coming about.
Sabe, Guji, run up a dead man's flag.
Tell the other boats to fall in line astern, Yusep.
Come on, you fellas, get into line astern
behind the H.B., we've got a dead man aboard.
Laylo, come here.
Come on, come on.
Get forward.
Miss Rusty, there's a couple of boats coming in.
They've lost a diver.
Janiero, Janiero, we've lost a diver.
What's this, what's this?
It's Mr. King's boat, he must have lost a diver.
It couldn't be.
What?
No.
Get hold the end of this, gully.
You can look after the shell, Yusep.
See it's all in the shed before dark.
I make 'em work.
Come on, you men, bring the dinghy back here.
Quick and lively, now.
There's a man dead.
No, we found one.
Two or three mile out the other side of Weekend Island.
Who is he?
I don't know, just found him
in the sea floating on his face.
What's left of him.
Stranger to me.
Yeah, must have fallen off a steamer, Charlie.
Hardly been in the water couple of days, what's left of him.
Hey Ted, just a minute.
Where are you off to?
The shore.
Well do you want to know more about this?
Yeah, I know, red tape.
You coppers always wanna know something about something.
I'll drop into the station when I get the shell organized.
Right, but don't make it too long, mate.
You're not up in an hour, I'll send a couple
of strong arm in there to get you.
Oh gee, it's good to see you.
Who was it, dad?
None of our men.
I thought it might have been you.
I'll get out of this.
Welcome home, Ted.
Nice to see you back.
G'day, Jack.
How's Uncle Sam's wandering boy?
Oh, fine, just fine.
Yeah?
Well I haven't had a meal all day
so what's say you get off home
and organize something to eat, I'm hungry.
Alright, but don't you be too long.
- I won't.
- Oh, dad.
Funny business here, Janiero.
Found a man out there floating on his face,
city dressed, too, collar, tie, city shoes, the whole works.
Been in the water about two days.
Who was he?
Oh, I haven't a clue.
Musta took a dive off a steamer.
Yeah, about the only way he coulda got there.
But it's a funny business, who's this from?
Wait and see.
Merriman, what's he coming up here for?
There was a letter from him a couple of days back,
looks like he wants to take over.
Oh he does, does he?
Let's have a look at this letter.
Sorry to hear about your...
Save it, Grundy, save it.
We never lost anybody.
Well, it does look as though he intends
to come up here and run things.
Must have closed up all the nightclubs down south.
Yeah.
A big time playboy.
I looked him up in Who's Who.
Peter Benedict Merriman,
born 1925 with a mouth full of silver spoons.
Spent the first 15 years of his life
being protected from society
and the next 30 being inflicted on it.
But you got to admit there,
Mr. Merriman's got a very nice taste in dames.
Could be.
Shell's in.
Okay Yank, let's go.
Everything in off your boat, Yusep?
That's the lot, Mr. King, everything's here.
Good.
- Jack.
- Huh?
I gotta to up to the police station.
You look after the rest of this weigh in, will ya?
Okay.
A blasted nuisance having to go
dragging all the way up there.
Nothing I can tell 'em they don't already know.
Well, you won't go finding things.
You want this stuff cased tonight?
You know I want it, guys hardly all sit down.
Nice large shell, your hand?
Yep.
Petri, go get some cases and pack this stuff up.
Righto.
Mr. Janiero, Mr. Janiero.
Janiero, come quick.
Hey hey, hold it.
Shoulda hit him with a railroad track.
Okay, let's take him into the office.
And you haven't any idea who hit you?
No.
And they didn't take anything?
No, not a thing.
It's crazy, Sergeant.
They turned out his pockets
and walk off and leave the dough.
Whatever it was they were looking for I didn't have it on,
get my coat for me, will you Jack?
Mm hm.
That was a pretty vicious sort of attack there.
They coulda killed you.
Yeah, you can say that again.
This might have something to do with it.
It was on the body.
