‘That’s hard. I’m really sorry.’ He took a deep breath. ‘My mum died when I was ten.’

We looked at each other. It was a strange moment. Then he said, ‘We’ve got a plan.’

I waited.

‘The ferry’s coming tomorrow. Shaun’ll tell the kids we’re sending your kitchen bin off to the mainland for fingerprint testing.’

Warren went on to explain that the bin would be left in Shaun’s hut, covered in pepper and chilli powder. Whoever tried to sneak in and wipe the bin clean would end up red-eyed and sneezing. ‘We’ll keep a close eye on that hut,’ he added. ‘You watch—someone’ll go in there.’

‘You think the kids will buy it?’ I was doubtful.

Warren grinned. ‘Hell, yes. Shaun can make them believe anything.’

‘And then what?’ I was expecting to hear that the culprit would be packed off home.

‘Then we’ll give the little bastard something to think about.’ Warren’s voice held something I hadn’t heard before—a flash of anger. A hint of darkness. ‘Like the Steamroller.’

‘Like the what?’

‘Don’t worry. It’s legal.’

The whole thing sounded dodgy to me. ‘Shouldn’t you just send Jake home?’

‘Nup.’ Warren shook his head. ‘Do that and they’ll all try something.’

‘Mmm.’ I still wasn’t persuaded. But when Warren asked for my kitchen bin, I gave it to him. I also gave him a plastic bag, a pepper pot and a small jar of chilli powder.

‘I’ll need those back,’ I said. Campers in the past had borrowed all kinds of things they hadn’t returned: pens, bottle openers, oven gloves, antiseptic cream.

‘No worries.’ Warren’s smile was meant to be reassuring. ‘You won’t lose anything else, I swear.’

After lunch the boys went for a supervised run. They wore shorts, trainers and backpacks, and took maps and compasses with them.

There were a couple of false starts. Everyone was about to leave when Dean Hoegel dropped to the ground and curled up, his arms wrapped around his dreadlocks. Joe had to talk to him for a while. Then, when the platoon finally did set off, it had to turn around and come straight back so Flynn and Nathan could go to the toilet.

But at last the whole lot of them vanished into the bush, leaving me in full possession of the lazaret. Every building seemed to relax and expand. I threw open the dormitory windows to let the breeze carry away that teenage-boy funk. Then I cleaned up the mess in the dining hall and went to weed my vegie patch.