It won"t worry us," answered the naval officer. It"s " He jabbed his thumb downwards.
"That must have been the bang we heard," said Ginger. "It wasn"t Algy"s tank; it was a mouldy hitting the destroyer."
"Come down-I"ve got to get back. I daren"t hang about here!" shouted the submarine commander. "Where are the people off that other destroyer ?"
"They must have seen you and pushed off in their lifeboats. They had a motor-boat with them." I see. Come on down."
"Stand fast. We"re not sure that we can get down."
Biggles made his way quickly to the cave, but it did not take him long to ascertain that any idea of getting down that way was out of the question. How far the blockage extended it was impossible to say. At some risk he dragged a few small pieces of rock aside, only to reveal more rock, apart from which he nearly brought the roof down on his head. "It would take weeks to clear a way through here," he told Ginger, who had followed him.
"But that means that we can"t get down at all."
It begins to look like that," admitted Biggles. "Maddening, isn"t it, with the submarine so close."
"Perhaps they can get a line up to us 2" suggested Ginger.
"We"ll ask them."
They hurried back to the opening and informed the naval officer of the position. "Can you get a line up to us ?" concluded Biggles.
The submarine commander conferred with his officers. "No!" he shouted up. "We haven"t a line long enough. Even if we had we couldn"t get it up to you."
"That means we"re stuck here," declared Biggles, looking round the horizon which, now that the snow had cleared, could be seen. His eyes fell on a line of lifeboats heading southward, and the mystery of the abandoned ships was explained. He realized that von Stalhein must have seen the destroyer torpedoed, and had promptly fled in the motorboat. Biggles"s roving eyes picked out something else, a smudge of smoke far beyond the boats. "What"s this coming!" he shouted, pointing towards it.
The submarine commander studied the distant hull with his binoculars. "It"s a German cruiser," he announced. "If you"re coming with me you"ll have to buck up. I daren"t risk my ship by staying here."
Biggles thought desperately, but he could find no way out of their quandary. "All right skipper," he shouted at last, "you get off and take the code-books. We shall have to take our luck."
"Sorry-but you can see how it is."
Biggles waved good-bye.
Suddenly Algy cried, "Can you get back to the top ?"
"Yes," Biggles told him, whereupon Algy spoke rapidly to the naval officer, at the same time pointing towards the German flying-boat, which was still drifting about half a mile away. Then he looked up.
"Get back to the top of the rock," he bellowed. "You"ll have to buck up."
I don"t know what he"s thinking of doing, but we"d better do as he says," declared Biggles. "It"s no use staying here, anyway."
A parting wave and they were on their way back to the summit of the island. Panting with exertion, they made their way across the empty reservoir to the ledge, and then, by means of the rope, to the top.
I"ve got it," said Ginger, as they ran across to a position from which they could look down on the submarine. "He "s going to fetch the flying-boat."
"But he can"t land a boat up here," protested Biggles, as they reached their immediate objective and scanned the sea for the submarine. But it had gone. The German cruiser was still coming at full speed, and was now not more than five or six miles away. The Platypus was a smouldering wreck, burnt to water-level. The big flying-boat was racing over the sea towards the island.
"He must have set fire to the Platypus to prevent it from falling into the enemy"s hands, so he must be pretty confident of getting away," declared Biggles.
A moment later the aircraft left the water and roared up towards the top of the rock. Five pairs of eyes watched it anxiously as it climbed rather higher than the island, and then swept round with the obvious intention of flying straight over them. As it pa.s.sed over the level area a bulky object fell from it and plunged downward. Another followed, and another. There was no time for more, for by this time the machine had overshot the island; but it banked steeply and retraced its course. Two more objects detached themselves to bounce on the rock.
I"ve got it!" yelled Biggles. "They"re brollies."
Ginger stared aghast. "Does he think we"re going to jump off the top of this place ?" he gasped.
"That"s it. There"s no other way." Biggles ran forward to retrieve the parachutes, the others following him.
