BIGGLES WORKS IT OUT

by Captain W. E. Johns

V. INVESTIGATIONS (Pages 54 – 65)

(At the beginning of the chapter is a small pen and ink illustration of an Ibex on a rocky mountain path – these small chapter illustrations are a bit of a mystery. We have them for chapters two, four and five and then there are no more in the book – almost as if Stead gave up on the idea of doing such chapter illustrations!).

“A week after the incidents narrated in the foregoing chapter Biggles was home again, somewhat tired after long hours in the air; for, as many people have discovered, there are few vehicles more tiring than an aircraft when there is nothing to relieve the tedium”. When in Egypt, Biggles had signalled Algy to check up on Canton. “Canton had learned to fly before the war. He had flown with the R.A.F. during the early part of the war, but had been discharged on medical grounds as the result of a crash. Later he had made a complete recovery and had qualified for a pilot’s B Licence, which permitted him to “fly for hire”. This had been cancelled in 1949 following a conviction in a civil court for importing watches by air without declaring them to Customs; in simple English, smuggling”. His present address was unknown. Algy takes the button that was found to Inspector Gaskin of C Division in Scotland Yard and a report comes back that it was of German manufacture. It was made of plastic of a somewhat unusual type, made by a firm in Hamburg and had probably come off the cuff of a sports jacket of greenish material. It would probably be difficult to replace outside of Germany. “Which means,” remarked Biggles, “that one of the gang either has a button missing from his cuff, or an odd one. He may not have noticed that the button is missing”. Marcel Brissac flies over from France in his Morane and says he has flown over most of North Africa making inquiries about the unknown D.C.3. That produced no result, so he switched his questions to asking experienced pilots about possible landing grounds with a water supply available in the region of the Ahaggar Mountains. In the whole area, he was told, there was only one white settlement, and this was an artificial oasis occupied by members of a religious order who called themselves the White Prophets of Peace. The story is that years ago, a very rich man called Monsieur Bourdau loved watching the ibex (a species of wild mountain goat, the males of which have long curving horns). To save them from dying off, he has paid engineers to dig deep in the earth for water, which goes to a trough of stone for the ibex. He builds a house for himself and his friends and named the oasis El Asile. After Bourdau’s death a holy man asked the French government for permission to go there and see that the water flows for the ibex. “What do they live on?” asks Biggles. “Who cares?” replies Marcel. “They do, I’ll warrant” replies Biggles. They are the best part of a thousand miles from anywhere “and that’s a long walk every time you want a loaf of bread”. The number of the White Prophets is unknown. Biggles is suspicious. “Their purpose there may be perfectly innocent, but I’m willing to risk a small bet that they are not there just to watch a herd of ibex stick their noses in a trough”. Biggles asks Marcel to fly over the place and photograph it. Biggles then asks Algy and Bertie to go to Hotel de Paris on the French Riviera and see if they can find a fellow in a greenish sports jacket minus a button on his cuff. If they watch the restaurant, there is a chance he eats there and picks his teeth. “You may spot this fellow Canton, who fiddles with a scar on his head”. Biggles suggests they also keep an eye on the nearest airport at Nice as Canton is a pilot and may use it. Biggles suggests they fly to Nice in one of the police Austers. Flight Sergeant Smyth arrives and has been waiting to speak. He has overheard the conversation about Canton. Smyth says that a man of that name had been hanging about yesterday, claiming to be a reporter from the Daily Mail. “He’d been detailed to do a story on the Air Police and wanted some information”. Smyth told him that they were under orders not to talk to the press. Canton had been wandering about “talking to some of the boys” and had asked for Biggles, saying was it right he was just back from Australia. Smyth told him to “push off”. Biggles tells Smyth to thoroughly inspect any machines that were standing outside. “Start with J-4578. Mr. Lacey will be using it presently”. In due course, Smyth spots something bound on the rear exhaust pipe of the plane that Algy and Bertie are going to fly. “Biggles took out his penknife and opened the small blade. “Stand well back everybody,” he ordered curtly”. Biggles removes something that looks like “one of those small gelignite demolition bombs that were issued to Commandos in the war”. The heat of the exhaust would have detonated it. (Between pages 56 and 57 is a colour plate, of Biggles cutting something from an aircraft. On the rear of the plate is the caption “Stand well back everyone (see page 64))”.