Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 19:48:20 +0000 From: Andy Macdonald Subject: West-meets-East - 2 WEST MEETS EAST 2 by Andy Macdonald amcdld@hotmail.com Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has little basis in reality. Copyright: The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. There was an almighty crash. The yacht shuddered and everything was flung forward. I heard water rushing in and I disentangled myself from Ajisaka and scrambled off the bunk. I tried to get up on deck but there was a cascade of water pouring down the hatch which washed me back. I knew for sure that we were sinking and I was pretty certain that I would be trapped down below in the doomed yacht. Somehow, with the superhuman strength of the dieing, I managed to crawl up out of the skylight, my first thought being to release the life raft. I undid the slip on the straps holding it to the deck and all the while I could feel water swirling all round me, the life raft was now floating off the deck, held only by its painter. "Ajisaka!!" Frantically I bellowed his name, I dashed back to the skylight but MOBY DICK was sinking fast, whatever we'd hit - probably a container washed off a ship - must have knocked a huge hole in the bow. I scrambled out of the aft cabin and, working on auto, snatched up the emergency grab-bag, shot up on deck and wrenched free the lines holding down the liferaft and tried to heave it over the side but it wedged against the life-lines, I struggled and kicked it out and under and in doing so found, that I had slithered in after it. Suddenly I was alone in the ocean with the life raft which was inflating with a hissing, moaning noise. I clambered in and stared bleakly all around at the already empty ocean. In my haste to launch the raft I had abandoned my crew. At the moment of the crash time had frozen, I had reacted automatically and in doing so had abandoned my crew . . . . . . . . . . or so I thought but in my panic I hadn't realized that part of my all round view was screened by the liferaft's canopy. MOBY DICK had not plummeted to the bottom as my panic stricken mind had assumed - half of the yacht was still on the surface. Reason was returning and I realized that the forward watertight door had been clamped shut and that therefore there was a lot of buoyancy in the fore part of the yacht. Ajisaka! Maybe enough air had been trapped in the after part for him not to have drowned. In frantic haste I unshipped the paddle and paddled furiously to get alongside the reared up bow. In a flash I secured the liferaft and scrambled up onto the sharply inclined deck. My first inclination was to try to prise open the forehatch but common sense prevailed because I realized that if I did open it, the trapped air would be forced out and what little buoyancy that remained would be lost and the yacht would slip under. What could I do? In a flash I realized what I had to do. It was against all my natural instincts to go back down into the doomed yacht but I just had to. Had to try and see if Ajisaka was still alive and to try to get him out before it was too late. I worked my way down the deck to where the water was lapping, took a huge breath and dived down, feeling my way into the cockpit and then to the main hatch. It seemed like certain death but I managed to retrace my path back down into the after cabin. My hopes and prayers for an air pocket had been answered, I could see Ajisaka floating up by the deck-head with just his head clear of the water. He jerked round and his panic-stricken eyes locked on to mine. I bobbed up and shared several heaving lung-fulls of the precious air. There was no time to lose because I was sure that MOBY DICK's limited amount of buoyancy would'nt keep her on the surface for much longer. "Take a deep, deep breath," I shouted at him, then remembered that he wouldn't understand. "Breath - like this" and I took three or four deep breaths. He realized what I meant and copied me. Then I seized his small body and started to drag him down below the water. He struggled wildly and in his panic tried to escape back up to the immediate safety of the air pocket but I gripped his wriggling, protesting body and managed to work us both downwards, out into the yacht's saloon and back up through the main hatch from where we shot to the surface, our heads breaking out into the air, both gasping and choking. A few strong kicks and I managed to propel us both to the liferaft. There I let go of Ajisaka and he was able to slither up and into the raft where he lay gasping and panting on its rubber floor. I gathered the last of my strength and managed to clamber up and into the raft too. We were both numb