Biggles Goes to War Page 14

  Stealthily, with his pistol gripped ready for use, he climbed over the edge of the cockpit and dropped lightly to the ground. He could still see no one, so he darted into the trees and from there made a careful survey of the temporary hangar. Still he saw no one. Slowly, with every nerve taut, he crept forward until he stood at last at the entrance of the hangar. As his eyes probed the dim interior he saw Smyth, tied hand and foot, a bandage over his mouth, strapped to one of the upright logs. Ginger started to run towards him, but pulled up with a jerk as his horror-stricken eyes fell on something else. Carter lay at full length on the floor with his face in a little pool of blood.

  With trembling fingers Ginger took out his pen-knife and, not without difficulty, managed to get Smyth free. The sergeant almost collapsed when he attempted to move. ‘Look after Carter; I’m all right,’ he said weakly. ‘What about the Skipper, and Mr Lacey?’

  ‘They’ve got them,’ Ginger told him bitterly. ‘What happened here?’

  ‘They just rushed in on us before we had a chance to do anything,’ answered Smyth, dropping on his knees beside his comrade.

  ‘Is he dead?’ asked Ginger breathlessly.

  ‘I don’t think so. He started scrapping, and a dirty skunk knocked him on the head with a rifle-butt.’

  ‘I’ll do some knocking on the head before I’m through with this bunch of thugs,’ swore Ginger. ‘Look, sergeant. I shall have to leave you here to take care of Carter while I go and let the Count or Mr Ludwig Stanhauser know what has happened. I’ll have a doctor sent down to you if I can.’

  ‘You get off, sir. I’ll manage somehow,’ Smyth told him. ‘Try to let me know what happens.’

  ‘I will,’ Ginger promised, and putting the pistol in his pocket, he set off at a run towards the road. In fact, he ran all the way to the hotel, where he arrived breathless and nearly exhausted. Josef, who was sitting at his little desk, hurried towards him with concern written on his face when he saw the state his guest was in.

  ‘Vot iss it?’ he asked tremulously.

  Ginger swallowed hard. ‘Try to get Lieutenant Stanhauser on the telephone, will you?’ he gasped. ‘I must speak to him, or to Count Stanhauser, at once.’

  Josef fetched him something in a glass and then disappeared into his office. When he returned a few minutes later Ginger was more normal.

  ‘Well?’ he inquired breathlessly.

  ‘The lieutenant, he comes,’ declared Josef. ‘By good chance he wos at ’ome.’

  Ginger sat down with a deep sigh of relief, while Josef hurried away and returned presently with some cold food on a plate, which Ginger attacked ravenously for he had not realized how hungry he was. He was also very tired, but the food helped to restore him. He pushed the plate aside, however, and sprang to his feet as Ludwig burst into the room. His face was pale with anxiety.

  ‘What has happened?’ he asked tensely.

  In as few words as possible, Ginger told him.

  ‘But this is absurd. The general would not dare to do such a thing,’ declared Ludwig.

  ‘Wouldn’t he? He’s done it,’ answered Ginger, pacing up and down.

  ‘And you heard Vilmsky say they were going to the barracks?’

  ‘That’s what he said.’

  ‘I will send a doctor to your mechanic at once, then I will see the Count. He is at the palace. If your friends are in the barracks we will soon have them out, don’t worry. Remain here. Do nothing. I will come back.’

  Ginger caught Ludwig by the arm as he was hurrying from the room. ‘Don’t you let the Count go to the barracks by himself,’ he warned him. ‘There is no knowing what Bethstein will do. He is engineering something, and it must be pretty near zero hour for that to happen, whatever it may be, or he wouldn’t risk such high-handed action as arresting Biggles.’

  ‘Do not fear. I shall not be long,’ said Ludwig confidently.

  In this, however, he was mistaken, for darkness had fallen and the lamps had been lighted before he returned.

  Ginger, who had spent the hours feverishly pacing the room took one look at his face and felt his heart sink. ‘Well?’ he asked.

  ‘They cannot be found,’ said Ludwig wearily.

  Ginger sank into a chair. ‘Cannot be found?’ he echoed foolishly.

  ‘We have tried everywhere.’

