BIGGLES
HITS THE TRAIL
by Captain W.
E. Johns
VIII. AN ANXIOUS NIGHT (Pages 128 – 148)
As the sun sinks “an eerie light crept over
the landscape, flooding everything with a ghastly blue luminosity. The peak was clearly visible from the
plateau”. Biggles, Algy and Ginger put
the varnish on the magnetos. Algy
suggests flying back to India to get some bombs. “And get clapped into jail for our
pains. People don’t sell bombs, or give
them away, without knowing what they’re wanted for. But we shall mighty soon have to be doing
something”. “Why, what’s the hurry?”
asks Algy. “Because you can bet your
life that the Chings, Changs,
Chungs, or whatnot’s are
busy at this moment putting the works in order.
When it’s running on full power again they’ll
try to do something unpleasant to us – or to the machine. I don’t know about you, but I find this
prospect of invisible rays tinkering with the engines a trifle unnerving”. Without bombs, Biggles discusses the
possibility of dropping boulders on the Chungs. “Ay, that would be fine,” said McAllister
eagerly. “People who don’t want boulders
dropping on them shouldn’t live in glass houses,” he added, with a
chuckle. Angus explains that their
houses of make of yellow opaque glass.
There is no metal here other than radium. Ginger had been over by the rock door and
returns to say that something is going on.
He thinks he can hear drilling.
Angus says they have “drills with radium-hardened points that will go
through steel as if it were a piece of cheese”.
Biggles goes to see and takes the Lewis machine gun with him. When the Chung’s drill through, Biggles
points the machine gun into the hole and opens fire. After fifty rounds or so, all is quiet. They now have to man guard over the hole and
Ginger is left to watch it. “It’s war to
the knife now, then,” murmured the Professor.
“It always was, wasn’t it? replied Biggles harshly. “They started the rough stuff. All we wanted was to be friends and go home
with a parcel of radium, which they could quite well have spared, anyway. Dash it, they’ve got a whole mountain of the
stuff”. Ginger returns to report he can
hear talking through the hole. Angus is
awake and willing to go and interpret.
The language is more of a chirp than speech. Biggles declines an invitation to go to Ho
Ling Feng’s palace and talk things over.
“If Tingaling wants to talk to me, tell him to
come and whisper through the keyhole. I
don’t fancy my chance as centipede fodder”.
Biggles is worried about the peaks that tower over the plateau and asks
Angus about the range of the blue ray.
Angus isn’t sure but says it’s a fair distance. If a ray was shone on the metal it would
cause the metal to crumple like a biscuit in an hour or two. Angus asks if there is any metal in their
aeroplane. “Biggles stared at him
horror-stricken. “Great Goodness!” he
gasped. “Why, the machine’s all metal”. McAllister looked startled. “That’s awkward,” he said uncomfortably. “Awkward!
By the waxen sandals of Icarus, that’s putting it mildly”. Suddenly a blue beam is shone at the plateau
and creeps towards them. Biggles opens
fire at it, in an attempt to put it out.
“At the fifth shot the light went out as if it had been switched
off. “How’s that?” he cried
jubilantly. “Not out,” answered Ginger
promptly, as the light reappeared. “I’ll
clip your ear for you, you impudent brat,” snarled
Biggles. “Well, you asked – didn’t he? Inquired
Ginger, in a hurt tone”. Two more beams
spring up and Biggles realises that he would use up all their ammunition trying
to put them all out. Angus says they
have hundreds of the big rays and thousands of little ones, “pocket size, as
you might say”. Angus says there is a
two-hundred-foot dam built across the gorge, forming a lake where they get
their water from. There is a path up to
it. Biggles asks Algy to get in the
aircraft and taxi it about to try and keep it out of the rays. At dawn, Algy is to take off and fly up and
land on the lake. In the meantime,
Biggles and Ginger will go and try and put the rays out by attacking the Chungs. If they can
hold the path to the lake, they can meet in the morning. They have three hundred feet of silk line and
plan to climb down to the gorge. Angus,
who Biggles calls Mac, tells them where the path is. Before they go, they use the varnish on their
feet and hands. Biggles comments on how
he doesn’t feel tired. “You won’t, not
up here,” Mac told him. “You can go
without sleep for weeks at a time; it’s something to do with the
mountain”. Biggles and Ginger climb down
to the gorge and the machine-gun and twelve-bore are lowered down to them. “Come on,” said Biggles softly. “This way”.