BIGGLES
FLIES EAST
by Captain W.
E. Johns
XXII. BIGGLES
EXPLAINS (Pages
247 – 254)
That evening, Biggles and Algy dine
with Major Raymond, the General and his Aide-de-Camp. Biggles says that he felt from the beginning
that von Stalhein was more than he appeared to be on the surface because he was
so suspicious of any stranger that came to the camp. He was never dressed as an Arab in daylight
and he didn’t want people to know what he was doing, hence using the far side
of the aerodrome and slipping out after dark.
Biggles said the Count was secretly jealous of von Stalhein and enjoyed
it when he was taken down a peg or two.
Von Stalhein sent Leffens out to watch Biggles
as Leffens was the one man he really trusted and
Biggles was sure von Stalhein tipped him off to kill Biggles. Biggles began to suspect that von Stalhein
was Sterne after Biggles was helped to escape from the British lines. “That’s why I went to von Stalhein’s room”.
“I was hoping to find a British uniform”.
Then there was the British hat in Mayer’s machine. Biggles said that when he went to speak to
Sheikh Haroun Ibn Said, the Arab arrested as El Shereef,
he got nothing out of him. “He closed up
like an oyster at the bare thought of the British suspecting him to be a
traitor”. The ring the Sheikh had was
the one that belonged to Leffens. “They knew that one of those rings found on
the Sheikh would be sufficient evidence to hang him”. “Those rings are few and far between. They daren’t leave spare ones lying about: it
would be too dangerous”. Biggles said of
von Stalhein “he never trusted me; he was no fool; he was the only one of the lot of them who spotted that things started going wrong from
the moment I arrived. It might have been
coincidence, but von Stalhein didn’t think so”.
When Biggles came over to confirm the capture of El Shereef,
von Stalhein followed in the Sopwith Pup dressed as Major Sterne and told the
flight-sergeant to change Biggles’ plane so it had no distinguishing mark on
top. Biggles has since checked with the
flight-sergeant. Von Stalhein then sent
out the Pfalz crowd to intercept him.
The General asks Biggles what he is going to do now and he is
disappointed to hear that Biggles will submit an application to the General to
post him back to his old unit, number 266 Squadron, in France. The General agrees and thanks Biggles for
what he has done. “The success of the
British Army in Palestine may have rested on you alone”. Biggles says his goodbyes and leaves. The General turns to his Aide-de-Camp and
says “if we had a few more officers of that type the war would have been over
long ago”.
GLOSSARY OF
R.F.C. TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS USED IN THIS BOOK WITH WHICH READER MAY, OR MAY
NOT, BE FAMILIAR (Pages
255 – 256)
The glossary
defines the following words:-
Archie
Tarmac
Very Light
Delivery Pilot
Constantinesco
Bump
Wing-Skids
Wady
Box
Jagdstaffel
Dihedral
Deflexion
The Pfalz Scout
Bracket
Dictaphone
Gefangenenlager