BIGGLES AND THE PENITENT THIEF

by Captain W. E. Johns

17. THE END OF THE TRAIL (Pages 142 – 151)

“Biggles took the nearest way to the scene of the landslide. This was along the top of the cliff. It also happened to be the easiest way, being open. They had gone about half way when Biggles sees a ship moored up, a small, dark-painted vessel with two masts. It looked like one of the local fishing boats. After travelling another hundred yards and rounding a small escarpment, the landslide comes into view. They hear a yell of triumph, then they see Raulstein, resting on a shovel, “holding alift (sic) a canvas bag”. (The spelling mistake with regard to the word “aloft” is repeated in the Children’s Book Club edition of this book as it used the same printing plates, but it is corrected in the Knight paperback). “That’s it,” groaned Tommy. “They’ve found it”. Standing close to Raulstein are the two Americans. “There was another person close, if not actually in the central picture. It was the Negro. For some reason not apparent he had stopped short of the party on the landslide. It may have been that he was reluctant to go nearer for fear of what Raulstein would say about him leaving his post at the cabin. If this was the cause of his hesitation he had good reason to be afraid, as events would soon reveal. Things moved swiftly, and as far as the watchers were concerned, unexpectedly, to a dramatic climax. A final one for the unfortunate black”. Raulstein sees him standing there and calls him over. From a distance, Biggles’ party sees what happens but cannot hear the conversation. “It seems from his actions that he was trying to explain something, such as why he had run away”. It threw Raulstein into a passion and his voice rose in a torrent of abuse. Raulstein “snatched a gun from his pocket and fired it point-blank into the Negro’s chest. The unfortunate man staggered back, collapsed and rolled a little way down the slope before being stopped by a boulder. He lay still”. “The dirty swine” growls Angus who drops to his knees and takes aim with the carbine. Biggles stops him. “Don’t do it,” ordered Biggles. “You’re not a public executioner. We’ll see he gets what he deserves”. A furious argument then breaks out between the Americans and Raulstein. “It would be reasonable to suppose that the Americans were protesting at the shooting of the Negro. After all, he was their employee. Of course, there may have been another reason behind the next move. The loot was there. Why share it between three?” Raulstein turned to face the American who wore the peaked cap. He still had his gun in his hand. The American whipped a gun from his pocket and shot Raulstein, who dropped the bag he was holding, and falling, rolled down the slope in the wake of the man he had just killed. The Americans then see Biggles and his group. Biggles approaches and tells the Americans to throw down their guns. The two men begin moving sideways towards the sea. Biggles surmises they are making for the boat. One of the Americans fires at Biggles’ party. “Better let me stop ‘em before one of us gets hurts,” urged Angus. Biggles hesitated. It seemed the most sensible thing to do, but he still did not feel justified in going to extremes”. “As far as we know they haven’t broken the law,” he pointed out. “He could plead self-defence. It could be true. Don’t forget Raulstein had shot their man”. The answer was two quick shots and the men broke into a run, obviously intending to shoot their way to the boat. (It seems a bit ridiculous that Biggles should conclude the two American’s may not have broken the law. They are trying to steal the jewels which don’t belong to them and they are firing guns at the police who are trying to stop them(!)). “To heck with this,” growled Angus. “I’m not standing for being shot at. I’ll stop ‘em”. “Biggles might have agreed” but there was fresh development. Arriving from the opposite direction are three men. One is Jack Fraser, the Mountie, carrying a rifle and one is Ginger. The third is a stranger dressed fisherman style. Fraser tells the two Americans to throw down their guns or he will open up. The men drop their guns and the bag of jewels and raise their hands. Fraser approaches the two Americans and says he is taking them to Rankinton where they can explain why they took “this man’s boat” (meaning the fisherman with them). Biggles points to one of the Americans and tells Fraser he saw this man shot Raulstein. The man asks “What else could I do? He was going to shoot me. As it was he’d already shot my cook”. Fraser goes and examines the two bodies and pronounces both men dead. He tells the Americans they are under arrest. Fraser decides to take the two men back in the fisherman’s boat and he asks Biggles if he can fly a helicopter. Biggles smiled. “I think so. I’ve done it before”. Biggles flies with Angus back to the airfield and everyone else goes with Fraser on the boat. “And this broadly speaking, was the end of what had turned out to be an ugly affair”. “Later, in the Blue Dolphin, with the prisoners under lock and key pending transfer to Newfoundland, notes were compared and some unexplained details sorted out”. The fire had been seen by the fishing boat. It had picked up Raulstein and his companions, who were associated with him from when he had once operated in America. After arriving back at Rankinton, the three men had gone to the local gunsmith and bought three second-hand revolvers and an old cavalry carbine. They had then stolen the very boat that had rescued them, no doubt planning to sail away in it when they had finished at the island. The theft was seen by a boy night fishing from the wharf and he told the owner, who told Fraser what had happened. Inquiries had revealed the purchase of the guns. As soon as visibility made it possible, having scribbled a warning note to Biggles, Fraser flew over and dropped the note. Fraser had landed and meet Ginger and they had headed in the direction of the shots they heard. They was a delay of a few days as Biggles had to go to Police Headquarters in Newfoundland and make a sworn statement about what happened on the island. Eventually they were able to make the return trip across the Atlantic with the canvas bag of jewels. “What happened to Tommy? He had to stand trial, of course, for his part in the robbery, but in view of his subsequent behaviour the judge took a sympathetic view and he was discharged with nothing worse than ‘Bound Over’. The fact that the police did not press their case may have had something to do with it”. The jewels were returned to the shop from which they had been stolen. What happened to the two Americans, left in custody in Newfoundland, Biggles never knew. He never troubled to find out. Bertie observed that he hoped jewel thieves would in future hide their swag in more agreeable climates. Eyes twinkling, Biggles nodded. “I see exactly what you mean. I must try to arrange it”. “With Jack Fraser and Angus Campbell, contact is renewed once a year by an exchange of Christmas greeting cards”.