BIGGLES FLIES NORTH

by Captain W. E. Johns

IX. DOWN IN A FROZEN WORLD (Pages 105 – 114)

Biggles and Ginger fly on. Biggles says he can hardly believe “that McBain would put over a show like that”. He says he will never move without a machine gun in future. Flying on, the engines start to splutter. Ginger investigates the freight compartment and finds petrol everywhere. “One of Chicot’s bullets must have holed the main tank”. The snow and ice below is dead flat, so they are able to land safely. In the distance they see a polar bear and a cub. Biggles thinks they have two chances. Algy and Wilks are certain to come looking for them in the Rockheed and if they light a fire they will be spotted from the air. Alternatively, they must be near Eskimo Island and they might see Angus, particularly if he goes looking for Mose. Ginger sees what he thinks are searchlights – but it is just the aurora borealis. (The’ aurora borealis’, also known as the ‘northern lights’ is a natural light display in the Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in high latitude regions involving the ionization of various particles such as electrons and protons which then emit light of varying colour or complexity). On a distant ridge, Ginger sees something, “That’s a fire, or I never saw one in my life”. “It just flared up, remained steady for a moment, and then went out again. It was as if somebody had opened the door of a lighted room and then shut it again”. Biggles hopes Ginger is right because it must be Angus and if the distant peaks are Eskimo Island it’s a stroke of luck. Biggles and Ginger start their own fire, well away from the petrol filled plane, in order to attract the attention of anyone around but nobody comes. Biggles accepts Ginger has seen a light and they load up as many food boxes as they can carry and set off towards the distant peaks. Ginger thinks it is two miles, Biggles thinks it is five miles. Both are wrong.