with shock and fright. After a few moments my senses returned and I realized that I should let go the line that was holding us to the stricken yacht which would probably sink at any moment. I leant out through the opening and managed to undo the rope and we immediately started to drift clear. And it had not been a moment too soon. With a sighing sound, the last of the air that had been keeping the bows afloat was driven out by the pressure of water and the weight of the yacht and she slowly settled stern first into the depths. This time I really was staring bleakly all around at an empty ocean. I glanced over at Ajisaka who was curled up in a tight ball, shivering with cold and fright. His eyes were fixed on mine, I grinned at him: "Thank God you're safe," I said and I leant over him and wrapped my arms round his trembling body. "Oh Andy! Oh Andy, you come back for me. I think maybe I go down to bottom of sea. But you make me to come out. You make save me . . . " he sobbed. I stroked his body and whispered words of encouragement which I knew he couldn't understand but hoped they would soothe his worries. We huddled together for a time. Then I disentangled his clinging body and opened up the survival pack that was velcroed to the inside of the raft's hull. I unpacked the tins of water, the flares, repair kit and other gear, taking stock of everything. I wished I'd managed to get the emergency grab bag from the yacht but everything had happened so quickly that I'd failed. It would have meant that we'd `ve had the emergency beacon but at least we had both managed to get out. We were alive - for the moment. However I situation was grim. We had a small amount of water but no food. I knew we were several hundred miles from land, what I didn't know was whether we were in any kind of a shipping area. Mostly by means of miming I managed to explain to Ajisaka that we would continue our system of watch-keeping and that one of us had to be awake and alert and watching all round the horizon just in case there was another ship out there. I showed him the flares. By now he was recovering from the terrible fright and mortal danger we'd experienced. "In marine school we learn life raft," he told me. "Ajisaka know little bit about sea surviving ." "OK sport, you can keep the first watch," I said and I manoeuvred him to the entrance, I pointed at my watch and showed him two fingers, passed him the watch and then leant back against the side of the raft and closed my eyes. He nodded, he'd got the message. I lay still with my eyes closed but my mind in overdrive and after a while I suppose that I managed to doze for a bit because suddenly I felt something brushing my cheek. Ajisaka was lightly stroking my face: "Is two hour Andy" he whispered, "I not see anything." "OK Aji, I'll take over the watch and try to get some sleep," I said. We swapped places, I sat in the opening and Ajisaka scrambled back. It was hot in the raft and our clothes had dried out, I hoped that despite his fear, he'd manage to get some sleep. He slept, I watched. After another two hours I opened the first tin of water and woke Ajisaka. I handed him the tin and he drank sparingly. I did the same. We changed places and he resumed the watch. This continued through the day and long into the night. I was seriously worried about our predicament, no beacon, no radio and nothing that we could do to help ourselves. My mind whirled round and round trying to think of something to help us. Eventually I managed to drop off into a fitful, dream-filled sleep. "Andy! Andy!! Andy!!! Is a ship. Is a light!" Aji was shaking me furiously. I shot awake and peered out along his pointing arm. Sure enough, out on the horizon were the lights of a ship. I shot my hands out to the emergency pack and grabbed three flares. I rolled over to the entrance, tore off the protective tape and covers, held the flare at arms length and tripped the trigger. There was a roar and a flash of blinding light and the rocket propelled the flare into the sky. I looked up and high above us there was a pop and the flare lit and started the glide downwards on its little parachute. I forced myself to wait for a few minutes and then fired a second flare. "He turning, he turning," shouted Ajisaka. "He see flare, he coming!" Sure enough, the boat had turned towards us, now instead of two white and one red lights I could see both red and green, the ship was heading right towards us. I grabbed another flare - I wanted to make absolutely sure we'd been seen. I fired it. Then I seized hold of a hand-held flare. "Cover your eyes, Aji" I told him and held my hand across his eyes. He knew what I was going to do and turned away from me. Then I