14 Biggles Goes To War (8 page)

'Come in, Ludwig,' said Biggles quietly. Àlgy, lock the door.'

Ludwig advanced into the room.

'The weather is turning colder, I see,' continued Biggles, smiling, as he helped Ludwig off with his coat.

The weather may be getting colder but some things are getting hotter, I can tell you,'

declared Ludwig.

Biggles laughed. He perceived that the lad had a sense of humour.

'Have you heard about the death of Colonel Menkhoff?' asked Ludwig breathlessly.

'Yes, we've heard about it.'

'A nice time for a thing like that to happen; it has started a rare old crop of rumours.

Bethstein is raving like a madman.'

'That needn't worry us, need it?' inquired Biggles gently.

Ludwig threw him a curious glance as he sat down. don't know,' he said slowly. `

Bethstein is a dangerous man.'

'So are we all - all dangerous men, if it comes to that.' 'You may be right, but I am afraid of Bethstein.' 'Come, come, Ludwig, that's a sad confession. It won't do to be afraid of him - or any one else - at this juncture.'

'You don't know Bethstein as well as I do,' returned Ludwig a trifle bitterly.

Biggles's easy manner underwent a swift change. His body stiffened and his expression became grim. 'Listen, Ludwig,' he said tersely; 'this funk complex of yours where Bethstein is concerned has got to be kept under control. You say things are serious. Do not suppose for one moment that I am unaware of it. Very well. My answer to that is that this dilly-dallying has got to stop; if we are going to be of any use here we've all got to act, and act firmly, ruthlessly if necessary, regardless of whose toes we tread on.

Aviation in the real sense of the word is only a side issue. I did not come here prepared to mess about with your internal organization or politics, but while things go on as they are now, with enemies working against us here in Janovica, anything we do in the air is likely to be so much wasted effort. Well, I've no time to waste; life is too short.'

'By heavens! don't think that I do not realize that,' answered Ludwig distractedly. 'What do you suggest? Is there anything we can do?'

'There are a lot of things we've got to do, or we might as well pack up right now.'

'Tell me one.'

'We've got to have a good spring-clean at home before we start looking elsewhere.'

'What do you mean by that?'

`What I say. We've got to put things on the ground into such shape that our actions in clearing the air overhead are likely to be seen in true perspective, not only by the people of this country but by other nations who will be watching, and that cannot be done by half-hearted measures.'

`Too well I know it. The question is, what to do first?' `We've got to get Bethstein out of the way, for a start.' Ludwig stared. Àre you mad?' he gasped.

`Mad or not, we've got to do it. The man is a bigger danger than the Lovitznian army.

Tell me, has he a big following behind him?'

`He has a number of officers with him, but the men dislike him.'

`Good! Who are these officers who are with him?'

`Most of them are foreigners brought into the country by him to help to reorganize the army on modern lines - at least, that was the excuse he gave for bringing them in.'

`Mercenaries, eh? Well, you'll see how they'll behave when we show them which side their bread is buttered. Who is the big noise behind Bethstein?'

'Klein - who's he?'

`He's a banker; to be precise, the president of the Maltovian National Bank.'

Ìs he a Maltovian?'

'No.'

'What nationality is he?'

don't know; I don't think anybody knows. He calls himself a cosmopolitan; actually he is, I imagine, an international financier.'

Biggles pursed his lips. 'How the dickens did such a state of affairs come about?'

Ve got into monetary difficulties some time ago and Klein came forward and helped us out.'

'With an eye on the future, no doubt.'

'We know that now; we guessed it as soon as we saw that he had control of our finances.

But we didn't know it then. We were glad of any assistance.'

'Whom do you mean by “we"?'

'The princess, my uncle, myself, and one or two others who think on the same lines as we do.'

'What might be called the all-Maltovian party?'

'That's what it amounts to.'

'Well, you seem to have got yourselves into a nice mess one way or another. Why in the name of heaven did your uncle who, as far as I can see, should be the princess's right-hand man, go to London?'

'The princess sent him.'

'Why?'

'Because two attempts were made on his life here, and she feared for him.'

Biggles grimaced. 'That's pretty grim,' he confessed. 'Your enemies are not worried by scruples, evidently. Neither, then, need we be. I have a short way of dealing with assassins. To come back to this fellow Klein. Who are the fellows who work in the bank?

