BIGGLES IN THE SOUTH SEAS

by Captain W. E. Johns

V. SANDY’S ISLAND (Pages 76 – 90)

Ginger awakes to a wild shout from Full Moon racing across the beach. “Atanelli, he come!” The schooner appears all sails set to catch the light breeze and swings round to bear down on the ‘Scud’ flying-boat. “Look out! He’s going to ram us!” cried Biggles. For a moment a sort of panic prevailed. Ginger swims out to their aircraft and Full Moon follows. He tells her he intends to cut the cable and she swims off at a speed leaving Ginger behind. Ginger gets to the flying-boat and climbs onboard but there is no time to start the engines. He climbs onto the wing to fend the schooner off so that the schooner’s movement will be transmitted through his body and merely push the ‘Scud’ away in the shallow water. (The bows of the schooner seemed to bear down on him like a monstrous guillotine - is the illustration on page 80). As the ‘Scud’ swings, Ginger falls into the water and nearly drowns. When he surfaces, Biggles is on the aircraft and it is undamaged. Biggles starts the aircraft up, collects Ginger and begins to take off. On board with them are Algy, Sandy, Full Moon and Shell-Breaker. They can’t leave Shell-Breaker to be taken by Castanelli again. On account of the direction of the wind, Biggles faces a dangerous take-off into a sea which, “except for a miracle or superb pilotage,” would capsize them, but he is able to do it. Sandy has given Biggles the bearing for the island yesterday so Biggles knows way to go. In ten minutes, the island comes into view and they glide down to an anchorage “in a lagoon so perfect that Ginger was enchanted”. They pull over to a group of palms where Sandy had his hut and float on water so clear that it is hard to believe it was there. The hut is still serviceable and they plan to start diving the next day as there is a lot to do to get ready. They won’t open the pearls but leave them on the beach to rot. The shells open when the oyster is dead. Ginger explores the lagoon with Full Moon and Shell-Breaker. The only word that he could find to describe it was ‘fairyland’. Ginger judged that the island was three or four miles long but not more than three hundred yards across at its widest part. It was not more than twenty-five feet about sea level and it had thousands of hermit crabs. Ginger returns to camp where a fire is going and Biggles tells him that he, Ginger, is taking the first watch as he is not risking Castanelli creeping up on them in the dark.