What about coming up to the station, Ted?
Well I.
Okay okay, I got things to do.
See you in the morning, boss.
Righto, Jack.
You've got no idea how important this can be.
No?
There's a bit of smuggling going on, Ted.
There's always a fair bit of that sort of thing
but we've got a special brand of our own up here.
What do you mean?
This'll give you an idea what I mean.
Top secret?
Read it.
Canberra.
Further to report FBS, SS, Han Sing, Hong Kong, Sydney.
Hong Kong operative advises this vessel
on last three voyages transported
five prohibited European nationals.
None of these men possess passport entry phases
to this country and none was listed
on passenger or crew declarations.
European nationals not on board Han Sing
on arrival first to stay in the port of entry.
Where'd they get to?
Well, the theory is they dropped off in the Torres Straits
and taken to the mainland in a pearling lugger.
Could be, too.
It's not a haphazard business, Ted.
It's a very carefully prepared plan.
And somehow or another, this body ties up with it.
Now, what I'd like you to do, Ted,
is to come in with us on this thing
and help us find out what's going on.
Yeah, he'll be in in about an hour, Serena.
Everything okay up at the house?
Well don't make it too nice for him,
he might decide to stay.
But of course.
What's that?
Oh yeah, he's a big time playboy
from the big wicked city, don't you know?
Yeah, he's probably got all the old ladies
on the old sand for their dinner.
What?
Yeah, Mr. King will be bringing him up,
he'll make sure he doesn't frighten you.
Yeah, yeah okay.
What are you doing here?
I'm waiting to see Mr. King
to get a position with the company.
You always make like you're praying for rain
when you're waiting to see somebody?
Well, you see, Mr. Janiero.
Listen, Grundy, if I ever catch you
in here again, I'll cut off your both ears
and feed 'em to that animal, now beat it.
Boo.
What was that all about?
I caught him in the office.
Steal anything?
The whiskey.
Ah, you've gotta watch him.
He'd take the eyes out of your head.
The old Elsandra, dead on time.
Yeah, better get down there and meet Mr. Merriman.
Yeah, few things I wanna talk over with ya, though.
Wait til I get my new bonnet.
Thanks, Jack.
How's that?
Eh, fine.
Yeah.
Salapata.
Okay, boy, let's go.
Well, hello Grundy, you think
you get free drinks from me too, eh?
Janiero caught me in the office.
You should watch out.
I had a good look around, the wallet's not there.
You couldn't look so good.
Give a look.
- G'day, Mr. King.
- G'day, Yusep.
Down to see the grog I murdered?
That's right.
Looks like that King's out of a job today, eh?
We got a new boss of the Coral Sea.
I'm getting a bit involved with the coppers, Jack.
Top secret stuff.
But according to old Charlie Wright,
there's a mob smuggling illegal immigrants through here.
There's supposed to be one planted somewhere
in the straits now, they want us to help track him down.
Well, all ties up with that body, I guess.
Yeah, now look here's what I want you to do.
As soon as we get through with Merriman,
pop down to the Pilot's Association and get
the course of the last ship to come through the straits.
When you've got that, go down to the slipway,
break out the northern channel charts
for me, the graph, and all the HB.
I'll meet you down there just as soon
as I've got rid of the little gentleman.
The great white master.
Yeah, fancy suit, eh?
Maybe I shoulda worn me new hat.
I'm Ted King.
How do you do, Mr. King?
This is Jack Janiero, my second in charge.
How do you do, Mr. Janiero?
How are ya?
Peaceful spot you have here.
Yeah, nothing much happens around this part of the world.
No, I suppose not.
That's for you, Mr. Merriman,
it's a sort of a welcome.
The Merriman name used to stand pretty high in this area.
Yes.
What about the rest of your gear?
I shouldn't think it'd be off for now, sir.
Well, Janiero, look after that.
Oh, I'll get Yusep to bring the carry down, Captain King.
