'Worm'

A new boy at school, whose name is 'Slow', is taunted by the other boys, especially by an older student named Jameson.

Although Slow 'never seemed to bear any of us...the faintest ill will,' when Jameson insults his mother, Slow throws a knife at the bully. Although the bullying ceases, Slow fails to return for the next term.

There seems no direct correlation of the story to Bates's own schooling. Nor does the story provide an explanation for the title, although it might suggest a worm of resentment that festers until Slow is provoked to action.

In the Daily Herald (December 8, 1933, p. 16), the Telegraph (Brisbane, April 17, 1934, p. 7), the Auckland Star (February 13, 1936, p. 23).