Brian's father had just been transferred from the mainland. He was assigned to my father's detachment. That made things a little difficult for Brian and me to be friends. Military protocol said that an officer's children shouldn't associate with an enlisted man’s children. We managed to develop a strong friendship in spite of the military. We enjoyed doing the same things. We liked to explore the cane fields. We spent hours wondering around in the fields. One warm day, since we had nothing else to do, we went to our opening the fence. We had the habit of walking around and not saying much. Today was different. Brian wanted to talk.
“Mike, what do you want to be when you grow up'?" Brian asked.
"I don’t have any idea. I haven't even thought about it. What do you want to do'?"
"Well, I want to go to college and study to be a veterinarian."
"Man, that will take years!"
"Yea, I know. It'll be worth it to help animals."
"Do you really like animals that much?"
"Yea. Sometimes I even wish people wouldn't kill animals; even for food."
Just then we came upon a trap that had a fresh mongoose in it. Memories of Sam came flooding back into my mind.
"Brian, I wish you had known this guy named Sam. I met him when we were at Waikele. He would change your mind. He used traps like this one for food so he could live. In fact, this looks like one of his."
"Hey, Mike!" a voice shouted from a near-by clump of sugar cane.
"Who's there?" I yelled back.
"You don't recognize my voice, do you? It's Sam."
"Hey, Sam, come here. I want you to meet someone.
"Hello, Brian. I'm pleased to meet you.
Brian just stood staring with his mouth open. Sam was as big as ever. It was good to see him.
"WOW!" Brian finally said.
"Hey, Sam, Why don’t you tell us one of your stories? Why are you down here'?"
"Well, Mike, it’s a long story. As you know, I trap in the cane fields for food. I got caught a few months ago and had to spend some time in jail. Remember, we are trespassing. When I got out, I thought it would be a good idea if I moved on. I decided to move down this way to be closer to the sea. I thought maybe I could have a change of diet now and then. I have taken up fishing. Without a boat, it is really hard to catch the really big one. "Not very far from here is an inlet where I fish a lot. There is a rusty landing craft a short wade into the bay. I try to go out at low tide. I stay until the tide is low again. It makes a pretty long day. The landing craft does provide some shade and I can lay down, when I get tired. One day, I was fishing as usual, when suddenly my pole flew out of the holder. Luckily, the rail of the boat stopped the pole from going into the water. I grabbed the pole and started reeling in the line. From the weight, I knew that I had hooked into a big one.
"The more I struggled, the more it pulled out line. It just kept going and going and going out into the bay. I didn't know what to do, so I cut the line. At least I wouldn't lose all of my line.
"I busied myself rigging another line. There was still a lot of time before the tide would be low enough for me to walk back to shore, so I might as well keep on fishing.
"Suddenly, there was a great roar to my left. I was almost too afraid to look. I slowly peered over the edge of the railing. Directly in front of me and a little to the left, a submarine had surfaced! I looked through a pair of binoculars. My fishing line was dangling on the conning tower! This was the BIG one that got away."
"Come on, Sam, you’re pulling my leg. That couldn't have happened," I said.
"As sure as you're sitting there, it did."
"Boy, I've heard some big fish stories, but this one takes the prize for being the biggest. You don't really expect us to believe it, do you?"
"I'm not in the habit of lying. If fact, that reminds me of another story. Would you like to hear it?"
"I sure would!” Brian finally got his voice back. He had been sitting there, not making a sound.
"A few years ago, the body of an old Japanese man was found in a cane field not far from here. I heard the police were looking for me. They knew I frequently roamed in the sugar canes. I stayed low so they would find me. I didn't about the body and thought they were just going to harass me.
"When I heard about the body, I figured they were going to try to pin the murder on me. I was really scared now. I wondered what I should do. Days went by and I continued to hunt and fish almost as I had before. I was a little more cautious because I didn't want to be caught. Finally, my conscience got the best of me. I knew hiding was wrong and that I should go to the police because I didn't have anything to hide.
"I decided to go to the police and tell them what I knew. I went to the nearest station and identified myself. Boy, did I set off a beehive of activity! I couldn't believe they wanted me that much. "
"What did you do then?" I wanted to know.
The desk sergeant told me to empty my pockets on the desk. I just laughed. I didn't have any pockets! He didn't think it was very funny. He handcuffed my hands behind my back. I thought they were a little snug, but decided not to say anything. I was beginning to think I had made a mistake. He led me to an interrogation room.
"Sit down," he ordered.
"Where were you on the night of the fourteenth?" the sergeant asked.
"I don't remember."
"What did you do with the weapon?"
"What weapon?" I asked. I knew they were searching for something or trying to force me to make a confession.
"You know what weapon. The one you used to kill Old Johnny."
"I didn't kill anyone. I think I want a lawyer."
"You'll get a lawyer soon enough, Just answer the questions."
"I won't answer any more questions without my lawyer. I only came in because I thought I could tell you I didn't have anything to do with the murder and that would be the end of it."
"You, my friend, are the prime suspect."
"You can imagine how I felt now. I had really made a mistake this time. They were not going to believe me, no matter how much I swore I didn’t have anything to do with it."
"What do you do for a living?" the sergeant asked.
"I want a lawyer."
"Where do you live?"
"I want a lawyer."
Finally, the Lieutenant came in. He took one look at me and called the sergeant outside. I could tell the Lieutenant was furious. The sergeant came back into the room and unlocked the handcuffs. He asked me to go with him.
"This is more like it," I thought.
We left the room and went to the Lieutenant's office.
"Please have a seat, Mr. uh ," the lieutenant said pleasantly.
"Sam will do just fine," I said as I sat down.
"Please forgive the sergeant. He was being a little over zealous. Please understand, we don't have many murders on this side of the island."
"I understand perfectly. You wanted to pin this rap on me to make yourselves look good."
"That's not true. Besides, the murderer was caught this afternoon, while you were in the interrogation room. Again, please accept our apologies. You are free to go anytime you want. "
I wasted no time getting out of there. I never did like police stations. I decided not to get caught in that predicament again.
Brian came out of his reverie just then. "We have to be going now," he said.
"I guess you're right. See ya, Sam."
We headed back to base very slowly. We were each lost in our own thoughts. What a day it had been! I found my friend, Sam again and he had told me some great stories. They were hard to believe, but I knew Sam didn’t lie.