NO REST FOR BIGGLES

by Captain W. E. Johns

XV. CLEANING UP (Pages 150 – 157)

“Biggles walked on. In speaking to Christophe he had been prompted by common humanity. He had offered to help him for no other reason. The man had been foolish, he thought; ill-advised rather than wicked, persuaded to commit an act of folly by glib-tongued enemy agents who saw in him a useful tool to serve their ends”. (What about the murders of Vic Roberts, the second pilot, and Laxton, Tony’s L.A.C. steward? They were speared to death trying to escape, we were told in Chapter 3!). “Aside from that, he thought, again with mounting anger, there could be no possible excuse for the murderous attack that had been made on Christophe and his supporters, some of whom may have been merely ignorant negroes carried away by Christophe’s grandiose scheme for a black empire. Biggles’s expression became grim as he recalled the way they had been shot down without warning, without a chance. Biggles had no reason to regard any of them with affection but his soul revolted at such an act of callous, unscrupulous brutality. But then, that was the way of the people who had ordered the raid. Lives were nothing to them. He was surprised, and disappointed, that von Stalhein, ruthless though he knew him to be, had lent himself to such an enterprise. The victims had done him no injury. Biggles wondered where the attacking force had come from, and where it had gone. Did Christophe know? It was, presumably, still in Africa, in which case it would have to be rooted out. Such a gang could do nothing but harm”. Biggles pushes on to his destination, still careful and wary of natives, although he hopes they would be more concerned with pillaging the huts in the compound now most of the soldiers were no longer there. Biggles is concerned about Bertie’s wounds and the urgent need for food and water. To go on drinking the dirty water of the river was to invite dysentery (in the first edition hardback book this is misspelt as ‘dysentry’ but the error is corrected in all paperback versions of the book). Biggles struggles on to his destination, “the sun searing his eyes and drying the perspiration on his skin as fast as it formed. His tongue was like a piece of old leather in his mouth”. A lioness stands up to look at him but he keeps going. “At the finish, it was a stick to which still clung a strip of Ginger’s shirt that told him when he had reached the improvised landing ground”. Algy isn’t there, so he sits in the shade of a shrub to wait. A hyena comes within a dozen yards, slavering in anticipation. “He eyed the beast with cold hostility. Taking out his pistol he fired at it. But his hand was unsteady; the shot missed, but the animal scampered off. But it did not go far. At the report he thought he heard something move in the bushes behind him, but he was too weary to investigate”. It was nearly three o’clock when he heard the sound of an aircraft. Then he sees two of them, a Hastings and an Auster. Biggles is about to walk out to signal to the aircraft when he sees the rhinoceros standing quite still not more than a dozen yards away. “Now Biggles was not given to swearing, holding it to be a waste of both time and breath; but he mentally called the beast some names that were perhaps not quite fair, since the animal was on its own ground and he was the intruder”. The Auster comes in and lands about sixty yards from where Biggles is and Algy jumps out. The Hastings then lands and Tony Wragg gets out. They talk and then settle in the shade of the bigger plane to wait. Biggles stands still with the rhino so close. He dares not move and hardly dares to breath. A tick bird lands on the rhino and, presumably seeing Biggles, flies off with a squawk. The rhino turned and plunges into the bushes, leaving Biggles able to stagger towards the aircraft. Algy sees him. “Good heavens, Biggles,” he cried. “What’s happened”. “It’s all right, although Bertie’s been hurt,” answered Biggles. “Get me a drink”. Biggles asks Tony what he is doing there and Tony explains he flew his passengers to Dakar and ran into Algy there. On learning what Algy intended to do, Tony insisted on coming back to help. “That was noble of you,” stated Biggles. “You’d plenty of reasons for keeping clear of this place”. Biggles tells them about Bertie and Ginger waiting and so both planes fly to Christophe’s airfield, with Biggles in the Auster. On the way he gives Algy a brief explanation of what has happened. As they land there are four or five of Christophe’s soldiers there. “Taxi right up to where those men are standing,” Biggles told Algy. “From the way they’re behaving I don’t think they’ve any sting left”. A moment later Ginger’s appearance among them confirmed this. Ginger tells Biggles “Good thing you left Christophe with us, with a promise to take him out. Five minutes after you’d gone these troops of his came along and found us. They were all for cutting us up, but Christophe put things right. Some of the forest blacks came along, too, but they cleared off when the troops told ‘em to”. Ginger thinks Bertie is a little better. Christophe had sent one of his men for water. “The next two hours were spent getting everybody comfortable. Bertie’s wounds, and those of Christophe, were dressed. Everyone had a long overdue meal, and a wash, and those who needed it, a shave. Biggles then announced his intention of flying to Dakar from where he can get in touch with the Air-Commodore. Biggles asks Christophe about General Mander’s bag. Christophe hesitated. “Dere’s some dollars dere with it. Do I get my money? You see,” he explained, “I’se got to pay dese men o’mine”. Biggles shrugged. “I suppose that’s fair enough. If the money’s yours – well, it’s your(s) (the ‘s’ is missing in the book) as far as I’m concerned. But I can’t take responsibility for what the United States government might say about that”. Christophe tells Biggles where the items are and offers to send his troops with Biggles as the natives were not to be trusted – “an offer which Biggles accepted with a smile. The idea of any of these people trusting each other struck him as funny”. Biggles and Algy take the jeep, with four of Christophe’s troops hanging on. At Christophe’s headquarters, they leave the troops outside. In his bedroom, under the bed, is a trap door. They find the General’s portfolio and many packets of dollar bills. Biggles peels off one bill and looks at it closely. “I wouldn’t say for certain, but I have a feeling that these notes are phony”. He adds “I wouldn’t say anything about it – yet. Let him pay his troops or they may cut up rough. You know – where ignorance is bliss ….” They return to the aircraft and the bag is given to Ginger to put in the machine and the money is given to Christophe. “Christophe paid his men who, having guilty consciences, had elected to make their way on foot to the coast – having, Biggles suspected, looted the camp of anything worth taking. That was all. They took their places in the aircraft, Tony at the controls, and a few minutes later the scene of Christophe’s ambitious project was fading away astern”.