BIGGLES FLIES AGAIN

by W. E. Johns

VII. SAVAGES AND WINGS (Pages 110 – 130)

Biggles and Algy are leaving a hotel in Port Moresby, New Guinea when they see a man who “must have been good-looking before dissipation and fever had left their unmistakable marks upon his care-worn face”. Biggles thinks he knows him from somewhere before but can’t remember where. The man gets chatting about their aircraft and asks if he could look the Vandal over. Biggles is more than willing to oblige and shows the man round the aircraft whilst Algy goes off to Government House to report their presence “and pay their respects to the Governor of the Island”. After showing the stranger how the aircraft works, Biggles suddenly remembers where he has seen the man before but he is hit over the head and knocked unconscious before he can say anything. Algy sees the Vandal take off but after a number of hours, he realises that Biggles must be down as he hadn’t four hours petrol on board. Biggles comes round and fines himself bound at the wrists and ankles in the cabin of the Vandal. The machine lands. “What’s the idea, Dawne?” said Biggles coldly. “You remember me, eh?” replied the other. Biggles had been President of the Court that court martialled Dawne for cashing dud cheques. “How about cutting these straps,” suggested Biggles, indicating his bound wrists. “I will if you’ll give me your parole,” offered the other. “I’m dashed if I do,” replied Biggles through set teeth. “As you like,” nodded Dawne with a shrug”. Dawne leaves and Biggles is stuck. There isn’t even “a single projection inside the hull against which he could chafe his bonds in the hope of fraying them”. Hours later, Dawne comes back with a bag of gold dust. Dawne leaves again and after a while the aircraft comes under attack from natives. A spear is thrown against the craft and projects through into the cabin. Arrow heads also strike. Biggles is able to use the projecting spear head to sever his bonds and looks out but all seems peaceful. “He knew that from the sylvan wall of the forest many bestial eyes were fixed on the amphibian in hate and fear”. Biggles sees Dawne returning with a bag slung over his shoulder. Biggles starts the aircraft and taxis towards him, shouting a warning “look out!”. Dawne drops the gold dust and runs for the plane. A throwing spear gets him between the shoulder-blades. Biggles stops to pull the man into the cabin and is able to then take off. Not knowing where he is, he flies to the nearest river and then follows it in the hope of reaching the sea. One arrow has holed his petrol tank and eventually he runs out of petrol and is forced to land on the river. (The “Vandal” surged slowly to a standstill on the muddy water, and then commenced to float slowly downstream with the current - is the illustration opposite page 124). Going to the cabin, Biggles is able to comfort Dawne as he dies. “Before I go topsides I want to apologize to you, Bigglesworth –”. They talk for a while and then “the dying man paused. “Give me a cigarette,” he whispered. “We are supposed to go out smoking, aren’t we?” he smiled feebly. “Thanks”. He puffed silently for a moment before continuing”. Dawne tells Biggles the story of how he came to know the gold dust was where it was. He had been an under manager for the British Alluvial Company and a gold dredging operation has been there and finished due to lack of gold. But one of the boys (nearly all straight from the bush) later told him he had been scrubbing gold off the plates to keep them clean. Every time he did it, he would have washed a pile of gold down into the silt. It was just a question of getting back to the location and washing it out. Then he saw the Vandal aircraft and knew how to get back there. Dawne thinks it is getting dark, but it is blazing sunshine outside. “S’getting dark,” said the dying man again, “couldn’t go alone – pity – had to go – through with it – damn n****rs,” (See comments in red) he moaned feebly, his mind wandering. “You still here – Bigglesworth – don’t leave me – in the – dark”. “All right, laddie, I’m here,” said Biggles thickly. “Can’t see you – blast those n****rs – making it – dark – like this. (This is the second Biggles book to feature the use of the very offensive “N” word by W. E. Johns. The word first appeared four times in the second Biggles book “The Cruise of the Condor” (1933). In this fourth Biggles book the word is used three times in the first edition only, once in the first chapter “The Gold Rush” and twice in this chapter, “Savages and Wings”. Of course, in its day, the word was in regular use and not considered offensive at all, otherwise it would not have appeared in a children’s book, where even mild expletives are watered down. Strangely, the word remained in the first chapter of this book in all editions up until, and including, the 1985 last Dean & Son edition. But only in that first chapter. The two uses were cut from “Savages and Wings” in every single Thames and Dean edition. In the 1938 Boys’ Friend Publication edition of the book the word is used twice, once in the first chapter “The Gold Rush” and only once, rather than twice in “Savages and Wings”. “Damn n****rs” is removed and “blast those n****rs becomes “it’s those n****rs”. The editing being due to the swearing rather than the N word). Can’t see … no flying to-night – better get flares out … climbing too fast … to dark … Pauline –”. The words faded into a mere whisper and the head dropped limply sideways”. Biggles climbs out onto the hull and hears a motor boat. “Presently it chugged its way round the bend of the river and he made out Algy, the District Magistrate and two native police in the Government launch. “Bit of luck for me your turning up like this,” said Biggles. “Bush telegraph” said the D.M. laconically. “Every native within fifty miles know by now that we’ve found you”. Biggles can hear the jungle drums and says that reminds him, he needs to send a message to his bank. “I happened to notice in an old paper I was reading a day or two ago that British Alluvial one-pound shares were quoted at one shilling. They’ll jump to fifty when the Company knows what I know. “Be a good thing to buy a few,” suggested Algy. “That’s just what I thought,” grinned Biggles.