When I got control of myself again I found he had the other arm around Tanu who was trying unsuccessfully to hold back her own tears.

"Kelly, Tanu, I never thought I'd see you again! You are not hurt, you look very well..." He lapsed into German.

"Tanu, I have a surprise for you." He turned to the door just as it opened and her own father walked through, his head held up and a lost look on his face.

Of course Tanu did burst into tears then, and they hugged each other, a rare display of emotion on the Pitane elder's face.

When Greg stepped forward I introduced him and we quickly extricated ourselves from the crowds and loaded the baggage into the long-suffering Holden.

"Father, you've brought most of the house with you!" I exclaimed at the several large suitcases.

"Marjorie packed them, with some help from Martha and Tanu's mother. They're mostly your things, girls. We nearly had to pay excess baggage on them." He smiled at us.

It was late at night, so we drove directly to the motel and showed them their unit, then sat up for hours in ours with them, drinking coffee and telling them all the things that had happened to us, leaving out the finer details, of course.

Greg sat and listened as well. It was the first time he'd heard the whole story and his face showed warring emotions.

"Kelly, I..." Father hesitated, looking at the elder Pitane as he began, obviously too embarrassed to ask something.

"Are you going to ask us if we were molested, Herr Weber?" Tanu asked quietly in German, and he looked sharply at her and nodded.

She looked at me, then responded to my fractional nod by going on.

"Ja, we were raped of course. Several times. Has my father asked about this?"

Father looked shocked, and struggled to find words.

"I... no, he hasn't mentioned it, but your mother asked Marjorie to find out. She said your father would never ask."

"Well, it has to be said," I broke in with English. "Tanu was afraid to tell you, Mr Pitane. We were both raped on the boat. In fact there were many bad things that happened to us there that she would never tell you about, but I will if you feel you must know. I think she was very strong, very brave, and afterwards it was she who sailed the yacht."

Mr Pitane was watching my face intently, and when I finished he nodded, once, then leaned back, his face inscrutable.

"And... what if..." Father started.

"You mean are we pregnant? We won't know for some days yet. Listen, Vater, Tanu and I have discussed this very seriously, and since the police insist on us staying here for some time and since we might be pregnant, we think we might look at staying here for longer."

The elder Pitane searched my face.

"If we are going to have babies we can do it here, and meanwhile look at jobs and training. I'm sure the police will help Tanu with the necessary papers. That reminds me." I looked over to Tanu's father.

"How did you get a passport so quickly?"

A broad smile lit his face, transforming it.

"Wantoks, Kelly, nambawan wantoks, in the Company and in Moresby. I tell you, that Martha, if she decides, the sun it rises in the west!"

Greg was beginning to look a little confused, but I smiled sweetly at him and ignored it. Martha was Tanu's sister-in-law and ruled the Pitane household.

"Martha arranged it then?"

"Yes, she made me have my photograph taken four times before she was satisfied, and she kept ringing some fellow in Arawa until the government people said OK, anything to get rid of her, I think!"

"What do you think of me staying here?" Tanu asked him quietly, studying his face.

"It will cost much money, Tanu. We are not a rich family."

"We have talked about it, Mr Pitane. I have money." I held up the handbag Father had given me the night before.

Now he raised his eyebrows. With great dignity the lined brown face turned to me and spoke.

"Kelly, you are as one of us, but this we cannot accept. You know that this must be done the right way. It will take a lot of money, especially if you are to have babies." Tears glinted for a moment.

"I do not believe you have that sort of money, and your father must not pay because he gets married soon. If it is to be done this way, we will pay our share."

Greg broke in.

"If they're pregnant they could have an abortion. They've got legal grounds."

Mr Pitane looked at him as if he'd just crawled out from under a stone, his face tightening.

"We've discussed this, and we feel it wouldn't be right, Greg," I hurriedly broke in. "Tanu's family is Catholic and so is she. Abortion is quite impossible," I lied.

He got my look and shut up, and then the discussion returned to our plans for staying in New Zealand. By the time we went to bed it was agreed in principle and Tanu was beginning to look cheerful again.

As I saw him to the door Father turned for a second.

"Kelly, you said... about the money..."

"You weren't going to ask questions, Vater, remember?" and I kissed him and firmly pushed him out and shut the door.

They stayed only two days, our parents, for it was almost impossible to get bookings out on the plane this close to Christmas. In those days they met Inspector Dowd and had the situation explained to them, and we explored the city together, often cramped in the same poor car. We tried to fit as much into those days as possible, for we had no idea when we would get to see them again, so we went on the ferries, to the museum, out to dinner and sometimes just along the shoreline under the beautiful red pohutakawas.

Dowd let Greg leave us in the care of our family as long as we were away from the vicinity of the motel and as long as we carried the little radio with us all the time, so poor Greg managed to get to see his band for practice.

In any case, we were called in to be interviewed by different police and customs officers so often we might as well have been in the jail, so the city tours were a very welcome relief.

Father met Vicki for the first time when Greg took us to the quay to meet 'Twister' when she came down from Mangonui.

"You seem to know an awful lot of policemen and their families, Kelly," was his first comment as he shook her hand.

Tanu laughed from where she stood beside her own father.

"You should meet Vicki's dad, Herr Weber, he's a policeman too, and he's very fierce!"

It was a fine morning and the water sparkled in the bright sunlight. We watched the swirl as a ferry backed out of its berth and turned to head out across the busy harbour, seagulls lazily abandoning their perches for more solid dockside ones. The slight breeze ruffled my hair and I put my hand up to where the stitches had been removed only yesterday.

"How's your leg, Vicki?"

"Great! No problems at all now. When do we get to do that hike, Greg?"

He looked at our expectant faces.

