Chapter (12) THE GUANO DEAL

A survey team has dissappeared on a research trip.

 

The sea was blue grey in the morning mist as the small craft made slow progress against the waves. Sitting in the well behind the cockpit, James was starting to feel the effects of the up and down movements. He knew this was the biggest deal of his life but still, he had some anxieties. It had been two years since the original team of surveyors had failed to return, and this was playing on his mind. The official investigation report had assumed the team had decided to leave the island and perished on the hundred and twenty mile return to the mainland. No trace of their research boat or the team was ever found.

The morning mist lifted slowly to reveal the vastness of the open ocean. The majestic beauty was not lost on James and as the sun broke through the last of the thinning mist, James relaxed a little and started to notice the flocks of sea birds high in the sky.

“Are those Gannets?” he asked the boat’s owner.

“Si Devil bird.  Very many on Island.” Said the man in his broken English. James watched in fascination as the birds suddenly started to drop on mass like arrows from the sky, plunging deep into the blue grey water. The birds dived for fish and crashed into the sea in every direction. The sea boiled with feeding birds. As the boat drew nearer James could make out the shape of a huge dome shaped island on the horizon.

“Senior, is that the Island we’re heading for?” James raised an arm and pointed at the dark grey shape.

“Si. Island.” Repeated the other man without bothering to turn and address James.

“Have you been to the Island many times before?” Asked James.

“No good this Island. I no go on Island.” James was curious about his answer.

“Do you take many tourists out to the Island to watch the birds?” Asked James. He watched the man’s back swell slightly as he took a deep breath before speaking.

“This Island no good. Many Devil birds on Island.” James was bemused by the man’s answer and asked.

“What do mean by Devil Birds? They’re just Gannets.” For the first time the man turned to look at James as he spoke.

“I tell you No Gannets. Devil birds. Better no go on Island. Stay in boat, take pictures, we go back.” James smiled slightly. He found this man’s language and sentiments strangely amusing. As the boat made slow progress they were continually bombarded by grey white faeces as a hundred thousand Gannets circled in the skies above them.

The Gannets had been fishing and breeding in these waters for millions of years. The Island had no vegetation and every rock, crevice and cliff was covered with millions of years of bird droppings. As layers upon layers of faeces hardened they had built up into Guano dome several hundred feet deep, a highly prized product full of potash and minerals used for making fertiliser and explosives. James had been sent by his company to survey the Island in preparation for mining the Guano.

 

The Island had only one small bay where a boat could get in close enough for passengers to disembark. Strangely the tiny bay was the only place on the Island not covered by Guano. The bow of the boat pushed onto the the thin strip of sand and James moved to the front. He leaned over and dropped his large Rucksack onto the golden sand. The rucksack was quickly followed by the large plastic box containing his survey and survival equipment. James jumped down onto the sand and almost before he could turn to thank the boat’s captain, the boat started backing out into the deeper water. James lifted an arm to wave his good bye but the ship’s captain was concentrating on getting his boat away from the Island as fast as he could. James was now completely alone on the Island with more than a million large white seabirds. Standing for a few seconds, to take in his surroundings, two things struck James, the first was the noise from over a million birds all seemingly calling at once, and the second was the smell. The air was filled with a strong scent of ammonia.

The little bay was in strange contrast to the rest of the island. The sand was clean, possibly from the tides washing it twice a day. The only thing that seemed out of place were two large mounds of guano on the ridge at the far end of the beach. With only 48 hours to complete his survey before the boat was due to return, James wasted no time in setting up his base camp. He took the small survival tent up the slope and pitched it on the flattest, bird free, place he could find, returning to lug the heavy container up to his new base camp. For the first time since he’d neared the Island, James realised he was no longer being bombarded from above, and removing his bright yellow, oilskin, hat and jacket he washed off the white slime in the shallow surf.

The walls of the little bay sloped back and made it easy to climb up. From the ridge the view was one of grey white, almost flat landscape. The only other colour was on the wings and heads of the sea of birds clamouring and calling as James stood taking photographs. Having satisfied himself he’d taken enough photographs James returned to his base camp and opened the large container. He lifted out two pieces of lightweight red and white tubing and fastened them together forming a measuring pole two metres long and using a mallet he hammered it into the guano nearest the edge. Putting the rucksack on his back he started to walk forward up the gentle incline. Almost immediately the birds closest to him stopped calling and stood like statues, only moving their heads to follow James’s every move. James moved slowly and carefully forward stepping over and around the mass of birds. He’d expected them to take flight as he approached but not a single bird obliged. It took much longer than he’d thought to get to the top of the dome and he knew he’d have to work much faster to complete the survey in the time he had left. Looking through the sighting pole James lined up the measuring device and as the beam of invisible light bounced back off the post by the bay he read the distance off the little screen. Thirteen hundred and sixty four metres, it had taken him far too long to get here and he realised he didn’t have the time to worry about disturbing the birds if he was to get this job done. James arrived back at base camp in half the time but he’d sent thousands of screeching birds into the air as he’d strode meaningfully through their ranks. He was covered in bird droppings again and he pulled off his hat and jacket as he headed to the water’s edge to wash them once more.

