Biggles and the Treasure Map

[Kismet]

It was a glorious afternoon. Biggles was strolling through the park enjoying the sunshine. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming brightly and a number of little children played nicely under the supervision of their nannies. One small boy a little older than the others, with fading spots on his face, took advantage of his nanny's momentary inattention due to his little sister falling over and requiring attention, to make a break for the small ornamental lake. Biggles hastily followed in case an intervention was needed.

It wasn't. The boy stopped where he could look over the lake and pulled a bedraggled piece of paper from his pocket and compared the two.

'Have you got a treasure map?' Biggles asked, rather amused.

The small boy started and then nodded.

'My father bought an old trunk from an auction what belonged to a pirate an' this was inside. It looks like that island in the lake.' The boy pointed and showed Biggles the paper, which to his amazement did look like a genuine old hand drawn map. 'But I don't know how to get onto it to dig it up, an' Amelia's nursemaid wouldn't let me bring my spade. I'm too old for a nursemaid,' he added darkly. 'I should be at school 'cept I got measles.'

'Hard luck, old chap,' commiserated Biggles. 'But I think you'd have to get permission from the park keepers to dig up that little island.'

Amelia's nursemaid came bustling up and collected the boy, whom Biggles gathered was Thomas, and scolded him for disappearing.

'And I don't know where you got that nasty dirty piece of paper,' she complained, 'but it's going into the first bin I see. You could catch anything from that.'

Thomas protested in vain. Biggles followed at a discreet distance, and removed the piece of paper from the receptacle into which the nursemaid had put it and looked at it thoughtfully. It was rather an interesting map.

[Fairblue]

He walked around the lake, looking at the island from all angles. What he needed, he decided, was a bird's eye view.

[Kismet]

He thought he could get a suitable view if he stood on the little platform at the top of the slide in the children's playground, but he thought he'd better wait for all the children to go home first.

[Fairblue]

When the last childhad left, Biggles went over to the slide and started to climb it. He reached the top only to discover it wasn't high enough to give him the view he needed.

[Kismet]

Climbing trees in the park was strictly forbidden, but Biggles didn't see how he could get up high enough by any other means. Keeping a wary eye out for park keepers, he examined the ornamental trees growing in the park.

[Fairblue]

None of them were suitable, being either too willowy, or in the wrong place, or not enough lower branches. He racked his brains for a solution. It came to him in a flash. Algy was on patrol in the SAP helicopter tomorrow morning, checking on air traffic out of London Airport. He'd do it instead. It would only need a tiny diversion.

[Kismet]

Satisfied with this solution, Biggles returned to the flat and showed his new find to the others. Examining it with a magnifying glass, he tried to make out what he thought were faded words.

[Fairblue]

"X marks the spot," Bertie declared facetiously.

[Kismet]

'It might,' grinned Biggles, 'but first we've got to find somewhere that matches the map.'

[Fairblue]

"Well, you'll know tomorrow if the lake's the place," declared Algy, rather glad Biggles was doing his patrol. It meant an extra thirty minutes in bed.

[Kismet]

Biggles was up bright and early the next morning. He wanted to do his patrol as early as possible. He sensed a change in the weather and wished to see if the shape of the island in the park matched that of the map before rain made it impossible to do so.

[Fairblue]

He wasted no time when he was in the air. He headed for the park and within three minutes was over it, looking down. He had attached the map to the instrument board for easy reference.

[Kismet]

From the air there was no resemblance between the outlines of the map and the little island in the lake. Biggles sighed and continued his patrol whilst considering what to do next.

[Fairblue]

By the time he had finished his patrol and landed he had made up his mind. On the way back to the office he stopped off at a local bookshop and bought two books. One was a large scale map boom of the United Kingdom and another was 'The Myths and Legends of the Lakes and Waterways of Great Britain."

[Kismet]

He wondered if there was any way of finding the family who had bought the pirate's chest, but he rather quailed at the thought of accosting nurse maids to ask if they knew Thomas and Amelia.

[Fairblue]

Until, he could think of a better idea, he pored over the map hook of the UK, thinking that perhaps he might feet lucky and spot also whose shapes jyst like that on the old map.

[Kismet]

Nothing sprang out at him, but that didn't surprise him. Without an indication of scale, or indeed, country, a cursory inspection of a map wasn't likely to tell him much initially, but he hadn't wished to overlook the obvious. It might have saved him considerable time.

He turned his attention to the book of myths and legends to see if that proffered any clues.

[Fairblue]

It seemed it wouldn't. He found most famous it interesting in a vague sort of way, but nothing really stood out. It wasn't punting he reachec a story about a haunted pond on one of the Isles of Scilly that the thought struck him. The island didn't have yo be on a lake at all,. It could be in the sea. Cursing and mentally kicking himself for missing such an obvious conclusion, he turned to the map hook again, only this time perusing the coastline of Britain carefully.

[Kismet]

Yet again he wished he knew which pirate had owned the chest the map had been found in. It would help him narrow down where to look considerably. But there was no help for it. He continued examining the coastline.

[Fairblue]

Algy American up behind him. "It might not even been in Britain," he pointed out unhelpfully. "Could be the Caribbean."

[Kismet]

'I had thought of that,' Biggles said crossly. It was still raining and there would be no nursemaids in the park to question. A thought struck him. Maybe Algy would go and find out about Amelia and Thomas for him. Biggles rather thought the nursemaids would be less likely to call the police if Algy made the inquiries.

[Fairblue]

Algy was only too ready to do so, but suggested that perhaps he and Biggles could go for a walk in the park when it was fine. If he spotted America and Thomas they could split up, leaving Algy to talk to their nurse maid alone.

[Kismet]

It rained for three solid days. Biggles used the time to read up on famous pirates and to examine various parts of the globe in his atlas. He made no progress with identifying the shapes on the map.

[Fairblue]

He was staring at the map, trying once again to make out the faded writing when Algy came up behind him.

"Forensics owe you a favour," he began. "Why don't you ask them if they can enhance that scribble?"

[Kismet]

'Sometimes,' Biggles declared enthusiastically, 'I know I keep you around for reasons other than sentiment.'

[Fairblue]

"Yes, for my sheer genius" Algy riposted, laughing.

[Kismet]

'Usually no worse off.' Biggles got the last word as he slipped through the door on his way to Forensics.

[Fairblue]

Forensics told him to come back in an hour. Biggles waited with as much patience he could muster. He didn't want to appear too eager to know the results.

[Kismet]

He went for a tea in the canteen. Jill from Cold Case files was usually having a cuppa at this time of day, and she was entertaining company.

[Fairblue]

She waved to us him as he passed and indicated he should join them.