By the time they had each picked one up the flying-boat had cut its engines and was gliding down. It landed, and taxied nearly-but not quite-under the overhanging ledge, which, fortunately, happened to be on the side farthest from the cruiser.
Algy"s voice floated up. "Come on!" he shouted. I"ll pick you up. Get a move on. It"s that or nothing."
"Where"s the submarine ?" called Biggles. "Gone."
"Has it got the code-books?"
"Yes."
Biggles gave a sigh of relief and started getting into his harness. Ginger and the Flight-Sergeant were doing the same thing. Afterwards they helped Briny and Roy, neither of whom had ever made a parachute jump.
Biggles looked down, and judged the distance to be a little over four hundred feet. "We shall have to pull the ring as we jump," he announced. "Jump out as far as possible to get clear of the rocks."
[image]
"Don"t forget to pull the ring!" he screamed as Briny tottered into s.p.a.ce Briny"s face was ashen. "You don"t mean to say, sir, that I"ve got to go over there ?" he whispered plaintively.
"That"s just what I do mean," answered Biggles firmly.
I daren"t do it, sir, s"welp me, I daren"t."
"Be a man, Briny. Think what a tale you"ll have to tell when you get home. Think of how you"ll be able to start your stories : "I remember the day I jumped off the top of Bergen Ait " "
Briny"s eyes opened wide. "Why, yes, that"s right, sir," he gulped.
And I"ll tell you something else," declared Biggles. "When we get back I"ll let you tell a yarn right through without interrupting you "
"You will, sir ?"
"Honest. Only buck up about it. If you hang about much longer you"ll find yourself landing down the funnel of that perishing cruiser."
Briny advanced to the edge of the cliff. He looked down and shuddered. It"s no use, sir,"
he moaned. "I daren"t Over you go or I"ll throw you over," snarled Biggles, pretending to fly into a fury. "Don"t forget to pull the ring!" he screamed as Briny tottered into s.p.a.ce.
Ginger put his hands over his eyes. He couldn"t bear to watch. He held his breath, waiting for the splash.
"Phew! He"s all right," said Biggles, drawing a deep breath. "The brolley "s open, so he can"t take any harm now. Algy will attend to him. Your turn next, Roy. Don"t forget to slip your release gear as soon as you touch the water."
"Very good, sir." Roy stepped forward, and waited until Algy had dragged the dripping Briny into the flying-boat. Then he jumped clear.
His father gasped his relief as the parachute mushroomed out.
"You go next, Flight-Sergeant," ordered Biggles. The N.C.O. jumped without a word.
"You"d better wait a minute before you go, to give Algy time to pick them up," Biggles told Ginger.
Ginger grimaced. He had made many jumps, but never one like this. However, he clutched the rip-ring with his right hand and launched himself into the void, head first, in the professional manner.
A sh.e.l.l screamed over the island; it burst in the air, spraying the rock with shrapnel.
Biggles ignored it. He jumped out as far as he could, and slipped the quick-release gear the instant his legs dragged in the water. Slipping off the harness, he swam to the door of the flying-boat just as Algy was dragging Ginger in.
"Get a move on," he told Algy. "That cruiser"s coming up fast. Keep low for a bit when you take off, then she won"t be able to see us on account of the island being in the way." He pulled himself on board and sank into the spare pilot"s seat, wiping the water from his face. "
Lucky thing those chaps carried brollies," he told Algy seriously.
"Lucky thing I remembered seeing them, too," snorted Algy. "You might give me credit for something once in a while."
"Good work, old lad," agreed Biggles, "but we"ll talk about that when we get home. Just see about getting us there." He turned to Briny, and noticed that there was something different about him, although he could not make out what it was. His expression was disconsolate. "What are you looking so miserable about ?" he inquired.
I"ve lorst me "at at last," answered Briny in a broken voice. "It fell orf as I was comin"
down. You don"t know what that "at "s been through, sir. I remember once-"
He stopped as if from force of habit.
Biggles nodded encouragement. "Go on," he prompted. "What did you and your old shipmate Charlie do ?"