triggered the red hand-held flare and held it as far clear of the rubber raft as I could. I turned my face away and an unbelievably bright red glare fizzed out of the tube. I wanted to be sure that our saviour could see us, could get a bearing on us and head straight towards us. After about a minute the flare burnt out and I threw the red-hot tube fizzing into the sea. As soon as my eyes had adjusted from the intense light and I was able to see again I peered frantically towards the ship. Yes! Still both red and green, steaming purposely towards our position. I made myself wait for five minutes and then lit a second flare. By the time its intense light had died away I could see that the ship was near enough to us to be able to make out the weak light that winked feebly from the top of the raft's canopy. We were saved! I hugged Aji in delight and he kissed me, long and deep. "Now we be OK," he whispered. I nodded and hugged him close to me. The ship ploughed towards us and finally swung round so that our raft was alongside in its lee. Faces peered over the rail and a voice shouted: "How many of you? Is anyone hurt?" "Two of us," I shouted back, "no one's hurt, we're both OK." There was a pause and then I could see a rope pilot ladder being swung over the side. I managed to paddle the raft up alongside and I gestured for Ajisaka to get out of the raft and climb up. He didn't move but just stared at me. "Go on Aji, up you go" I told him, "I'll be right behind you." I pushed his shoulders and gestured to him. He set off up the ladder peering back over his shoulders, trying not to lose sight of me. Then he disappeared over the bulwarks. I set off after him. I heard a voice shout: "Do you want to save the raft?" "No. I've slashed the buoyancy, I'll just let it go" I shouted back as I scrambled the short distance up the swinging ladder. Once on deck I looked quickly around. We'd been rescued by a medium-sized motor yacht. I saw a figure climb down from the bridge, he walked across the deck to us. "Thank you, Sir!" I said, "many, many thanks. I'm Andy Macdonald and this is Ajisaka. My yacht MOBY DICK hit something yesterday morning, I think it must have been a semi-submerged container. She sank within twenty minutes, luckily we managed to make it into the raft." "John McFarlane" said the man. "This my yacht SCRIBBLER. Come on, let's get you both down below and into some warm, dry clothes. You'll need water . . and something to eat. Down you come, follow me." We stumbled aft after him and followed him into a very smart deckhouse. I looked at him, "John McFarlane?" I said, "the writer John McFarlane?" "Yes," he replied, "I'm out here doing some research for my next novel. We're heading towards Ambon. This is my yacht, there're six of us on board, the mate Roger, deckhand Seb, my engineer, another John, my chef Marcel and my steward Nick." As he spoke he gestured towards the other five who'd trooped into the deckhouse behind us. I shook hands with all six of the men and again thanked them profusely for having rescued us. "No worries," said the owner, "adds a bit of excitement being able to carry out a genuine rescue! Now Marcel and Nick, get yourselves into the galley and let's get some food inside these two. But first you'll need to get them some water." I looked at the six men. The Owner, John McFarlane was a tall, distinguished looking man, probably in his late fifties. The engineer was a much younger guy, short and solid and of an indeterminate age. The cook was very obviously French, not just because of the name but also because of his dark features and droopy black moustache. The steward, young Nick - was cute, oh so cute. And very obviously gay. He fluttered round us muttering "Oh you poor, poor things. What a dreadful experience. And you lost your yacht, oh you poor man . . . " "That'll do Nick." John McFarlane firmly took charge of the situation and in no time Marcel had rustled up a great meal which Nick served to us. Once we'd finished the young steward bustled us down below and lead us into a compact cabin with two bunks, one above the other. "Oh you poor things. We only have the one guest cabin," he looked at me, "I'm afraid you'll have to share with your . . . " he paused and glanced at Ajisaka and back at me, "your . . . " he couldn't finish his sentence so he just abandoned the problem. "Here," he opened a door and showed us the en suite shower and head. He shot out of the cabin and bustled back in clutching an armful of towels. Dashed out again and returned with soap and shampoo. Ajisaka looked at me and winked. "He gay boy," he said. I grinned back then we both stripped off our filthy salt-stained clothes, just dumping them in a