WORRALS OF THE ISLANDS

by Captain W. E. Johns

X. INTO ACTION (Pages 116 – 130)

Worrals and Frecks examine the damage to their plane. It is not too bad although damage to the edge of the wing has to be repaired urgently. Some native canoes come out to their plane and Rama is able to act as an interpreter and tell the natives the fate of Oko. The natives are warned to take cover should the enemy ship appear. Frecks recounts her adventures with Harry and Worrals gives a detailed account of what happened on Maital. Worrals wants to shadow the ‘Tamaroa’ and sees if it moors up again at night. That might give them a chance to make contact with any of the British girls on the ship. Worrals gets Harry to send a signal back to Darwin asking for stores to be sent. “Stores lost by enemy action. Repeat same quantity same place. Urgent”. The message is sent and the reply is advice to return to Darwin as the monsoon is due to start fourteen days early. That means it will reach their location within the next forty-eight hours. They take off and flying high with the sun behind them, they spot where the ‘Tamaroa’ is putting in for the night. Worrals lands back at Oko’s island and they have a meal. Plans are made to fly and then glide to the other side of the island where the ‘Tamaroa’ is moored. The party of four will then all cross the island and look to get a boat or swim out to the ‘Tamaroa’ in order to try to make contact with any prisoners on it. “We’ll just have to snatch at any opportunity that may occur” says Worrals. The Scud takes off and the plan is put into action. Worrals glides in quietly to the other side of the relevant island. Harry takes the Sten gun and Rama the rifle and then together with Frecks, Worrals turns with her compass to face the rising hinterland of the island.