BIGGLES – SECRET AGENT

by Captain W. E. Johns

III. A DROP IN THE DARK (Pages 39 – 54)

Ten days later and “Biggles had been meticulous in his preparations. The others had never seen him pay so much attention to even the minutest details”. The Foreign Office had prepared papers, passports and permissions to use an aerodrome in France and they had been waiting for two days for departure. Biggles is worried about a ground engineer called Brogart who seems very interested in them. Biggles says that it is seven o’clock on a Saturday night and if he turns up “I shall say that for a Frenchman he is unusually industrious”. As they get the “Student” aircraft out, lo and behold, who should turn up – Brogart. He asks if they are going to Paris “Its cafes! And the girls! Ha!” “Perhaps,” returned Biggles coldly. After being told he is not needed, Brogart leaves. Biggles sends Ginger to follow him to see where he goes but tells him not to leave the aerodrome. Ginger returns to confirm Brogart has left. (Brogart leaves the aerodrome - is the illustration on page 45). With Algy flying the plane, they take off. They fly to Lucrania and when they reach their planned location, Biggles throws out a parachute of equipment, then jumps out, followed by Ginger. Ginger can make out the vague shape of the castle on the hill and is surprised to see a light flash as they thought the place was a ruin. Landing and meeting up, Biggles and Ginger hide their parachutes and equipment, including a pigeon basket in the nearby wood. The equipment is buried and the pigeon basket hidden under a thick holly bush. They walk to Unterhamstadt and Biggles questions Ginger about their cover stories to ensure they coincide should they ever be questioned separately. Unterhamstadt is little more than a single street of old houses in “typical central-European medieval style”. Biggles says he has seen villages in Bavaria and Bohemia very much like it. They come across a tumble-down house with several windows broken and the word “Jude” crudely chalked across the entrance. The owner is a Jew. They see his name over the door – Simon Kretzner – and he is the local undertaker. Biggles wonders what he knows about the death of Beklinder and, even though it is risky, he resolves to go and ask him. As they approach a light is turned off. Biggles knocks on the door.