Ginger In Australia
Chapter 11
What Algy Found
When Algy had dropped Biggles off at the airfield to begin the search, he headed for the mines with as much speed as was consistent with safety, oblivious of the cloud of dust he flung up in this wake and mindful only that if he cracked up it would do nobody any good, least of all Ginger.
He sped past Yowah and put his foot down as he reached a slightly better surface. In the distance he could see the Auster making a standard search pattern. As the time passed and he closed on the opal mines without any word from Biggles, Algy began to get seriously worried.
Unbidden, memories of Ginger as he had first met him, a dirty and dishevelled but cheerful and resourceful young boy, crowded his mind. Now he might be dead out in an alien landscape. Firmly Algy shut his mind to such thoughts and concentrated on the task in hand.
Suddenly his head phones crackled. "I think I can spot something," Biggles told him. "It looks like the windscreen of a crashed vehicle. Go and have a look see if it's his," and he proceeded to give Algy the location in relation to his present position.
Algy acknowledged briefly and accelerated. When he reached the spot Biggles had described, he braked hard. The heavy vehicle slid before coming to a halt in a cloud of dust and Algy was not surprised that Ginger had gone off the road, if it was indeed his car.
He pushed his way through the scrub with Biggles' instructions clear in his ears. He was almost on the car before he spotted it and thought it was a miracle anybody had found it, hidden as it was by the vegetation. He recognised it as the one Ginger had hired by the description the mechanic had given them.
His heart beating fast he looked inside. It was empty. He could not make up his mind whether he was relieved or sorry not to find Ginger there. The fact that he had got out meant that he was capable of movement, anyway, he consoled himself. There were some ugly stains on the roof and seats so Algy knew that Ginger had not escaped entirely unscathed. There was more blood outside and Algy could see the marks in the sand where Ginger had sat down and a scrap of material torn from a shirt. There was also a patch of vomit, which Algy thought was a bad sign if Ginger had hit his head. Algy looked quickly around, hoping to see Ginger nearby, but the landscape was deserted so he wasted no more time and ran back to the Land Rover to report everything to Biggles.
On receiving Biggles' instructions to do a ground search he started quartering the area in a similar pattern to that adopted by Biggles in the air. He knew that unless he was methodical, it would be easy to miss Ginger, especially if he were incapacitated by his injuries. Subconsciously he was aware of the drone of the Auster as Biggles did the same thing from above. Algy started in the direction of the faint imprints left by Ginger as he staggered off, but the scrub masked the traces more often than not and he could not rely on Ginger walking in a straight line.
Algy emerged from the scrub and saw more footprints. From their erratic nature, he realised that Ginger could not have been in complete control of his faculties and an icy hand seemed to clutch at his heart. His attention was attracted by the harsh croaking of crows and looking up, he saw them massing in the bushes, as if drawn by something on the ground. With a growing sense of unease, he hurried forward. His pace quickened almost to a run as he spotted the bright splash of auburn hair under a large bush.
Ginger lay unmoving, collapsed on his side, a blood-stained rag wound round his forehead, his face grey and his breathing depressed. Horrified, Algy felt for his pulse and was barely relieved by what he felt.
Scrambling to his feet and scattering the thwarted birds as he did so, he left Ginger as he was and raced out to wave frantically to Biggles, gesturing for him to land as quickly as possible.
As soon as he saw Biggles waggle the wings and start to turn to find a suitable place to put the Auster down, Algy ran back to where he had left his unconscious friend.
He dropped to his knees beside the youngster's senseless form and put his jacket around him. Despite the heat Ginger felt deathly cold. Algy tried to examine the lad's injury, but the blood had congealed so he desisted, afraid that he would reopen the wound and restart the bleeding by removing the impromptu dressing.
"Ginger!" he called urgently but there was no response. Algy ran his hands lightly over Ginger's body, feeling for broken bones and was relieved to find nothing.
A canteen of water lay beside Ginger's body, just where he had dropped it when he collapsed, Algy surmised. He picked it up and shook it. There was still water in it, so he soaked his handkerchief and wiped Ginger's face tenderly. He could no longer hear the Auster and assumed Biggles was down. Moments later he heard his cousin's voice calling him.
"Over here, Biggles," he shouted in response. "Quick!"
Guided by the sound of Algy's voice, Biggles appeared beside the bush. His face drained of colour when he saw Ginger.
"How is he?" he asked, consternation showing in the urgency of the question.
"Pretty bad from what I can see," replied Algy unhappily. "I can't get any response from him, his pulse is weak and fluttery and he's as cold as ice. Shock, loss of blood, dehydration, heat exhaustion and heaven knows what damage he's done to his head. He needs to be in hospital."
"Help me get him to the Auster," ordered Biggles crisply. "I'll fly him there."
Algy picked Ginger up and hefted him in his arms. The lad was not heavy but his dead weight was awkward to carry. Between them they manhandled Ginger's limp body into the Auster and Biggles prepared to take off.
"I'm going to take him to Thargomindah," Biggles told Algy. "It's the nearest place of any size and I'm pretty sure there's a hospital there. I'll confirm it when I'm airborne," he added. "Go back to the hotel and tell Bertie what's going on. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."
Algy nodded, a lump in his throat. He watched as Biggles opened up to full throttle against the brakes before allowing the light plane to bump its way over the uneven ground and lift into the air. As soon as he knew the take-off was successful, Algy returned to the Land Rover and made his way back to give Bertie the disturbing news.
On the way, his radio tuned to the aircraft frequencies, he heard Biggles' request and the subsequent confirmation. As soon as he had told Bertie what had happened he decided to take the Halifax and fly along to join Biggles.
"Didn't Biggles tell you to stay here, old boy?" queried Bertie when Algy informed him of his plans.
"Not in so many words," replied Algy grimly. "I'm not going to hang about here kicking my heels while Ginger's miles away in some hospital, possibly dying." The words caused a catch in his voice and Bertie regarded him sympathetically.
"Ginger and I go back a long way," Algy told him. "He was only a child when I met him. Ginger was like the kid brother I never had, being the youngest son of the family myself. I can't bear the thought of him dying alone."
"Biggles is with him," pointed out Bertie practically.
"Biggles will have to go after von Stalhein, now that he knows he's in the area," returned Algy. "You don't have to come," Algy reminded him, "you can always stay here."
"No fear," replied Bertie with alacrity. "If you're going, I'm coming with you. I'm fond of Ginger, too, you know," he added plaintively.