Pigeon Post (1936)
Synopsis and Further Information on Pigeon Post
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Synopsis The Lake Country is in the grip of drought as the Swallows, Amazons and D's gather at Beckfoot for the start of the summer holidays. Captain Flint is on his way back from an abortive mining expedition in South America. Irritated by her Uncle's absence, Nancy hatches a plan to keep him at home by finding gold in the local fells. Having visited local miner Slater Bob for advice, they realise they will have to prospect on High Topps, above the upper reaches of the Amazon Valley. Mrs Blackett reluctantly agrees, provided they can find a water supply and also send a daily message by pigeon back to Beckfoot. Permission granted, the prospectors move to Tyson's Farm and begin to search the Topps. From the start they are aware that they have a sinister rival, a tall man wearing a squashy hat, who is more favourably placed at Atkinson's Farm on the edge of High Topps itself. Realising that they need to camp closer to the Topps, Titty makes herself discover water by dowsing. From their new camp the prospectors continue their search, fend off Squashy Hat and try to understand what he is up to, as he paints mysterious white spots on the screes that flank Kanchenjunga. Their morale is fading when Roger discovers a convincing vein of ore in exactly the kind of disused working that Slater Bob described. The prospectors begin to crush and pan, intending to ask Slater Bob how to turn it into an ingot for Captain Flint. Then they discover that Squashy Hat is regularly visiting Slater Bob. Now, with the old miner's loyalty uncertain, they decide they'll have to make the ingot themselves. Using the Amazons' knowledge of charcoal burning, and Dick's of blast furnaces, they toil for several days and nights to produce their ingot. But then everything seemingly goes wrong. Mrs Tyson is horrified by their actions and, fearing a disastrous fell fire, insists they will have to return to Beckfoot. Worse, their blast furnace fails and their gold dust is lost. Desperate to prove that the dust was gold, Dick sets off to Beckfoot to conduct chemical tests in Captain Flint's study. Meanwhile the younger prospectors sleep exhausted in their camp, whilst the elder ones do likewise in their mine on the Topps. Even as they do so, however, their worst crisis is beginning, as a passing motorist inadvertantly sets the Topps on fire. In Beckfoot, Captain Flint finally returns in time to show Dick that they have discovered copper, rather than gold. This pleases Captain Flint more than Dick. But even as they are talking a pigeon arrives with a desperate message from High Topps. Calling out the local firefighters, they rush to the camp to join the prospectors, local farmers and Squashy Hat in trying to save the Amazon Valley from the fire. |
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For a more detailed synopsis of the Swallows and Amazons series, see Approaching Arthur Ransome by Peter Hunt. ISBN 0-224-03288-7. Jonathan Cape, 1991. | ||
| Further Information Pigeon Post is the start of a busy summer for the Swallows, Amazons and D's, which also includes the events described in We Didn't Mean to go to Sea, Secret Water and The Big Six. It is clear from the text that this summer follows immediately on from the D's Easter holiday visit to Norfolk, as described in Coot Club. |
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For a more detailed study of the background to the Swallows and Amazons Series, see Amazon Publication's The Best of Childhood, 2004. The Best of Childhood is available to current TARS Members from the Society Stall. | ||
| Coot Club (1934) | Return to "Books" | We Didn't Mean to go to Sea (1937) |
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