"Biggles Delivers the Goods" by W.E.Johns Quiz

Answer: Biggles Flies Again

Back in 1934 or 1935 Biggles and Algy had been on a long flight home in their Vickers Vandal aircraft when they met the man who later turned out to be a Chinese pirate. However, Li Chi was a clever man who had been educated at Oxford and spoke perfect English.

Answer: His father had his head cut off by the Japanese.

W.E. Johns points out how ancestor worship is almost a religion with the people of China. Thus when a man loses a father to an enemy it is his duty to exact revenge. That is why Li Chi has come to offer his services to the British.

Answer: twelve hundred miles

Most of the journey that the pilots have to fly will be over the empty Indian Ocean. The other snag about the project put up by Li Chi is that even the biggest aeroplane can only carry a relatively small amount of rubber.

Answer: He plans to build a plank runway on the lake and camouflage it.

The extraordinary nature of Biggles' plan is one of the most attractive things about the book. The Chinese and Malay labourers will float teak logs and nail planks to the top of them. The planks will be painted blue in order to prevent the Japanese noticing any change in the lake. A secret runway for land planes will thus develop.

Answer: Liberators.

The Air Commodore had considered using flying boats but their carrying capacity is much lower than a Liberator. In all Biggles intends five Liberators to be involved in the round the clock operation of moving the rubber.

Answer: Pamboo

Acording to Li Chi "Pamboo" is the Malay word for snake. Pamboo is responsible for the information that there are British on the island getting through to Admiral Tamashoa.

Answer: The rubber plantation of Major Marling.

Biggles' job is to get rubber back to India. Major Marling who fell out with the British authorities when he married a native princess is now ready to turn over his valuable stores of this commodity to his old country.

Answer: He liked watching films and reading film magazines.

Ginger is fascinated by the fact that Ayert, who looks so fearsome and totally oriental, is hooked on western film culture. His favourite character in all the films he has seen is Donald Duck.

Answer: Prince Lalla

W.E.Johns describes Prince Lalla as about the same as Ginger,"slim, straight as a lance, dark-eyed, with skin the colour of cafe au lait and as smooth as that of a girl."

Answer: Lotus

The Japanese have taken over the Lotus for river patrols. They launch their attack on the Shansie plantation using this craft as a base. Biggles and Ginger capture the Lotus and put it to much better use. Boya is the local name for crocodile and the Sumatran is the much bigger transport ship that they steal from the Japanese.

Answer: They were going to brand him with a red-hot spear tip.

In fact Major Marling is tied to a tree whilst the Japanese officer heated the point of the spear in a fire. Biggles waits as long as possible before he intervenes for he wants to give Ginger a chance to take the launch by surprise.

Answer: Biggles, Ginger, Bertie

Algy is actually sent back to India to carry Biggles' instructions and to send on Taffy Hughes and Ferocity Ferris in the fighter aircraft. Their job will be to keep the skies clear when the Sumatran has been taken over.

Answer: They used paratroops.

Major Marling admits to Algy that he was too confident and that he had everybody working on preparing an aerodrome when the Japanese dropped out of the sky.

Answer: He arranges for all the coloured raiders to paint their faces white.

Biggles is convinced that the Japanese will think twice about raiding Elephant Island if they think a large force of white men is in the vicinity. Again Biggles is unorthodox for most raids are carried out after the soldiers have deliberately made their faces dark.

Answer: He went to India and joined the air force.

Prince Lalla is determined to continue to play his part in the war against the Japanese and finally gets his father's permission to join the air force.