BIGGLES IN THE GOBI

by Captain W. E. Johns

XII. UNWELCOME VISITORS (Pages 139 – 150)

“Fifty odd miles away, on the plain where the Halifax had forced landed, Biggles and Bertie had passed through a period of boredom in which their only occupations had been eating, drinking and sleeping, although, of course, unceasing watch had been kept”. Bertie’s idea they should stay where they were had been adopted, it reduced the dangers of flying over thousands of miles of some of the worst country in the world. The collision with the eagle had been no bad thing at all. They had discussed the idea of flying to Nan-hu, but Biggles was against it, saying they needed to stick to the plan. If they flew there and the landing strip wasn’t ready, they would have to return and risk another landing. Biggles regretted sending the message via the monk before he ascertained the full extent of the damage to their aircraft, as he had hinted they might not make it at all. “As he told Bertie, it is always easy to see mistakes after the event”. It was on the morning of the fifth day that they saw signs of life in the wilderness: small clouds of dust and the distant sight of horsemen riding close together. An hour later the same thing happened again. “There seems to be something going on,” remarked Biggles casually. “The nomads who live in these parts may be rough riders, but I can’t believe they’d travel lickety-split like that without a good reason”. (Lickety-split is North American slang for going fast). Towards sundown the same thing was repeated but with two Kirghiz, their course taking them nearer the aircraft, although they ignored it. “They rode as if the devil himself was behind them,” observes Biggles. The explanation is forthcoming when they see five Chinese cavalry riding hard. Biggles gets in the cockpit and tells Bertie to man the guns. The troops rein in their horses and come within fifty yards and look at the aircraft. One makes a wide circle around the Halifax. They then depart. Biggles concludes the Chinese are chasing the Kirghiz out of this part of the country and when they saw the plane, they didn’t know what to make of it. It could have been one of their own or a Russian plane. They probably took Biggles and Bertie for Russian officers. “They’d hardly risk shooting without knowing who they were shooting at,” averred Biggles. Bertie suggests they leave, but to where? That can’t go to Nan-hu in the dark. Biggles says there is no reason to panic. They spend the night taking alternate two-hour watches. The night becomes bitterly cold and the wind steadily gains strength, but the night passes without incident. Biggles is confident they could just take off if they needed to avoid conflict. “It may seem strange that not for one moment did he anticipate the arrival of a visitor who used the same method of transportation as himself”. It arrived literally out of the blue, with a shattering roar there appeared a Russian MiG jet. Biggles guesses the troops reported a machine here and the local Commissar has sent an aircraft to check up. Biggles and Bertie hide and hope the pilot will think their aircraft has been abandoned. That appears to be the case, as after circling for a while, the Russian plane heads off north. Biggles decides to take off and he tells Bertie to keep the Russian jet off his tail should he come back. “Do I let him shoot first?” asks Bertie. “Not on your life. If he comes in range give him a warning burst to let him see we don’t like him. If he shoots back or tries to come in let him have a rattle. This is no time for kid glove tactics. Remember, he’s got the legs of us. I want to get home and we’ve a long way to go”. They take off and fly at a height of a thousand feet to the oasis. They have only gone half way when the MiG appears and tails them at a distance of five hundred yards. This is a problem as they won’t be able to land at the oasis where they would just be a target. However, the MiG suddenly launches an attack. “But this was such an amateurish effort that Biggles was astonished, and could only conclude that the pilot had no experience of combat”. He came straight down to Bertie’s guns. The MiG fires and Biggles presses his foot on the rudder and sees tracer pour past his wing tip. “Okay,” he told Bertie over the intercom. “Show him your muscles”. Bertie shoots him down. “It is unlikely that the jet pilot knew what hit him”. (“It is unlikely that the jet pilot knew what hit him” is the illustration between pages 152 and 153). “Poor show,” came back Bertie. “The silly ass must have thought I hadn’t any bullets”.