‘Of course I saw it,’ answered Ginger calmly. ‘The sheikh ordered me down. He wanted to come here. He thought you might need help.’
‘You’re dead right, we do; the men the sheikh left with us are all dead, except one, and he may be a goner by now for all I know.’
The sheikh must have overheard this, for he said: ‘So these enemy troops are still here?’
‘They are.’
‘How many?’
‘I’m not sure. About six or seven. We got some of them. On our side we’re down to three all told. We were still fighting it out when you arrived. You know how this started?’
‘I travelled beside your young friend in the cockpit and he told me.’
‘Is Bertie all right?’ put in Ginger anxiously.
‘He was when I left him. Not knowing who you had on board, I came down to tell you to clear off.’
‘I don’t think that will be necessary,’ said the sheikh quietly. He spoke to his men in their own language and with rifles at the ready they streamed off up the hill. ‘They will deal with any further trouble,’ he added with a smile.
Biggles fetched a bottle of soda water and poured the contents down his throat. ‘Phew!’ he panted. ‘It was almost worth being roasted for that. I must take a bottle up to Bertie.’
‘I would say he’ll be down any minute now,’ said the sheikh, as firing broke out on the hill. He walked a little way towards it.
‘In that case I’ll wait a bit.’ Biggles looked back at Ginger. ‘How did this come about?’
‘As you’d expect. I was making for Suwara when I met the sheikh heading this way. At least, I saw a party of horsemen heading for here and couldn’t imagine it would be anyone else. I went low to make sure; then I landed and told him how matters stood.’
‘You mentioned who was in the cabin?’
‘Of course. He agreed you’d done the right thing. He asked me to fly her on to Suwara. He came with us. That’s why I’ve been so long. He had to give some orders. Then he collected the troops and — well, here we are.’
‘What about the original party of horsemen he had with him in the desert?’
‘They kept straight on for here. Six of ‘em. They must be getting close.’
The sheikh came back. ‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long. As I told you, I hoped to get back soon after dawn, but I found I had several things to do.’
‘Maybe it was well you didn’t get back earlier,’ returned Biggles. ‘For a while the position looked pretty black.’
‘All the more reason why I should have been here.’
‘That’s what I’d expect you to say. By the way, sir, you’ll be interested to know that Zorlan is dead. At least, I think he is. It was impossible to get near him to make sure.’
‘How did that happen?’
‘It was his own fault. He ran towards the enemy waving a white flag, so we can only suppose he had decided to surrender or go over to the enemy. He didn’t get a chance to explain. They shot him. He fell in the open, so there was nothing we could do about it.’
‘A strange man,’ murmured the sheikh. ‘I wonder what he hoped to gain by turning traitor or playing the coward. It must have been one or the other. I was told by your young friend here that you had taken the contracts away from him on receiving orders from London to do so. I’m infinitely grateful to you—’ he broke off as shooting, more distant now, broke out.
Bertie, taking long strides, came down the hill. ‘It’s all over,’ he announced. ‘They’re running to their plane. A party of horsemen has just rolled up and they’re pooping off at it. There go the engines. Give me a drink, someone, before I perish of thirst.’
As Ginger ran to fetch a bottle the engines of the unknown aircraft roared as it took off.
‘I’m glad it has got away,’ said the sheikh. ‘Had it been destroyed here it would have been difficult to explain. It might have provided an excuse for war.’
‘It’ll go home with fewer men than it came out with,’ Biggles pointed out.
‘I shall know nothing whatever about that,’ answered the sheikh calmly.
‘In that case it might be a good thing to see about clearing up. There’s quite a bit to be done.’
‘That needn’t worry you. My men will attend to it.’
‘That being so, may I assume it will be all right for us to return home? The sooner I can hand over these documents to my chief the happier I shall be.’
‘Do you mean you want to go now, immediately?’
‘As soon as I’ve had a wash, shave, and a brush up. At the moment I’m not exactly feeling my best and brightest.’
The sheikh smiled. ‘Then why not come to my house and take a bath? I’m thinking of myself, too. I would like to get home as soon as possible. If you would be kind enough to fly me there it would save a lot of time.’
Biggles looked at the others. Ginger winked. ‘I call that a clinking idea,’ said Bertie. ‘I’m all for it. Wash some of the sand off the old body, if you see what I mean. It’s beginning to tickle.’
Biggles turned back to the sheikh. ‘We shall be very happy to accept your invitation, sir. But if I may say so without discourtesy, we must not stay long. As there may still be hostile aircraft about, I would prefer to travel after dark, taking our leave when the moon is up.’
‘I quite understand.’
‘To come back to the present,’ went on Biggles. ‘What about your men here? I refer particularly to those who flew out with you. As they have no horses, do you want me to take them back?’
‘No. There is plenty for them to do here. They will be some time. When I get home I will send a relief party out with spare horses, food and other things that will be required. But I would like you to take back any of my men who are wounded.’
‘As you wish.’
At this juncture three men came down the hill carrying a body, no doubt because it wore European clothes. They put it on the ground in the shade of some palms.
It was, of course, Professor Zorlan. Biggles walked over.
He looked down and shook his head sadly. ‘What a pity he had to throw away his life as he did,’ he murmured. ‘I’m sure he had his good points. What comes over men?’
‘The passion for wealth makes some people mad,’ said the sheikh philosophically. ‘Are you going to take the body home?’
Biggles shook his head. ‘That might lead to awkward questions at any intermediate airport where I may land. There doesn’t seem any point in it. No, I shall leave him here and he can be buried with the rest.’
Other bodies were brought down. Biggles glanced at them. ‘If that was Alfondari you saw,’ he told Bertie, ‘he seems to have got away with it.’
One of the sheikh’s men had been wounded. After being given preliminary treatment, he was made comfortable in the cabin.
‘If that’s all, I think we’d be wise to move off while things are quiet,’ suggested Biggles.
The sheikh agreed.
There is no need to dwell on the lavish hospitality the airmen received at the sheikh’s palace, a strong guard having been put on the Merlin. Feeling considerably better for a luxurious toilet and a substantial meal, they stayed on talking over the recent events until the moon was high in the sky, when Biggles said it was time they were going. As a matter of detail, one of the things discussed was the formation of a small Zarat Air Force, for desert patrols, which the sheikh thought might be made financially possible by his oil revenues, when they were forthcoming. Would Biggles prepare a modest scheme, on paper in the first instance, but with more practical help later on?
Biggles said he would think it over, pointing out that as a government employee he was not a free agent in such matters.
In accordance with local custom, the girl who had been a passenger in the aircraft was not mentioned. They never saw her again; so whether she was young and beautiful, or old and plain, had to remain a matter for speculation.
At the end they parted on the most cordial te
rms, with a standing invitation to make the palace their home at any time.
Biggles then set a course for Athens, having decided that should be their first and only stop.
The following evening he handed the all-important documents to the Air Commodore. As will be imagined, he had a lot of explaining to do; but there is no need to go into what would be mostly repetition.
THE END
Biggles' Special Case Page 13