Clark and Lois The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 3 14/46
By Ken Janney
This version is rated PG-13
* denotes emphasis *
< denotes thoughts >
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary] / telepathic communications /
(#) footnotes
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Reminder:
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 - Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Previously –
Charlie got a very odd expression on his face as he responded “No, it was no lie. I knew you were coming.”
Lois was surprised at this remark. She asked “How did you know I was going to be here? I didn’t even tell Perry about the tip until the last minute. You have obviously been here for a while.”
Charlie got a somewhat wistful expression on his face as he replied “Lois, I know that you just met me a little over two weeks ago, but, I have known you longer than that. I knew to the minute when you would be stepping off that plane and have been looking forward to seeing you descend that ramp for a couple of months. I know, that sounds silly. It sounds like something straight out of a science fiction novel, but none the less it’s true. In truth I have been waiting for a little over five years to meet you.”
Lois was blown away by this. <What is he talking about? Five years ago I was in college. I don’t remember ever seeing him. Is he some kind of nut case? Was he stalking me? Is this some kind of sick joke? How could he have been waiting for five years? We’ve been together for over two weeks and I haven’t noticed anything unusual. If anything he has treated me exceptionally well.> “Well, uh, Charlie, that is very interesting, but how could that possibly be?”
“I know it sounds weird. Please believe me that I’m not a nut case. There is an explanation. I just ask that you take my word for it that it’s true and I can explain. Someday, hopefully, soon, I’ll be able to tell you the entire story and when I do you’ll believe me. For now, all I ask is that we be partners in this investigation. That we can work together is the fulfillment of my dream. I hope you see that this will work out for our mutual good.”
Lois relented somewhat “Ok. We have been working well together so far, but, if you cross the line, I’m outta here. Got that?”
Charlie replied, somewhat subdued “Got it. You don’t have to worry. You’ll see. In the end, everything will work out.”
And now –
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 14 – A River Rescue
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Charlie and Lois were still at lunch after their visit to the local Daily Planet office. Charlie understood Lois asserting her independence in the partnership because she wouldn’t be Lois if she didn’t. But he couldn’t afford to let her leave him. He needed her near him so that he could protect her therefore he had to enlist her help in the rest of the enterprise.
Clearing his throat, he began. “Okay, now that that’s settled, we are going to need to get transportation to go up the river. In any other area we might be able to drive but this close to the river we will have to contend with some rather dense jungle so driving is out of the question. Like I told you on the trip north they are going to have to ship them by riverboat from here. Overland just isn’t feasible. I’ve done my homework and I know where they are taking the smuggled weapons and that’s north of Dongou. In order to follow them to make sure that I’m right we need a boat. It’ll need to be a boat that looks like a regular private boat.”
Surprised to see Lois wiggling in her seat, he wondered what that was about. <Is she getting excited about finally getting this investigation moving ahead or is it excitement at spending more time with me, I can only hope. Could it be both? Oh well, what do I have to lose?> He spoke up, “I see you fidgeting, is there a problem?”
Her reply wasn’t anywhere near what he had expected, “Except for a cruise ship, I’ve really never been on a boat before. Is it really safe?”
Relieved that this was all that it was Charlie relaxed and replied, “Boating is one of the safest methods of travel, especially since we will be on the river. If we were on the ocean and a severe storm came up we might have a problem but that is less likely here. I feel certain that you will enjoy it once we start.”
Feeling reassured Lois said, “Okay, mister voice of experience, I’ll take your word for it.”
After lunch they headed down to the marina. When they got there they found that a fishing boat, the Ubuntu was for sale. She was a trim twin masted sailing craft called a ketch, fifteen meters long and four and one half meters wide. With a full load she would only draw about two and a quarter meters. That meant that she would be stable in storms and with the light draft she wouldn’t run aground too easily. This feature wasn’t even really necessary unless they chose to run very close inshore since the Congo River was one of the deepest rivers in the world.
The Ubuntu had an inboard motor, a cabin with a galley, bunks for four in two separate compartments and a head forward. The accommodations were forward of the galley. The galley had a propane powered range and refrigerator of good size. They could carry enough fresh food for about a week’s cruise. The helm was in the stern and consisted of a wheel, the engine controls and a binnacle for the compass. Even though it was fifteen meters in length it would not require any additional crew because they would be under power the entire time. Since this was the Congo, the price was more than reasonable so Charlie bought it.
Linda thought, <This is another odd thing to add to the list. Where is he getting all of his money? This isn’t something he could afford on a stringer’s salary. And that suite! He must be independently wealthy or else he’s on a government expense account and Uncle Sugar is paying.> Then she stared down at her ring. Where had he gotten the money for this very expensive ring? She hoped that the answer would be that there were some things that were personal. Should she ask him sometime? Maybe sometime, but not now, she decided.