I've gotta go down the slips and get the HP moving.
Righto, Jack.
I'll see you around, Mr. Merriman.
Yes.
Not much chance of doing anything
else in a tiny place like this.
No, that's right.
I'll see you down the slipway, Jack.
I'd like to look at the office setup.
After I've seen the house, of course.
That can be arranged.
You'll find that time passes pretty slowly
around this part of the world.
Yusep, get Merriman's bags as soon as they
come off the boat and take 'em up to the house, will ya?
Okay, Janiero, I fix that.
Another thing, don't go hanging around the place
when you deliver 'em, keep away from Serena
while she's working at Merriman's house.
She's my woman.
Nobody's gonna argue with you, Yusep,
but like I said, don't go hanging around the house.
So this is the Merriman house?
Yeah.
I was at sea when your telegram came,
didn't have a chance to get the fence fixed.
Inside's alright, though.
Mm.
This is Serena, Mr. Merriman.
She's going to look after you while you're here.
How do you do, Miss Serena?
Well Serena, haven't you got a drink for Mr. Merriman?
He might as well learn the local customs.
Morning, Harry.
How are ya, Jack?
Who wants a shot at the $64 question?
I'll take a nibble at it.
What was the last ship you guys
brought through the straits?
That'd be the Han Sing from Hong Kong four days ago.
That's right.
The Han Sing, huh?
You keep a record of the course she took?
Yes, do you want to see it?
Mm, it'd be a help.
Come on in, we'll dig it up.
Hello?
No, he's right here beside me, just a minute.
It's for you, the police.
Hello?
Righto, Sergeant Wright, I'll come down straight away.
When you've settled in, you might like
to drop down to the office, I'll show you
how we've been operating your company.
Yes, I'd like to start looking into things straight away.
Yeah.
How'd you go?
Do you have to creep around like that?
I'd have been down earlier but I had to
go up the police station, what'd you find?
Well, the last ship through here
was the Han Sing from Hong Kong.
The nearest she got to land to drop
anybody off was east of Weekend Island.
Yeah, Weekend Island.
10 degrees, 35 minutes south, 143 degrees, 11 minutes east.
Well, didn't think your memory was that good.
It's not, I got that information from the police.
You can wrap the chart up now,
Jack, we won't be needing it.
You can think of more ways to mess a guy around.
Things have changed.
What do you mean?
That bloke we picked up was a commonwealth security man.
Federal agent, huh?
Yeah, one of the top boys from Canberra.
There was a lot of interesting information in his wallet
including the position for Weekend Island.
What was he doing floating around the channel?
He was dumped off the Han Sing.
The police reckon he was following
some important cloak and dagger bloke from Hong Kong.
They musta woken to him.
So they sent him for a swim, huh?
Yeah.
Thought the sharks would get him.
Nice playmates.
We'll take a look at Weekend Island, Jack.
The police seem to think it might be
a dumping ground for this mob.
There's a 30 fathom shell bed out there
that I've been meaning to survey for some time now.
A survey trip's a good excuse to get out to the island
without drawing too much attention to ourselves.
Check.
Pass the word around.
We'll leave day after tomorrow.
Take your boat?
Yeah, see she's ready to leave on the top of the tide.
Well, there you are, Mr. Merriman, the Torres Straits,
all the way from the Arafura to the Coral Sea.
Dead ahead of us here is Wednesday Island.
There's a chain of islands stretched north of that
right up to the coast of New Guinea.
You can paddle a surfboard from here
up to New Guinea if you wanted to.
That's Tuesday Island out there
and beyond it in the distance, 20, 25 mile away
you can see Cape York Peninsula.
It's where all our winds come from, the southeast trades.
This is Horn Island here, used to be
a big Air Force base during the war.
And that's Prince of Wales.
It's run as a cattle lease by an old fella
named Frank Joyce, he hasn't got too many
cattle there now but he's got quite a few head of deer.
