BIGGLES
HITS THE TRAIL
by Captain W.
E. Johns
III. THE ROOF OF THE WORLD (Pages 54 – 69)
“Six weeks had passed since the S.O.S.
message had sent the three airmen post-haste to Brendenhall
Manor; they were now sitting on the veranda of the rest-house at Chittagong
Aerodrome, which is situated near the frontiers of Bengal, Assam and
Burma. Nothing of importance had
happened at Brendenhall after the departure of the
police-sergeant. The Professor, as duty
bound, had attended the inquest on the dead native, and the others had escorted
him to the court in a police car. After
an interview with the Coroner, a non-committal verdict of ‘Death from
Misadventure’ had been returned, and there the matter ended”. The five adventurers had moved to an obscure
hotel in London where Biggles negotiated the purchase of an aircraft. It was an all-metal twin-engined ‘Gannet’
amphibian, that was to all intents and purposes a flying-boat. It also had a wheel-landing chassis which
could be raised or lowered and an extra fuel tank fitted. The new aircraft is named the ‘Explorer’. They had flown from Brooklands, via Karachi
to Chittagong. From Chittagong, it is
anticipated the distance to the suspected position of the mountain they sought
was eight hundred miles and by taking more petrol with them in tanks, they
could fly there and back. “How long will
it take us to reach this place? asked Malty, as Maltenham
was now called by every one. “Eight hours.
I could do it in less, but I want to nurse my engines” is Biggles
answer. The following day at dawn, they
set off and they have to fly over the peaks of the high mountains. Biggles climbs to sixteen thousand feet. When they have been in the air a few minutes
less than eight hours, Biggles decides to land before the next mountain range
as it appears suitable to do so, otherwise they may not find anywhere
suitable. A strange thing then starts to
occur. The engine revs inexplicably
start to fall; Both engines simultaneously, although they are completely
separate units. Biggles turns away from
the mountains and the engines pick up again.
Turning back on their course, the engines drop again. Biggles decides to land to see if they can
find out the cause. The ground is
shingle and grass and Biggles flies over it, subjecting every inch to careful
scrutiny before landing. He switches off
the engines. “Well,” he observed, “we’re
here, anyway”.