BIGGLES WORKS IT OUT

by Captain W. E. Johns

XV. THE SUN DICTATES (Pages 171 – 183)

“The onset in the valley, once launched, developed quickly into a battle of some intensity, the noise of which made further silence on the part of Algy and Bertie unnecessary”. When they hear a machine gun open fire, Bertie observed, inconsequentially “I’ll bet the old Tuareg won’t think much of that”. They hear the roar of aircraft motors and Algy assumes it is Biggles arriving. A Mosquito flies low over them from the wrong direction, going, as Bertie remarked, coarsely but aptly, like a bat out of hell. “That’ll be von Stalhein, getting out” said Algy. “Trust him”. The Tuareg return, some limping, some helping others apparently wounded and a few missing. They simply get on their camels and leave, leaving Algy, Bertie and Emile behind to watch the smoke rising over the nullah where the aircraft were kept. Realising they can’t return to the Douglas aircraft in the desert without water, they try to go into the valley to see what has happened, but come under fire. The sun rises and without shade or water, they can stand it no longer and they do their best to find a cavity to give them some protection from the rays of the sun. They plan is to wait for Biggles to arrive. Emile goes exploring on his own and returns to say there are bodies and rifles in the ravine. Under the cover of smoke, they may be able to get to the rifles. Going to the ravine, they find dead bodies and the metal skeletons of burnt out aircraft. They find Odenski, still alive, but dying from a stomach wound. He begs for water but they have none to give him. He says that von Stalhein and Groot fled and when he followed them and told them they were yellow, von Stalhein shot him and they flew off. Asked why his men haven’t come to help him, Odenski says they came and took the keys for the canteen but just left him there. Singing can be heard from the canteen. The men are all drunk. “What a pack of swine they must be!” says Algy. They decide they must get water for the wounded man. Emile bravely runs to fetch a can and get water and comes under fire. He gets back with the water but it is too late. Odenski is dead. A Mosquito arrives, which Algy recognises as Biggles’ machine. Algy and Bertie keep up a covering fire whilst it lands and Algy, throwing discretion to the wind, signals to the aircraft by waving frantically. The aircraft taxies towards them. Biggles and Ginger jump out of the aircraft. Biggles views the destruction and says that he doesn’t know if Joudrier is going to be too pleased about this when he gets here. Bertie says the Arabs did it. “We told them not to, the blighters, but they wouldn’t take any notice of us – would they, Algy?” Algy shook his head. “No notice at all”. Biggles is told the story of what has happened. By now it is nearly dark, and Marcel’s Morane comes in to land, soon followed by a Dakota with “a surprisingly powerful force of gendarmes”. One or two shots are fired. The only casualty is one gendarme wounded in the thigh. The canteen is stormed. “Of the nine survivors of the Tuareg attack not one was sober. Five were on the floor, completely out. Bottles and glasses lay about to bear witness to the fantastic orgy that had taken place”. Joudrier decides that they will stay the night there and clean up tomorrow. Biggles ask Bertie to find them somewhere to sleep.