Biggles and the Blue Moon

  CONTENTS

  PREFACE: A WORD ABOUT PEARLS

  CHAPTER 1: PEARLS AND PROBLEMS

  CHAPTER 2: TAIHAN FROM ABOVE

  CHAPTER 3: BIGGLES MAKES A CALL

  CHAPTER 4: THE ROAD TO TAIHAN

  CHAPTER 5: TAIHAN

  CHAPTER 6: MORE PROBLEMS

  CHAPTER 7: THE GOLF-COURSE

  CHAPTER 8: A SURPRISE ENCOUNTER

  CHAPTER 9: DISTURBING NEWS

  CHAPTER 10: A SHOT IN THE DARK

  CHAPTER 11: BIGGLES MAKES A PLAN

  CHAPTER 12: AN ANXIOUS DAY FOR ALGY

  CHAPTER 13: DANGEROUS WORK BY MOONLIGHT

  CHAPTER 14: WHAT HAPPENED TO BIGGLES

  CHAPTER 15: THE BIG DAY DAWNS

  CHAPTER 16: ALL BUTTONED UP

  PREFACE

  A WORD ABOUT PEARLS

  Pearl oysters are found in all tropical seas, although fewer than one in a thousand produces a pearl. Pearls vary greatly in quality and therefore in value. They occur in many shapes, sizes and colours: in size from tiny ‘seed’ pearls to (very occasionally) one the size of a thrush’s egg, or even larger. In form it may be round, pear-shaped, button shaped or a ‘freak’. In colour it can be pure white, through cream to yellow, pale pink, rose pink, brown, grey, through dark green to black.

  A pearl may have a coarse texture or the smooth skin that produces the finest lustre, or ‘orient’ as it is called. Some have a metallic sheen. No two localities produce exactly the same kind of pearl, although all are formed in the same way, in a series of ‘skins’ in the manner of an onion. Size is governed by the health and strength of the oyster; that is to say, a sick or weak oyster cannot produce a large pearl for the simple reason that it does not possess sufficient secretion, the nacreous solution of which the pearl is formed.

  Colour depends on the mineral or vegetable salts in the water where the oyster happens to be born, or on the bed of the sea where it spends its life. It is on all these things that the value of a pearl depends. A blemish, such as a crack or a small hole, reduces the value. A pearl, absolutely round and perfect in every way, is rare. The best pearls in the world are found in the Persian Gulf, although those from round the coast of Ceylon follow close.

  A pearl is formed in this way. The oyster, in order to feed, must open its shell. Should any unwanted object enter and touch the tender flesh — a grain of sand or perhaps a tiny living organism — the oyster protects itself by squirting it with a nacreous fluid which completely envelops it. This, on hardening, becomes a pearl. It can remain loose or it may stick to the mother-of-pearl lining of the shell causing what is called a blister, of little market value.

  When a pearl is judged by weight it is weighed by the ‘carat’, a carat being originally the seed of an oriental plant. But because the weight of these seeds was not constant, the carat was fixed at a one hundred and fifty-fifth part of an ounce. Larger pearls may be weighed by the ‘grain’.

  Pearls have been sought and cherished from the earliest historical times, not only for their rarity and beauty, but as a charm against bad luck and ill health. They are mentioned in the most ancient manuscripts as being the most precious presents for kings and princes. They have been found in tombs thousands of years old. Royal crowns have always been embellished with them.

  The pearls of the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra must have been fabulous. The drop-shaped pair which she wore as pendants from the lobes of her ears were reckoned by Pliny to be worth a sum equivalent to £500,000 in our money. The Romans were great collectors of pearls. Nero had his throne and regalia studded with them. The pearl is one of the things that has never lost its value.

  A pearl may disappear, but it never dies. The Queen has pearls that were once worn by Queen Elizabeth the First. From where, we may wonder, did they come? This, of course, may be said of most pearls. If you ever have the good fortune to hold a fine pearl, pause to wonder through how many hands it may have passed since it was lifted in a humble oyster from the bed of some tropic sea. You might also reflect on how many lives it cost, for pearl-diving is a dangerous occupation.