heap on the deck and Aji scrambled into the upper bunk while I rolled into the lower one. I immediately fell into a deep, deep sleep. Hours later I woke up to find that Aji had slipped down and into my bunk and was lying curled up against me, my arms had instinctively clasped around him. He was still fast asleep and his body twitched from time to time in his dreams. I needed to go to the head. Badly. Gently I tried to disentangle myself from Aji who mumbled some unintelligible protest in his sleep, trying to cling on to me. I managed to slip out of the bunk and into the shower space. Much relieved I slid back into the warm bunk again and Aji mumbled and cuddled up pressing his small body against mine. I started to stroke my finger-tips very lightly across the muscles of his chest, fluttering them over his warm skin, sliding and stroking gradually working my way downwards, across his warm, flat stomach, swirling round his naval and then very slowly inching down until my nails were combing his pubic bush. I played gently down there, my knuckles occasionally brushing against his flaccid cock. It felt so sensuous to be caressing such an intimate part of my young lover's body. Something was stirring. The flaccid tube was growing, expanding, engorging and growing stiffer. I fingered the soft skin at the end of his cock and could feel the ridge of his cockhead through its protective foreskin. With my fingers and thumb I inched the skin gently back and forth over the growing organ. Aji's cock jerked, leapt in my fingers like a small, hard fish. Very, very softly I continued my intimate exploration between his legs. Then I realised that he was awake. "Andy," he said as his eyes fluttered open. "Andy, now we all safe." "Yea, we're safe but I don't think you should be in my bunk." I pointed at him and then up at the bunk above. Aji giggled. I made climbing signals with my hands and pointed at him again and said: "Nick - Nick the Steward. What would he think if he found us in bed together?" Aji obviously got my meaning because he giggled again and pointed across to the chair on which were laid out both sets of our clothes, freshly washed, pressed and neatly folded. While we'd been asleep - in each other's arms - Nick must have come into the cabin, collected up our gear, laundered it and later come quietly back in to put it on the chair. Our cover was blown. It was very obvious that now that Aji was fully awake, that he felt safe - and that he was seriously horny! My gentle fondling had got him fully aroused and as I looked into his face I saw a mixture of longing and timidity. I withdrew my fingers from between his legs and slowly and softly brushed my them across his face, lightly outlining the cute, oriental features, feather-lightly stroking his ears, caressing his features. Aji sighed and copied my movements. I lent over him and brushed my lips over his breathing in his lovely hot young-man scent. Then I kissed his neck while my hand stroked slowly over his chest in light sensual circles. As I brushed his nip his sigh turned to a soft groan and I ranged further and lower, repeating my earlier explorations. Aji's head rolled round and I kissed the other side of his neck and by now my questing hand had reached its previous target. Aji's head turned to face mine and this time when I brushed his mouth I flicked out my tongue and eased between his lips feeling the warm softness inside. Very slowly and lightly my hand was manipulating his manhood, my fingers gently stroking around his penis. Now I pressed the flat of my hand on to his rock-hard cock and was rewarded with a loud groan coinciding with a leap. I knew that Aji was now totally given over to pleasure and I was savouring every moment of his eager reactions. My hand continued its exploration and rubbed over the end of his prick which felt moist around the head of his twitching cock. Now I eased my head away from his face and started to slowly lick my way down his chest following the earlier path of my stroking fingers. Down across his flat stomach and on towards his private places. Now I smelt a most pleasant musky scent, oh but there was such a sexy, sweaty, horny odour generated by his crotch. I nuzzled into his groin and rolled my face around on his rampant prick, encased in its skinny prison. Aji gasped and strained his crutch upwards to press his prick into my face so I quickly took advantage of his raised arse to slide my fingers deep in between his round buns. Now I could feel the feverish heat of my lover's crutch radiating outwards in waves of passion. The heady aroma of man-crutch wafted into my nostrils and I analysed his sex scent that was composed of stale night sweat and piss-scents