BIGGLES GOES TO SCHOOL

by Captain W. E. Johns

VI. ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR (Pages 73 - 87)

"Up to this time he (Biggles) had assumed that all men were reasonably honest, for he had no experience to the contrary. The folly of such an ingenuous belief was now revealed". A fair comes to Hertbury for three days every year. "The fair was, in actual fact, a rather squalid company of gipsies that travelled from town to town". Smith persuades Biggles to go when he tells him that you can win half a crown for knocking down five teeth in a clown with three wooden balls. When Biggles does this, he is cheated by the stall holder who says he only knocked over four teeth. Biggles argues about it and has the support of the crowd. Eventually, Colour Sergeant Buckle comes over and tells the showman to give Biggles his dough. Biggles is given the money and then two Lancers engage in banter with the showman that eventually leads to violence and the destruction of the showman’s stall. The local police officer, P. C. Grimble is involved and eventually Biggles has to explain what has happened to the Headmaster at school. "The moral is," concluded the Head, "you can always rely on the army to do the right thing".