BIGGLES – AIR COMMODORE

by Captain W. E. Johns

X. A RISKY PLAN (Pages 153 – 161)

At dawn the junk is sunk, the crew having been put ashore with “ample” stores. Biggles tells Sullivan he needs to confirm Elephant Island is the enemy base and that is best done on foot, rather than trying to fly over it and alerting them. Biggles plan is to get the Seafret to tow the Nemesis to Hastings Island and leave Algy there. The Seafret will then sail within a mile or two of the south-east corner of Elephant Island (when there is no moonlight) and drop Biggles and Ginger off in a dinghy. The Seafret will then return to Hastings Island. Ginger will put Biggles ashore and “lie doggo until he gets my signal to come and fetch me”. The dinghy can remind behind one of the islets off the island, out of sight. The Seafret can return the following night, as soon as it gets dark and before the moon rises, to pick both Biggles and Ginger up. Algy is for backup in case Biggles is delayed and needs to be rescued. “If the worst came to the worst you’d have to fly over and look for me. Naturally, if I was free to do so I should make for a place where you could get the machine down. I couldn’t ask Sullivan to charge around the island look for me, but at a pinch you could do that, although you’d be taking a tidy risk” says Biggles. “And suppose Elephant Island is the enemy stronghold, what then?” asked Ginger. “Let’s do one thing at a time,” suggested Biggles. “It’s always sound policy”.