  By the way, pearls can be found in the freshwater mussels of British rivers, notably in Scotland and Wales. The lustre does not compare with oriental pearls and for that reason they are not of great value. The author has some from the Spey. There are plenty of mussels, but you may have to do a lot of wading to find a pearl. However, one day a small boy who had been watching the author fishing, becoming bored, decided to do some pearling. He found ten in an hour, one of which, he reported later, he had sold to a jeweller for £10. Some people spend the summer pearl-fishing in Scottish rivers.

  W.E.J.

  CHAPTER 1

  PEARLS AND PROBLEMS

  All four operation pilots of the Air Police were present at the regular monthly conference held in the Scotland Yard office of their Chief, Air Commodore Raymond. They had been discussing the possible transportation by air of valuable pictures which for some time had been disappearing from art galleries and private collections both at home and on the Continent.

  ‘While we are on this subject of collections there is another matter I might as well bring up while you are here,’ said the Air Commodore. ‘There’s nothing urgent about it and the case might never come our way; but as I’ve been asked for an opinion I have a feeling that it might. Have any of you heard of a gentleman, a Chinese, named Seng? Lin Seng?’

  There was a general answer in the negative.

  ‘Should we have heard of him?’ inquired Biggles, raising his eyebrows.

  ‘Not necessarily, but as he has the reputation of being one of the richest men in the world, which means anything he does is news so that his name crops up in the papers from time to time, I thought you might have noticed it.’

  ‘As we were talking about collectors and collections would I be right in supposing that he collects something — apart from money?’ asked Biggles.

  ‘You would be right,’ the Air Commodore answered, a trifle dryly. Sitting back in his chair and putting his fingers together he went on, ‘This business of collecting, to a more or less degree, seems to be part of the system of creation. Almost every boy is affected by it at some time, although he may grow out of it. What he collects is usually governed by personal taste and the time and money he has at his disposal. It can be anything from birds’ eggs to match-box tops, butterflies to postage stamps.’

  ‘I had a craze for old coins,’ put in Bertie.

  ‘I’ve spent most of my life trying to collect new ones,’ remarked Biggles sadly.

  After a smile the Air Commodore continued. ‘Even animals and birds are not immune from this particular disorder. As you know, a magpie will pounce on anything that shines and glitters and take it to its nest, presumably to gloat over it, because a scrap of silver paper, for example, can be no earthly use to it. Monkeys are great collectors. They’ll collect anything.’

  ‘Are you telling me?’ Ginger said. ‘I once lost a camera that way. It was in my car. The little devil didn’t even stop to take my photograph.’

  ‘The fun will start when monkeys learn to drive cars,’ stated Biggles. ‘Then they’ll pinch the whole caboodle. The circus people have already taught chimps to ride motor-bikes.’

  ‘We’ll deal with that when the time comes,’ resumed the Air Commodore. ‘As I was saying, this habit of collecting can become an obsession, particularly with men to whom money is no object.’

  ‘And such a man, I gather, is Mr Lin Seng?’

  ‘You gather correctly.’

  ‘To get down to brass tacks, what does he collect?’

  ‘Pearls.’

  Biggles shrugged. ‘That’s not unusual. Pearl collecting used to be a hobby of the Indian rajahs,
and most of the Arab sheikhs along the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf still go in for them in a big way. I’ve seen some of them — in jam-jars of sea-water. It’s an expensive pastime.’

  ‘A man collects what he can afford and there seems to be nothing Mr Seng can’t afford,’ returned the Air Commodore seriously.

  ‘How lucky can you be?’ breathed Ginger.

  ‘Don’t jump to conclusions. You could be wrong,’ said the Air Commodore grimly. ‘All unlimited wealth has given Mr Seng is grief and anxiety.’

  ‘How could that happen?’

  ‘For one thing he’s afraid of losing his pearls. For another he knows he may be killed any day trying to protect them.’

  ‘If he feels like that why not get rid of ‘em and be done with it?’

