BIGGLES WORKS IT OUT

by Captain W. E. Johns

VII. MORE PROBLEMS (Pages 76 – 89)

Algy doesn’t want to inform Biggles and perhaps bring him down to Monte Carlo unnecessarily. He thinks Bertie may turn up or send a message. A letter arrives in the afternoon post, addressed in Bertie’s hand. Inside is a receipt for the left-luggage office at Nice Airport. Algy taxis to the airport and in forty minutes he is there. He collects the left luggage and discovers it is a large red-and-green handkerchief tied in a bundle. It contains the contents of Bertie’s pockets, a gold cigarette-case, a note case with his papers and money, some odd letters and his passport. There is no message to be found. Algy wonders why Bertie has abandoned the two things “without which it is impossible to get far in a foreign country – money and identification papers”. Algy waits until dark then boards a bus to Eze. He walks up to examine the villa again. “A reconnaissance lasting about an hour revealed that the entire property was surrounded by one of those vertical wire fences, with spikes turned over alternately at the top, that are practically insurmountable. There are also two Alsatian dogs inside. Algy settles down to watch and at about half-past ten, he sees a powerful-looking van, painted dark blue or black. (Between pages 96 and 97 is a colour plate, of the van arriving at the gated entrance. On the rear of the plate is the caption “It struck Algy that it had exceptionally heavy tyres (see page 79))”. Algy thinks it is the sort of car that a farmer might use for getting about over rough ground. Algy catches a bus back to his hotel and goes to bed. Next morning, he taxis to the airport again. Algy walks toward his machine and suddenly sees Canton chatting to a mechanic; Algy hides. The two men are standing near a Mosquito aircraft in the same shed as Algy’s Auster. Canton goes to walk away then appears to notice Algy’s Auster for the first time. Canton gives the mechanic some money and sends him away, then he looks closely at the rear exhaust of the Auster. He then selects a hacksaw and approaches the Auster. Algy, wanting to prevent sabotage, now steps forwards whistling and says “Good morning” to Canton. Canton replies “Good morning” and asks Algy if he knows who owns the Auster. “How would I know?” replies Algy. The mechanic returns with cigarettes for Canton and Canton leaves, going to his blue sports car and driving off. Algy gets in his Auster and flies home. He finds Biggles and Ginger in the office having tea. Algy tells Biggles everything that has happened. Biggles concludes that Bertie must be “on a high scent”. Biggles thinks for ten minutes and concludes that Bertie must have met Canton at the airport and disposed of his things to rid himself of all signs of his identity. Sending the ticket to Algy put Algy on notice, as he knew that Algy would recover them. Biggles says they can’t leave Bertie down there on his own. He may still try to contact Algy at the hotel. They need to keep an eye on the Villa Hirondelle and Nice airport. Biggles tells Algy to go back, flying a different aircraft, and to hire a car so he can remain mobile. Marcel arrives and he is angry as he says that Bertie has been shooting at him. Bertie was flying a Hurricane and he was shooting at Marcel’s unarmed aircraft “over the Ahagger”. Marcel explains he was there to “make a photo of El Asile”. Marcel says he saw the attacking pilot was Bertie. “What other man wears an eyeglass when he flies?”. “He makes faces at me, grimaces the most terrible. Also he makes signs with his hands”. Ginger says that if Bertie was flying the Hurricane and wanted to shoot Marcel down, he would have done so. “What he shoots at he hits”. Biggles speculates that Bertie was being watched from the ground and had been ordered to shoot Marcel down; something he didn’t want to do. Algy asks why didn’t Bertie just fly home? Biggles says he may not have had enough petrol. Marcel says the nearest French post of Insalah is five hundred kilometres from El Asile which Biggles says you can call three hundred miles. Marcel notes that two French planes have already disappeared in the region of Ahagger and this attack may explain why. Marcel produces the aerial photos of El Asile. They show a certain amount of vegetation, some rambling buildings and at one end a blur. Biggles says that must be dust raised by the Hurricane when it took off. Biggles suggests Marcel goes back to North Africa and stands by: He might spot the D.C.3. Algy can keep an eye on the Villa. Algy suggests asking the French police to raid the villa. Biggles shakes his head. “We can’t afford to risk going off at half-cock. We need more information before we show our hand”. Biggles says he will go and have a word with the Air Commodore.