WORRALS IN THE WASTELANDS

by W. E. Johns

12. MORE REVELATIONS (Pages 152 – 164)

Worrals flies round the lake and down the Chinokee River for a few miles then back up and round the other side of the lake. Frecks sees a boat, a canoe. The far side of their tent comes into sight and sitting by it are four men. Two of the men are recognised as Lowenhardt and Larwood. Worrals lands the plane and goes out to meet the men. The other two men are Hedin and an old trapper with grizzled whiskers who introduces himself as Angus Fraser. He has come looking for his old missing partner, Hedin. It was Angus Fraser who fired the two shots as a signal for his old friend to let him know he was about. Hedin and Larwood explain that on hearing the signal shots they dropped their tools and ran out of the gorge. In the downpour of rain they must have passed Worrals and missed each other. Fraser has found out from the police about the possibility of Anna Shultz being up here and come to find and warn his partner. Hearing Worrals and Frecks take off, they came and found the tent with Lowenhardt in it. On hearing the story they went and moved the gold to a secret place during the night. Half of it belonged to them and the other half was not going to fall into the hands of the Nazis. They intend to hand it over to the Canadian Government. Worrals formulates a plan. She asks Larwood, Hedin and Fraser to move along the lake and set up a temporary camp with a fire. Worrals will tell Shultz and Wolfe she has found them and they will come for their gold. The three men should be able to surprise to two Nazis easily and hold them and Worrals and Frecks will follow and arrest them. Worrals and Frecks fly back to Shultz and Wolfe and tell them they have spotted the men. They agree to wait for them to go and recover their gold before taking off. Suddenly, to their astonishment, a black-bearded officer, followed in single file by ten men arrive. They are armed and in the uniform of the German navy. “Hanstadt!” breathed Worrals bitterly. “He’s come from the sea – a direction we never considered. We deserve to be shot”. “We probably shall be,” said Frecks wearily.