BIGGLES SEES IT THROUGH

 

by Captain W. E. Johns

 

 

VII.                 THE AVALANCHE  (Pages 102 – 115)

 

Dawn breaks and our heroes can now see the edges of the frozen lake to the north and west.  The pony is reaching the end of its endurance and has dropped to a walk.  There is a thaw setting in as they reach the edge of the lake and Biggles unharnesses the pony and gives it hay from the sledge just as a bomber appears in the distance.  They climb up a steep snow covered ridge, which Biggles had noted the day before, and from where he thinks they will be able to see the crashed Blenheim.  The climb is hard so they take off their jackets and rest before reaching the top.  At the top they see the Blenheim and start to descend the steep bank but due to the thaw setting in, the snow is loose and slippery.  The snow starts to slide and before they know it, the whole slope on which they are standing starts to slide.  They desperately try to get clear of the danger area as thousands of tons of snow and rock break loose, tearing up trees and thundering down towards the ice.  “Algy practically got clear.  So did Smyth, although he was bowled over.  For a moment it seemed that Ginger, too, might escape the terrifying wave of death that was roaring down the slope; but he was outflanked”.  Ginger is swept away and there is no sign of Biggles.  Ginger is found, unconscious and bleeding from the nose, but with no broken bones.  Algy and Smyth then hunt for Biggles who is also found unconscious with a lived bruise, seeping blood, on his forehead.  Algy fears he has concussion.  They decide to get the two injured men into the Blenheim before they freeze. Algy notices Biggles no longer has the jacket he was carrying.  Ginger comes round and the three men are able to drag Biggles to the Blenheim on a rough bed of fir branches.  As they cross the ice to the Blenheim, a Russian heavy bomber flies over and sees them as they are so conspicuous.  Biggles comes round and tells them all to play dead.  He tells Algy to take the gun out of his hip pocket.  The pilot may land to see what has happened and they can stick him up and grab his machine.  Biggles then passes out again.  The pilot flies over the apparently dead bodies and decides to land.  Two men get out of the bomber.  Algy rises up with the pistol and says “Don’t move”.  (Very quietly Algy stood up, pistol at the ready – is the illustration on page 113).  The Russians see the gun and understand.  Algy indicates that there is food in the crashed Blenheim for them, but they will have a long walk home.  “Ginger and Smyth got Biggles to the bomber and lifted him inside”.  Algy joins them and gets into the pilots seat and carefully takes off, avoiding any repetition of the Blenheim disaster.  Ginger says they ought to be home in a couple of hours but Algy is worried about the Finnish anti-aircraft batteries.