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Sahara Adventure - Cover by Raymond Sheppard. |
Part One Algerian Adventure + Index
Part Two Avocet Island + Dangerous Journey
Part Three Men O' the Mists + The Riddle of Monk's Island
Part Four The Deserted City + Rustlers at Bar-Two Ranch + Highveld Mystery
Part Five Fen Laughs Last + Ivory Poachers
Part Six Mystery of Middle Tree Island
I'm enjoying reading these 50 page schoolbooks as the stories are great fun - mostly boys' adventures, and today I want to look at two by author George Bell. With a common name like his, I've tried guessing what else he wrote but have completely drawn a blank. If anyone out there knows who he was, what he wrote and when he lived, I'd be grateful to know. I can only be sure of two books he wrote and both are from the Crusader series by Blackie and Son! A very short career if it was just two books. Is George a pseudonym? Could George be Georgina?
SAHARA ADVENTURE by George Bell, and illustrated by Raymond Sheppard. [London: Blackie & Son, 1955 [Crusader series No. 20]] is the story of the Deakin family who head to South Africa over land via Algiers. From there to Cairo they encounter the Foreign Legion who are searching for gun-runners. After being allowed to continue they go on, only to breakdown having lost their water supplies en route. They flag a car down and are shocked to see the man has a rifle!
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Sahara Adventure "He saw that the man was holding a rifle" |
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Sahara Adventure p. 14 "Dick leaned over the edge and rippled the calm water" |
They head off in the dark to the nearest village where they are surrounded as they change a tyre that looks to be going flat and the strange man appears again. He lives in a house above the village and gets his servant to fix the tyre for them and invites them to a meal where Signore Torre asks them all sorts of questions about their plans and stops. Alice and Dick want to know about the well they found in a cave and Torre tells them it must be Roman and he knew nothing about its existence.
After a night's sleep in their van, they set off. Dick became suspicious when he saw Torre's car not speeding past but following them at a distance. Mr Deakin remembers he must fill up with petrol at Phillipeville and cannot find his wallet or passports. They decide to confront Torre and see his car has turned up a hill road. They follow and see a hole below some rocks and head down on foot.
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Sahara Adventure p. 31 “I'm going down there,” said her father at once |
They soon discover boxes piled up and there was Signor Torre who claimed to be investigating a Roman well he'd been told about. The Deakins knew he was lying and Dick took the opportunity to knock Torre into the water while his Father knocked out Ahmed the servant. He comes round and grabs the gun which Torre wielded.
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Sahara Adventure p. 49 He moved suddenly taking a running dive at Torre |
Then Alice thwarts Ahmed by kicking the gun into the water but Ahmed helps himself to another gun from the boxes. As the family are tied up, suddenly there is the the sound of boots coming down the steps. Dick cries out "The Foreign Legion!". Torre has hidden his gun and Ahmed dropped something as Mrs Deakin saw him and stabbed him with her knitting needles! It was their wallet. Torres pointed his gun at them all - including the Arab - telling him if he hadn't been too greedy they could have got away with their game and that he planned to entomb them all. One of the Legion shot the gun from his hand. It was all over. The man the family saw watching them was a legion spy who alerted the captain to the family's plight.
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The Stowaway |
THE STOWAWAY by George Bell and illustrated by Raymond Sheppard. [London: Blackie & Son, 1955 [Crusader series No. 17]]
The SS Dalesman is on the way up the coast of South America when hit by an enormous storm. the wheelhouse is smashed and they lose one engine. They battle the storm and young Peter takes on the duties of a donkeyman - a naval rating who does various jobs - in this case, working the sea anchor. A wall of water crashed over the ship and Peter held tight but was knocked breathless. He and another member of the crew decided they needed to get the engine working so they left the sea anchor to do its work. Peter was caught by another giant wave which smashed upon the lifeboat throwing it in two parts overboard.
Peter realised there was someone in the shattered lifeboat and he went to help. The tangled ropes and wreckage were slipping overboard and Peter grabbed the thin brown arm.
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The Stowaway Frontispiece He was hanging onto a small brown boy |
Pedro, the small boy is heading back to Salvador and rather than tell the Captain, Peter hides Pedro in a bunk bed. Mac, the engineer shares a cabin with Peter and spots the boy but decides after 3 days of no sleep he was seeing things. They put into Salvador for repairs and parts, where Pedro impersonates some of the begging 'bumboat' sailors hoping to sell fruit and he leaves.
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The Stowaway p.13 A policeman came out of the shadow near the bridge |
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The Stowaway p.32 He slid down a mooring rope to a small boat below |
Pedro is successful and he returned to his boat promising to return the following night. The rings fitted perfectly, and Peter had another idea. He shared his thoughts with the Captain and mac who agreed it was worth a shot. The next day, the crew acting casual, the Police Chief arrived and claimed to have evidence of smuggling. Just then there was shooting coming from the port, the Police Chief ordered his men to suppress this rebellion. Suddenly the Chief was grabbed and bound and gagged by the crew.
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The Stowaway p.49 “I'll take this,” said the second mate |