Furthermore, to add to her surprise, the first thing he did was commission a shop to give the engine an overhaul and pulled the boat itself out of the water to check the hull integrity. Once he was satisfied that she was sound he had her put back in the water.
They started outfitting her with supplies and equipment that they thought would be needed on the trip. One of the main items was extra fuel tanks and fuel. They were looking at over twenty three hundred kilometers of river travel round trip. Charlie told Linda that he knew where the arms would be transshipped from the river to land but that he wanted, as much as was practical to follow them, just in case.
The engine overhaul was completed in record time, thanks in part to the bonus Charlie promised. The boat was ready to go before the shipment arrived in Kinshasa, now they just had to wait a few days.
They spent all the remaining time together, part of the time spent in discussing their plans. Clark told her, “I think that as soon as we can we should move onboard the Ubuntu. By doing that we’ll be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
“I agree with you besides, I’m kinda looking forward to being onboard. When will it be ready?”
Charlie corrected her politely, “She, not it.”
“Why is a boat always a she?”
Clark’s lips twisted in amusement. That was like Lois. Always challenging. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Boats always have the pronoun ‘she.’ Maybe because all the sailors were men? Another theory is that they are called she because they are temperamental and unpredictable, like a woman.”
Her temper flared at this and she responded with some heat, “What do you mean by that? Do you think I’m temperamental and unpredictable?”
Laughing to try and defuse some of her anger he replied, “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger! I wasn’t saying that I felt that way! I’m just being a good reporter and reporting the facts as I know them.”
Mollified somewhat she moved on to the other theory, “No women sailors? I know bupkis about boats.”
Breaking into a full grin, he reposted, “That I can see. Did you know that women in the Hawaiian Islands in ancient days were not only forbidden to be on a boat, but to touch a boat – really a canoe – while it was being built?”
Lois swatted his chest in mock frustration. “You and your history lessons. How much trivia do you know?”
“You’d be surprised, Lois. I read a lot and have traveled a lot. All over the world, as a matter of fact.”
“Hmmph.”
Not able to resist teasing her, he smiled even wider. “Also the women were not allowed to eat bananas, which grew plentifully on the islands.”
“You are kidding, aren’t you! Why ever not?” Lois looked at him incredulously. Then she saw the twinkle in his eyes.
“Figure it out, Lois. The men thought it was bad luck and the gods would have them drown in the sea when they went fishing.”
Shaking her head, Lois commented, “You’re a strange one Charlie King.”
“No argument there, Lois. No argument. Well, to business. The refit’s almost complete. They are working on your cabin right now. I think you’ll be pleased with the upgrades when it’s finished.”
“I can’t wait to see. Exactly what are they doing?”
“Well they are installing additional cabinets and some mirrors. You’ll have extra closet space as well as additional drawer space. They are also giving you a better mattress and some other amenities. In order to do all of this they needed to remove the second bunk to get the needed room.”
“I think we can start buying the foodstuffs and other staples that we’re going to need tomorrow. We shouldn’t be interrupting the work with that.”
They spent a lot of time just enjoying being together. Lois wondered, <Is this what married life would be like with Charlie? We are sort of acting like a married couple and I like it.>
Charlie was thinking, <Things are going so well I can’t get over it. I know how things were with Lois and her Clark. I really think that we can have the same thing. I look forward to the day I can tell her everything.>
A few days after the ship was ready they checked out of the Bonne Nuit de Sommeil and moved aboard the Ubuntu. Lois got her first look at her cabin. She turned around and threw herself into Charlie’s arms. “I love it! You’re so sweet to have decorated it that way for me. It looks so comfortable compared to the way it was. That bed …”
“It’s called a bunk.”
“Okay, that bunk looks so comfortable. I may not want to get out of it.”
“I’m glad you like it. Go ahead and get settled in. If you want to try out the new bunk by taking a nap, go for it.”
Laughing she replied “I just might do that.”
A couple of days later Charlie went over the handling of the Ubuntu with Linda. “The helm on a small ship like this is very similar to the steering wheel of a car. There are certain things that a boat or larger ship will do when you reverse that a car will not. Have you ever backed up a car with a trailer?”
Lois nodded, “That I *have* done.”
“Well, this is similar, yet still different. The stern will kick to the port side when you reverse suddenly because of the torque of the prop and you need to be prepared for that when you’re in close quarters.”