You keep in well with old Frank
and you'll probably get yourself a haunch of venison.
Out here to the west is Friday Island
and beyond that, the Arafura Sea.
And down there, the world's number one pearling port,
the township of Thursday Island.
You can see our office on the waterfront, past the jetty,
the big white place next to it's the shell shed.
Thanks.
Come on, come on, what do you think this is?
Push week?
Well, here we are, Mr. Merriman.
This is your office and there's your chair.
Now just a minute, Mr. King.
You've been running this organization
quite satisfactorily for 27 years.
As long as the Coral Sea Company operates
and you want to stay with it, you sit in that chair.
But I thought.
The Sydney playboy was going to take over?
Well, Mr. King, I'm here to get a firsthand
idea of how the company operates.
If there's room for improvement,
I'll see that improvements are made.
I have a couple ideas already.
If you're not satisfied,
I didn't say I wasn't satisfied.
Shall we say I'm simply taking
a more active interest in my company.
I see.
Incidentally, that phone call from the police.
Was that anything to do with the company?
- No.
- Good.
Oh, and one other thing, the girl at the house.
Serena?
Yes, Serena.
She's your housekeeper, Mr. Merriman.
She does your housework.
In that case, as she'll probably be spending
a lot of time at the house, I'd appreciate it very much
if you'd ask her to keep her boyfriends out of sight.
Very well, I'll speak to her about it tonight.
She'll be at the dance.
Dance?
Yeah, it's a native dance, ceremonial stuff.
It's another welcome for you.
Hello, dad.
Mr. Merriman, this is my daughter Rosalind.
How do you do, Miss King?
- Oh, Rusty.
- Rusty.
How do you like the dancing?
Very interesting.
Most spectacular.
I hope they dance again.
Yeah, oh look there's Yusep over there.
He's our head diver, the big fella
in the colored shirt with Serena.
You see what I mean about the?
Yeah, yeah I'll speak to them about it.
She's pretty, isn't she?
Yes, she is rather for a native.
She's not a native, she's a Malay.
There's a lot of Malays on the island.
You seem to know all about it.
I'll know where to come when I'm looking for a guide.
I'll show you around the island some time, if you like.
I might take you up on that.
By Jove, yes I might.
Hi there.
Ha.
I shouldn't have crept up on you like that.
Oh, that's alright.
You were there to be my guide, remember?
Tell me about these old guns of yours.
Oh, they were brought up here before the last war.
A lot of people will tell you they've been here
for over a century, but that isn't true.
You seem to know all about it.
You must spend most of your time up here.
No, I spend most of my time down there,
catch crayfish over that reef.
You catch 'em yourself?
I get them for dad, he'd eat them
three times a day if he could.
Mm, so would I.
You must show me how to catch 'em sometime.
There's nothing to it, you swim out across the reef
until you see one, stand up, sight it with your spear,
and crayfish.
What a beauty.
Look over there, turtle.
That's alright, do it again.
Look out for him.
I got him.
Watch out he doesn't bite you.
Isn't he a beauty?
Isn't he?
What are you gonna do with him now you've caught him?
Oh, let him go.
There he goes.
Come on, hustle up you guys.
You're supposed to leave tomorrow, not next week.
Now, you guys all through?
Well what do you think you're doing
parking stuff all over the place
like it was a jump shark, now get it outta here.
What!
What is this box and why is it on the trolley?
Mr. Janiero, Mr. Merriman told us to put this box here.
You got that box alright, Janiero?
Uh box, box, which box would that be, Mr. Merriman?
This black box.
It's to go on the boat with the other gear.
Thinking about going out with us tomorrow, Mr. Merriman?
Yes.
Rusty said she was going so I see no reason why I shouldn't.
No, that's alright.
Give you a chance to see how we operate.
Alright, you've got plenty of air.
Okay.
I got the idea, it's very interesting.
And how many divers do you work from each lugger?
Three usually, but this is only a survey trip.
