BIGGLES IN THE JUNGLE

by Captain W. E. Johns

IV. A VISITOR, AND A MYSTERY (Pages 38 - 47)

Algy returns and after landing shouts “I’ve brought a visitor!” Biggles stared, and saw a man in white ducks sitting next to Algy. "Great Scott!" he ejaculated for Ginger's benefit, "it's Carruthers". Carruthers greets them warmly and introduces a tall man with him as Marcel Chorro, Carruthers’ head clerk. Algy has told Carruthers what they have found out and Biggles says to Carruthers “Frankly, what we do depends largely on your advice. What do you want us to do? You know the country; moreover, you’re in a position of authority, so we certainly shouldn’t run counter to your orders”. Biggles asks why Carruthers doesn’t put a stop to “this king business”. He is told “My dear fellow, do you realise how far the jungle extends? You could drop an army in it, and then spend the rest of your life looking for it without finding it”. Biggles says it’s a job for a small mobile unit. “There must be a way of doing it, though. I say that because I have yet to be faced by a problem for which there is no solution”. Carruthers grimaced. “It would be a dangerous business.” “What’s that got to do with it?” asked Biggles. The acting-Governor stared hard at Biggles. “By Jingo! I like you,” he declared. “I’m afraid we poor blighters who get stuck in the tropics get a bit slack. Seriously, would you, if I gave you the necessary authority, have a look round for me, and make some suggestions as to how we can put an end to this racket?”. Carruthers says he can swear them in a special constables, but the pay is only three bob a day (15 pence in modern money). Biggles does a deal with Carruthers. "The Tiger must be robbing the State of thousands of pounds a year. If I apprehend him and secured a conviction I should expect a bonus". Carruthers says if there was a conviction the fellows would have their money taken off them, in which case there might be funds. “That’s good enough,” agreed Biggles readily. "I had to raise the point because we're not exactly millionaires. We should have to have a free hand, of course, so that we could go about the thing in our own way.” That is all agreed. Biggles asks for petrol to be sent up to them and says they will be in a mess if their tanks ran low and the stuff doesn’t arrive. “Don’t worry. I’ll see to it,” promised Carruthers. Biggles then flies Carruthers back to Belize and returns the following day. On his way back he notices the turnbuckle on the cross-bracing wires of both sides of his wings have been almost totally unscrewed. This forces him to land urgently to tighten them up, otherwise the wings might come off. (A detailed footnote on page 44 tells us that “Flying-wires keep the wings of a plane down while the machine is in flight; landing-wires hold them up when the machine is at rest. Naturally, when a machine is in flight, the strain on the wings is upward, and the flying-wires hold them down. When the machine is at rest, the strain, imposed simply by gravity, is downward, and it is the landing-wires that hold them up”). On getting back to their base, Biggles says “Ginger, it was your turn yesterday to look over the machine. You didn’t forget by any chance, did you?” Ginger looked hurt. “Of course, I didn’t,” he retorted hotly. “What made you ask?” Biggles explains what has happened. For the screws to come loose on both sides it could only be sabotage. Somebody must have unscrewed them. Biggles concludes this could only have been done by someone in Belize, where the machine was left overnight. Somebody tried to kill him. “The only possible enemies we can have in this part of the world are those connected with the Tiger, or his pal Bogat; it would seem therefore that the Tiger has friends in Belize”. Biggles asks “How’s Dusky getting along?” and is told “Fine, he hopping about already” by Ginger, who adds “He’s flat out to help us. He hasn’t forgotten that Bogat murdered his brothers”.