BIGGLES FLIES NORTH

by Captain W. E. Johns

VIII. A GRIM ENCOUNTER (Pages 92 – 104)

Biggles and Ginger fly further north over desolate ground covered with snow and ice – they could not tell which. Suddenly, they are attacked by the Weinkel Transport plane flown by Sarton. They are machine gunned from an open window on the Weinkel by “the half-breed Chicot”. Biggles tells Ginger to use the signal flares to try to set the enemy aircraft on fire. Biggles uses all his flying skills to evade the machine gun and also get Ginger in a position to shoot a signal flare out of the window at it. There is no choice but to fight as the Weinkel is the faster plane. Biggles’ Jupiter aircraft is hit by machine gun fire and Ginger fires all of flares at the Weinkel but to no avail. Ginger opens the emergency trap in the roof of the aircraft and puts the top part of his body out into the icy slipstream to get better shots with his remaining flares, but he is still not able to damage or stop the Weinkel as they fly past each other. When out of flares, Ginger gets a foot-square box labelled “20 LB. CORNED BEEF – STOW AWAY FROM ENGINES” and he lifts it out through the emergency trap door on the roof. Biggles dives down on the Weinkel and Ginger throws the heavy box with all his force, almost losing his balance in the process. (He stood upright and with all his force flung the heavy box outwards and downwards - is the illustration on page 101). The box strikes the Weinkel four feet from the wing-tip crumbling it like tissue paper. The plane goes outs of control as the wind rushes into the wing, ripping it off at the roots. (He saw it rip off at the roots and follow the rest sluggishly, like a piece of torn paper - is the frontispiece illustration taken from a line on page 103). The Weinkel crashes and breaks into a thousand fragments. “A great pillar of fire leapt heavenwards”. Biggles turned an expressionless face to Ginger. “They got what they asked for,” he said grimly. “It’s no use our risking a landing.” Biggles turned to Ginger again. “Good work, laddie” he said.