"Well, would you believe that," muttered Briny, scratching his head in confusion.
"Believe what ?"
I"ve forgotten what I was going to say."
His confession was greeted with a yell of laughter.
"Tough luck, Briny," said Biggles sympathetically. Then he turned back to Algy. "You"ll have to watch your step when we get over the North Sea," he warned him. "Don"t forget that we"re carrying swastikas and black crosses, and there must be a whole crowd of our fellows fairly pining to get their sights on one."
"That "s all right," replied Algy. When I left the submarine Sparks was tapping out a signal warning all ships and aircraft not to shoot at a four-engined Dornier flying-boat flying at a thousand feet. If Roy will get to the wireless cabin and get into touch with the Air Ministry, no doubt they"ll tell us where to land."
"That was well thought out," declared Biggles. "Good enough! Let"s get home."
The four engines of the flying-boat burst into song, and she streaked away from the secret base that was a secret no longer.
CHAPTER XX.
HOME.
FORTY-EIGHT hours later, after landing at an R.A.F. Marine Base on the East Coast, Biggles, Algy, and Ginger reported to Colonel Raymond at the Air Ministry. They found him waiting for them.
Biggles, who was in rather low spirits at what he regarded as his failure to keep the secret base going, was more than a little surprised at the reception they received. It was certainly not what he had expected. Instead of criticism he found only satisfaction amounting to jubilation.
Colonel Raymond waved aside Biggles"s apologies for losing the base and his machines.
"My dear fellow, that code-book was worth a hundred machines to us, apart from which you certainly made things hum for a little while. The work you have done more than repays us for what we spent on the base-in fact, you managed to do a lot more than we expected." He smiled. "Did any of you get any sleep at all ?"
"Not much," admitted Biggles. "But I don"t see that we did an awful lot "Rubbish. What did you expect to do-destroy the entire German Navy and Air Force ?
If any one unit achieves greater success than yours I shall be very much surprised. Directly or indirectly, you were responsible for the destruction of an ammunition dump and a marine store depot; you interrupted lines of communication which has held up the movement of German forces from Poland to the Western Front; you have sunk a submarine, a drifter, and a liner that was to have been used for troop transport in the Baltic. Two destroyers have been sunk, and you have captured one of the enemy"s latest marine aircraft. On top of that you get hold of the latest naval code-all without a single casualty and for the loss of only four aeroplanes which can easily be replaced. You certainly didn"t waste any time."
"But we"ve lost the secret base."
Colonel Raymond smiled knowingly. "A secret base-yes ; but not the only one we possess. We"ve been busy in the Baltic for some time past. Bergen Ait isn"t the only island that threatens Germany. But that"s for your private ear-perhaps I shouldn"t have told you. We sent you to Bergen Ait-I"ll be quite frank with you-because it was nearest to the German coast, and consequently the most dangerous-for the enemy as well as you. D"you know how long the Higher Command estimated the base would last after you took it over, before it was located by the enemy ?"
"Six months ?"
"Twenty-four hours at most."
"You didn"t tell me that," murmured Biggles reproachfully.
"Naturally-we didn"t want to discourage you," Colonel Raymond informed him coolly. "
But work it out yourself. You were in enemy waters, with hostile craft all round you, both on the sea and in the air. . . . No, Bigglesworth, it couldn"t last more than a few days at the very outside. When you went out of this door I never expected to see you again."
"We"re difficult people to kill," murmured Biggles, winking at Ginger.
Evidently. Well, that"s all. Believe me, we"re grateful for what you"ve done, and no doubt your work will be mentioned in dispatches when it becomes safe to do so. At the moment we prefer to keep quiet about it. Now take yourselves off and let me have a full report in writing on what happened at Bergen Ait ; after that you can take a few days"
leave-but don"t go too far away."
"Why not ?"
"Because-well, you see, we may need you again."
Biggles nodded.
had an idea you might," he said slowly as he walked towards the door. "Goodbye, sir."
The Colonel smiled. "Perhaps it would be better to say au revoir," he suggested softly.