Biggles Flies West

by W E Johns

  ‘Hands off, ‘Frisco! I found it; it’s mine.’ Deutch’s voice had a hard, vindictive ring.

  Came the American’s voice again, bitter in its frigid hostility. ‘Hey, what’s biting you, Deutch?’

  ‘Hand it over,’ snarled Deutch, from which Dick, shivering with horror in the hole, gathered that the American had picked up the coin.

  ‘Frisco spoke again, fury blazing in his clipped words. ‘You dirty rat! Pull a knife on me, would you, you— His voice broke off in a choking gasp that ended in a horrid gurgling sound. There was a swishing and writhing on the rocks, punctuated with grunts accompanied by the sound of fiercely driven blows. Then silence.

  Dick bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out aloud. He could visualize what was happening on the very edge of his hiding place. In a nightmare of horror he heard Deutch muttering, between deeply drawn breaths, ‘I’ll teach you, you—’ each sentence concluding with an oath worse than the last.

  At last, to Dick’s unspeakable relief, the footsteps began to recede, but it was a good ten minutes before he dare move from his cramped position. Slowly he drew himself upright. His face, in the pallid moonlight, was ashen, but he did not know it. One glance was enough. His fears were realized. A yard or two away, the wan light shining whitely on his death-distorted features, lay ‘Frisco Jack.

  Dick did not wait to collect any doubloons. He did not stop to pick up his pistol. He waited for nothing. One leap and he was out of the hole, running for dear life towards the rock where he had left the boat. Several times he nearly fell, for his knees were strangely weak. He literally tumbled into the boat, and untying the painter with trembling hands, snatched up the paddle and sent it flashing through the water. Panting with excitement and exertion, he crossed the narrow channel, moored the boat – not without difficulty, so violently did he tremble – and dashed up the steps to the fort. He could hear the others talking before he reached the top. Apparently they heard him coming, for Biggles’s voice, as hard as cracking ice, came down to him below the rampart wall.

  ‘Halt there! Who goes?’

  ‘It’s me,’ gasped Dick.

  ‘All right; come aboard.’

  Dick finished his journey. At the top he found Biggles waiting for him. His eyes were cold and his manner hostile. The others stood close behind him. ‘Where the devil have you been?’ he snapped.

  Dick faltered. ‘I’ve been ashore,’ he panted. ‘I’ve found—’

  Biggles’s voice cut in, crisp and curt. ‘Never mind what you’ve found. You left your post!’

  ‘But—’

  ‘I don’t want any excuses. Did you, or did you not, leave your post?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Then you ought to be thundering well ashamed of yourself. Are you?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Well, that’s something, anyway. Fortunately no harm came of it, but if you ever do that again I’ll tie a couple of cannon-balls to your feet and throw you overboard. Orders are orders – you understand?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Why did you do it?’

  ‘I went to fetch the doubloon.’

  Biggles took a quick pace backward. ‘You what?’

  ‘You see, I thought—’

  ‘Wait a minute – wait a minute. Have you brought that accursed coin back here? If you have, you can take it ashore again, and as soon as you like, my lad.’

  ‘No, Deutch has got it.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘He and ’Frisco were over there. I got into the hole and found the doubloon and put it on a rock while I got out. I bobbed down again when Deutch and ‘Frisco came along. Deutch spotted the doubloon, but ‘Frisco got it first and wouldn’t give it up. They fought to see who should have it, and in the end Deutch knifed ‘Frisco. He’s lying over there on the rocks, dead. Deutch has gone off with the doubloon.’

  Biggles turned to the others. His manner was slow and deliberate. ‘Did you hear that?’ he said in a strange voice. ‘Another death to the score of Bawn’s doubloon. By heavens, there’s more than coincidence in this! Deutch is welcome to it; he’s sealed his own fate or I’ve missed my mark.’ He turned back to Dick. ‘What were you doing all this time?’

  ‘I was lying in the bottom of the hole; you see, I’d just found some more.’

  ‘Some more what?’

  ‘Doubloons.’

  There was a brief silence. Biggles spoke. ‘Did you say you’d found some more doubloons?’ he asked incredulously.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How many?’

