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.

XI A PROFESSOR LEARNS A LESSON (Pages 133 - 157)

“James had never been up to the really high ground, the upper foothills of the Himalayas, that lay to the north of Mirapore where his father was stationed. This itself was at the northern tip of the United Provinces, near Garhwal”. A horse and cart arrive at Biggles’ house containing Captain Lovell and Professor Nigel Desmond, an American. Captain Lovell, who Biggles knows as Skipper, is acting as the Professor’s guide. The Professor is a biologist and a naturalist of repute and also a taxidermist. He is working for “an important natural history museum in America” anxious to extend its exhibits and he is heading to the hill country north of Garhwal to secure specimens of goral, tahr and markhor. Biggles “had never even heard of these creatures, much less seen one” but they were various types of antelopes and goats. The Professor also wants to get an ounce, also known as a snow leopard. The Professor is extremely well equipped, including having a portable bath, and has a chest of rupees to pay for bearers. James’ father agrees to Biggles going with the Professor to act as his interpreter. “The boy needs a change from this sweltering heat. A breath of fresh mountain air should do him a power of good”. The following morning the three of them set off. “To narrate the rest of the journey in detail would be tiresome repetition”. They reach Dardani on the third day where the horse and cart is left and porters are hired. By the sixth day they reach “a Garhwali village in a valley at 10,000 feet”. Here the Skipper leaves them and returns home as he was only acting as a guide. The Professor offers the villagers 100 rupees for every skin obtained. “Of course, this delighted the hillmen, but James was not sure it was wise”. Biggles and the Professor go to a high peak where, through his binoculars, the Professor sees a small herd of goral on the plateau above the valley. The Professor plans to go there via a goat track winding round the flank of the mountain. Biggles suggests asking the headman for his opinion. The mallik (headman) is called Lal Das and he objects vehemently saying the track is dangerous. The Professor says “Well, I prefer to do things my own way. Don’t take any notice of the old man. We don’t need him with us. He’s only an ignorant native. This annoyed James. He bridled. “These people may be ignorant according to university standards but they know all there is to know about conditions where they live; and that’s as much as they need to know for their own good, which is more than can be said for some white men”. After a bitterly cold night they set off in the morning along the narrow track that is in some places a mere cornice. After a while they see a goral galloping towards them and then it goes over the side of the precipice and crashes into the trees at the bottom of the ravine. The Professor and Biggles advance and then the same thing happens to the Professor as happened to the goral. He slides and with a cry goes over the edge of the cliff. Biggles then sees that ice mats have been put out. These are wet native woven mats that turn to ice in the freezing cold. They have been put out to catch wild animals. Lal Das and some of his men appear from the opposite direction. They put out the ice mats intending to stampede the animals into the trap. “This may not be a sporting way of killing a wild animal, but the men who practised it were not interested in sport. Living where they did they needed meat in order to exist, and this was the easiest way of getting it. Cartridges, even if they could get them, were expensive. All this was explained to James later”. Biggles looks over the ravine and hears a faint cry for help. Biggles then organises the natives into a rescue party and they return to their village. Biggles pays a runner to go off to Mirapore for a doctor. Biggles, together with Lal Das and his men, then enter the valley from the ground. They find the goral dead with a broken neck and the Professor unconscious, injured with a nasty head wound and from the angle of his leg it is obvious that it is broken. He has hit tree branches on his way down, which broke his fall, and landed in a deep layer of soft leaf mould which saved him from being killed instantly. Not knowing how serious the injuries are, the Professor is taken back to the village. When he comes round his first words to Biggles are “Thanks. It was my own fault. I should have listened to you”. Whilst waiting for a fortnight for a doctor to arrive Biggles is able to shoot a snow leopard for the Professor. With the doctor comes Captain Lovell who was still in the vicinity. Biggles and the Skipper return home. Biggles sees the Professor a month later as he passes by his house on the way to hospital. He was then a wiser man.