WORRALS OF THE ISLANDS

by Captain W. E. Johns

VIII. A STAB IN THE BACK (Pages 94 – 107)

After watching Worrals set off for Maital, Frecks and Harry returned to Ingles Island only to find their base burnt out! They see from the air the Japanese airman who they thought was dead. Harry machine guns him and kills him. Landing, Frecks checks the supplies but all the petrol and oil - everything, has been destroyed. Harry checks the Japanese airman. “Dead as mutton,” he announced cheerfully. “He pulled a fast one on us when he gave that yell last night, but I just pulled a faster one on him. It looks like the crocs’ll get their rations after all”. “Don’t be beastly,” muttered Frecks despondently. Frecks knows they don’t have enough fuel to get back to Worrals, let alone back to Darwin. Harry says there is still fuel in his crashed plane and they have enough fuel to get back to Harry’s island, which is only fifty to sixty miles away. They are able to fly to Harry’s island but after examining the tanks and finding around eighty gallons of fuel, the Japanese gunship, ‘Tamaroa’ is sighted through the trees. The gunship appears to be mooring up for the night. Frecks says if they send a boat ashore she will get in their plane and make a bolt for it even without the petrol. Harry keeps watch while Frecks sleeps although she tells him to wake her at 3.00 am so they can swap over.