  ‘Hundreds – maybe thousands,’ declared Dick exultantly.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Certain! I held them in my hands.’

  Biggles eyed Dick suspiciously. ‘You didn’t by any chance drop off to sleep and dream this, did you?’

  Dick took a pace forward. ‘Sleep!’ he cried. ‘I did not. I was scared stiff. I tell you I picked up the doubloons in handfuls.’

  Biggles turned again to the others. ‘Jumping alligators! He must have found the treasure,’ he breathed. Then to Dick, ‘Where is it?’

  ‘In the hole where you kicked the doubloon – the same hole where I hid when Pedro was after me. We stood beside it this afternoon.’

  Biggles rubbed his chin. ‘Would you believe it?’ he murmured. ‘So that’s where Louis dumped them when his ship ran into the creek? And after all this time Bawn’s doubloon got back amongst the others. There seems to be a sort of fate in this.’ A light of understanding came suddenly into his eyes. ‘Why, what fools we were!’ he cried. ‘I see it all now, although I should never have guessed it. Those two parallel lines on Louis’s map were the boundaries of the inlet, with the holes in the rocks marked beside it. The one in which he put the gold was filled in solid. Well, well, it’s easy to be wise after the event. What were Deutch and ‘Frisco doing up there, Dick?’

  ‘Looking for us, and talking.’

  ‘Could you hear what they were saying?’

  ‘They didn’t say very much, but they were talking about rounding us up tomorrow and bumping us off.’

  Biggles inclined his head. ‘How very nice of them. Did they say just how they proposed to do that?’

  ‘No, but they seemed pretty confident. They talked as if something was due to happen tomorrow that would make it easy.’

  Biggles looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t quite see how that can be,’ he said slowly, ‘but it’s as well to know what was in their minds. I should have thought that the boot was on the other foot. We were four against two; now we are four against one, assuming that Pedro is out of action.’

  ‘He’s dead,’ put in Dick quickly. ‘At least, I heard ‘Frisco say that he had gone where doubloons wouldn’t be much good to him.’

  ‘Another victim to the doubloon,’ said Biggles softly. ‘Where is ‘Frisco now, Dick?’

  ‘He’s lying over there beside the hole.’

  ‘Then we’d better move him first thing in the morning, in case Deutch comes prowling about and finds the treasure – not that I think we have much to fear from him now. We can’t do much in the dark, but we’ll get busy as soon as it starts to get light; meanwhile, we’d better see about getting some rest. Ginger, take over guard, and don’t go wandering ashore; you may not be so lucky as Dick was.’

  Dick smiled at the faint sarcasm in Biggles’s voice as he followed the others below and lay down to try to get some sleep. But it was a long time coming, and when at length it came he was haunted by dreams in which Dakeyne, Deutch, ‘Frisco Jack, and the doubloons were hopelessly interwoven.

  Chapter 15

  The Attack

  He awoke with a start, aware that he had slept It was still dark, but he could see a vague form moving about the room. He sat up to see more clearly.

  It was Biggles who, seeing him move, addressed him. ‘Parade in five minutes. Full marching order.’

  ‘It’s very early, isn’t it?’

  ‘In these parts, it’s the
early buccaneer who catches the doubloons,’ answered Biggles lightly. ‘The stars are paling. Dawn will break in about five minutes. Hey, there, Ginger, show a leg! I want to get ashore before Deutch starts prowling about. Crack yourselves a nut apiece for breakfast.’

  Ginger sat up, yawning. ‘What the dickens have you been doing?’ he inquired sleepily.

  ‘Giving the battery the once-over; in other words, inspecting the guns.’

  ‘Do you think we are likely to need them?’

  ‘One never knows what one is likely to need when one goes a-pirating.’

  ‘Where’s Algy?’

  ‘On the roof; doing guard and finishing his brekker. Jump to it; we go ashore in three minutes.’

  Ginger sprang to his feet. ‘My goodness, I’d forgotten about the doubloons! Are we going to fetch them?’

  ‘We are. We should look a lot of silly asses if, having found them, Deutch found them, too, and hid them in another place. I’d rather they were under my eye. Ready?’

