For a short
story, Biggles’ Chinese Puzzle (the first short story in Biggles’
Chinese Puzzle) is surprisingly long (50 pages to the usual 10 or 20 seen
in Air Police tales.) It’s also one of the few Air Police era short stories
that don’t seem like a bad Sherlock Holmes imitation.
Marcel Brissac, the sole member of the French Air Police, goes missing while on an investigation of currency smuggling between France and Indo-China, so Biggles and Co. set out to find him in Saigon, where Marcel was last heard of. Algy and Bertie provide the cover as woolen clothing merchants, leaving Biggles and Ginger to play the parts of pilot and mechanic.
Once in Saigon, the pace heats up. Biggles arouses the suspicions of certain people while making inquiries, and the four pilots are in danger of being kicked out of Saigon. As if that isn’t enough, a newspaper brings them the horrifying news that Marcel is wanted by the police on a charge of murder.
In the hope that Marcel will make for the airport, Biggles suggests patrolling the roads near the aerodrome. W. E. Johns describes the dreary vigilance:
“It was one of the longest nights he [Ginger] could remember. The darkness did, in fact, last for nearly twelve hours. He thought it would never end. The monotony of his occupation no doubt made it seem worse. He would walk a little way, splashing through the mire, call Marcel’s name, listen, and then blunder on until he met Bertie, who had the next beat. After a few words he would turn about and repeat the performance until he met Algy, who was his other contact man. Of all the futile vigils he had ever undertaken, this seemed to be the most hopeless, but with Marcel’s life at stake, and no alternative, it had to be done.”
When dawn
finally rolls round, Ginger advises Biggles to fly their plane, a Halifax, over
the aerodrome so that Marcel will see them and know that they are on hand to
help. The plan is accepted, and Biggles duly takes off.
From there on, it’s plain sailing. Ginger spots Marcel crouching in a bush, on the point of collapse. (The passage describing that has caused many tears among more soft-hearted readers, myself included! I would go so far as to say that that bit alone is worth the price of the entire book.)
With the aid of Algy and Bertie, Marcel is put in the plane and the group flies home to England, where Biggles uses some of the information he picked up in Saigon to solve Marcel’s original case.
A pleasant surprise in this story is Algy’s non-lack of action. This is one Air Police tale where he doesn’t have to stay with the plane and miss all the action—that part goes to Biggles! That alone should make this a must-read for any Algy fan.
You are right, the scene where Ginger sees Marcel is really moving. Johns is always sparing with the emotional stuff, so when he does put a scene in it is even more effective. It is only a few lines, but it is what most people remember from the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Johns very very rarely shows his characters doing emotional stuff (it was a series of boys, after all), but when he does put some in, it counts.
ReplyDelete