lingering from his sleeping hard-on and something else, strongly masculine coming from beneath his balls and creeping forward from the hot sweaty crack between his buttocks. A pungent and prick-twitching odour of funky young male. Aji's breath was now coming in heavy pants mixed with low moans of pleasure. I kissed around his pubic hair while at the same time lightly stroking his ball sack with my finger tips. I smelt his cock again putting my nose up close until I could feel the fever heat of his cockflesh radiating outwards; the odour was heavy and expectant and somehow it dragged me onwards to move my face in closer and closer, hovering over Aji's now fully erect cock. Then I let my tongue just flick at the base of his prick and slowly licked my way up towards the head which flared free of its skinny prison. It jumped like a landed trout and I knew this sexy guy was longing for the joys of an expert cock suck. My tongue swirled around his cock head, lapped up the clear bead of pre-cum which oozed from his piss slit and slowly I took the head into my warm, sucking mouth. My tongue swirled around the head of his cock and I vacuumed the rod deep into my mouth. Aji moaned some unintelligible words and he thrust his crutch up frantically towards my sucking mouth. Matching his thrusts, I worked my lips tightly up and down the shaft of his prick, faster and faster we both began to work, his ass thrusting up off the bed and his breath coming now in sobbing pants. I reckoned he was not far off shooting and as his balls tightened up towards the base of his prick, I removed my mouth and fisted him furiously, my hand gliding up and down on the slicks of saliva and the pre-cum which were now brimming from his cock. Suddenly Aji gasped, convulsed and a wad of cum shot from his cock, hitting him in the face, to be followed by spurt after spurt of thick white juice. I watched this beautiful little guy spunking his load, his eyes glazed over and his whole body trembling with the power of his sexual release. After a few moments Aji groaned again and started to rub my cock and my fevered mind needed to explore what was under those balls and up in the crack between those fantastic ass-cheeks of Aji's. I hugged him tight to me, kissing him again and letting my tongue slide into his mouth where it duelled with his tongue in a slidy, sexy union. I thought that he would need time to recover but almost right away his panting died down and he continued to kiss me passionately. My hand snaked down yet again and to my amasement Aji's prick was still as rampant as it had been before his recent sexual explosion. He wriggled as I weighed his ball-sack tightly within my palm, kneading his balls together continuously causing his prick to bob up against his flat stomach; my long middle finger left his balls and snaked back beneath them, moving lower, delving in, sliding through the damp mustiness of his feverish bum. He hunched forward slightly, bending his legs to spread his ass making more room for my searching finger. As my finger passed over the young anus, Aji gave a long hissing sigh of pure delight and his balls bobbed up inside my other palm and grew suddenly firmer, starting a second slow ascent up against the root of his straining cock. My finger twirled around his fever-hot asshole again, making solid contact with his ring and massaging it rhythmically, stretching it, pushing its lips wider and edging ever deeper up inside the hot passage. Aji pushed his ass back so that my finger penetrated deeper and he shuddered with delight obviously welcoming the caressing attention to this, his most private place. Now we lay writhing together, our breaths coming in moaning gasps; my finger remained lodged in its hot prison and now I eased it in and out, slowly finger-fucking Aji whose cock bobbed in time to my probing. I groped under the bunk and my hand found the tube of lube that I knew was in my pack. Feverishly I screwed the cap off the KY tube and removing my finger from Aji's bottom, I took a gob of lubricant and swirled it around his ring; he winced as the cold liquid touched his feverish skin but almost immediately my finger resumed its comforting slide in and out. With my other hand I smeared his prick with lubricant and worked my fist up and down in time with the movement of the other hand's penetrations. Aji groaned loudly and I could see from his glazed eyes and swaying head that he was moving into a sexual coma. I could feel the tightness building up within him and didn't want a repeat of the inevitable orgasm too soon, not until I had taken him. Now I rolled Aji over onto his belly, having placed the pillow so that it caused his sexy bottom to rear