BIGGLES IN THE GOBI

by Captain W. E. Johns

V. AN AFTERNOON TO REMEMBER (Pages 54 – 68)

“For three days all went well”. Algy and Ginger got to know every inch of the oasis. The cliff “served as a barrier against the advance of the desert sand travelling on the face of the prevailing wind. This was proved by the way the sand had conquered at each end of the cliff”. (Clearly the word ‘conquered’ is wrong. Someone has misread Johns handwriting, presumably his original typist, and it has not been picked up in proof reading. I imagine the correct word was ‘converged’). The cliff provides the shelter that led to the creation of the oasis. “The cliff itself was natural. Everything else was artificial. The same might be said of the oasis, which had obviously profited by hundreds of years of labour by successive priests, the guardians of the Buddhist shrine. These men had planted such trees as the oasis could boast – a line of dwarf poplars and groups of shrubby willows”. A proposed landing strip had been surveyed and work commenced, with the more serious obstacles being removed. Due to the importance of this, everyone had worked hard, often by moonlight and resting during the heat of the day. The only feature in the desert was the ruins of an ancient building, either a shrine or watchtower. It had a crypt or small chamber underneath. Ming had gone to Tunhwang for news of the prisoners and Feng kept watch whenever the workers “were on the job”. The whole party lives in the caves. “These formed such a labyrinth that neither Algy nor Ginger ever saw a half of them. They agreed that they were wonderful, for every inch of the walls and ceilings had been painted either with formal oriental designs or scenes depicting the life of Buddha, statues of whom occurred everywhere”. (“Every inch had been painted” is the frontispiece of the book). “Ginger was appalled by the amount of labour all this had demanded, and the ages of time it must have occupied”. It was on the fourth day that their hope of a peaceful sojourn was rudely shattered. Ginger had gone off to bathe in the stream. Feng came down to warn of the approach of four Chinese soldiers. Everyone rushed for the safety of the caves. Algy wants to warn Ginger from the ledge, but he can’t see him, and any shouting would be heard. Four soldiers appear by the little brook. “One, a little frog-faced man with a lot of gold braid about him, was evidently an officer. “Ma-Chang! – the Tiger,” breathed Ritzen in Algy’s ear”. The soldiers go to the guest-house and release their horses to drink. A few minutes pass, then Ginger appears “whistling and gaily swinging a towel”. Ginger sees the horses, but it is too late, the soldiers cover him with their carbines. “Ma Chang (no hyphen now) tucked his riding-switch under his arm and produced a revolver. With sinking heart Algy remembered that this was the ruffian who had tortured the Swiss missionary to death”. Algy was not prepared to stay on the ledge doing nothing while Ginger was murdered or carried off. He his raises his pistol, but knows that using it will betray their presence. Ma Chang snaps at Ginger, who doesn’t understand. Ritzen tells Algy that he is being told to prostrate himself before an officer. When Ginger doesn’t move, he is hit viciously with the switch and Ginger takes the blow on the arm. (“Ma Chang took a quick pace forward and slashed at him with his switch” is the illustration between pages 64 and 65). Two soldiers then seize Ginger and throw him to the floor. “The officer stepped forward and spurned him with his foot”. (The word ‘spurn’ can mean strike or kick away with the foot as well as distain). Ma Chang then points his revolver at Ginger’s head. Algy takes quick aim and fires his pistol. He misses his target but “four yellow faces jerked round to stare in the direction whence it came”. Suddenly there is a ragged volley of gun shots and two Chinese soldiers drop dead on the spot. The other two dash for the horses and one is shot on the way after returning fire. The survivor is Ma Chang, who reaches a horse and gallops away, pursued by two of the attacking force. Ma Chang gets away as his horse is faster. Algy counts five Kirghiz warriors, one of whom has been wounded by the soldier who returned fire. Algy thinks he recognises one of the Kirghiz as being one of the two riders that told Feng the way to Nan-hu. Ritzen says he will go down to tend to the wounded man as he speaks their language, Turki. Algy goes with him. Ritzen speaks with the Kirghiz and they say they won’t harm them if they can have food and money. They intend to stay the night and rest their horses. The Kirghiz are asked to bury the dead, whilst Ritzen tends to the wounded man who has been struck in the groin, “a far from pleasant job, for the man’s clothes were stiff with dirt and he had obviously never had a bath in his life. However, the man bore the pain without a tremor – if he was capable of feeling pain – when the bullet was extracted”. A fair quantity of food and some cigarettes are taken from the stores and given to the Kirghiz. Algy asks Ritzen how long the wounded man is likely to be laid up. “He could move at any time if the need arose. These fellows are more like animals than men. Wounds mean nothing”. “Ritzen examined Ginger’s arm. Ginger made light of it, but it had been a vicious blow, and they all knew that while the scarlet weal was not exactly a wound it must be painful”. “I’ll give him that back, with interest, if ever I get the chance,” said Ginger. Ming returns to report that the prisoners are to be moved from the prison at Tunhwang to Ansi, a long way from the Red Highway. From there, they will probably go to Siberia. They are to be moved tonight. “We just needed that to round off a really jolly afternoon” said Algy wearily.