WORRALS OF THE W.A.A.F.

 

by W. E. Johns

 

 

III.  MYSTERY AT THE GOLF COURSE  (Pages 44 - 62)

(On original publication this instalment was called "The Mystery at the Golf Course)

 

Worrals has had her cancelled leave restored due to her earlier actions and Frecks was already on leave.  They are both therefore free for the weekend.  They drive to where the grey horse grazes nearby.  Checking with the local farmer, Tyson, they find he merely rents the field to a man who paid in cash.  He didn't leave an address and the farmer thinks his name was Corton or Coryton.  He describes the man as a tall, thin, middle-aged man “with a big, hooky nose”.  He looked quite a "toff".  Worrals and Frecks jump back into Worrals car, which is a Morris she has nicknamed "Snooks".  They then travel to the golf links, that Worrals has marked on a map.  It is difficult to find as it is literally in the middle of nowhere.  They find a grey horse in a nearby field. The nine-hole golf course is a private one and is a primitive affair.  Worrals thinks the sand bunkers, all in a straight line at one end, are particularly suspicious.  Worrals wants to check the fairways to see if there are any signs of wheel marks or possibly oil.  Searching the golf course they find iron hooks about 12 feet high on two trees on opposite sides of one of the fairways.  Suddenly they see a man coming.  He is pretending to play golf but he obviously isn't really interested.  He does something in one of the sand bunkers and then throws something into the bracken.  Worrals and Frecks go to see what it was and find a small red light bulb.  The filament is broken.  Searching in the bunker, under the sand Worrals finds another electric light bulb in a holder.  Further searching reveals other bulbs.  There are six red bulbs in a straight line and a fairway beyond.  Worrals and Frecks go to the nearby village and get some refreshments in a “shop cum-café” and then return to the golf course at night.  They wait for hours and then they hear a plane coming.  Two men come out and do something to the hooks.  The bunker lights are turned on.  The men go and Worrals examines the hooks and finds a line strung between them.  She realises this is a way of allowing an aircraft, fitted with a special hook, to pick up messages.  Worrals goes to get the message just as an aero engine bursts into life.  A plane is swooping down and then flies off.  Two men dash out of the darkness of the trees and grab Worrals.  Frecks dives into the bracken and lays still.