“The air tanks!” shouted Eric.

Both he and Sid leaned out of the windows, pushed the cylinders downwards and unscrewed the nozzles.

WHOOSH!

Blasts of gas came out, propelling the truck higher into the sky. One of the back wheels just clipped the top of one of the tall chimneys.

DINK!

“Now, how do we get to the zoo from here?” asked Eric.

The old man looked down over London, a city he’d known his entire life. It suddenly looked unfamiliar from the air. Sid had never been in a plane before, but he had some sense of how to navigate from looking at maps during his all-too-brief adventure in the First World War.

“Let’s follow the river until we reach Big Ben. Regent’s Park is pretty much north from there. Once we find the park, the zoo is just at the top of it!”

“Righty-ho!” said Eric, rather settling into this role as co-pilot. The boy followed Sid’s lead by putting on a leather flying helmet and goggles they’d taken from the downed Nazi bomber. Now, as they followed the snaking route of the Thames, they both felt like proper airmen. The pair smiled at each other.

“CODE NAME BANANAS
is underway!” declared Eric.

“It certainly is!”

After a while Eric became worried that they weren’t moving fast enough. “What’s the time?”

“Look!” replied the old man, pointing out of the side window of the truck. “You can see for yourself!”

Eric spotted the Houses of Parliament up the river. The tower known as Big Ben loomed over it, the face of its famous clock illuminated in the dark.

“Half past four!” said the boy. “We have to hurry. The zoo closes at five o’clock. So, we have just thirty minutes to save Gertrude!”

“Full speed ahead!”

The pair turned the valves on the air cylinders another cycle.

WHOOSH!

The truck picked up speed. Eric looked out of his window. The barrage balloon was still floating high above them. For now, they seemed to be passing over London undetected. The balloon floated silently in the dark sky above the city. However, if someone spotted them from the ground, they might assume it was an enemy aircraft.

The return of a dreaded Zeppelin, perhaps!

If the air-raid warning sounded, the sky would be a swarm of searchlights. There was every chance they could be shot out of the sky by anti-aircraft guns.

RAT! TAT! TAT!

Buckingham Palace was the next iconic building to loom into view, with its gardens on one side, and St James’s Park on the other. Just ahead to the west was Hyde Park, with its famous lake, the Serpentine. As Sid and Eric flew over Marble Arch, they spotted Regent’s Park with its gardens neatly laid out in a giant circle.

“LOOK!” said Sid, pointing.

“We’re nearly at the zoo!” said Eric. “Let’s hope we’re not too late to save Gertrude!”

“Hold on, old girl! We’re coming for you!”

From the air, they saw the last visitors leaving the zoo, and the gate being locked behind them. In the distance a clock chimed five times.

BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!

“Five o’clock!” exclaimed the boy.

“We’re moments away!” replied Sid.

Now they were sailing over the zoo itself. Using the cylinders strapped to the side of the truck once more and looking at the map they’d drawn of the zoo, they flew over the elephants, bears and camels. Up ahead was a giraffe, its tall neck stretched up into the sky.

“GIGI! DUCK!” shouted Sid, and they passed just over her head.

“There’s a duck?” asked the boy.

“No. I was telling Gigi the giraffe to… Oh! Never mind!”

The boy looked at the map. “Giraffes are here, so Gertrude’s cage should be just… THERE!” he exclaimed, pointing ahead.

“Well done. We’ll make a soldier of you yet!”

“Let’s begin our descent!”

Turning the air-tank nozzles off, they began floating downwards, barely making a sound. Eric peered out of the window. To his horror, the gorilla was lying down flat on the ground of her enclosure. Standing over her in the gloom were three figures. From their outlines, it looked like Frown, Batter and Gnarl.

“NO!” exclaimed the boy.
“It looks like we’re too late!”