I'm going down on my own.
This boat's in pretty poor shape, isn't it?
Yeah, she is in poor shape but she's been worked hard.
She's the top earner of your fleet this season,
Mr. Merriman, 18 ton of shell.
You see her in about three weeks' time
when she comes off the slipway.
If you know anything at all about boats.
Pretty well over the darkly bed now, Ted.
I'm going right on, Jack.
Work the drift back.
Right.
There's about 30 fathom of water under us here.
What's the name of this place?
Weekend Island, the Japs used to work here before the war.
Nobody's had a look at it
for some time, now it's too deep.
There's a Japanese fleet operating the Arafura now,
they tell me they're getting a lot of shell.
Yeah, with 25 boats working,
they'll probably take 1,000 tons this year.
It'll force the price down.
Hm, nothing surer.
There's only one answer to competition like that,
drop your production costs.
We operate cheaper than any
other pearling company in Australia.
You can still work cheaper.
For a start, simplify your diving methods.
The helmet and corset is the best method there is.
We proved that in the past.
In the past, yes, but...
And Thursday Island's the only area
where the helmet and corset's used
and we still take the most shells.
Maybe.
But your output per man is still low.
I did a bit of underwater work for the British Navy
during the war, we used the Aqua Lung gear
they developed for the frogmen.
That fancy stuff might be alright for Navy frogmen,
but they're not in the pearling business, Mr. Merriman.
Alright, Jack, get ready for the drift.
Check.
- Sagigi.
- What?
Take over, we're coming about.
Right, Jack.
Okay, Ted, don't go frightening any sharks.
12 fathoms.
12 fathoms, check.
Keep plenty of pipeline to him, Laylo.
14 fathoms.
14 fathoms, check.
Sagigi.
Okay Jack, I'll pull young guy.
Three divers, six tenders, nine men to get the shell.
Too much gear and too many people.
26 fathoms.
26 fathoms, check.
Dad shouldn't go to that depth.
Diver's on the bottom.
Stand by to hold the depth, Sagigi.
She working now?
No, not yet, not til he calls to slack line.
Taking up shell.
He's gotta keep straight up and down in this gear,
otherwise the water will shoot up inside the helmet.
Dangerous.
It's the safest and fastest method
of shell diving there is, Mr. Merriman.
The diver gets in trouble,
he can slip out of the helmet and swim up.
From 30 fathoms?
No, not 30 fathoms, it's 180 feet.
We don't usually work that depth.
In deep water, you've gotta be very very careful.
How much slack pipe you got out there, Laylo?
Half pipe's down.
Pipe is fouled, keep the pressure up to him,
he's not getting into the helmet.
Pressure's rising.
What's the drill now, Janiero?
He's fouled on coral, I have to go down.
Rusty, you can tender for me.
Well, I've never tendered anyone at 30 fathoms.
Now's the time to learn, kid.
Engineer, get me another helmet and corset
and get it coupled up quick and lively.
But Janiero, if you go down, who'll tender dad?
You tender your dad and Merriman can tender for me.
Hey Merriman, what do you think you're doing?
I'm going down.
In that fancy dress?
There's nothing fancy about an Aqua Lung.
You want me to have to bring you both up?
This is no time to be the big hero.
Get back on that line, Janiero, you're wasting time.
Listen, Merriman, Ted King may be drowning down there.
That's the point, exactly,
now do what you're told and stay on that line.
You're drifting, Sagigi.
Rusty.
You're drifting off shore all the time,
Sagigi, now hold us steady.
I know what the tide's doing, hold her steady.
Now try dropping the anchor but hold her steady.
What happened, is he alright?
Yeah, he's alright, his air pipe's jammed in some coral.
We need a crowbar or something.
No dice.
We're drifting away from him all the time.
There's only 40 or 50 feet of air pipe left.
How much air is he getting down there?
Rusty, get something to put on this, will ya?
Blood will bring the sharks.