up, then I moved the head of my prick up against the hot flesh of his tight ring-piece, paused so that its bulbous head just kissed against the lips of his anus; slowly I eased forward feeling the super-sensitive nerves of my cockhead as Aji opened up to receive me, His ass crack rolled back along my cock and I strained forward, pushing towards my sex-crazed lover. Ahhh! Now my cock was solidly sunk in and soaking up the fiery heat of his ass which gripped it tightly and possessively. The tightness, the heat, the silky smoothness of the young ass and the gentle rippling sensations of desire and welcome were almost too much for me. I eased my prick slowly out until the head was just held inside his ring, then pushed forward again, deeper this time and causing Aji to groan loudly and push back and upward to meet me. Then nature took over and I began fucking my wanting lover in earnest, pulling my prick back in short strokes at first then ramming longer and deeper, feeling the way his ass caused a delicious friction along my shaft, all the time increasing the degree of hotness and ecstatic delight. Soon I was long-shafting, pulling my cock almost to the brink of release and then plunging in for the shattering orgasmic climax, deep, deep into my lover. I felt my cum pumping out and now my buttocks thrust and jerked in trembling desire and sweat started out all over my body. But even in the throws of my ecstasy I had remembered my Aji's needs and as I humped my buttocks furiously thrusting into his gripping anus, one hand had snaked under his stomach and I wanked his lubricated cock so that I felt it give a mighty jolt and once again his cum added lubricant as he climaxed at the same time as me. Once again a minute of silence passed then, as his panting died away Aji moaned: "Andy it was so nice, so nice what you did." We collapsed back in the bunk, spent, sated with sexual fulfilment bit I realised that we must've slept for many hours and that I had some explaining to do and questions to get answered. I slid free of Aji's clinging embrace and climbed off the bunk and went into the heads for a thoroughly refreshing shower. Then I put on the freshly laundered clothes and set off in search of our rescuer. I found John McFarlane in his sumptuous deckhouse saloon reading a novel. He looked up as I stood in the doorway. "Come in, come in please. Make yourself comfortable," and he indicated a chair in front of him. "Well you certainly look in a better state than when I first saw you. Tell me what happened. Oh and how's that lad of yours?" I sat down and recounted the sudden bang, the fact that we'd hit something huge in the water . . . "Probably a container, I've heard there are supposed to be many of them, half sunken, floating around. Bloody menace," John Interjected. "Yea, that's what I reckoned," I said and went on to describe how we'd ended up in the liferaft. "Thank God you came across us, I knew we were miles from any shipping lanes and I feared the worst." We chatted on for a while, John being a writer was excited and interested in my story and prompted me from time to time. "Well," he said, "I'm bound for Ambon as I told you. I'm very happy to offer you every hospitality on board until we get there. You're very welcome to the guest cabin but I'm afraid that there's no other place for your, ermm, boy. He'll have to bunk in there with you, I do hope you don't mind the inconvenience." I smiled inwardly. I thought I could jsomehow manage to cope with the 'inconvenience' of having Aji in the cabin with me. "Now then, do you realise that you slept for about fourteen hours? You must be very hungry." He leant over and pressed a bell-push and in a flash Nick materialised. "Ah Nick," said John, "when Marcel's ready Mr Macdonald and I'll have lunch on the aft deck OK?" The young steward nodded and went out to set things up. We had a delicious meal abaft the deck saloon, shaded by the overhanging upper deck while we continued to discuss our future. John McFarlane was very relieved the know that I'd managed to rescue our passports which I'd had the foresight to pack into the grab-bag. John had told me to feel free and have a good look around the yacht so after lunch I found the other John, the engineer. He was a friendly fellow and offered to show me the engine room. Despite the noise of the two big main engines, he was able to show me the comprehensive equipment they had on board. Down there she was a proper 'little ship' and I could tell the two Johns, owner and engineer were proud of her. Once back on deck I decided to have a look forard. Ahead of the deck saloon was a very well appointed galley where I found Marcel clearing up after our and the