'

'They're Maltovians.'

'Thank goodness for that; it should make it easier to remove Mr Klein.'

'But that's madness; it's impossible.'

'I don't like that word, Ludwig. You, like a lot of other people, fall back on it too easily.

Few things are impossible when you get down to brass tacks. You follow my advice and I'll show you whether or not it's impossible to get rid of your precious banker, if, as you say, he is working with Bethstein. You talk about it being madness to shift him; I say it would be madness to let him stay. If you do he'll wreck the ship, that's certain.'

Ludwig sprang suddenly to his feet. `Bigglesworth,' he said passionately, 'you're right.

We've needed a man like you. For months we've done our best, but we are no match for these unscrupulous plotters, and you know how it is when everything is at stake; one hesitates ... procras-tinates, fearing to make a false move, hoping perhaps for a miracle, or a stroke of luck.'

'Now you're talking sense, Ludwig,' agreed Biggles approvingly. 'Lady Luck is an unreliable mistress. If you will maintain your present attitude, and persuade the princess to support it—'

She'll support what I recommend,' broke in Ludwig confidently.

Biggles stared at him for a moment.

see,' he said

slowly. So that's the way the wind blows, is it?'

A pink flush tinged Ludwig's cheeks. 'What do you mean?' he asked haltingly.

Biggles laid a hand on his shoulder. 'Listen, Ludwig,' he said softly. 'One of my bad habits is bluntness. I hate beating about the bush, as we say, maybe because I like to get my facts right, and keep my feet planted on solid ground. You're very fond of your princess, aren't you?'

Ludwig went scarlet. 'What if I am?' he demanded defiantly.

'Well, that's all right with me,' Biggles told him in a fatherly fashion. In fact, I'm glad to know it, because that puts you on the princess's side without any possible shadow of doubt, and at the same time tempers you for any risk, or even sacrifice, that may be demanded.'

'I'm prepared to die for the princess at any moment.' Ludwig spoke the words sincerely, without any suggestion of braggadocio.

'That's how I like to hear a man talk,' returned Biggles. 'Now then, let's get down to business. First of all, you can bet your life that Bethstein is doing some pretty hard thinking at this very minute.'

'You mean, because of Menkhoff being killed?' 'Yes.'

'I wonder who killed him?'

'You needn't wonder any longer. We did.'

Ludwig's face turned ashen and his jaw dropped. 'Good gracious!' he breathed. 'You had the nerve to murder him?'

Biggles shook his head. 'Oh, no, nothing like that,' he said quickly. 'On the contrary, he tried to murder us. We caught him red-handed at sabotage. It was he who fired the hangar, no doubt imagining that the machines were inside. When he saw that he was discovered he drew his revolver and fired three shots at us. Algy fired back in self-defence, and the shot hit him in the head and killed him. He was an enemy of Maltovia so I shan't lose any sleep on that account, and neither need you. I only wish it had been Bethstein himself. Well, now you know the facts; I've only told you this because we can't afford to have secrets from each other. One result of the affair may be that it will cause Bethstein to push forward his plans. We, therefore, shall have to do the same thing.'

'Yes, but what can we do?'

'As I have already said, we must clip Bethstein's wings. I realize that it might be difficult to take away his command without causing a serious row, so this is the way we shall have to curtail his activities. 'The princess must form a Ministry of Defence, with your uncle as president. He must come home; he is much too valuable to be left in England.

The new ministry appointed, the general will

have to take his instructions from it - that's how it's done in Great Britain, and if it is good enough for Great Britain it ought to be good enough for Maltovia. Needless to say, the ministry will consist only of men who are absolutely above suspicion. 'That should tie Bethstein's hands some-what.'

'I never thought of that way,' declared Ludwig enthusi-astically. 'It gives us supreme power without giving anyone cause for complaint. But suppose the general refuses to obey the ministry's orders?'

'That would be gross insubordination, and would pro-vide us with the only excuse we need to get rid of him altogether.'

'Of course. Why, it's a marvellous idea,' asserted Ludwig, who was trembling with excitement. 'I'II speak to the princess immediately, and tell her to send for my uncle.'