He's not getting any air down there.
Can't send him any more,
it gets forced back into the tanks.
What happens when you run out of hose?
Uh, pipeline breaks away from the compressor coupling
or cuts away where it's cord down there.
What's the score?
What's our next move?
Listen, - Rusty, just get
a rubber glove and some sticking plastic.
With the pressure dropping,
it's only a matter of time before the water
shoots inside the helmet and drowns him
so there's only one thing we can do.
There's no guarantee that'll work.
Take out that other helmet,
tell him we're gonna have to change while we're down there.
It's been done before.
Good, nice and tight.
That's it, right, let's get this halter down to him.
Good boy, give him a hand Laylo.
You too, Rusty.
Here, Mr. Merriman.
Easy on the helmet.
He's signaled to come up.
I'll take it, kid.
Okay, Laylo, lay that old pipe and help with this new one.
Let me know when pressure's
right to be staged from 12 fathoms.
12 fathom check.
He'll be alright, Mr. Merriman?
Yeah, he's alright.
He's taking it easy, nice and cool down there.
We'll have to stage him,
he's been down there for quite a while.
Yeah, 15 minutes at 70 feet.
25 at 60, 30 at 50, et cetera, et cetera.
All accounts
- bring diver to surface fully.
- Bring diver to surface fully
- over the last 10 feet.
- 10 feet.
Ooh.
Out of air.
I think he's wonderful.
I guess he's alright.
Ah, thanks Rusty.
Tastes a lot better than that salt water down there.
You must have drunk quite a bit of it
when you changed over those helmets, Ted.
You can say that again.
Anyway, what do you
think of the Aqua Lung gear now?
Aw, it's not a bad sort of a contraption.
Handy if you couldn't swim.
I'll never convince you.
I don't know, Pete.
Might come in handy if a trucker
shoaled or something like that.
Where goin', Jack?
The shore, Ted.
Gotta get some water, they forgot
to fill the tanks before we came out.
That's a bad blue.
Yeah, I'll pull 'em out when we get back.
Well hang on, I'll come with you.
Stretch me legs a bit.
Do you mind if I come?
Oh, you'd better stay there, Pete.
Somebody's gotta watch the boat, y'know?
You want me to come, dad?
No, Rusty, you stop with Pete, I'll be right.
Give us a push off, Ted.
That coulda been nasty this morning, Ted,
after taking all the trouble
to get out here just to look at the island.
Yeah, nearly messed up the real purpose of our being here.
Merriman did a good job for a pink gin boy.
He's like a fish down there, Jack, like a fish.
Now, what's the pitch?
Well, we just wander about
like two blokes looking for water, that's all.
But watch your step.
There's the pool, right across the other side.
It's the only one on the island.
Well, what's the plan?
You cover me from here.
Check.
Watch your step.
There is somebody in there.
I could feel him watching me.
There's a little camp.
Yeah?
Want us to go back in?
No, we'll keep out of it for a while, yeah?
I've got an idea how this thing's gonna develop.
Who is it fishes this area on his own, Janiero?
Who's been down here four times in the last six months,
hasn't got enough shell to fill your hat,
then gone straight down south and fished the mainland beds?
Why, that dirty.
Yeah, it tallies with what the coppers think, too.
I think our man will be back here again very soon.
You want to get rid of him, and quick.
That's right.
If I had a good excuse to fire him,
might drag him out into the open.
Yeah.
He could get into a brawl or something.
Yeah?
Yeah he might, at that.
He's just the boy who might.
I never get a chance to see you now that you have the hat.
When I'm not with the lugger,
I'm diving all day and getting lots of pearl shells.
Thanks for lending the dinghy, Yusep.
Okay.
Are you sailing today?
That's right.
Well, good luck, you divers can always use it.
Yusep does not need luck, Grundy.
If the shell is there, he will get it.
For me, there is always good fishing on Weekend Island.