  Ginger cracked a nut, took a quick drink of the milk, and breaking off a piece of the kernel, handed it to Dick. ‘Ay, ay, sir,’ he said.

  Then all aboard for the dollars. We’ve a lot to do today.’

  Algy joined them at the top of the stairs. Already the sky was pale azure blue, with the rim of the sun just showing above the horizon. They could just see the lagoon, but there was no sign of Deutch, or the amphibian, from which they concluded that Harvey had not yet returned; so, each carrying a loaded musket, they made their way down the outside steps to the canoe.

  In five minutes they were across, with their frail craft made fast.

  ‘Dick and Ginger, stand fast,’ ordered Biggles. ‘Algy, come with me.’

  ‘What’s the idea?’ inquired Dick.

  ‘We’ve got a job to do. We’ll call you as soon as it’s done,’ answered Biggles seriously. ‘Come on, Algy.’

  Dick sat down on a convenient piece of rock. He realized what the job was. A few minutes later he breathed a sigh of relief as he heard a loud splash on the far side of the headland, knowing that it was done. He had no desire to see ‘Frisco again. ‘Queer, isn’t it?’ he said to Ginger, who was sitting beside him. ‘Gold always seems to be associated with dead men.’

  ‘Because too many of the wrong sort of men try to get hold of it, I expect,’ returned Ginger philosophically.

  A hail from Biggles sent them hurrying up the rock, where they found him and Algy waiting for them.

  ‘Now, Dick,’ said Biggles, ‘you found the doubloons, so it’s only right and proper that you should lead us to the spot.’

  With shining eyes Dick led the way to the hole in which he had twice taken refuge. ‘There they are,’ he said, pointing.

  ‘My goodness! He’s right,’ declared Biggles, staring down into the hole.

  They all laughed, a trifle hysterically.

  Biggles jumped down and picked up a handful of doubloons. ‘You’re right, Dick,’ he said, rather breathlessly. ‘There must be thousands of them.’

  ‘Let’s take them across and count them,’ suggested Dick.

  Biggles climbed up out of the hole. ‘Wait a minute,’ he said. ‘We mustn’t lose our heads. If we take them across to the islet it means that we shall have to make that our headquarters, perhaps for a long time, in which case my common sense tells me that we ought to provision it. A rough sea might prevent us from crossing over here for days on end, and we should look a lot of silly asses sitting on a pile of gold with nothing to eat. We’ve got the day before us, so we may as well take things in order. Ginger, you collect a pile of nuts and carry them across. Algy, you go down into the galleon and find a way of getting some gunpowder to the boat for Ginger to ship across. We may need our muskets, and there isn’t much powder over there. Dick, you go with him and fetch one of those old water-buckets. There are several lying about beside the cannon: they used to use them for carrying water to sluice out the guns. Bring it back here and we’ll use it to transport the doubloons. I’ll start getting them out of the hole.’

  ‘What about Deutch?’ asked Ginger.

  ‘I think he will have more sense than to take on the four of us,’ returned Biggles casually. ‘But if he comes along looking for trouble he can have it. With that doubloon in his pocket he’s as good as dead already. All right. Go to it, everybody.’

  By the time the sun was well up the first part of their task was complete, and Algy and Ginger joined Biggles and Dick at the treasure hole.

  ‘Got some nuts across, Ginger?’ asked Biggles.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How about powder, Algy?’

  ‘I’ve taken over the best part of a barrel; that should be enough to last us for a long time.’

  ‘Good enough,’ declared Biggles. ‘All hands to ship the doubloons. I’ve only got about half of them out of the hole; they’re heavier than you would believe. I think the best way to go to work is for you, Algy, and Ginger, to start shipping them across to the fort while Dick and I go on hauling them up.’

  The shipment of the coins was a task to their liking, and they went to work with a will; but even so it took them longer than they expected, although, with most of the afternoon still before them, they were not particularly concerned with time. However, when at last the job was done, and they tossed into the bucket the last few coins that remained, Biggles estimated that between forty and fifty thousand doubloons, moidores, and ducats, with a sprinkling of oriental pieces, had been carried across to the fort.