The blue flames hissed as they licked the bottom of the saucepan. The little gas stove was doing it’s best to heat up the tinned soup. Sitting on his green, three legged canvas stool, James leaned forward and lifted the lid on the saucepan, he leaned further towards the saucepan and took a sniff. The faint aroma of Minestrone soup wafted his nostrils, he stirred the contents with the long wooden spoon. Not long now thought James, just time to make a call to the office. Reaching into the rucksack he fumbled about searching for the company satellite phone which had worked it’s way to the bottom. As he waited for the phone to connect he looked out over the blue waters, a feeling of peace washed over him. He couldn’t help but visualise the flotilla of mining and processing ships that would soon be anchored around the Island.

“Bloody shame.” He said to himself just as the phone came into life.

“Hello, hello, are you there?” Holding the black device to his ear James listened to the faint crackle.

“James. James, is that you? How are things?” The voice on the other end of the connection was one James recognised.

“Lucy, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me.” Came the excited voice. James was smiling.

“Lucy It’s so...” James hesitated before saying. “It’s not what I expected.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Lucy.

“Do you know what they call this Island?” Asked James.

“What do you mean, I don’t know what you mean.” There was a hint of anxiety in her voice.

“The boat captain called this Devil bird island. He called the Gannets Devil Birds. I could see he was afraid to come here.”

“James I don’t know what you’re talking about. How are you getting on with the survey? We need some data to work on.” There was a pause then Lucy repeated the question.

“James have you taken any measurements? We need some data. What have you found so far?” James hesitated and looked at the beautiful pink sunset before replying.

“Lucy I’ll call you back in the morning the signal isn’t good.”

Back in her office Lucy shouted down the speakerphone.

“James, JAMES, What are you talking about? JAMES.” The line was silent. Lucy replaced the receiver and turned to her boss.

“I don’t understand. What was that all about? What did he mean Devil birds?”

James switched off the little stove and lifted the saucepan. He ate the soup with gusto as he watched the sun set over a shimmering red sea. As he climbed into his sleeping bag James noted that the birds had fallen silent.

Breakfast was an energy biscuit, eaten standing up, as James watched, thousands of Gannets took to the air, setting off on the first of many fishing trips to the shoals of Anchovy and small fish that teemed in the seas around the Island. The sky was cloudless and the sun was going to make walking in the oilskins uncomfortable and tiring. Looking up at the sky with his hand shielding his eyes James threw the oilskins back down. He didn’t take any of the survey equipment with him as he set off again across the island. He walked with care and the birds remained silent as he passed them. By mid-day he had passed his first survey point. There were no features on the island and as James continued his walk he was surprised to see a group of four small mounds. It took him about an hour to reach the mounds. Each one resembling a metre high dome of hardened Guano. He laid a hand on the first one, it was dry and hard. The birds around him stood watching in silence. James removed his rucksack and dropped it down. I might as well take a few samples he said aloud and taking out his small sample hammer he started to gently chip at the mound. The sound of the hammer hitting the dome gave James the impression the dome might be hollow. Suddenly a small hole appeared and James stepped back not knowing what to expect. A stench emanated from the dome. James found his torch and holding a hand over his nose and mouth he shone it into the hole.

“Oh my god” He exclaimed aloud, as the light from the torch revealed a patch of bright yellow material. James clawed at the hole with his hands to widen it and what he found had him standing away from the mound gasping with his hands clutching his head in disbelief. He’d found the hunched up remains of one of the original survey team.

A large gannet landed on the mound and stood staring at James. The bird made a few quiet noises as James watched the head flick up and down.

“Did you do this?” Said James, not expecting a response. The Gannet spread his wings and moved his head from side to side.

“What are you?” The Gannet sat down on the mound. James sat down too.

“This is your Island, right?” said James, looking into the birds eyes. The bird nodded his beak up and down.

“I could almost swear you understand what I’m saying.” Said James. The bird again repeated the movements.

“It is a wonderful place.” Said James looking around at the horizon. “It would be a shame to spoil all this.” The bird stood up and started squawking loudly. Almost immediately a huge flock gathered in the skies above the domes. James stood up just as the first of hundreds of birds dive bombarded the broken mound with droppings. It only took five or six minutes and the mound was sealed once more. James reached for his rucksack and took out the satellite phone. The Large Gannet started to make violent movements with his head and beak.

“No no.” Said James. “It’s okay.” He pushed the keys and waited for a reply.

“James is that you? Are you alright?” There was concern in Lucy’s voice.

“Yes I’m fine. Look Lucy, this place isn’t any good.” There was a slight hesitation before Lucy replied.

“What do you mean it isn’t any good?” James smiled at the bird watching him intently.

“Just from my initial findings this Island doesn’t have a viable quantity of Guano. The crust is very thin. I think the storms wash most of it away each year.” He waited for Lucy to reply. It was his bosses voice that burst from the handset.

“James what are you saying? Are you telling me there’s no Guano on that damned Island?” James made a wry smile and winked at the bird on the dome.

“Yes boss. There’s hardly enough to fill one boatload. I’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll give you my report then.” It was Lucy who spoke next.

“James what’s going on? The aerial survey showed masses of ancient Guano.”

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow evening. I have to get back to base camp and pack up ready to leave in the morning.” He didn’t wait for her to reply and switched off the phone.

 

 James grabbed his rucksack and as the birds watched to see what he would do next, James started to walk, the birds parted and made a pathway through their hoards for him to get back to the little beach.

Reviews

[wordman]

this is a great story my friend,makes you wonder

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Thank you my friend. I sometimes wonder if my brain works right.

[wordman]

don`t we all,,,you`re welcome