Biggles and the Lost Treasure

Biggles is sent to try to find 20,000 missing gold sovereigns. In 1942, when Singapore was being evacuated prior to the Japanese invasion, the sovereigns were loaded on a schooner called the Vagabond, but after putting to sea, the boat was never seen again. However, a dead native has now been found in his canoe in the Mergui Archipelago, wearing a necklace made up of the same sovereigns. Flying out with Ginger and Bertie, Biggles befriends Captain Macdonald, the Captain of the ship that found the dead native. With his help, and the help of a local man called Chintoo, they begin surveying the islands in search of the wreck of the Vagabond, which the dead native must have found. Setting up a base on Hog Island, Biggles falls foul of a corrupt local official called Captain Yomas. Moving on to Chang Island, Ginger has a shock when he finds tiger paw prints in the mud. He also finds a sovereign. After being attacked by Chinese pirates and weathering a storm, Biggles learns that Captain Macdonald has been arrested by Yomas. The team go to Mergui to rescue Macdonald and manage to escape in the nick of time. The next island to be searched is Kampong Island. Here, Biggles and Co., are attacked by an apparent madman who tries to steal their aircraft. This person has canoed over from Shark Island. When Shark Island is searched, the wreck of the Vagabond is found, but the sovereigns are not there. They have already been found by the madman, who turns out to be a Japanese pilot who crashed on the island and has been marooned ever since. There is a desperate race against time to find the sovereigns before Captain Yomas arrives to stop them. The picture on the dust cover of the book shows Biggles and Bertie wading out from the beach to their plane.


Genre: Thriller