WORRALS GOES EAST

 

by Captain W. E. Johns

 

 

XVI.        THE BATTLE OF WADI OMAR  (Pages 182 – 192)

 

Brunowsky and his confederates now plan an attack on Worrals position.  Firstly, Worrals and her party come under rifle fire from some high vantage point.  There is someone in the top of one of the palm trees, shooting at them.  Helen takes the machine gun from Nimrud and opens fire and a woman and a rifle fall from the tree.  Helen has settled her score with Hylda.  Brunowsky and a gang of Zogorites and Berthold and a gang of Zogorites both attack simultaneously, pouring up the two sets of steps that lead up to the high tomb where Worrals and her friends are.  Nimrud’s machine gun makes short work of the attacking Zogorites on the narrow steps as they have no room to move and men fall over the edge.  Next, Brunowsky has fires lit beneath their position in order to smoke them out.  Worrals realised that their plight could hardly be worse.  Quite apart from the threat of smoke, they were nearly out of ammunition.  The machine-gun was empty.  So was her automatic.  Helen and Daphne had five rounds between them.  Clearly they could not hope to stop the next attack, when it came”.  Worrals is then surprised to see Frecks flying the Heron back.  Why is she doing this, if she is out of petrol?  Suddenly, Sheikh Azza Pasha and his Meni Sakhr Arabs attack Wadi Omar on horseback.  Worrals realises that Frecks must have seen their tents from the air and landed.  She returned to try and tell them that help was on its way and has now gone on to Aleppo.  The smoke is so bad now, that our heroes are forced out of their place of refuge and they descent the steps.  It is clear that the battle of Wadi Omar is over.  Worrals sees three white men on horseback heading north, Brunowsky in the lead.  Lying near Hylda’s lifeless body is her rifle and Worrals snatches it up and gives it to Nimrud who shoots Brunowsky out of the saddle.  Berthold and Voss ride off and leave him.  Sheikh Azza approaches and Worrals asks him to stop the two men on horseback.  The Sheikh goes after them with some of his men.  Berthold and Voss are captured and returned to Worrals.  Frecks returns in the aircraft with Major Kenton and another army officer with red tabs on his lapels.  Kenton confirms that he has sent police to deal with the warehouse in Aleppo as Frecks has told him all about it.  Worrals and Frecks have ended their mission successfully and Nimrud says “It was the will of God”.