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Nick. It is a goed question. For the papers zat ten pounds. If you have the papers then you will own Vleermuis. ’
    ‘Is that all, sir? You said a proposition?’
    ‘You think ten pounds is too much, Nick?’
    ‘No, sir, it is a ridiculous price. Providing, of course, that I get Vleermuis back to Australia without running into the Japanese navy or a reconnoitring Zero or two.’
    ‘ Ach , there is plenty of time, you will see.’
    ‘Sure, they bomb the harbour every few days.’ The Dutchman did not react to my aside, so I continued. ‘So, that’s it? Ten pounds and I get the Vleermuis ?’ I asked suspiciously, for once not addressing him as ‘sir’. I was once warned never to do business with a Dutchman if I hoped to keep the shirt on my back.
    Piet Van Heerden smiled and spread his arms. ‘ Ja , okay, maybe never, also maybe one day, who knows, eh? After za war Anna comes to Australia. Then she give you ten pounds and you give her za papers for Vleermuis, ja ?’
    ‘Anna?’
    ‘ Ja , always, one day she has Vleermuis. ’ He shrugged, giving me an unctuous smile. ‘But now we are leaving and I cannot give her mijn beautiful boat.’
    ‘Sir, with the greatest respect, that sounds like bullshit. Isn’t it just another way to get your boat back after the war?’
    He laughed, lifting his pewter as if to salute me. ‘ Goed! Ja , that is goed , Nick! Ha! Ha! Ja , nee , no, you are wrong! Anna, also… she loves this boat, already she can sail Vleermuis by herself, she is goed , better even zan me, ja .’
    ‘Okay, then give it to Anna now. Sign it over to her and let her sail it with me to Australia?’
    ‘ Ja , papa, let me go with Nicholas. It will be a big adventure. We are going to Australia, we will meet you and Katerina and Kleine Kiki again there,’ she said ingenuously. Neither of us had noticed her return to the kitchen, or how long she had been present and what part of our conversation she might have overheard.
    I confess a disparate thought had begun to form in my mind: that this might be a conspiracy between father and daughter and that Anna had been playing me for a sucker all along. The supper, the butterfly hunt, was it simply all a come-on? If it was, it was more than I could bear to think about. She was so beautiful, so lovely; for her to turn out to be deceitful would have broken my heart. But now she obviously wasn’t part of a conspiracy. She’d freely admitted that her family’s destination was to be Australia. She couldn’t possibly have been implicated or she would never have proferred this information and so exposed the Dutchman’s motive. What’s more, she wanted to accompany me. I couldn’t believe my ears. There was no need for the Dutchman to con me. With Anna on board I’d happily accept the use of the cutter and give it back to him, to her, when we arrived. A month at sea alone with Anna was a wild and exhilarating thought.
    I turned to look at the Dutchman for confirmation. His large head had turned almost purple, the veins on his neck stood out like fat worms and the capillaries that normally flushed his chubby cheeks looked as if they might burst at any moment. He was snorting like a rhino. Then his huge fist came crashing down on the table. ‘ Verdomme, nee! Nee! Nee! ’ he bellowed.
    ‘Papa! Papa!’ Anna cried, rushing to her father’s side. She kissed him several times on the forehead and then started to knead his shoulders.
    ‘I think I’d better go,’ I said, standing.
    ‘No, please to stay, Nicholas,’ Anna cried.
    ‘I don’t think I’m welcome,’ I said in a whisper though conscious that the Dutchman could probably hear me.
    Anna walked from behind her father to where he could see her. ‘So, papa, for Nicholas it is okay to sail to Australia, ja ? For me, nee , no?’
    The Dutchman ignored his daughter and looked directly at me. ‘She is too young.’
    ‘But, sir, you said it was safe, that she is a good sailor and knows how to sail the Vleermuis