BIGGLES IN AFRICA
Book First Published in August 1936 - 256 pages
This story was first published, in nine parts, as BIGGLES IN
AFRICA in The Modern Boy,
issues 443 to 451, dated 1st August 1936 to 26th
September 1936
CHAPTERS
Click on any chapter for a summary of the events in that chapter or
see the general story summary below
A rich
businessman called Felix Marton visits Biggles. Marton's son, Harry, has disappeared on a solo flight to
South Africa and Mr. Marton wants to hire Biggles to
go and try to find either him, or his body. Flying in a Dragon aeroplane down
to a remote aerodrome at Insula in Central Africa, Biggles, Algy and Ginger
start their search. Insula was the last aerodrome where Harry Marton was seen. Here they meet the villainous Luke Sarda,
the manager of the hardly used aerodrome, who immediately does his best to put
them off staying. The next morning Biggles finds a deadly Mamba snake in his
cockpit. Algy hears Sarda talking in his hut and they realise that Sarda has a
telephone. Investigating this, Ginger speaks on the telephone to Harry Marton! Hiding himself at the aerodrome whilst Algy and
Ginger conduct an aerial search, Biggles sees a mysterious man arrive in Harry Marton's aeroplane. This man is Leon Leroux. Leroux leaves
before Algy and Ginger return. That evening, Biggles and Algy go and search for
Sarda's telephone line, to see where it leads. Whilst doing this they hear
their Dragon aircraft take off and find that Ginger has disappeared as well!
Leroux has returned and stolen their plane. Ginger manages to stowaway on
board, just before Leroux takes off. Leroux flies to a nearby emergency store
and Ginger is left behind here. Ginger then finds Marton's
Puss Moth aircraft and tries to fly back to Insula, but the engine is faulty
and he is forced to land. Meanwhile, Sarda has offered Biggles and Algy some
fresh milk and poisoned them with it. Splashing petrol around their hut, Sarda
sets fire to it, planning to burn them alive. He walks out of the burning hut
straight into Ginger, who shoots him. Ginger pulls the unconscious bodies of
Biggles and Algy out of the burning hut just in time. When Biggles and Algy
recover, they set off with Ginger to recover and fix the faulty Puss Moth. Here
they have a confrontation with a bunch of savages in the pay of Leroux. Later,
Leroux and his African natives attack Insula but our heroes escape in the Puss
Moth and fly to Leroux's secret store, where Ginger originally found the Puss
Moth. An unfortunate encounter with a Rhino sees the end of the Puss Moth and a
long and thirsty walk for Biggles, Algy and Ginger. They follow the telephone
line, which links Insula with the store and goes all the way to Leroux's base.
Their long journey is rewarded by capture by hostile African natives and they
face death in a primitive ceremony in the African village. Saved by the timely
arrival of an Army Officer called Collison and his Seventeenth African Rifles,
Biggles is arrested for the murder of Sarda. Biggles tells Collison the truth
about what is going on. With Collison's help, a surprise attack is launched on
Leroux's base and Harry Marton is rescued. Leroux had
kidnapped him and forced him to act as mechanic to his own Puss Moth. Leroux is
pretending to grow tobacco but really he is growing hashish
and he was using the plane to transport the drug. Harry is returned to England
to be reunited with his father.
Click here to see the story illustrations from the original HARDBACK first edition of this book
Click here to see the story illustrations from the PAPERBACK edition of this book
Biggles in Africa
Publication Details - published by Oxford University Press
The spine and cover illustrations from the original Oxford first
edition
Frontispiece
Click on the above to see it in more detail