'Fine! That's item number one, which brings us to number two. Now there is just a chance that when Bethstein gets wind of what is afoot he may take the bull by the horns and rush things. We've got to short-circuit his most likely move, which will be, obviously, to get the Lovitznian army on the march. Now I've studied the map pretty closely, particularly the north-east corner of Maltovia, which is the only direction from which the Lovitznians could come. As I see it, the river Nieper forms a fine natural obstacle.'

'The Nieper is in Lovitzna.'

'I know, but only just, and it runs parallel with the frontier - so much so that I wonder it doesn't form the boundary.'

'It used to, years ago, before the Lovitznians collared that piece of territory.'

'No matter. The point is, to get here the Lovitznians must cross that river, and as far as I can see there is only one bridge.'

`That is correct. It was built by the Lovitznian govern-ment not long ago.'

`No doubt for the purpose for which they now hope to use it.'

'Of course. Again, we realize that now, but at the time we thought it was a splendid thing because it opened a great highway for commerce between the two countries.'

`The old, old story. Well, it is across that bridge that the Lovitznian army must march.

What is it built of - wood, steel, concrete or what?'

'Concrete. It's a double bridge. The railway goes underneath and the road runs above it.'

'That's excellent; concrete cracks very easily.'

'What do you mean?'

'That bridge is going up in a cloud of dust and pebbles.'

Ludwig stared aghast. 'That bridge cost nearly five million pounds to build. Lovitzna would throw a thousand fits.'

'Let 'em. 'They can tie themselves up in convulsions as far as we're concerned once the bridge is down.'

'They'll complain.'

`So will you. You will be most upset, and send them a note asking what the dickens they mean by destroying the bridge, pointing out that by severing commercial relations they are deliberately trying to cause trouble.'

`But they won't believe that.'

'Of course they won't; neither will any one else, but that doesn't matter. My dear boy, that is what is called diplomacy. Maltovia will sit with its tongue in its cheek while all the nations who dislike Lovitzna and her big ally will rock with laughter. Naturally, under the pretence of

being alarmed, the princess will be justified in moving her most loyal regiments up to the frontier to watch her interests. At present, such a move would be regarded as a threat, almost an act of war, but the destruction of the bridge would provide a valid excuse.'

'My word! I wish you were Prime Minister of Maltovia,' muttered Ludwig admiringly.

haven't finished yet. We've still got Klein to deal with, and this is how I suggest we do it.

When the bridge goes up the Maltovian government will at once show its friendly spirit by offering to help build a new one, an even better one. They will, at the same time, declare their intention of building a new high road to that corner of the state. This, of course, will need money, for which it will be necessary to raise a loan of, say, ten million pounds. You will go to Mr Klein and ask him to lend you that sum. When he says - as he certainly will - that there is nothing doing, you will express your regret and say that if he can't oblige you, you will have to find some one else who will. You will then put the loan forward to one of the big friendly powers. They, seeing what is in the wind, will find the cash, and once they've got money in the country they'll take jolly good care to send some one to keep an eye on it. Then Mr Klein, if he stays, will have to watch his p's and q's.'

Ludwig was pale with excitement. 'How are you going to blow up the bridge?' he asked breathlessly.

Biggles looked pained. 'Me? Lovitzna will do that.' lovitzna? What ... how ... ?'

'You'll see,' nodded Biggles calmly. 'By the way, what has happened to the two machines we shot down this morning? Has Lovitzna said anything about them yet?'

No, but I expect there will be a fine old row. The pilots who got back will say what happened. We shall get a stiff

note from the Lovitznian government. Goodness knows how we shall answer it.'

'You've no need to worry on that score. The princess will not have to look for an excuse.

All you need do when the note comes in is raise your eyebrows and say, "Indeed! If you will explain to us what Lovitznian aeroplanes were doing over Maltovia, then we will go into the matter and endeavour to find out who is to blame." That will give them something to chew their pens over. It should take them a long time to find a reasonable excuse for flying over Maltovia. Don't you see that they will be in a cleft stick? They daren't say that they ordered the machines to fly over Maltovia because that would be an act of war in flagrant violation of international law; to save their faces they can only say that their pilots must have lost their way, in which case you will simply tell them to blame their pilots, not us. You might send some troops out to the crashes to salve anything worth saving. One last thing. I want you to send some one you can trust, a motor-cyclist dispatch rider for preference, up into the north-east corner of the country.