BIGGLES GOES TO WAR

by Captain W. E. Johns

VI. AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR (Pages 67 – 76)

Biggles awakes with a start and strikes a match to see if anyone is in his room. He lights his oil lamp and hears a soft tap on the door. There are two women at his door, one old, dressed in black with a basket of flowers (referred to later as Anna). The other he cannot see clearly. They quickly come into his room. The second women, is a beautiful girl of not more than eighteen years of age. “He thought that her features were the most perfect he had ever seen”. She introduces herself as Princess Mariana of Maltovia (of Grusse in the ‘Modern Boy’ version) and she asks for forgiveness for her manner of entry, which was for reasons of privacy. She has come to thank him for what he is doing for her country, but also to warn him that he is in danger here. The last twenty-four hours have seen the death of General von Nerthold who the Princess says she could trust implicitly. Biggles asks her to name the people she does not trust. The Princess says that General Bethstein had gradually withdrawn from her court and travelled abroad. Biggles asks if he went to Lovitzna but she does not know. The Princess says Bethstein effectively appointed himself as Commander-in-Chief of the army and she didn’t stop him as she did not wish to split the country when it needed to be united. Biggles fears that if Lovitzna seized Maltovia, Bethstein might take over under the protection of the Lovitznian government. Algy and Ginger come to Biggles’ door and he lets them in. He introduces them to the Princess. Suddenly there is a loud voice in the corridor. It is General Bethstein.