  ‘But I distinctly heard Vilmsky say they were going to the barracks.’

  ‘Major Berner, one of her Highness’s Imperial Guards, has been there. He says that the officer in charge of the garrison denies all knowledge of any English prisoners.’

  ‘Rot! I don’t believe it,’ stormed Ginger. ‘Bethstein has got them locked up there. What has he got to say about it, anyway?’

  ‘We have been unable to find him.’

  Ginger stared incredulously. ‘Do you mean to tell me that in a country which calls itself civilized, on the eve of war, the government cannot get into touch with the commander-in-chief of its army?’

  Ludwig shrugged his shoulders. ‘We only know that he is indisposed and has gone into the country for a short rest.’

  ‘He’ll have a long rest if I ever get him where I want him,’ grated Ginger, white-faced. ‘Such a rest that he’ll never wake up again. Well, what are we going to do about it?’

  ‘Can you suggest anything? Her Highness and the Count are prepared to do anything, but they have already done all in their power. They cannot order your friends’ release until they know where they are and who is holding them.’

  ‘No, I suppose that’s true enough,’ agreed Ginger disconsolately. ‘Would it be any use my seeing the Count?’

  ‘He will see you with pleasure if you think it will help matters, but I think you should realize that the government is working feverishly to save the situation.’

  ‘What situation?’

  ‘War. Things are fast coming to a head. We can feel it in the air. The soldiers know it. You can see it on the faces of the people. Bethstein has engineered a coup d’état1, there is no doubt of that, and the storm may break at any moment.’

  ‘What will happen if it does?’

  ‘The princess may have to fly from the country.’

  ‘Good heavens! Is it as bad as that?’

  ‘Unhappily, yes. You and your friends have done much, and I believe it is fear of what you may yet do that caused Bethstein to hasten his plans. In the circumstances, individuals must take second place to affairs of state, and you must forgive the princess and the Count if they do not devote their whole time to your friends, much as they would like to help them and anxious as they are for their safety.’

  ‘Yes, I appreciate that,’ replied Ginger slowly. ‘Perhaps it would be better if I kept out of the way. What is the government doing about all this?’

  ‘It is busy making plans on the lines suggested by your chief, but I am afraid we have left it rather late and it is now a race against time.’

  Ginger nodded. As far as he was concerned the affairs of Maltovia were now of secondary importance. ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked.

  ‘For the moment I am at your disposal, but when Bethstein strikes I shall have to leave you and go to my regiment. You understand that if Bethstein succeeds in his plan, loyal people like myself will lose their lives.’

  ‘And I shall lose mine, or Bethstein his,’ declared Ginger savagely. ‘He’s the man I’m going to find. You say he has gone into the country? Where would that be likely to be?’

  ‘I expect he would go to his hunting-box.’

  Ginger started. ‘Why, that’s the place that was marked on the map we found in the Lovitznian aeroplane.’

  ‘Yes, that is so.’

  Ginger struck the table with his fist. ‘That’s it!’ he cried. ‘That is where the plot is hatching. How far away is it?’

  ‘Forty miles – perhaps a little more.’

  ‘You’ve got a car?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Where is it?’

  ‘Outside.’

  ‘Come o
n, then, let’s go.’

  Ludwig hesitated. ‘It’s rather a risky thing to do, isn’t it, like – how do you say? – jumping into the lion’s mouth?’

  Ginger smiled cynically. ‘Ludwig,’ he said frankly, ‘if you people had tackled the lion a little earlier, you wouldn’t be in the mess you are in now. Well, I’m going to jump into Bethstein’s den with a pistol in my hand. It’s time he was shown a thing or two. The question is, do I go by myself or are you coming with me?’

  A curious gleam came into Ludwig’s eyes. ‘I believe you’re right,’ he said. ‘I will come with you.’

  ‘Got a pistol?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That’s fine. Then let’s get a move on.’ Ginger looked at the clock. ‘Seven o’clock. We ought to be there before nine.’

  ‘I must report to the Count before I go.’

  ‘All right. You can tell him to stand by for a big bang. I’ve got a feeling in my bones that I am going to make a noise before this night is over.’

