BIGGLES HUNTS BIG GAME

by Captain W. E. Johns

VII. GINGER CLIMBS A TREE (Pages 81 - 96)

The next morning Bertie and Ginger go out hunting with Kisumo. Ginger pretends to have twisted his ankle in order to stay on his own and he insists that Bertie and Kisumo continue the hunt without him. They can pick him up on the way back. As soon as they are out of sight, Ginger heads downhill into the Bamboo swamp. A high fence prevents Ginger from getting to the power house but he finds a fallen tree that has made a gap that enables him to get through. Here the ground becomes very boggy as water seeps down from higher ground. A close encounter with a snake reminds Ginger of the swamp's reputation. Climbing a thirty foot high tree in order to get a better view of the power house, Ginger sees that the building is in fact, two buildings. One on the bank and one built on a stout raft on the lake. Ginger observes Doctor Dorov coming down the path from the lodge, carrying a package and meeting a man who came out from inside the power plant. Another man appears and Ginger recognises him from the plane journey over. The passenger with ink on his fingers. Ginger decides it is time to get down and return to the location where he pretended to hurt his ankle, in order to meet Bertie and Kisumo however he is shocked to see a huge buffalo at the base of the tree, looking up at him. The African buffalo is one of the most dangerous creatures on earth and Ginger is trapped in the tree. He has left his rifle against the base of the tree. Time passes. Ginger remains trapped. "The buffalo gazed back at him with baleful, bloodshot eyes".