"When do your fathers leave, Kelly? Tonight? In that case we'll go tomorrow, leaving fairly early, say about eight. I'll pick you up just after, Vicki, OK?"

Vicki positively glowed. She really is a child still in some ways.

Huh? She's interested in our Mr Plod!

Myra! You're not serious!

I am. I've had more chance to watch.

We were interrupted by Tanu's excited cry.

"There she is, I'm sure of it! There's 'Twister'!" She pointed to the white sails showing between North Head and the big volcanic cone they call Rangitoto.

I shaded my eyes and felt a little thrill of excitement as I saw the twin masts again. She looked so lovely as she drove up the harbour, a delicate creature of the sea, in her rightful element.

Tanu was chattering excitedly to her father in placetalk, and he was nodding, his eyes on her face as she described the habits of this, her first command. Soon I was doing the same with Father in German, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Vicki go and stand alongside Greg.

Dowd and another man appeared at the end of the wharf and walked up to stand with us as we watched Matt Johnston neatly place 'Twister' against the wooden piles with barely a jar. He waved to us, then threw a rope over to tie the stern. In the bow another man did the same, while a third was carefully wrapping the furled sails in a protective sheath.

Tanu couldn't restrain herself.

She leapt down to the lower deck and onto the curved hull and went straight to Matt who took her by the arms and lifted her up into the air before giving her a hug. Tears were running down her face now and she kissed him.

Introductions had to be completed then, and the elder Pitane shook Matt's hand, a twinkle in his eye.

"I think you've got a handful there, boy,." he said in his slow English, only nominally indicating the yacht. Matt grinned.

We all went on board then, even Dowd, who must have been over this craft from head to tail so many times. His visitor hung back, looking up at the immense masts and the maze of rigging, then back to where the aerial wire fitted into the last staywire.

He was a little man, short and full-bellied, with thin grey hair and a cherub's face. I was surprised to realise he was older than my father.

When he saw me watching him he smiled and stepped forward. "Are you Kelly?" he asked, extending his hand.

"Er... yes, I am," I answered, a little surprised he knew my name, and wondering why Dowd hadn't introduced him, but then politeness wasn't one of Dowd's endearing features.

"My name's Proctor, Harry Proctor. We haven't met in person before, but I know all about you."

I must have looked puzzled.

"I spoke to you on the radio..."

I squeaked and grabbed his arm.

"That Harry! Am I glad to meet you! Tanu, this is the man who talked to us on 'Twister'..."

She turned and came over.

"The man who doubted!" she smiled and they shook hands.

"I must say, it does give me a funny feeling, standing on the deck of the mysterious 'Twister'. You know, there were dozens of operators who wrote you off as a hoax."

"It wasn't a hoax to us, Harry. Are we real enough for you now?"

He grinned.

"I wasn't ever one hundred percent sure until the search plane talked to you. Yes, you're real." He scratched his head. "But I didn't think I'd ever meet you. Who's the third young lady?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Vicki, meet Harry Proctor, our life saver! Vicki's one of our new friends," I explained.

Things sort of deteriorated a bit after that, with everyone chattering to everyone else. Our parents had to have it all explained to them, and Dowd informed us that Harry was asked to come over for the inquiry but had elected to make it a holiday as well and so had come early. He had a sister in Rotorua, it seemed.

As we walked back down the quay Dowd spoke again.

"I'd appreciate it if Kelly and Tanu could be in at my office this morning, I've got another visitor for them. It's not private or anything, but it's only a small office." He looked meaningfully at Greg.

Myra took charge.

"Let's do it this way," she said. "Let's all go out to dinner together tonight..." she looked sideways at Greg.

"Perhaps Constable Brennan can make the arrangements, a booking this time, Greg. Are you with someone, Harry? Yes? Your wife? OK, That's nine of us, I think. Do you have a wife, Inspector?"

"Er... yes."

"Great, book for ten, Constable." She stared at him imperiously. "Tell them we have to be gone by ten, our parents are catching their flight an hour later or thereabouts."

Greg looked at her coolly, but he nodded.

"Now, if we go with the Inspector to his office right now we can clear that business up, whatever it is, while Father and Mr Pitane can prepare for leaving tonight. You'll take them to the motel, won't you Constable?" She smiled at him as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Greg's jaw set but he nodded once more.

"Fine, that's settled then. Shall we go, Inspector? Oh... I forgot. Harry, where can we get hold of you?"

Harry was watching us with an amused expression on his face.

"I'll work it out with the Constable, Kelly," he promised, unaware that it was Myra who was giving Greg the hard time.

You're mean to him, Myra.

He deserves it.

Dowd took us right into town to a massive ugly concrete building that he explained was the Central Police Station where his office was a cluttered alcove several stories up and overlooking a collection of shop rear entrances. This was the first time here for us, for all the other endless meetings had been held in our motel room or at other, downtown, offices.

"Coffee, girls?" he asked as some uniformed officers brought chairs and he cleared a great mound of papers from his desk top. We nodded and sat down.

"Shut the door, please," he told the coffee-bringer, and as soon as we were alone again he settled back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"I've brought you here to talk about the immigration formalities and to meet someone who's now on the way here. First, Kelly... or is it Myra?" He looked up at us inquiringly.

"It's Myra, Inspector," Tanu supplied, and he leaned forward to look into our eyes, then sat back again.

"It's very confusing," he muttered, then produced my passport from a drawer.

"Mr Weber kindly supplied us with your papers and I've taken the liberty of having an entry stamp put in. Myra and Kelly, you are now legally in New Zealand.

"Tanu, you're a different case. With the birth certificate your father supplied we can apply for a passport for you and as I've already obtained the necessary application forms from your embassy I'd like you to fill them out, right now, if you wouldn't mind. Meanwhile I've arranged a temporary entry permit under my personal care."