crews' lunch. I thanked him for the excellent meal he'd just prepared for us. Then I went up to the bridge and had a long chat with Roger the Mate who, like the engineer, was very happy to show me all the 'toys' they had up there. It was good to see how proud everyone was of their small ship. Roger explained that he and Seb did the bulk of the watchkeeping with quite a lot of help from both the owner and the engineer. It was all pretty simple once they were clear of the coast and shipping lanes what with the autohelm and guard areas on the radar. I smiled, realising that their situation was not that different from what mine had been in MOBY DICK. Roger apologised for not being able to leave the bridge to show me around down below but he repeated what John had said: "Feel free to have a good look around down below. I guess the lads will be having a sleep just now." I thanked him and went down the stairs which led below from the bridge. All the doors had tallies above them and I could see those for the Mate's, Engineer's and Chef's cabins. I went on forward to a swinging door across the centre alleyway. I quietly pushed it open and froze . . . . . The door opened into a large fo'c'sle space with two bunks on either side of the ship and a large floor area between them. This was obviously the crew's quarters and the crew were in residence. Deckhand Seb and steward Nick and a frightened looking Aji. He stood in the centre of the deck looking frightened and unhappy and I could tell that he was there against his will. I didn't move, I watched. Seb had his face right up close to Aji's: "Can't you speak then, pretty boy?" "I not know what you say" Aji whispered. "You're a poofter, aint'cha?" Nick jeered at him, "I saw ya, in 'is bunk, you're 'is bum-boy!" Nick turned to look at Seb: "Pretty little Chinky-boy, ain't 'e? Wouldn't mind a piece of that arse meself." He winked at Seb and pinched Aji's bum. Aji stood there looking confused and unhappy. The two lads crowded in on him and Seb started rubbing his crotch while Nick fondled Aji's bum. Aji stood there looking confused and even more unhappy. "I not want you . . not want you to touch me there," he pleaded trying to back away from their lewd gropings. The two lads continued to fondle the young oriental. "Please not, please not to do this." he pleaded. The double assault continued and I could see the two lads were getting very excited as they felt up their new found prey. "Please not, please not to do this." again Aji pleaded with them, his small vulnerable body being groped front and back. Yet again Aji tried to wriggle free pleading with them to leave him alone. They didn't. Suddenly Aji's small, light body exploded into a ball of violent energy. In a flash he crouched and with a movement so fast I couldn't tell whether it was an arm or a leg that hit out at Seb but the hefty lad cannoned across the space and landed on the deck obviously only half conscious. Virtually instantaneously Aji grabbed Nick, spun him round and threw him onto the starboard bunk where he held him, one hand gripping his neck, the young steward's legs flailing in agony but otherwise unable to move. I had no idea that my small, nervous young stowaway had the capacity to deal with two young guys so much bigger and heavier than himself. "Ajisaka!!" I shouted. Aji looked up. A look of astonishment and fear shot across his face. "Let him go Ajisaka!" I ordered. Aji released his grip on Nick's pressure point. The lad's legs stopped writhing and he lay on the bunk white-faced and shaking. Across the space the young deckhand was clambering up onto his feet. "I'm very sorry about that lads," I said, "but you did ask for it. Surely you could see that Ajisaka wasn't going along with you. He did warn you, three times." The two lads looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry Mister," Nick whispered, "we thought 'e'd be up fer it." "Well it seems he wasn't" I growled. "Sir, don't tell Mr McFarlane," Seb muttered, "he'd put me ashore at the next port, I know he would." "OK well you leave Aji alone in future," I told them and I could see from their faces that there was no way they were going to risk another bout with the seemingly easy-going young Indonesian. To my surprise Aji crept out from behind me and held out his hand, first to young Nick and then to Seb. "I very sorry I make you to hurt," he whispered. "I really not want to do it." The two young crewmen looked at him in surprise then, to my relief, each shook the offered hand and all three grinned at each other. I took that as a cue to leave so grabbing Aji's shoulders I propelled him out through the swing door and we walked back to the guest cabin. Aji was