SERGEANT BIGGLESWORTH C.I.D.

by Captain W. E. Johns

XII. BERTIE FLIES ALONE (Pages 116 - 125)

Bertie had been sitting under the wing of the Spur when he heard the Renkells taking off. The Spur would present an easy target for them sitting on the sand so he takes off in order to protect the plane. Seeing two specks in the distance, he gets the sun behind him so he is concealed. He realises that he has a golden opportunity to discover the villains' secret base and starts to follow them as they fly on a dead straight course due south-east without any deviation. Time passes and Bertie is constantly expecting the villains to land. Had he known it would take this long he would have thought twice about following but he is committed now. Eventually his fuel starts to get dangerously low as he reaches the Nile and he has to stop the pursuit to refuel. He lands at the big R.A.F. depot in Khartoum when he is down to his last pint of petrol. Reporting to the duty officer and explaining he is a policeman, he is taken to the commanding officer who is none other than Group Captain "Wilks" Wilkinson, Biggles old friend from his First World War piloting days. Bertie has never met him before. Wilks not only agrees to refuel him, but also send a Lancaster Bomber to evacuate everyone in one go and to send some Askaris (native soldiers under a white officer) from the Fourth Pioneer Corps to clear the mines at El Zufra oasis. An R.A.F. officer called Collingwood will pilot the Lancaster and the native Sergeant Mahmud will be in charge of a dozen men. The Lancaster and the Spur take off for the oasis.