Captain W E Johns [Biggles 22 Biggles Defies the Swastika (ep

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.Chapter 1 An Unpleasant AwakeningSquadron-Leader James Bigglesworth, D.S.O., better known in flying circles as `Biggles', was awakened by the early morning sun streaming through the open window of his room in the Hotel Kapital, in Oslo.As he stretched out his hand towards the bedside bell, to let the chambermaid know that he was ready for his coffee, he became vaguely aware that instead of the usual bustle in the street below there was a peculiar silence, as if it were Sunday.It struck him that he might be mistaken in the day, and that it was Sunday after all; but this thought was instantly dismissed by the absence of church-bell chimes.He reached out for the morning paper, which the hall porter, without wakening him, had on previous days put on his bedside table, only to frown with surprise and disapproval when he found that it was not there.Looking back, he could never understand why this sequence of events did not suggest the truth to him.Perhaps he was not fully awake; or it may have been that his mind was filled with other things.Be that as it may, no suspicion of the real state of affairs occurred to him.He was in no immediate hurry to get up, for he had nothing in particular to do, so he lay still, basking in the early spring sunshine, thinking over the peculiar nature of the mission that had brought him to Norway, and wondering if it was time for him to getinto touch with Colonel Raymond, of the British Intelligence Service, with a view to asking if he could now return to France.When, some two months earlier, Colonel Raymond had broached the project to him, Biggles had listened without enthusiasm, for he was quite content to be where he was.At that time he was in France, commanding a special squadron which included amongst its pilots his two best friends, Flight-Lieutenant the Hon.Algy Lacey and Flying-Officer 'Ginger' Hebblethwaite; and one of the reasons why he received Colonel Raymond's proposal with disfavour was that the acceptance of it meant leaving them, and going alone to Norway.The mission which Colonel Raymond asked him to undertake was, on the face of it, neither difficult nor dangerous.Briefly, it was this.According to reports received from their secret agents, the British authorities were of the opinion that the Nazi government contemplated an invasion of Scandinavia, and in the event of this taking place, British troops would at once be sent to the assistance of the country attacked.But this was only the major issue.If troops were sent, then they would have to be supported by aircraft, and Colonel Raymond's department was anxious to ascertain what air bases would be available.This did not mean established civil or military aerodromes, particulars of which were already known, but tracts of land which might, in emergency, be converted into aerodromes.Failing that, which lakes or fiords were the most suitable for marine aircraft? Such technical information as this could only be obtained by a practical pilot, and Biggles was asked to undertake the work.There were, however, minor difficulties, one of which was the political aspect.For example, if it became known that a British pilot was carrying out survey flights over Norway it might lead to unpleasant repercussions, and in order to avoid such a possibility a scheme had been evolved.Biggies—assuming that he accepted the task—would proceed to Norway as a Norwegian subject who had for many years resided in Canada.This would account for his being able to speak English fluently, and at the same time explain his imperfect Norwegian.As a matter of fact, Biggles knew no Norwegian at all, and his first job would be to pick up the language as quickly as possible.For the rest, he would be provided with papers pronouncing him to be Sven Hendrik, born in Oslo.On arriving in Norway he would join a flying club and buy a light aeroplane in which he would make cross-country flights, ostensibly for sport, but in reality to collect the information required.Should the threatened invasion actually occur, all he would have to do would be to get into his machine and fly back to England forthwith.It all sounded so very simple that it found no favour in Biggles's eyes, and he said as much, pointing out that it was a job any pilot could do.But Colonel Raymond, with shrewd foresight, did not agree.He admitted that while all went well the mission was unlikely to present any difficulty, but should unforeseen circumstances arise—well, it would save him a lot of anxiety if someone of ability and experience was on the job.It would not last very long—perhaps two to three months.If he, Biggles, would undertake it, Algy Lacey could command the squadron in France until he returned.In the end Biggles had agreed to go, for as the matter was put to him he could not very well refuse, particularly as Colonel Raymond asked him to go as a personal favour.So he said good-bye to Algy and Ginger and in due course arrived in Norway.He would, of course, have taken his two comrades with him had this been possible, but Colonel Raymond vetoed it on the grounds that three strangers might attract suspicion where one would not.For nearly two months he had been in Norway, making long survey flights in his little 'Moth' when the weather permitted, and swotting hard at the Norwegian language on every possible occasion.To live in a country is the best and quickest way of learning its language, and after seven weeks of concentrated effort Biggles was able to carry on a normal conversation in Norwegian.Also, by flying over it, he had got to know the country very well; indeed, there were few physical -features that he had not seen, including the rugged coast-line.He had sent his reports home with many photographs, so it was reasonable to suppose that he might be recalled at any moment.Indeed, it was in anticipation of this that he had left his room at the flying club, which was a small private landing-ground near the village of Boda, to see the sights.Oslo was only thirty miles from Boda.He apprehended no danger in leaving his base, for nothing of note had happened the whole time he had been in Norway, and as far as he could see nothing was likely to happen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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