  Ludwig smiled. ‘I’ll help you do it,’ he promised enthusiastically. ‘Things have been quiet here for too long.’

  ‘Much too long,’ agreed Ginger.

  1 French expression meaning a violent and illegal attempt to seize control of a country.

  Chapter 18

  A Startling Discovery

  GINGER HAD NEVER been so worried in his life as he was during the run out to the general’s hunting-box, which was situated in the midst of wild, uncultivated country, for now that he had taken the plunge a doubt had arisen in his mind, and he could not shake off the feeling that he might be running away from Biggles instead of towards him. Moreover, it was a good deal later than he had estimated, for Ludwig had been detained for some time at the palace. Of the conversation that had taken place between the Count and his nephew he knew nothing beyond the fact that the Count had said that he could not see what good purpose they hoped to serve by leaving Janovica. So much Ludwig had admitted. Nor, for that matter, could Ginger. He had made no plans, nor did he know what he hoped to achieve beyond the wild idea that if he could get within striking distance of the general he would force him, by violence if necessary, to tell him where Biggles and Algy were being detained. Had he known the true facts of the case, that they were, at that moment, lying under sentence of death, anything might have happened, so perhaps it was as well that he did not. As it was, he had calmed somewhat by the time Ludwig, who was driving, slowed down and declared that they were getting near their destination.

  ‘How far are we away from the house itself?’ asked Ginger.

  ‘About a mile,’ was the answer. ‘It lies about half a mile back from the road. The estate is a big one; this is all part of it.’ Ludwig indicated the sombre fir forest through which they were passing.

  ‘I see; go steady,’ ordered Ginger, who had more or less taken charge of the expedition. ‘It’s no use barging right up to the front door.’

  Ludwig stopped the car by the side of the road. ‘What are we going to do now we are here?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ve been thinking,’ replied Ginger. ‘I believe the best plan would be for you to crawl along now until we find an opening in the trees where we can put the car out of sight in case any one comes along. With the lights out it is unlikely that it would be seen. You stay with the car while I go off and have a scout round and get the lie of the land. I may be able to learn something. If I don’t come back in, say, a couple of hours, you’ll know that I am a prisoner, too, but you will at least know where I am. If that happens, you will have to please yourself what you do about it.’

  Ludwig demurred. ‘Surely it would be better if I came with you,’ he protested.

  Ginger shook his head. ‘No,’ he said conclusively. ‘Quite apart from any other consideration, it wouldn’t do for you to be caught prowling around the general’s establishment like a burglar. You are an important person in Maltovia. It doesn’t matter two hoots about me.’

  ‘Very well, if you think it is better that way.’

  ‘Good! Then that’s settled,’ murmured Ginger. ‘Here’s an opening – yes, this will do; it’s the very place,’ he went on quickly, as they came to a narrow glade in the trees. ‘You park yourself and the car in there and wait. Don’t get jumpy and shoot me by mistake when I come back. I’ll give a low whistle to let you know it’s me.’

  ‘Yes, it should be safe here,’ agreed Ludwig. ‘You’ll find the entrance to the drive about a quarter of a mile along, on the right-hand side of the road.’

  ‘I’ll find it,’ said Ginger confidently, and, keeping on the grass edge that bordered the road, he set off at a steady trot towards his objective.

  He slowed down, however, before he had gone very far, and began to scout the ground ahead carefully before he ventured on to it, for he was quite prepared to find guards posted. There were, in fact, two men standing at the entrance to the drive, although whether they were guards he did not know, for he did not venture close enough to them to see if they wore uniforms. He heard them talking some time before they came into sight, but once he had located their position he had no difficulty in avoiding them by making a detour through the trees, which brought him to the drive some distance inside the gates.

  He surveyed the ground carefully before leaving the heavy shadow of the trees. In the light of the moon, which had now risen, from the point where he stood he saw that the drive ran as straight as a ruled line across an open field, or park, of considerable extent, this being bounded on three sides by the forest. At the far end lay the house, or hunting-box, its exact position made clear by two lighted windows, and towards this he now started to make his way, taking care to keep in shadow. It was as well that he took this precaution, for at the next aspect, presented by a curve in the edge of the wood, he saw something that excited his curiosity.

