THE CRUISE OF THE CONDOR

by W. E. Johns

XII. TRAPPED (Pages 167 – 180)

Biggles sets to work on the wall with a hammer and a cold chisel. If they can get one stone out they should be able to prize others out. They only need to make a hole big enough to crawl through. Algy takes over but suddenly the area is hit with an earthquake and the whole tunnel leading to where they are, caves in. They are trapped. They are sealed in and with an air supply that will only last a few hours at most. Biggles sets to work on cutting through the wall. “We’ve been in tight corners before to-day. Many’s the time I’ve said to myself, ‘Biggles, you’re a goner’, but I’ve got away with it every time up to now. The oxygen slowly runs out and everyone is struggling for breath when Biggles manages to break through the wall. “A current of cool, sweet air poured over his streaming face like a draught of cold water”. As Biggles turns his hands towards the torch “an exclamation of sympathy broke from the lips of the others, for Biggles’s hands, which were small and delicate, were now blistered and raw as a result of his labour at the wall”. “Funny, funny, and I never even noticed it”, he laughed. “It’s queer how minor hurts cease to matter when one is faced with a big one”. Algy and Smyth enlarge the hole and Biggles goes through it. He finds no treasure, but the cave widens considerably. At certain points, steps have been cut into the steeper parts of the cave. Biggles realises that the wall was built from the side they are now on, to block off a back door. As they journey through the cave, Biggles nearly falls, so Dickpa insists that a rope be tied around him and attached to Algy. This saves Biggles life when he walks over a chasm and drops some twenty feet before being checked by the rope. Algy is dragged to the edge but Smyth is able to jump on Algy and stop him. Slowly and with difficulty, Biggles is hauled up to safety. “Holy mackerel! Brazil – where the nuts come from. Bah! Where the mutts go to would be nearer the mark”. “Don’t try and be funny” growled Algy. Dickpa looks out for a continuation of the path but can’t see anything in the darkness. They resolve to wait until daylight and settle down for the night where they are.