BIGGLES IN THE SOUTH SEAS

by Captain W. E. Johns

II. AN ENCOUNTER WITH CASTANELLI (Pages 35 – 49)

“Although they did not waste a single day, it was nearly two months before the expedition arrived at its first temporary base in the South Pacific”. “Contrary to general belief, in the case of a distant destination it is less expensive to ship a machine than fly it”. Biggles has bought a ‘Scud’ twin-engined flying-boat, a high-wing monoplane with long-range tanks that had been built for a company proposing to operate a coastal service round Great Britain. The company had failed and Biggles had snapped it up cheaply. Sandy has gone on ahead and arranged for petrol and oil to be sent to the British island of Raratonga and also to Vaitie, one of the smaller of the Cooke islands. Biggles, Algy and Ginger travel on board an Australia-bound steamer with the ‘Scud’, calling at Raratonga. They then fly from Raratonga to Vaitie and find Sandy with his arm in a sling. Sandy has been to Tahiti in a lugger skippered by a Polynesian named Namu, in order to seek any news of Castanelli. He wanted to find out if he had found the pearl bed. Sandy had found Castanelli there and had been stabbed in the arm by one of Castanelli’s Solomon Island boys. Realising his danger, Sandy had returned with Namu to Vaitie. Biggles thinks that Sandy is not fit to travel, nor will be, for the next ten days. They will have to wait. Biggles and Ginger travel to Papeete Harbour, Tahiti to find out about Castanelli as they are unknown to him. On arrival, they go to the Restaurant du Port which contains an “extraordinary assortment of humanity”. The skipper of the boat that takes them, Namu, meets them in the Restaurant after attending to some business. Namu says Castanelli is in port and will sail out in the Avatara in the morning. Castanelli has stolen a boy from Rutuona and Biggles and Ginger are told it is Shell-Breaker, the boy who had found and rescued Sandy. He would know the approximate position of the island. Suddenly, a short, thick-set man, with an Italian cast of countenance and a sleek black moustache arrives and advances towards them – Castanelli! Castanelli advances on Namu and accuses him of sneaking around his schooner and goes to punch him. Biggles intercedes and asks him what he is going to do. “Pulp zis n****r” is the reply. (This is the seventh Biggles book to feature the use of the very offensive “N” word by W. E. Johns. The word appears twice in this book, once in this chapter and once in Chapter I, “Biggles Meets an Old Friend”. Of course, in its day, the word was in regular use and not considered offensive at all, otherwise it would not have appeared in a children’s book, where even mild expletives are watered down. The word remained in all Oxford editions of this book and also in the 1965 and 1969 Armada paperback versions. This book was not chosen by Red Fox to be reprinted). Biggles tells Castanelli that he is a cheap bully who thinks he owns the Islands. Castanelli pulls a knife and Biggles punches him in the solar plexus and then on the jaw, knocking him down. (Castanelli grunted, staggered, and went over backwards - is the illustration on page 45). Castanelli gets up and says he will see Biggles again some time. “Wait for a dark night when I’m looking the other way, eh?” sneered Biggles. “You crooked little swine! Go and get on with your work of trading liquor round the islands”. Castanelli leaves. When Biggles, Ginger and Namu leave the restaurant, they see Castanelli’s schooner moving towards the harbour mouth. He is leaving with Shell-Breaker before they can do anything about it.