BIGGLES
SEES IT THROUGH
by Captain W.
E. Johns
XII. ANOTHER
BLOW (Pages 166
– 183)
Before Ginger replies, they hear growls
and have to leave fast before another bear approaches. When he has a chance, Ginger explains what
has happened to him. Biggles says “I
don’t often give way to despair, but by the anti-clockwise propeller of my
sainted aunt, I’m getting to the state when I could throw myself down and burst
into tears – like a little girl who’s lost her bag of sweets”. Ginger explains that he was on his way to
take a wheel off Biggles’ Gladiator to replace his damaged wheel. Biggles concludes they have to go back to the
lake anyway, as Algy will fly over looking for them. Biggles reckons it’s a good twelve miles to
the lake and they get back there shortly after midday. The Russians appear to have gone, but the
Blenheim has been stripped of all useable parts and his Gladiator has been dismantled
and taken as well. Biggles decides the
Russians could not have been gone long and, from a ridge, they see them in the
distance. They wait for Algy and when he
flies over, they light a fire. “Biggles
raised his arms with his ‘thumbs up’ (a signal that is universally understood
to mean that all is well)”. Biggles
points west and starts to walk in that direction. Algy drops a note in his cigarette case;
“Understand you have both crashed. Am
returning home to fetch food; light fire when I come back so I can see
you. I will drop grub. If you reach possible landing field, wait, and
make signal. I’ll come down. If this is O.K. raise both arms in the air”. Biggles makes the required signal. They watch Algy fly west but he is attacked
by three Messerschmitt’s. Algy does his
best to fight them off. (The
Gladiator swept up in a tight half roll – is the frontispiece illustration
taken from a line on page 174). The
leading Messerschmitt is forced to glide away from the fight as if his engine
has been hit. However, out gunned and
outclassed, his machine is forced to crash land in some tree-tops. Biggles and Ginger run to find Algy and
thankfully he is alright, with just blood on his chin caused by a branch as he
climbed down from the trees. His
aircraft is still up in the trees and Ginger has to climb up a tree and shake
it in order to get it to crash down.
They then remove a wheel. They
set off to collect the hidden papers.
“How long have we been on this job?” inquired Algy as they set off
through the trees. “Oh, about four days,
returned Biggles. “That’s what I made
it, but it seems more like four months” Algy replies. As they top the last rise that overlooks the
valley wherein Ginger’s Gladiator stood, at the near end of which was the clump
of trees where the papers are concealed, our heroes are shocked to see that the
area is now a Russian camp! Biggles cups
his chin in his hand and says “Maybe I can think of something”.