mortified and tried to explain that it had not been his fault. Nick had come into the cabin and insisted he go forward with him and then the two boys had started taunting him. "I know Aji, I saw enough of what happened. It's not your fault and it's all OK. I don't think there will be anymore trouble. And anyway they could see you were sorry and they accepted your apology." He nodded and grinned up at me. By now I'd realised that although Ajisaka didn't comprehend every word that I said to him he could understand a lot more than he was able to say in reply, plus we were now on a pretty close wavelength. "Now I go see Seb. I think I help him with working upstairs," and Aji bustled off. Shortly afterwards I wandered up on deck and saw the two of them rubbing down the starboard side of the bridge prior to giving it a coat of varnish. Good lad I thought as I climbed up to the bridge where I found John McFarlane. "How splendid," he said, there's your, ermm, your lad helping young Seb. I like that, working his passage eh?" "You could say that," I replied. "I'd like to help out too if you'll allow me. Maybe I could keep a watch or two?" "That would be kind," he replied, "tell you what, I'll ask Roger to work out a new watch-keeping rota. It'll certainly be a help having someone else to share the watches. It'll give the others more of a chance to get on with some maintenance." And so we settled down. The two of us quickly became good friends of our rescuers who were very happy to have our help. I found John McFarlane to be a most interesting man who had organised his life in a splendid fashion. He used SCRIBBLER extensively and had undertaken some long voyages to research the plots of his novels. I quickly discovered that he was gay and that Nick, his very cute young steward obviously attended to all of his owner's needs, both day and night. I was greatly relieved because there was no need to explain my relationship with my, ermm, boy. John had been told the story of the stowaway that I'd flushed out of the lazarette and no doubt young Nick had told him of our sleeping arrangements that he'd discovered during our first exhausted sleep after the rescue. Despite the ugly scene in the fo'c'sle Aji became very popular with the crew and worked tirelessly with them at whatever they asked of him, often setting about jobs that he could see needed doing before they had realised them themselves. However I could tell that their friendship was purely platonic, they were not about to risk another oriental firestorm! There were four bunks in the fo'c'sle but by everyone's mutual understanding and agreement, Ajisaka continued to share the guest cabin with me. I saw from the new watch rota that the mate had given me the 2nd mate's watch, the graveyard - midnight to four am. It was what I had expected and was more than happy to be able to take that chore off someone else. The first night I turned in early after supper. Aji wasn't about, I guessed he'd be in the galley giving Marcel a hand with the dishes. In no time I fell into a deep sleep. At half past eleven Aji shook me gently: "Mr McFa . . Mr Mac he say you come make watch now," he said gently. I clambered out of the bunk and grinned at Aji whose eyes were locked onto my groin. "No time just now, sport," I told him, "you'll have to wait 'till I'm off watch!" I struggled into my clothes and went up onto the bridge. "Ah, there you are. Five minutes early. That's what I like to see," and John handed over the watch to me and went off down to his cabin. I glanced down and saw young Nick slide along the passage and follow his owner into the cabin. I grinned to myself and walked round checking the instruments and familiarising myself with the layout on the bridge. The four hours passed quickly. At half past three I went down and knocked on the Mate's door and a sleepy voice answered: "OK, thanks, I'll be up in a minute." On cue at five to four the Mate appeared and sleepily took over the watch having glanced at the logbook to see my entries for each of the hours I'd had the watch. He smiled at me: "Thanks mister, I've got the ship, off you go and get some sleep." I did as he suggested and went down below and slid quietly into the guest cabin. Aji was in my lower bunk and in the dim light from the passageway I could see his almond-shaped black eyes gleaming with excitement and welcome. I undressed and slipped into bed beside him. Immediately Aji's arms and legs clung to me gluing our bodies together. He wriggled until his mouth was at my right ear and he licked and nibbled the lobe. He whispered: "Oh Andy, my Andy, you are here. Love me Andy. Love me with your big thing, I waiting long time for it." amcdld@hotmail.com