  ‘That may not be as easy as it sounds. After all, no man takes kindly to the thought of throwing away things his family has been many years getting together. But never mind that angle. I’d better explain the position while we’re not pressed for time in case we are asked to act quickly.’ The Air Commodore moved the cigarette box nearer to Biggles.

  ‘Just a minute, sir, before you go into details,’ requested Algy. ‘Tell me this. Why should we — that is, the government — concern itself with the private affairs of a Chinese merchant who, from what you say, has more money than he knows what to do with?’

  The Air Commodore nodded. ‘You make a point there. I don’t know the official answer, but I could make a guess at it. Mr Lin Seng has long been a friend of ours in many ways. In his dealings he has proved himself honourable, honest and reliable. We have not yet reached the stage of deserting our friends when they’re in trouble.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ Algy said. ‘That answers my question.’

  ‘Here, then, is the family history as I have understood it,’ began the Air Commodore. ‘The Lin Seng fortune was established by the present man’s grandfather. He was a shrewd and successful merchant who, in times of trouble, came in on our side. A cynic might say that was because it suited him: he knew which side his bread was buttered; that could be true. If so, why not? It doesn’t alter the fact. It was he who started collecting pearls, at first perhaps as an investment, but eventually as an absorbing hobby. When he died his son carried on. The business grew. Nothing was too big or too small for it to handle. High finance, shipping, tea from India and Ceylon, tin from Malaya, and so on. In a word, the Seng empire grew until it had branches all over the Far East. Under the present Lin Seng the company still prospers. I have never met him, but those who have say he’s a charming man, quiet and unassuming.’

  ‘What sort of age is he?’ asked Biggles.

  ‘He’s nearly sixty, but he doesn’t look it.’

  ‘How does he get on with the Chinese communist government?’

  ‘There has been no trouble so far. He has said that the nearest he has ever been to China is Hong Kong, where he has business interests.’

  ‘So he wasn’t born in China?’

  ‘No. Years ago, when Lin Seng’s father saw the way things were going, he centralized his business at Singapore. He himself decided to live in Malaya. He bought land and built what you might call a small palace in the north-east of the country, not a great distance from the border of Thailand. The place is called Taihan, presumably after the mountain of that name in the region. To do this he had to clear an area of jungle, the area being undeveloped. From all accounts it’s a fantastic place for where it is. Money being no object, he had everything laid on while he was at it. To start with he had to build a private road to get there; twenty miles of it through dense jungle and forest to link up with the main road.’

  ‘That must have cost a pretty penny,’ put in Biggles.

  ‘I believe what he did was make up an old native track that crossed the peninsula at that point. This was only the beginning. He laid out magnificent gardens; he put down hard tennis-courts, and to round off this private wonderland he laid out a nine-hole golf-course for the entertainment of his guests. You must understand this was done by the present owner’s father at a time when labour was cheap. I doubt if it could be done today, even by a multi-millionaire. In due course all this was inherited by the present Mr Lin Seng. Naturally, he doesn’t want to give up his home, but he’s beginning to wish his father had chosen to build it somewhere else.’

  ‘Why? What’s gone wrong?’ Ginger asked the question.

  ‘As things have turned out Taihan could hardly have been built in a more dangerous place. We can see that now, although Lin Seng’s father, not being able to predict the future, was not to know it. He couldn’t have imagined the entire peninsula falling to the Japanese as it did in the last war.’

  ‘What happened then?’

  ‘Taihan became a Japanese headquarters. Lin Seng, like the astute businessman he was, pretended to collaborate with them. In fact, aided by his army of Chinese and Malayan employees, he kept us informed of everything that was happening in the Far East. No one else in Asia was in a position to do what he could do and he made full use of his organization. His spies were everywhere.’

  ‘What happened to the pearl collection?’ Bertie wanted to know.

  ‘When he realized that the whole country was bound to fall to the Japs, he buried the lot under his forecourt. For years Japanese troops were parading on the forecourt every day without ever suspecting what was just under their feet. When the war ended, and we took over again, the parcels were still there.’

  ‘Jolly good.’

  ‘So you see, after what he did for us then, we can hardly let him down now. He has come to us for advice and help.’

