BIGGLES HITS THE TRAIL

by Captain W. E. Johns

XII. BIGGLES DISAPPEARS (Pages 189 – 214)

I - Biggles doesn’t know the time as his “watch seems to have gone crazy”. He guesses it’s about half past one. He decides to go and get some radium, taking Ginger with him and leaving Algy to fly the plane in case they run into trouble. “Can’t I come?” asked Algy, in a disappointed tone. “Sorry, laddie, but I think it would be a tactical error. Suppose anything happened to us? I’m not suggesting that it will – but it might. How are the others going to get home? Ginger might be able to fly them back, but with all due respect to his ability, to expect him, with only a few hours solo logged, to take a big machine like the Explorer all the way to England, would be unfair both to him and his passengers”. Biggles and Ginger take two revolvers with them, leaving the rifles for use in guarding the pass. The journey is difficult and treacherous. They pass by a colossal spur of rock, which has once been part of the mountain but had eroded down to a separate mass of rock, balanced on a wholly inadequate foundation and leaning far over towards the lake. “My goodness! Did you ever see anything like that?” whispered Ginger. “It looks as if a shove would send the whole thing crashing over”. Biggles thinks it was even swaying in the breeze. They journey on and pass what appear to be several ventilation holes or blow holes. As Biggles passes over some rock he thinks it is hollow and he foolishly stamps his foot on the ground to hear if it is hollow. With a loud snap, the rock opens up like thin ice and Biggles drops down to his fate. “Ginger, ashen faced, watched the earth literally open and swallow him up, but it took some seconds for the full horror of the calamity to penetrate into his stunned brain, so sudden had it been”. Calling for Biggles, there is no reply. He turns and runs back to his comrades at the lake.

II - Meanwhile, Biggles comes round and everything is as black as the tomb. He finds his matches in his pocket. “In the Stygian darkness the first one he struck almost blinded him, but as his eyes grew accustomed to the light, it revealed his position clearly”. He gets to his feet and checks himself for broken bones. He was badly bruised and his fingertips were torn and bleeding and he had a head wound but no real damage. Biggles can hear a powerful electric motor and sets off to explore. “Somewhat to his surprise, the cave suddenly widened out, and finally emerged into one of those cathedral-like chambers that are a common feature in limestone caves. Enormous stalactites and stalagmites hung from the ceiling and rose up from the floor, but these were not the common form. They were faintly luminous, and shed an unearthly radiance over the whole cavern”. Continuing towards the noise, eventually, Biggles sees “about forty feet below, and covering an area of more than an acre, was the most incredible power-station he had ever seen”. It is operated by naked Chungs. Biggles trips and grabs at a stalagmite to steady himself. It breaks and he is aghast at the noise he has made. The Chungs see him and there is a general rush in his direction. Biggles has dropped his revolver and can’t see it under all the debris so he has to run off and leave it. The leading Chung is upon him and Biggles snaps off the top of a stalagmite and brings it crashing down on the man’s head. (He brought it crashing down on the man’s head - is the illustration on page 205). He then throws the stalagmite at the other stalagmites and brings a number of them crashing down on the pursuing Chungs. Biggles then seizes another length of limestone to use as a weapon. “To his surprise and joy, he discovered that a faint light emanated from the length of rock he was carrying, so holding it before him like a lantern, he was able to make good progress”. Returning to where he originally fell in, Biggles hears a noise and finds Algy, who has been lowered down to find him. “Thank God you’re alive, old lad. We thought you were a goner” says Algy. “So did I,” answered Biggles grimly. As they set off up the passage, Biggles tells Algy about the Chungs and the power-station. Algy says when Ginger returned to them with news of what happened, they taxied across the lake in the machine to rescue him and they used the anchor rope to let Algy down. Biggles suddenly doesn’t recognise where they are and thinks they have missed a turning. They continue in the labyrinth but soon have to concede that they are completely lost. Biggles asks “Got a cigarette on you? Thanks. I’m afraid this looks like a bad business”. “It does” agrees Algy. In the darkness, they come to a dark opening and Biggles nearly steps out. They see the dam some forty feet above them. Continuing their journey, they climb higher and higher up inside the mountain. Biggles bangs his stalagmite on the wall of the cave and the whole wall falls outwards, flooding the cave with a dazzling blue radiance. “The cave had become a narrow cornice on the side of the mountain. Neither spoke. Below them lay the lake, shining like a floodlit sea”. Algy says he can see Dickpa and the others sitting by the hole Biggles made when he fell. Biggles sees the Explorer out towards the middle of the lake and it appears to be sinking. Biggles and Algy clamber down the mountain, not without difficulty, to where Dickpa, Angus and Malty are. Biggles curtly asks “What’s happened to the machine?” The others have left Ginger guarding it and they hadn’t appreciated anything was wrong. They all set off towards the lake.