THE CRUISE OF THE CONDOR

by W. E. Johns

IV. THE GETAWAY (Pages 48 – 51)

A week later, Dickpa and Algy leave the house at midnight and wait in the nearby pasture. As the sun rises, Biggles flies in and lands. Three men emerge from a wood and fire a revolver at them. Biggles taxis towards Dickpa and Algy and they get in the plane. Dickpa “ducked as a bullet zipped through the canvas fuselage just behind him”. Biggles takes off and it is touch and go whether he will clear the trees or not. His wheels literally graze the topmost branches. “Biggles looked back over his shoulder and grinned at his passengers. Then he held his left hand high in the air, thumb turned upwards, with a triumphant gesture, and they returned the thumbs-up salute, which means the same thing the whole world over”.