BIGGLES AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

by Captain W. E. Johns

8. FOOD FOR THOUGHT (Pages 87 – 96)

“You remember that as a result of our cable being cut we decided there must be someone else on the island,” began Biggles. “Well, we were right. I’ve seen him. He’s a coloured type. Indian, I think. But I’ll come back to that presently. We’ll start at the beginning and take things in order. The first eye-opener I dropped on, at the far end of the island near the coconuts, was a nice little plantation of Indian hemp”. Algy responds with “The drug! The stuff from which they get hashish?” “That what they call it in Egypt and the Middle East, where it’s smoked” says Biggles. (Hashish is a cannabis product produced from the resin-rich parts of the marijuana plant, resulting in a more concentrated product). “The dope has different names in various countries according to how it’s prepared and used”. Biggles says that in India, “When I was a boy it was allowed to be sold in the open market, although only in very small packets. Too much of it will send you round the bend”. “Then why did we allow it in India at all?” asks Algy. “I can only suppose that any attempt to suppress it would start a black market. As with other drugs, addicts will pay anything for it. They must have it at any price”. “So Collingwood’s a drug addict,” murmured Algy. “Well – well. I suppose he thought that here it’d be safe to grow as much as he liked”. “I didn’t say he was a drug addict although, naturally, that was my first impression. I must say I was surprised because Collingwood showed no signs of it” replies Biggles. “When I remembered the queer smell in the hut and my memory reminded me it was the odour of hashish, I thought I’d found the answer to what Collingwood was doing here; but now I’m not sure, unless he’s running two rackets at the same time”. “You’re not going to tell me you’ve found something else,” Algy said in a surprised voice. “I certainly am” says Biggles and he then tells Algy what he has discovered and that Collingwood and “his Indian pal” have been digging. “That would account for the dirty denims Collingwood wears”. Algy asks if Collingwood could have got wind of a treasure, a pirate hoard, being buried on the island. Biggles doesn’t think so. Algy speculates that Collingwood was a pilot in the R.A.F. and came to Bonney Island. He might even have been stationed there. Whilst there, being a clever fellow, he spotted something worth having and when the war was over, he came back to cash in on it. Biggles asks Algy why Collingwood would fiddle with drugs. “I’d say because he’d picked up the habit and couldn’t bear the thought of being stuck here without any. By growing it himself he made sure of a constant supply. A cigarette addict like you might do the same thing with tobacco,” Algy tells Biggles. Biggles realises they are being watched by someone and he strides over to a clump of dwarf palmetto scrub with his pistol. “All right! Come out. I can see you”, he ordered crisply. Then he repeated it in a language that Algy took to be Hindi. “A dark figure detached itself from the thicket and with hands held up stood erect. “Don’t shoot, sir” said a voice in English that had a guttural pitch and a strong, curious accent. The man says his name is Ali and he has come to tell Biggles and Algy to go home. “Why?” asks Biggles. “For your health. You stay you find trouble. Me like English mans”. “That’s a likely tale,” sneered Biggles. “I tell true, Swear on Koran” replies Ali. Biggles asks Ali what part of India he is from, but he says he was born in Aden and is an Arab. Biggles questions Ali and learns that Ali was on the island when Collingwood arrived. Biggles asks Ali if he cut the mooring rope. The arrival of Collingwood prevents an answer. Collingwood says he hasn’t sent Ali to them. “And you expect me to believe that?” asks Biggles. Collingwood replies “You can believe what you like. Frankly, I couldn’t care less about what you believe.” To the Arab Collingwood said: “Go home”. Collingwood tells Biggles and Algy to accept Ali’s advice. “He knows what he’s talking about” and then Collingwood leaves. Algy and Biggles discuss what to do. To grow the hemp is illegal, but Collingwood might say he has a permit. Biggles says he has a better idea. “Cut the bally stuff down”. Algy says they will need to “be prepared for Collingwood to go off at the deep end when he finds out”. Biggles tells Algy they will have to keep guard tonight. “We’d look silly if we woke up to find the machine on fire”. “They might go farther,” Algy said seriously. Biggles says it may be a good thing he told Collingwood who they were. If they fail to return home, someone will be sent to find out why and Collingwood would realise that. “Make no mistake, if we have a puzzle to sort you, so has he. I’d bet he’s doing some serious thinking at this moment”.