BIGGLES AND THE LITTLE GREEN GOD

by Captain W. E. Johns

17. BIGGLES PLAYS THE LAST CARD (Pages 172 – 179)

“Later the same day, at their hotel, after a meal, a clean-up and a short rest, Biggles told Algy what he had made up his mind to do. “I’m going to see Pallimo right away,” he announced. Biggles wants a written admission that he still has Atu-Hua, or knows where it is. “With that in my pocket he’d never dare to make a claim for the insurance money. That’s all I’m concerned about. It’s all the Air Commodore wants”. “The three people in the case, Pallimo, Barrendo and O’Higgins, can fight it out among themselves”. Biggles doesn’t want Algy to come with him. If Biggles doesn’t return, he is to take the fake idol, still in the locker where Biggles put it, and make flat out for home. “That should be enough evidence to knock on the head any claim for the insurance”. Biggles takes a taxi to Pallimo’s residence and gets the taxi to wait. Biggles tells Pallimo that he has found the missing Caravana and the fake Atu-Hua given to O’Higgins to bring home. Pallimo says “I don’t know what you’re talking about”. Biggles retorted. “Senor Pallimo, you don’t want me to tell you a story which you mush know as well as I do, perhaps better”. Biggles says a bomb was put in the Caravana. “I wasn’t responsible for that,” stated Pallimo, quickly, adding “What are you going to do about this?” Pallimo says they don’t want a public scandal and he can make it worth Biggles while. Biggles shook his head. “No. You’ve got the wrong man, senor”. Pallimo accepts he has the original Atu-Hua in his house. Biggles says “My mission here was simply to make sure that a fraudulent claim was not made for an object alleged to be lost. There my interest ends, so I am prepared to make an arrangement with you”. Biggles wants a document saying Pallimo still has Atu-Hua to prevent any claim being made on the insurance. If he refuses, “The dummy you had made will go to London as evidence of the fraud. That would mean exposure, not only in London, but here”. Biggles says he has bought home Huerta and two survivors of the crash. “You’ll have to make your own arrangement with them. Incidentally, the two pilots of the plane are still missing”. Biggles says if he is given the document he wants, he will undertake to be out of the country within twelve hours. Biggles dictates, whilst Pallimo writes. “I, Don Carlos Ricardo Pallimo, of Santiago de Chile, hereby state that the jade statue of the god Atu-Hua, which I thought had been lost, has been recovered and is in my possession. I therefore withdraw unreservedly any claims to compensation for its loss”. Biggles tells him to sign it. Biggles takes the document and says that concludes their business. “I’m sorry about this, Inspector,” Pallimo said contritely. “I meant no harm. I acted for the best. I employ a great many Indians and would not like to see them induced to cause trouble to suit someone’s political aspirations. It was foolish, and wrong of me. I can see that now”. Biggles takes the taxi back to the hotel. Biggles informs Algy “No bother at all”. “The rest of this curious case can be left to the reader’s imagination. There was no more trouble, much to Biggles’ relief, for he was afraid that Pallimo, when he had had time to think, might change his mind, and with the power at his disposal might try to prevent them from leaving the country. However, this did not happen, and sunrise the next day saw the Merlin in the air, climbing steeply to surmount the stupendous barrier that rose between it and the board plains of Argentina”. Two days later Biggles and Algy were in England and Biggles gave Air Commodore Raymond Pallimo’s confession and the false little green god. “Biggles never learned the outcome of the affair of the Little Green God, although it must be admitted that he never went to any trouble to find out. He was not sufficiently interested to inquire”. He did hear, however, weeks later, from a chance meeting with a pilot of the Caravana company, that the matter had been taken to court; but even he did not know who was suing whom, or for what. “One detail that reached his ears, one that pleased him, came in a letter of thanks from Conchita; she thought he would be interested to know that the two pilots of the missing Caravana, who had gone for help, had eventually turned up in Argentina. As a postscript she added that she was also writing on behalf of Pepe, whom she had married”. “So why the various parties concerned with the ancient god Atu-Hua, had behaved as they had, remained something of a mystery. There appeared to be little sense in it; but as Biggles remarked to Algy when they were discussing the case some time later, he never could make much sense out of foreign politics, anyway”.

(This is a rather unsatisfactory ending. Considering O’Higgins tried to murder the entire crew of the Caravana, Biggles never even speaks to him and just lets him get away with it!).

Page 181 – A list of other Biggles adventures appears on the following pages

Page 182 – A list of 34 Biggles books.

Page 183 – A list of a further 16 Biggles books (including 3 omnibus books).