BIGGLES AND THE LITTLE GREEN GOD

by Captain W. E. Johns

9. DANGEROUS FLYING (Pages 87 – 99)

“The surface of the earth below the questing Merlin aircraft looked as if it had been left unfinished. Hardly begun, in fact. Merely a chaos of rocks thrown down anyhow, gorges as if the world had split and a series of icy pinnacles that ran from north to south in an unbroken chain like a giant necklace of roughly cut diamonds. The Andes. The backbone of the American continent, nearly five thousand miles long and a hundred miles wide, known south of the isthmus of Panama as the Cordillera and the north of it as the Rocky Mountains. The greatest mountain system in the world”. For three days Biggles and Algy in the Merlin had been searching for the missing Caravana, without success. They have followed the compass course of the missing machine and also done a certain amount of ‘weaving’ in case it has deviated from its course. Even though the weather had remained good, knowing what engine failure would mean, the flying involved a certain amount of nervous strain. There was no doubt the Caravana has crashed as there were no places a big passenger machine could get down. Biggles says to Algy that he’s had enough of this. “We’ve done our best. I’m going back to base. I shall send word to the Air Commodore that we’re wasting our time and might as well come home”. They fly westward and after a few minutes, Algy says he thinks he has spotted movement. On a long flat plateau below a cliff is what looks like an alpine lawn and they see someone waving. They go in for a closer look and this calls for considerable care because the air between the mountains is unstable and full of eddies, one of which might carry the machine into the rising face of the mountain before the ‘bump’ can be corrected. Algy thinks he can see a white man flapping a piece of rag as if calling for help. “What can we do about it?” he asks. “Nothing,” answered Biggles promptly. “Have a heart. It might be somebody in trouble”. “That’s his worry. We could soon be in trouble too, if I tried to get any closer” replies Biggles. Algy suggests landing, to which Biggles responds “Are you crazy? Not on your sweet life. I’m not that daft”. Algy says he won’t be able to sleep that night knowing they left that poor devil stranded. Algy suggests parachuting out to check to see if it is safe for Biggles to land. Biggles tells him he must be out of his mind. How would he get home if it wasn’t suitable. Algy says he’d walk and Biggles could drop him “a load of grub” from time to time. Algy says it may be a survivor of the Caravana. Biggles says it sounds raving mad to him. “I don’t feel justified in risking twenty thousand pounds (This was written in 1967/68, £20,000 is worth £291,000 in 2024) worth of government property, namely, an aircraft, for which I’m responsible, on the off-chance of helping someone who may turn out not to want any help”. Algy goes and puts on a parachute. “Slung on his arm was a heavy bag”. Algy says he will hold his arms out at right angles if it is no use and he will wave his hands about his head if it is safe for landing. Algy opens the door and stands poised to jump. “I still think it’s an imbecile operation. However, good luck,” Biggles said, and he prepared for one of the trickiest manoeuvres he had ever attempted, and he had made many. When the machine is at three thousand feet, flying dead level only a little about stalling point, Algy jumps out. (This is the illustration on the cover of the first edition hardback book and the first paperback edition of the book. I have to confess that I always thought this cover of the book showed someone, presumably Biggles, jumping out of a plane holding the “Little Green God” of the title in a package, but it is in fact Algy holding a bag of supplies. The 1979 paperback has a different illustration of the same scene with a far more modern parachute and Algy having a far smaller bag). Biggles sees Algy land safely and go towards the figure. Algy then spends quarter of an hour checking the ground, on one occasion moving a rock to one side. He then signals to Biggles to land, lighting a fire so the smoke can give Biggles some idea of wind direction. “But this, as a wind indicator, served no useful purpose except to indicate that the breeze was variable, not blowing from any fixed direction”. Carefully, his lips pressed together in a straight line under the strain, Biggles glides in and, unexpectedly, makes an easy landing. Algy runs up and tell Biggles the person they saw is a girl. “You’re sure you don’t mean on of these modern long-haired lads …” “I’m still able to recognise the female of the species when I see one,” declared Algy tartly. “She’s white, or as near white as makes no difference”. Algy explains that she is unconscious and also that she is wearing a grey uniform, with wings on the breast of her tunic. Algy thinks she is an air hostess, “A good-looker, too”. “An air hostess!” Enlightenment dawned in Biggles’ eyes. “Great snakes!” The Caravana carried an air hostess”. “Brother, you’re reading my thoughts,” Algy said. “Get the medicine chest,” ordered Biggles, tersely.