BIGGLES AND THE LITTLE GREEN GOD
Book First Published on 17th March 1969* - 179 pages
(*According to the Bookseller Magazine 22nd February
1969)
I believe this Biggles book was never serialised elsewhere. If anybody knows differently then please E-MAIL ME
The first edition dust jacket showing the original price of 12
shillings
CHAPTERS
Click on any chapter for a summary of the events in that chapter or
see the general story summary below
1 – NOT LOST BUT FAR FROM HOME
2 – THE AIR COMMODORE HAS A TALE TO TELL
3 – THE AIR COMMODORE CONCLUDES
4 – BIGGLES ASKS SOME QUESTIONS
8 – BARRENDO GIVES HIS VERSION
17 – BIGGLES PLAYS THE LAST CARD
Biggles is asked by Air Commodore
Raymond to investigate the disappearance of a 2 lb. carved lump of green jade
with a large red ruby set in the middle of its forehead. This is a statue of an
ancient South American God called Atu-Hua and it has recently been
bought at auction by Don Carlos Ricardo Pallimo. Whilst the idol was being
shipped back to Chile, the small plane that was carrying it has disappeared and
now the insurance company stand to pay out £100,000 to cover its loss. Biggles
makes enquiries and discovers that, apart from the crew, two men were aboard
the plane, one called O'Higgins was the courier for the idol and the other
called Barrendo was a political rival of Pallimo. Biggles and Algy fly out to
Chile to search for the missing plane. They discover there is much more to the
story than they have been told. Using their aircraft to search for the lost
plane, they eventually come across a lone figure waving and they make a
dangerous landing on a high plateau in the Andes. The figure turns out to be
Conchita Gonzales, the air hostess from the lost plane. Algy parachutes down to
make sure the ground is safe for landing and this is the picture on the dust
cover of the book. Conchita says an exploding bomb brought the plane down.
Biggles and Algy search the wreckage of the crashed plane but local Indians
have looted it. They have found the idol and have now become hostile and
attempt to sacrifice Pepe, another crew member from the plane. The Indians
ignite the crashed plane's undamaged fuel tank and the resulting explosion
kills some, whilst others flee. Biggles finds Pepe and the idol but is unable
to take off from the plateau due to the weather conditions. Waiting for the
weather to clear before the hostile natives return, Biggles is approached by a
man called Estiban Huerta, who is on a special assignment for Pallimo. He tells
Biggles that the idol is a cheap fake and not the real thing. The Indians
return to attack Biggles' plane but he manages to take off in time. Biggles returns
to confront Pallimo with what is in reality an insurance fraud.
There are no story illustrations in this book
The painting of the statue of “At-Hua” the “Little Green God” in
question on the spine was not by Leslie Stead.
The artist is unknown.
Unfortunately, they did not read the description in the book.
“His eye, only one, set in the middle of his forehead was a ruby of
exceptional dimensions”. Although they
have painted the ruby, they appear to have given the statue two eyes below it
….
Biggles and the Little Green God
Publication Details - published by Brockhampton Press
Frontispiece
Click on the above to see it in more detail