“The throttle is like the hand throttle on a handicapped car. But,” he held up an admonishing finger, making sure he had her attention, “be careful that before you shift into reverse that you idle the throttle. That is one aspect that is just like a car, if you don’t idle the throttle you could strip the gears. We’ll do some practice out in open water so that you can get the feel of it before we try in the slip.”
She stopped him and asked, “Port, which way is that?”
With a mischievous look Clark answered, “Now, that all depends on which way you are facing. If you are facing the stern, you do know what the stern is, don’t you?”
With a somewhat exasperated air she replied, “That’s the back, right?”
Barely managing to suppress his laughter he replied, “No, not the back right, just the back. Okay, now that we have established that fact, you do know what the bow is. When I said he had to climb the bow hawser, you moved in the correct direction. Now, if you are facing the stern the port side is on your right and if you are facing the bow it will be on your left. The accepted practice is to give all directions in relation to facing the bow since that generally is the direction of travel. So, when you are facing the bow, port is on your left hand and that leaves starboard on the right. Do you have any idea where these terms came from?”
Knowing just what was coming and yet not knowing just how to avoid it without hurting his feelings she said, “No, but I guess that you’re about to tell me, aren’t you. This is more of you unending fount of trivia, isn’t it?”
Laughing he replied, “You got me, yes, it is. Well, the port side wasn’t always called port. Originally it was larboard which simply meant the opposite of starboard. The similarity of the name caused some confusion so it slowly came into practice to call that side port because, invariably that was the side of the ship that was brought into the wharf when they moored in the port so that became the port side or just port.”
“Here’s a question for you, remember I told you that because of Livingstone Falls that there is no direct access to the Atlantic?” She nodded her acknowledgement and he continued, “Well, one way around that would be to build a canal. There are some famous canals in the world. Which was built first, the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal?”
Lois just looked at Charlie. What had happened to Charlot, the French speaking charming man she had known? He was distancing himself from her, she was sure. Had he taken the ‘work partners only’ speech too seriously? She didn’t think she liked that. “Ah, I’m going to guess, the Suez Canal.”
“Right you are! Give the lady a prize!”
Lois thought she knew the prize she wanted, but right now it didn’t look like she was going to get it anytime soon.
Apparently oblivious to Lois’ mood, Charlie jovially continued, “It was completed in 1869 after 10 years’ construction. The Panama Canal was finished in 1914, but some of the early work started in 1880 and some of the same people worked on the Panama Canal. Locally, there aren’t any plans to build a canal. It is more important to turn all that energy to common use so they are building dams for hydro-electric generation.
Lois mimed a hand covering her mouth in a yawn. “Fascinating,” she said.
Even Clark could see that sign of boredom. “Get some rest, and then we’ll have another lesson in seamanship.”
Later, Charlie took Linda out on some short cruises to get her familiar with the handling of a craft of the Ubuntu’s size. Linda was an apt pupil and before very long was able to take the boat out onto the river and bring her back in and dock with hardly a bump.
“Excellently done. You put her right where she needed to be.” Linda was surprised with herself. She found that she enjoyed piloting the Ubuntu almost as much as driving a car even though it didn’t move as fast. Additionally she was pleased with the praise Charlie gave her for the skill she was demonstrating. She liked to have *him* praise her more than anyone else she knew and that included Perry White.
While he was tying up Charlie suggested that Lois go below and start the supper. Lois replied “If you want to live long enough to follow through on this investigation you won’t ask me to do that. I can make exactly three things and two of them involve chocolate. Can we order take out?”
Charlie laughed and replied “Point taken. As soon as I’m done here I’ll start dinner.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
One day they were out on a cruise some kilometers north of Brazzaville when it started to cloud over.
Clark shouted over the noise of the building wind, “I don’t like the looks of those clouds! I think we need to head back to port! Bring her about and head back!”
Half way laughing she replied “Aye, Aye, Captain!” as she swung the wheel around.
They were still about ten kilometers from Brazzaville when the storm broke with high winds, driving rain, lightning and thunder. Just before the storm broke, Charlie had observed a number of other craft headed in the same direction. A good number of them were pleasure craft owned by the more well to do families. He saw one of the craft, a small sailing vessel, which when the first gusts of wind hit heeled over and almost capsized because they hadn’t reefed their sails.
“Linda, look over there” He pointed over the port side at a small craft. “They are in trouble. Bring us in close to them.”
Linda brought the Ubuntu to within hailing distance. By now they could see that the craft was manned only by a woman and three children, one of them a teen.
Charlie shouted to them, “Vous êtes ayant besoin d'aide ? Nous sommes prêts à vous à bord et prendre votre embarcation en remorque! ” (Tr: ”Are you in need of assistance? We are prepared to take you on board and take your craft in tow!”)