  ‘What you might call a good day’s work,’ he grinned, mopping the perspiration from his face. ‘We’ll take these last few across and have a rest; afterwards we’ll decide what to do about Deutch. He’s keeping very quiet, by the way. Dick, run up to the ridge and see if you can see anything of him.

  He sat down near the others while Dick ran lightly up the barrier of rock that lay at right angles across the beach and obstructed their view in the direction of the lagoon.

  Lightheartedly – he even stopped to examine a queer shaped shell on the way – Dick reached the ridge and glanced nonchalantly along the beach. For a moment he stared, thunderstruck into immobility, hardly able to believe his eyes; then he whirled round and raced back towards the others, leaping from rock to rock in a manner that was reckless, if not dangerous. And as he ran he shouted.

  ‘Look out!’ he yelled. ‘Run for it! Quick!’ He swerved towards the place where the boat was moored.

  The others sprang to their feet in alarm. ‘What is it?’ cried Biggles.

  ‘Soldiers! The soldiers from Marabina. Dozens of them,’ answered Dick in a panic. ‘They’re coming this way, and they’re only just over the other side of the rocks.’

  Biggles waited for no more. He snatched up his musket and made a grab at the bucket that contained the remaining doubloons, but Algy, in his haste, tripped over it, and sent the yellow coins flying in all directions. Muttering at his carelessness, he started to pick them up, but Biggles made him desist.

  ‘Never mind those,’ he snapped. ‘They are not worth stopping for. Down to the boat – come on.’

  To the boat they dashed, pell-mell, infected by the panic in Dick’s manner. Having got a flying start, he raced them to it, and was ready, paddle in hand, by the time they arrived. There was a wild scramble for places. Biggles snatched the paddle out of Dick’s hands, used it to thrust the canoe clear, and then drove it deep into the water. Simultaneously, a chorus of yells from the top of the rocks told them that they had been seen. There was a moment’s silence and then more excited shouts.

  ‘They’ve found the doubloons we spilt,’ grunted Biggles, as he put his weight behind the paddle.

  He was right, and although he, and the others in the canoe, may not have realized it, the trivial incident of Algy accidentally upsetting the bucket may have saved their lives. Several of the soldiers were in the act of levelling their rifles when an astonished cry from one of their number attracted their attention to the coins. Some started to
pick them up, whereupon those who were about to shoot – and the range was then point blank – seeing that they were likely to lose their share, threw down their rifles and joined in the mad scramble. Not even Deutch’s furious cursing could stop them, and by the time they were satisfied that no more gold remained, the canoe was three parts of the way to the islet.

  Deutch threw up the automatic he had taken from ‘Frisco Jack and blazed away, but what with rage and exertion his aim was wild, and the bullets splashed harmlessly on the water. Some of the soldiers then fired, and one or two bullets came close enough to splash water into the canoe.

  Take a shot at them, Algy,’ panted Biggles. ‘It will rattle them even if you don’t hit anybody.’

  Algy’s musket roared, and the vicious thud of the ball on the rocks had the desired effect. The soldiers dived for cover. They began firing again almost at once, but the brief respite had enabled Biggles to run the canoe alongside the landing place, where it was under the protection of the steps.

  ‘Up you go,’ cried Biggles. ‘One at a time.’

  For two or three seconds, as they crossed a shoulder of the rock, they again came into the field of fire of the watchers on the point, but they ran the gauntlet successfully. Biggles was the last, for he had had to make the canoe fast. ‘Phew!’ he muttered, as he dropped over the wall and crouched beside the others. ‘That was warm work. Where the deuce did that mob come from?’

  He crawled across to a loophole on the opposite side of the ramparts, one that overlooked the lagoon. His face was grave as he turned back to Algy. ‘This is not so good,’ he said seriously.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘A boat. Looks like a sort of coastal craft, about the size of a trawler. Possibly it’s a coastguard. What the dickens brought it here, I wonder? I’ve got it,’ he went on quickly. ‘Harvey! He went back to Marabina and told them we were here, and they’ve sent the boat after us. Either that, or Deutch asked for extra help to find the doubloons. Those thieving officials at Marabina are in on the deal.’

  ‘That’s it,’ agreed Algy. The fellow in the pretty uniform is here with them; I saw him as we came across.’