  ‘I still don’t get it,’ interposed Algy. ‘What’s the trouble?’

  ‘The real trouble is, too many people know about those fabulous pearls. He has never made any secret of them. I suppose that with agents stationed at every pearling port with orders to buy every rare pearl that turned up regardless of price, the thing couldn’t be kept quiet. In the whole world there’s nothing like the Seng collection of pearls; and I doubt if it could ever happen again. For the past eighty years or so every exceptional pearl that has been found, or come into the market, has gone into it. And, as one would expect, Lin Seng is the greatest living authority on pearls. It is said that he has only to glance at a pearl to name not only the sea in which it was found, but the area of that particular sea. He is only interested in those that are absolutely perfect.’

  ‘What are the pearls reckoned to be worth?’ asked Biggles.

  ‘They’re priceless, and I mean that literally. I doubt if there is anyone on earth who could afford to buy them all. You see, many of them are unique. In all the Seven Seas such pearls might never occur again, and it is rarity, as with other things, that sets the price. For instance, there is a pair of matching pink pearls the size of marbles. They are, you might say, identical twins. They came from the same oyster. The chances of that happening again are too remote for serious consideration. One such pearl might be worth anything up to £100,000. Such a matching pair would probably command something in the order of five or six times that amount. Yet even this isn’t the prize piece of the collection. That honour has been claimed for a glorious blue pearl. It is said to weigh over two hundred carats, which would make it nearly the size of a small hen’s egg. Of course, it isn’t strictly blue, but apparently it has a blue tint and a lustre so pure that it seems as if it is lighted from the inside. Pearls of that colour don’t turn up every day, so this remarkable specimen has been given a name. The Blue Moon of Asia.’

  ‘Have you ever seen these pearls?’ asked Ginger.

  ‘No. Few people have. But some years ago an American magazine managed to persuade Lin Seng to allow one of its photographers to take pictures in colour and these were subsequently published. They made people gasp. They had to be seen to be believed. Imagine row after row of exquisite pearls, graduated in size, lying on beds of velvet of a colour best suited to them, white on black and so on. All these were arranged according to the particul
ar sea from which they came, Lin Seng, being a perfectionist, would of course do that, because, it is said, no two seas give birth to exactly the same sort of pearl. Something to do with the mineral salts in the water, or the sea-bed on which the oyster lives. I must admit that when I saw those pictures I began to understand the fascination of collecting objects of such beauty. Lin Seng realizes now that the publication of those pictures was a mistake.’

  ‘Why? Why keep them to himself? Why should he deny other people the pleasure of enjoying them?’ Ginger spoke indignantly.

  The Air Commodore answered. ‘No doubt left alone Mr Lin Seng would be the first to agree with you. But people being what they are, which includes a large proportion of rogues and villains, those pictures must have made every jewel thief drool at the mouth. Not only crooks. Rich men would covet them. Some, I imagine, would give their ears to own such lovely things, and in saying that I don’t exclude women. Already there are signs that some people have designs on them — but I’ll come back to that presently. We’re getting away from the main point at issue.’

  ‘And what’s that?’

  ‘What is Mr Lin Seng to do with his pearls? He feels it would be a pity for the collection to be broken up. In the past they may have given him pleasure, but they have also brought tragedy.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Let me give you one or two examples of the misery wealth can cause. One day a magnificent pearl was brought in by one of his agents. Examining it under a magnifying glass he found a minute pin-hole. That meant it was not good enough for the collection, so he gave it to his daughter. She was married and lived in Singapore. Within a week she had been murdered and the pearl has not been seen since.’

  Biggles frowned. ‘How shocking.’

  The Air Commodore went on. ‘He lost his only son in similar circumstances. On the way from Taihan to Kuala Lumpur he was kidnapped and held to ransom for a million Malay dollars. Lin Seng didn’t argue. He sent the money. What he got back was his son’s head. It seems the man with the money failed to show up, whereupon the kidnappers, fearing a trap, murdered the boy. The shock killed his mother. Lin Seng is now a lonely old man without an heir to his fortune.’