  Some fifty or sixty yards from the edge of the forest – that is to say, in the open meadow – a man was standing near a small dark object which lay on the grass. So still did he stand that he might have been a statue, and as he continued to creep along the fringe of the forest Ginger often stopped to stare wonderingly. Had the fellow carried a rifle he might have been a sentry, he thought, but even so, it was an odd place to take up a position, and most sentries marched to and fro on a regular beat – at least, so he had always understood.

  The mystery was still unsolved when he reached a shrubbery that formed a boundary to the gardens round the house, and through this he attempted to force a path; but in the dense shadow of the evergreens it was inky black, and after nearly losing an eye on the stump of a branch, he desisted, and decided to find a way round. It was nervy work, for it was impossible to move without making some slight noise, and every moment he expected to hear a challenge ring out. Nothing of the sort happened, however, and he reached the badly kept flower beds inside the shrubbery without incident, apart from nearly falling into a lily-pond, the dark water of which he mistook for a shadow.

  He was now standing within a dozen paces of the front of the house, a fairly large modern brick building with a good deal of ornate decoration. A creeper-covered porch protruded from the centre and hid the actual doorway from view. There were several windows on either side of it and behind two of these lights were burning, one at either end of the house. So bright were these lights that he stared at them for some time trying to make out what was unusual about them apart from the blinds not being drawn, which in itself struck him as strange. Creeping towards the larger of the two, which was the one on the left-hand side of the porch, suddenly he understood. A powerful lamp had been so placed just inside the room that its beams were directed through the window, and threw an orange path of light across the overgrown lawn. This discovery only mystified him still more, and he was just thinking of going nearer when, without warning, the front door was thrown open and two men stepped outside.

  Ginger, with his heart in his mouth, as the saying is, shrank back into the shrubbery, but he did not take his eyes from the two men. One he
recognized at once. It was General Bethstein. The other, a short, rather fat, middle-aged man with a large nose and no hair on the front of his head, was a stranger, and he wondered whom he could be until he caught the word ‘Klein’ at the termination of something the general had said. Then he knew that he was looking at the banker of whom Ludwig had spoken when they had had the discussion at the hotel. Of what they were talking about he did not know, for the conversation was conducted in a language unknown to him, although he assumed that it was Maltovian.

  For a few minutes the men stood on the step, looking up at the sky as though they were discussing the weather. Then Bethstein looked at his watch, and said something in an undertone, after which they both went back into the house.

  Ginger breathed again, not knowing whether to be pleased or angry that they had gone. His first impulse had been to draw his pistol and rush out, demanding of the general the whereabouts of his friends, but something made him shrink from this course. Or perhaps it would be better to say that the odd circumstance of the lighted windows suggested to him that if he remained quiet he might make an important discovery.

  Within a very few minutes he knew that his decision had been the right one, and the first intimation of it came when an unmistakable sound reached his ears. It was the faraway drone of an aero engine. It persisted only for a short time and then died away abruptly, so abruptly that he knew that the throttle had been retarded. In a flash he understood everything, the meaning of the lighted windows and the interest of Bethstein and Klein in the sky. And when, a moment later, three lights glowed in different corners of the park, the mystery of the solitary man was explained. He had been waiting to signal to the aircraft.

  Ginger was now trembling with excitement. He remembered Biggles’s casual remark about the marked area on the map, and its connection with the leakage of information. He knew now that he had been right, and that aeroplanes were going to and fro between the general’s retreat and Lovitzna. No wonder the traitor was in close touch with the enemy, thought Ginger bitterly. He now had to decide what was the best course of action, and it involved some weighty consideration, but in the end he decided to wait and see what happened before moving. Listening intently, he soon heard the faint hum of the gliding aeroplane, and shortly afterwards the peculiar noise made by shock absorbers when the wheels of an aeroplane are running over rough ground. The front door was thrown open again, and Bethstein and Klein reappeared, evidently to meet their visitor. He was not long arriving, and so close did he pass to Ginger’s hiding-place that he covered his face with his arms, fearing that he might be seen. But as soon as the man had gone past he looked up, and the light from the illuminated window shone on the face of the new arrival. He drew in his breath sharply as he recognized Zarovitch.