I fish there two or three days
then I move on to the mainland beds.
Serena going with ya?
No, she working for that Merriman now.
She got to stop ashore.
Here comes Janiero, you better scram.
Alright, you men, come on, get into it.
What was that pickpocket doing with the company dinghy?
He borrowed it to go and look at his boat.
Don't get so liberal with the company gear, Yusep,
or you'll find yourself in trouble.
I don't wanna see you talking to that deadbeat around here.
I don't talk to him, he talks to me.
So tell him to stay away,
we don't want him hanging around the joint.
You tell him, Janiero, it's no use telling me.
Now don't get smart, Yusep.
And another thing, that girl
shouldn't be hanging around here.
Serena, I told you to stay up at the house
and keep away from this guy, I told ya a dozen times.
Stay where you are, Serena.
Go on up to the house, now beat it.
Okay Yusep, you asked for it.
Cut it out, you two, cut it out I tell ya.
What's this all about?
He started it, I chipped him about lending Grundy
our gear and he just hauled off and hit me.
You're fired, Yusep,
I've had enough of you and your brawls.
Pick up your money at the office.
Well, it came off.
Thanks Jack, the company won't forget it.
If I knew he coulda hit that hard,
I would worn a baseball mask.
He's without a boat now and that's the main thing.
He can't leave that European bloke on the island forever.
He might pinch a lugger.
He might but he wouldn't get it crewed,
and if he did we'd know about it.
He's playing right into our hands.
Hello dad, how is Janiero,
whatever's happened to your face?
An oyster bit me.
Oh, Janiero.
He fell over a dinghy.
Hm, you look very sweet and lovely today, my dear.
Do you like the dress, dad?
I think it looks beautiful.
Don't you, Jack?
Um, exquisite.
How'd you like to do something for me, Rusty?
Love to.
Well, pop down to Merriman's place
and ask him to meet me at the Grand at 4 o'clock
and to bring his compressor attachment with him.
Compressor attachment, 4 o'clock, okay dad.
I hope your face is alright, Janiero.
By golly, Jack, if you ever get married,
you see you only have boy babies.
Police station, these girls,
y'know, can be a bit of a problem.
Hello Charlie, yeah.
I thought you might like to know we just sacked Yusep.
He hasn't got a boat anymore.
And that just suits him fine.
Here comes the girl.
Go up the house and tell Serena what she's gotta do.
She's not going to like this.
You just tell her what she's
gotta say to the girl, that's all.
Hello, Miss Rusty.
Ooh, a new dress eh?
- It looks nice.
- Thanks, Grundy.
Where would a pretty girl like you
be going in a nice dress like that?
Oh, I'm going up to Mr. Merriman's place for dad.
Oh now, isn't that a pity.
I just seed he'd gone swimming with his costume
and them things whatever he puts on his feet.
Oh, oh well I'll go up anyway.
He mightn't be long.
Hey hey, did you see them two fellas fighting
down on the beach this morning?
Fighting?
Yeah, Janiero and Yusep.
They were fighting in the water.
Oh, he come up, he can fight, that Mr. Janiero.
Fell over a dinghy, an oyster bit him.
Yeah, and your father just come down
stopped it when it was getting interesting, too.
Thanks, Serena.
Hello, Serena.
Good morning, Miss Rusty.
Is Mr. Merriman inside?
Oh, no, he's gone to catch crayfish.
He said if you came, he's down at the reef.
Oh.
Why don't you have a drink?
Wonder what's keeping Merriman.
I can guess.
Two six please.
Hello, is that you Pete?
Yeah.
What's the holdup?
What do you mean?
You're supposed to meet me
up here at the Grand at 4 o'clock.
First I've heard of it.
Didn't Rusty tell you?
Rusty, no, was she supposed to?
Yeah, I sent her up to your place with a message.
That's funny.
Didn't you see her?
I saw her talking to Serena but I didn't get any message.
I'm sorry, Ted, if I.
