THE BOY BIGGLES

by Captain W. E. Johns

NB - IN THIS BOOK BIGGLES IS REFERRED TO AS “JAMES” BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY SUMMARIES; I HAVE REFERRED TO HIM AS BIGGLES.

V THE BIG BAD BEAR (Pages 57 - 71)

“Should the bear be included in the list of dangerous wild animals? This has long been a subject for discussion between big game hunters”. “But here we are only concerned with the two species that occur in India, or to be more specific, in the Himalayas, for it was in an encounter with one of these that young James Bigglesworth came near to losing his life. These two species are known as the “red” and the “black”. The red is less dangerous than the black”. Biggles is sitting in the garden when Captain Lovell calls in to see his father. Lovell is on his way to Charipur in the hills to deal with a bear that is “making a nuisance of itself”. The bear has been wounded and the footpath between Charipur and Namsala has had to be closed as a result. Biggles asks to go along as well but his father is reluctant, however Captain Lovell is happy to take him along. Biggles is even allowed to take his father’s Rigby rifle. They set off with Indian orderlies carrying their guns. The journey is long and they spend the first night in a rest house. Here Lovell gives Biggles advice about hunting bears. “If the bear has one peculiarity it is this: he’s utterly unpredictable. He’s liable to do anything”. Mid-morning the next day they arrive in Charipur. The headman of the village shows them the path to Namsala. Lovell goes down it first with Biggles behind him; both have their rifles loaded but with the safety catches on. To the left, the ground is mostly barren rock strewn with boulders, rising to the summit of a hill. On the other side it falls away to a nullah or ravine. Biggles hears a sound behind him and turns to find the bear coming up behind them. It is moving fast and within a few paces of him. The bear stands on its hind legs and Biggles turns off his safety catch and shoots it in the chest. The bear is then upon him and knocks him down the slope. Biggles hears shots and the bear falls after him. Biggles nearly slides into the paws of the wounded bear but he manages to throw a coconut sized rock at it, and it slides over the lip of the nullah. The Skipper calls down to Biggles to ask if he is alright and Biggles says he is. Biggles then climbs back up the slope, finding his dropped rifle in the process. The Skipper says that after Biggles fell he gave the bear a couple of shots and it followed him down the hill. Biggles says “You’d better not tell my father about this or he may not let me go out with you again. Thank goodness I found his rifle. I wouldn’t have dared to go home without it”. Biggles is offered the bear skin as a trophy. “No thanks,” James answered emphatically. “I’m nothing for collecting heads or hides. I shall remember today without a reminder”.