BIGGLES FOREIGN LEGIONNAIRE

by Captain W. E. Johns

II. HARD GOING (Pages 22 – 35)

As Ginger gazes out over the parade ground in North Africa, he recalls the past five weeks of “movement from London to Paris, Paris to Marseilles, thence to the Foreign Legion Headquarters at Sidi bel Abbes, and now at last to the training-centre near the little town of Zebrit”. “After the scheme had been approved by the Air-Commodore, Biggles’s first step had been to contact Marcel, who made an appointment in Algiers. As ordinary tourists they had flown out, and at the café he had named, talked the matter over. Marcel said he was delighted to have their co-operation, for working on his own he was finding the task tedious, possibly because he had made no progress in his investigations”. Only Captain Joudrier at the Surete knew what he was doing. Marcel wants to do a little “string-pulling” to facilitate their enlistment but Biggles says that is too dangerous. (Johns initially uses the phrase “wire-pulling” but then uses the phrase “string-pulling” only three paragraphs later). Back in England, Biggles and Ginger had prepared false documentation showing them to be Flying Officers Biggs and Hepple, who had served short-service commissions in the Royal Air Force but had been discharged before the expiration of their engagements. They hadn’t seen Marcel again until they reached Zebrit, where they found that Marcel was now an officer, a sous-lieutenant, and also their own company commander. Marcel had had to interview them on arrival and, as an adjutant and sergeant were present, did so giving no sign that he had ever seen them before. “Ginger had never seen Biggles so taken aback as he was by this development”. It meant that there was now little to no opportunity of speaking to Marcel in private. They had been at Zebrit for a fortnight, still without making contact. “In the next bed to Ginger was a fellow known to everyone as Destin from the fact that in a moment of remorse he had had the word Destin – meaning Fate – tattooed across his forehead”. (This character was based on someone Johns had really met. In the April 1944 issue of ‘My Garden’ where Johns wrote a column called ‘The Passing Show’ he remembered a holiday at Algiers where he and his wife stopped at the Hotel de la Plage, for food. Johns talks about all the people he met and knew there, who became friends, including “Emile, Parisien apache, and a murderer to boot. But after all, he had only killed the man who made a pass at his wife, which is at least as pardonable as killing people one does not know. Emile, with ‘Fatalite’(Fatality in English?) tattooed across his forehead. Where is he now?”). As Ginger is outside the barrack-room, he is approached by a Sergeant called Voudron. Ginger doesn’t like Voudron due to his harsh and overbearing manner, but on this occasion he is friendly and chats with Ginger. He asks Ginger why he would be marching in the sun when he could be sitting comfortably in an aeroplane. He also asks why both he, Ginger, and Biggs got thrown out of the Royal Air Force. Ginger cleverly replies “Why talk of the things we come here to forget? I look forward, not back”. Voudron says “If I could fly planes I wouldn’t be here, sweating for enough francs to buy myself a glass or wine once a week. La-La. Wait till you find yourself in the deep desert, my friend, with the sun scorching your eyeballs, and Le Cafard* eating into your brain. Alors! You’ll wish you’d gone to prison instead”. (A footnote tells us ‘Le Cafard’ means literally ‘the grasshopper’. A mental disorder induced by heat and lack of amenities). Ginger wonders whether this is part of the training or a feeler being put out to pave the way for a more concrete suggestion later on. Clearly, Voudron must have seen their papers. Ginger goes to tell Biggles what has happened. Biggles wants to know if such questioning is part of the training and he wants to ask Marcel, but the officer’s quarters are out of bounds. Ginger walks past the windows to see if Marcel is there, but, worryingly, he sees Marcel talking on the telephone in one room and Voudron in the next room listening at the door. Biggles says they have to find out what Marcel was saying. When Marcel leaves his office and walks briskly to the officer’s mess, Biggles is able to ask him to pretend to tick him off about something. While Marcel does this, he is able to ask who Marcel was talking to. Marcel says it was Joudrier. Biggles tells him that Voudron was listening at the door and “we think he’s our man”. Marcel tells Biggles to meet him in the palm grove behind the Bar Pigale at nine that night. As soon as Marcel had gone, Voudron intercepts Biggles to ask what the commandant was saying to him. Biggles says it was due to him being improperly dressed and he adds “Nothing is ever right in this infernal place”. Voudron says he could report Biggles for saying that but will forget it this time. When he has gone, Ginger worries about Marcel mentioning them in the phone call, but Biggles thinks Voudron would not have spoken to him if that was the case. They look forward to their meeting with Marcel.