Okay, Pete, don't worry.
I'll dig her up.
Serena.
Serena.
Serena.
Lindy, where's Serena?
She went this way, to the church.
I, you.
Well I gotta go now, Ted.
Okay, John.
Luck.
If I see Rusty around, I'll send her on home.
Yeah, I'll be pleased if you would.
So long, John.
Hm, nice guy huh?
Yeah, good fella, good sailor too.
Mr. King, I'd like to see you.
Not now, Grundy, I'm busy.
Too busy to talk about your daughter?
What about my daughter?
I've got her, King.
I'm willing to trade her back to you for a little time.
You've got yourself mixed up in something
that ordinary little people should keep right out of.
You've become a nuisance, King, so I've taken
your daughter to keep you quiet for the next 48 hours.
- Why, you.
- Take it easy, Jack.
What do you want me to do, Grundy?
I want you to do precisely nothing.
In 48 hours, I'll be gone from here and provided
you have kept out of my way in the meantime,
you get your daughter back.
But keep on interfering, King,
you'll never see her alive again.
Get after him, Jack, don't let him
out of your sight for a minute.
Where's Ted?
The lad's bar.
Serena's just told me something fantastic.
Yusep's got Rusty, he's taken her away on Grundy's boat.
Yeah, I know,
- sit down.
- Sit down nothing,
there's something crazy going on.
Yeah, I know all about it.
What the heck are you doing here?
What about Rusty?
Now take it easy, son,
I got an interest in Rusty too, y'know.
Sorry, Ted.
What's this all about?
They've taken Rusty to keep me quiet.
Probably taken her out to Weekend Island.
According to Serena, that's
where she is so let's get out there.
We can't.
If she is there, she'd be dead
as soon as we put a foot near the place.
Can't tail 'em by boat, either.
We can see them, they can see us.
You think they'll be taking a boat out there?
Nothing surer, Yusep's out on Grundy's boat now
and as soon as he gets back, they'll be off again.
Then let's go with them.
How the blazes can we go with them?
The Aqua Lung gear, got a couple of strong screw clamps?
Thousands of 'em.
Come on, then, I'll show you how we we'll go with 'em.
I thought you'd never get here.
Had a little trouble back on Thursday Island.
You ready to move?
Yes, I'm all set.
How's the girl?
She is alright.
Mm, I don't know whether
to take her with us or leave her here.
It was a good idea to snatch her to keep King quiet,
but she's gonna be a bit of a problem from now on.
Well leave her here, that's the easiest.
Yes, it might be too.
There's Rusty.
Get around behind them, I'll cover you from here.
Give me your knife.
Eh, she's the last of our worries anyway.
Why, we moving to other island.
No, we're taking you straight through to the mainland.
But I wasn't supposed to be moved for another week.
Yeah I know that, but...
The boat.
Come on, darling, quick.
Back this way.
I won't miss this time.
You've had it, Grundy.
We're all around you,
you haven't got a chance, Grundy.
That's the police boat you can hear.
This is no time for heroics.
On your feet, Grundy.
Come on.
Which way, Janiero?
This way.
I got him, Charlie, there's no need for any hurry.
Everything alright, Ted?
Yeah, here and there's two more
of 'em back there in the bush.
Yusep and your character from Hong Kong.
But you can take your time about getting 'em out.
Frank, you'd better go and have a look at 'em.
Come on, Grundy.
Come on, kid, let's get cleaned up and get out of here.
Come on, all aboard that's going aboard.
Let's get out of this place, huh?
You go on, Jack, I'll meet you at the boat.
I'm a bit interested in this gear,
you never know it might come in handy for pearl shelling.
Well, Merriman finally talked you into it, huh?
Right here, move your big feet.
Okay, Peter Benedict, let's get out of here.
Sure you're ready now?
All set.
Come on, come on, we got things to do.
And then so it was you, right?
You know how it is, just can't help
being the right place at the right time.