Chapter Five – Where is Bertie?

Biggles brought the Beaufighter in for a smooth landing, closely followed by his Spitfire escort. He taxied slowly under the shelter then climbed out and turned to watch the other aircraft roll to a stop nearby.

"I'd better see about getting these developed," said Edgars as he removed the camera from his navigator's bubble. Biggles nodded approval and turned to await the arrival of Ginger and Tug. As they walked towards the mess, Algy and the others emerged and stood on the verandah to greet them.

'Any sign of Bertie and Tex?" asked Biggles as he greeted his cousin.

"Not yet. We thought you might have been them, at first. How long did you expect them to be out?"

"About two hours," as Biggles spoke, they could hear the sound of an approaching aircraft. Both men turned to watch as the Beaufighter swept low across the water and touched down on the grass strip. "Tex," murmured Biggles as the aircraft slowed and taxied towards the palm frond shelters, and together he and Algy walked down to meet the pilot.

Tex was removing his helmet as Biggles met him.

"How did you go?" The latter asked.

Tex grimaced. "Apart from the heat, not too bad. I think there's a bit more Japanese build-up around the New Britain area. I got some photos and then a couple of Zeroes must have thought I was getting too nosey and I played with them for a bit before flying down over the mainland for a while. They lost interest and I came home."

A glance at Tex's Beaufighter revealed the extent of the 'interest' the enemy fighters had taken. There were several holes, but none that appeared serious. Flight Sergeant Smyth had his crew fussing over it as the pilots walked away.

"Where's Bertie?" asked Tex, glancing around. "I thought he'd be back before me."

"He might have found some Zeroes of his own to play with," replied Biggles lightly, but his eyes searched the sky to the west. Tex took his camera with its precious film to the hut where Edgars was finishing the developing of the earlier films and remained to assist in the processing of his efforts.

An hour passed. Edgars and Tex returned with their photos for Biggles who was talking with Algy and Ginger in what had been the Mission superintendant's office and was now serving as the CO's office. Everyone was feeling the effects of the oppressive heat. Biggles had noted that the RAAF ground crew personnel had shown a tendency to shed their uniform shirts and work in singlets or even bare-chested. This did not meet with his immediate approval, but after a discussion with their senior NCO he had chosen to ignore it temporarily. He had, perhaps wisely, decided to discuss the matter with Ted Edgars before pursuing the issue. He turned from the window to greet the newcomers as Tex knocked on the open door.

"Got some interesting shots for you," Edgars spread the still damp reconnaissance photos on the desk. Biggles smiled with satisfaction as his experienced eyes quickly identified the tell-tale signs of shipping, equipment storage and build up. He jabbed a finger at a strategic location and grinned at his men.

"That's our next target, chaps. I think we can plan a quick bombing run tonight."

The morning wore on, with no sign of Bertie. The squadron's concern became more evident as the pilots gathered in small groups, staring towards the western sky. By late morning Biggles knew that Bertie had encountered unexpected difficulties or he would have returned, for the scope of the area Biggles had requested him to investigate was not large enough to have taken so long. Roy had received no signals. Bertie had been gone five hours, three longer than anticipated. As the winds weren't particularly strong, Biggles had reasoned that Bertie had a five to six hour flying range, far more than was necessary for his reconnaissance mission.

"He's down somewhere," announced Algy grimly as they stood on the verandah of the office building, sheltering from the noonday heat of the tropical sun. He looked at Biggles enquiringly. The latter's mouth was pulled into a thin line as he, too stared westwards.

"We'll have to look for him," decided Biggles. "I'll take Ginger and go. We'll grab some sandwiches to take with us." Algy had started to protest but Biggles held up a hand. "I need you here. Roy's radioed the information we've got from those photos this morning back to Townsville. I advised that we'll do a bombing run first thing tomorrow morning, but they might have other orders." Both men knew that Ken Mortensen was relocating his command base to the northern Queensland town and that Jack Somers' group was also coming north. Biggles had reasoned that he would be given a relatively free hand until the RAAF command was formally established but was also aware that the Air Vice Marshall might have other targets in mind for his newest squadron.

"All the more reason for you to stay and let me go with Ginger," reasoned Algy. "If Ken gets in touch he'll want to talk to you, not me."

"Well, he'll just have to talk to you if I'm not here," responded Biggles tersely. "Don't be a difficult fellow, Algy. You know how I do things."

"Yes," retorted Algy grimly. "Sometimes you need to let someone else 'do things', too. Where would this squadron be if you didn't come back?"

Biggles' lips thinned momentarily but then he smiled. "Well, you'd just have to take over, wouldn't you," he said lightly, holding up a hand to forestall his cousin's next barrage. "Till that happens, I'm still the CO and last time I looked, that means I'm the one giving the orders." The two locked eyes and Algy shrugged.

"When do you plan on leaving?"

"As soon as Ginger can grab a packet of sandwiches for each of us. I'll head west over the area Bertie should have been covering and see what we can find."

"And what do you want me to do if you and Ginger don't come back?" Algy made little effort to keep the faint sarcasm from his voice.

Biggles looked at him and sighed. "You are making life difficult today, old boy, aren't you?" He turned on his heel and made as if to walk away, paused and looked over his shoulder, "If," Biggles placed heavy emphasis on the word, "if we're not back in three hours, try to contact Ken Mortensen, tell him the situation. Tell him you're in temporary command and that you will be continuing operations as planned." He met his cousin's eyes for a brief moment longer and then continued towards the Mess to seek out Ginger.