WORRALS IN THE WASTELANDS

by W. E. Johns

7. AWKWARD SITUATIONS (Pages 87 – 96)

Worrals and Frecks discuss the situation the following morning. Frecks thinks they should get help, but Worrals says they will be heard flying away and in any event Larwood and Hedin might be murdered at any moment. If only they could get those two men on their own, they could take them into their confidence and tell them everything. Worrals thinks their best chance is to go to the Box when the men are out digging gold and find Shultz alone and grab her. “Frecks shrugged. “O.K. with me. I must confess, though, that I’m a bit scared of this Shultz creature. It’s more like trying to capture an evil genius, an ogre, than a human being”. “Don’t worry. She’ll stop a bullet like anyone else,” says Worrals. They tell Lowenhardt their plan and take him some food. Then they set off, passing the coppice containing the wounded bear. From a distance they see three men and discover they have entered a narrow gorge. Shultz would be alone at the Box. As they approach, they see Shultz going out hunting with a gun. “What a nuisance! We missed the boat by about five minutes,” says Worrals. The girls decide to go after her. Before they can, Wolfe returns with what appears to be an injured hand. He shouts for Anna and goes into the Box. The girls are stuck. “If we move, and Wolfe comes out of the Box, we’ve had it,” declared Worrals. “Just a minute – let me think”.