WORRALS OF THE ISLANDS
by Captain W. E. Johns
XV. BLITZED (Pages
183 – 192)
“Worrals shouted a warning and there was a wild rush for
cover”. The Mitsubishi has returned with
three dive bombers and all four planes bomb the island. They don’t appear to be going for the Scud
aircraft, but they concentrate their attentions on the ‘Annie’, Billy’s boat. It is
hit and sunk. “Billy stood up. “There
goes my ship,” he said in a flat dull voice.
“There goes little ‘Annie’”. Considering the bulk of the man, this last
remark sounded childish; at least, so thought Worrals, and she looked at him
sharply, wondering if he were joking, although, admittedly, it seemed no
occasion for humour. She never forgot
the expression on his face. Tears were
rolling down his weatherbeaten cheeks. He made no attempt to check them. Nor did he appear to notice the questioning
eyes that were on him. He was oblivious
to everything except the ship”. The
sinking has a fortunate consequence, in that the dugong oil tanks must have
been holed and the oil bubbles up to the surface and calms the lagoon. Jimmy suggests that some people had better
stay behind as with Billy and the two natives there are now seventeen people to
get aboard. (This seventeen consist of Worrals, Frecks, Harry, Rama, Vandergroot,
Uleeft and Pam plus the six other girls they
collected, plus Jimmy, Billy and his two natives). Worrals says firmly “We all go or we all
stay”. All equipment not needed is
thrown out of the aircraft and it taxis to the
lagoon. Worrals takes as long a run as
possible on the oily surface and the aircraft manages to “unstick” just in
time, before they hit the reef on the other side. An hour and a half later they sight the coast
of North Australia. The entire airfield
turns out to watch them land, including Dan Lynch, and Worrals hands over her
human cargo to him whilst she and Frecks go and get some sleep. Two days later they are given a celebratory
dinner. Worrals recommends Harry for the
Distinguished Flying Medal and he gets it and Billy Maguire is given command of
a new anti-submarine corvette. “Worrals
and Frecks took ten days’ leave, and as guests of the Commonwealth Government
spent a memorable holiday seeing the many fine sights that Australia has to
offer”. They then make the long journey
back to England by sea with those they rescued.
“At the finish Worrals and Frecks agreed that, taking one thing with
another, it had been a good show”.