WORRALS OF THE ISLANDS

by Captain W. E. Johns

IX. FRECKS HAS A BUSY DAY (Pages 107 – 115)

Frecks awakes at dawn, Harry has let her sleep. The Japanese gunship is moving off and this allows Harry and Frecks to siphon off the fuel from Harry’s crashed plane and put it into the Scud. Frecks plans to take off and find the returning canoe with “Miss Worralson” in. (Frecks always refers to Worrals formally as Miss Worralson when talking to Harry). As they go to take off they pass through some oil and garbage dumped by the ‘Tamaroa’ and in this garbage Frecks spots a hat. See stops and collects it. It has the badge of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Nursing Service and inside is the name ‘Pamela Deacon’. Frecks concludes that it must mean she is on the ‘Tamaroa’ and that probably means the rest of the girls are as well. Frecks takes off intending to find Worrals returning in the canoe. She spots the ‘Tamaroa’ and then realises it is heading towards a canoe – Worrals! Frecks dives the plane down to land and rescue Worrals and the man accompanying her. All the time the plane is under heavy fire from the ‘Tamaroa’ and the operation is perilous in the extreme. When Worrals and her Sikh companion are on board, Frecks takes off and gets out of range of the gunfire. Worrals comes into the cabin and Frecks explains all their supplies have been lost. She shows Worrals the hat and Worrals asks her to land at the island ahead, the one where they picked up Oko, so that Worrals can think about what to do next, without burning up petrol.