BIGGLES IN AUSTRALIA

by Captain W. E. Johns

VIII. THE OPPOSITION STRIKES BACK (Pages 85 – 93)

“Later, after a good and satisfying meal, eight o’clock saw Biggles, by himself, making his way through the scented tropical night to the harbour, rubbing shoulders with as strange an assortment of humanity as could be found in any port on earth, east or west”. Biggles finds a public house “where the customers appeared mostly to be Europeans – or part-European”. Biggles goes in for a drink and gets chatting with the locals. He mentions the lugger Matilda and asks what has happened to her. He finds out it was sold to “that Dutchman Boller”. “Leastways he said he was a Dutchman but I’d say he was a German” says the customer Biggles is talking to. Biggles is told that “Boller’s working something up the Daly”. Boller is described as “a big fellow with a black beard”. Biggles then speaks to a man called Taffy Walsh and finds out more about Daly Flats. Walsh tells him “It’s away up the top of the river; if I remember right, above where the Daly swings north towards Arnhem Land. If you want a spear in your gizzard that’s the place to go”. “Are you serious? You really mean the blacks are bad?” queried Biggles, genuinely surprised, for he had supposed that dangerously hostile aborigines were a thing of the past”. “Not all of ‘em; but them as are bad are as bad as they make up. Keep out o’ the country. That’s my advice”. Biggles returns to the airport and it is past 10.00 pm when he reaches it. Walking past the hangers, Biggles notices an object that appears to be moving, but freezes as soon as the moon appears. As Biggles approaches the Otter, he notices that this object, a hump, appears to be closer than he had originally thought. As he reaches the cabin where his friends are, the object has closed the distance even more and is now flattened on the ground. Thinking it is an animal, Biggles steps towards it. “What followed occupied not more than three or four seconds of time. The object, as black as night, leapt up. An arm went back, and Biggles realized for the first time that it was a man. Seeing that something was about to be thrown, he ducked instinctively. Almost simultaneously something swished over his head and struck the hull of the Otter with a crisp thud”. (“Something swished over Biggles’ head and struck the Otter with a crisp thud” is the frontispiece illustration of the book). Biggles’s reaction to the attack was to dart forward to seize the assailant; but the man twisted, and turning, raced away across the turf at fantastic speed, dodging and leaping in an extraordinary display of evading tactics. Pursuit was obviously futile”. Biggles whipped out his pistol but doesn’t fire. Biggles finds a triple-barbed spear in the hull. Alerted, the others come out and Algy finds a petrol soaked rag. It appears the man was going to burn the planes. “Well, chase Aunt Lizzie round the haystacks!” exclaimed Bertie. “This black warrior stuff is all news to me. I thought Australia was civilized – if you get what I mean”. Biggles takes the spear and goes and sees West. He returns to inform the others that West says the spear “comes out of Arnhem Land”. “He told me this top corner of Australia used to be called the triangle of death on account of the ferocity of the natives. Even today, with native reserves and all that sort of thing, they’re not to be trusted. That goes for the half-civilised blacks who work up the Daly for the white planters”. Biggles says somebody sent the man to attack them. Biggles decides that tomorrow he and Ginger will go down to Broome in the Halifax and speak to Bill Gilson. He asks Algy and Bertie to go in the Otter to see if they can spot the Matilda to see if it is heading for the mouth of the Daly River. They now have to keep a guard on their aeroplanes, so Biggles takes the first watch.