The woman replied, “Remercier le ciel que vous soyez ici ! Oui, nous avons absolument besoin d’aide! ” (Tr: “Thank heaven you are here! Yes, we definitely need help!”)
AN: The rest will be translated for you.
Charlie shouted over, “Lower all of your sails!”
She replied, “The lines are fouled! We can’t lower them!”
Charlie shouted, “Linda, bring us to within a few meters. I need to throw them a line.”
Linda brought them to within three meters. He then took a line in hand and shouted “Catch this line and tie it off to a cleat in the bow.” He tossed the line and it was caught by the teenager who proceeded to follow directions and very shortly had the line properly tied. Charlie then allowed three meters of slack before tying his end of the line to a cleat in the stern of the Ubuntu.
Once this was done he directed Linda to start out slowly, just enough speed that the wind wasn’t controlling the boat but they were. Charlie then pulled the line in, hand over hand until he had the other craft alongside. While he held the line Linda came over to the port side to lend the woman and kids a hand as they moved aboard the Ubuntu.
As soon as they were aboard Charlie allowed the line to pay out slowly until it was at full stretch. He took over the helm and had Linda take their passengers into the cabin and make them comfortable. She was just as happy to be under cover as their passengers were. She was just sorry that Charlie had to stay at the helm getting soaked by rain and spray.
When they reached the port area, rather than try to pull back into their slip, especially since they had the other craft in tow, he anchored in the sheltered bay area created by the port facilities until the storm would pass. By the time they anchored, the craft they were towing was completely swamped. Charlie was convinced that they would never have made it to port safely and that all would have been lost.
Charlie thought about this for a while. He marveled at the wisdom Herb had shown in not allowing him to immediately intervene with Lois and take her back to Metropolis. If they had done that … this rescue would never have occurred. There was no telling what the results of this act could be in ten years or a centuries’ time. All he knew for sure right now was that he felt good about the rescue.
After anchoring, Charlie joined Linda and their passengers in the cabin. He addressed the woman and said, ”I’m afraid that your craft has foundered. She will need some work to get her shipshape again.”
She replied, “Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Madam Madeleine D’Arnet (Mad’-ĭ-lane Dar’-nay). These are my children Jean-Jacques, Mimi and Yvette. My husband Jacques is the mayor of Brazzaville. He will see to it that she is fixed up again. I don’t know how to thank you and your wife. You saved me and my children. We surely would have drowned if you hadn’t come along and helped us.”
Charlie replied, “No special thanks are needed. No mariner could allow another to go down without offering to help.”
“Just the same, I would like to invite both of you to come to the Mayor’s residence for dinner tomorrow night so that I can introduce you to my husband and he can thank you for preserving his family. I will not take no for an answer.” All of this conversation had been conducted in French and Charlie had been translating for Linda the entire time.
Charlie asked Linda about this and she didn’t object so he graciously accepted the invitation for the both of them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next evening
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Charlie put on his best GQ style dress suit for the evening and Linda dressed in a white linen sleeveless dress with a scoop neck, fitted bodice and full skirt which came to mid calf with white high heeled pumps.
She said, “My, don’t you look nice this evening!”
He replied, “Not nearly so nice as you my dear.” <This is going to be a real trial. We’ll be acting as husband and wife. I look forward to it and I dread it. To be so close to her. Wait a minute. Maybe I can turn this to my advantage. A world of possibilities could open up. What if … Can’t a Mayor perform weddings? … Nah, she’d never go along with it. Too soon, too soon.>
When they arrived at the Mayoral residence that evening there was a crowd of photographers and newspaper reporters there. Included in the throng were Derek Price, Suzanne and Colette. Since they were colleagues they gave them a special exclusive interview for the Planet.
They posed for some photographs. Mostly the pictures were of them side by side with their arms around each other. Some of them were where Charlie insisted that they be kissing. There were some with the Mayor’s family.
The Mayor had invited most of the high government officials to the dinner and introduced Linda and Charlie to all of them as the saviors of his wife and children. In a speech he affirmed his eternal gratitude for the selfless act by two former strangers, now friends, of saving his family from a watery grave. In essence he gave them the key to the city.
They modestly accepted his thanks and stated that they had been unaware of who the people they were rescuing were. All they knew was that there was a vessel in distress and that they would have performed the same action for anyone in a similar situation.
After they returned to the Ubuntu they spent some time cuddling. This adventure had moved their relationship half a step ahead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later Clark would request copies of the original photos from the agencies that were there so that he could have the pictures of Lois and himself, together. He realized at that time that this was another clue he had missed when doing his search. It had never occurred to him that there would be something in the newspaper about them.
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 15 – The Cruise on the Ubuntu
