Free 14 Biggles Goes To War by Captain W E Johns

come, Ludwig, that's a sad confession. It won't do to be afraid of him - or any one else - at this juncture.'
    'You don't know Bethstein as well as I do,' returned Ludwig a trifle bitterly.
    Biggles's easy manner underwent a swift change. His body stiffened and his expression became grim. 'Listen, Ludwig,' he said tersely; 'this funk complex of yours where Bethstein is concerned has got to be kept under control. You say things are serious. Do not suppose for one moment that I am unaware of it. Very well. My answer to that is that this dilly-dallying has got to stop; if we are going to be of any use here we've all got to act, and act firmly, ruthlessly if necessary, regardless of whose toes we tread on.
    Aviation in the real sense of the word is only a side issue. I did not come here prepared to mess about with your internal organization or politics, but while things go on as they are now, with enemies working against us here in Janovica, anything we do in the air is likely to be so much wasted effort. Well, I've no time to waste; life is too short.'
    'By heavens! don't think that I do not realize that,' answered Ludwig distractedly. 'What do you suggest? Is there anything we can do?'
    'There are a lot of things we've got to do, or we might as well pack up right now.'
    'Tell me one.'
    'We've got to have a good spring-clean at home before we start looking elsewhere.'
    'What do you mean by that?'
    `What I say. We've got to put things on the ground into such shape that our actions in clearing the air overhead are likely to be seen in true perspective, not only by the people of this country but by other nations who will be watching, and that cannot be done by half-hearted measures.'
    `Too well I know it. The question is, what to do first?' `We've got to get Bethstein out of the way, for a start.' Ludwig stared. Àre you mad?' he gasped.
    `Mad or not, we've got to do it. The man is a bigger danger than the Lovitznian army.
    Tell me, has he a big following behind him?'
    `He has a number of officers with him, but the men dislike him.'
    `Good! Who are these officers who are with him?'
    `Most of them are foreigners brought into the country by him to help to reorganize the army on modern lines - at least, that was the excuse he gave for bringing them in.'
    `Mercenaries, eh? Well, you'll see how they'll behave when we show them which side their bread is buttered. Who is the big noise behind Bethstein?'
    'Klein - who's he?'
    `He's a banker; to be precise, the president of the Maltovian National Bank.'
    Ìs he a Maltovian?'
    'No.'
    'What nationality is he?'
    don't know; I don't think anybody knows. He calls himself a cosmopolitan; actually he is, I imagine, an international financier.'
    Biggles pursed his lips. 'How the dickens did such a state of affairs come about?'
    Ve got into monetary difficulties some time ago and Klein came forward and helped us out.'
    'With an eye on the future, no doubt.'
    'We know that now; we guessed it as soon as we saw that he had control of our finances.
    But we didn't know it then. We were glad of any assistance.'
    'Whom do you mean by “we"?'
    'The princess, my uncle, myself, and one or two others who think on the same lines as we do.'
    'What might be called the all-Maltovian party?'
    'That's what it amounts to.'
    'Well, you seem to have got yourselves into a nice mess one way or another. Why in the name of heaven did your uncle who, as far as I can see, should be the princess's right-hand man, go to London?'
    'The princess sent him.'
    'Why?'
    'Because two attempts were made on his life here, and she feared for him.'
    Biggles grimaced. 'That's pretty grim,' he confessed. 'Your enemies are not worried by scruples, evidently. Neither, then, need we be. I have a short way of dealing with assassins. To come back to this fellow Klein. Who are the fellows who work in the bank?
    '
    'They're Maltovians.'
    'Thank goodness for that; it should make it easier to remove Mr Klein.'
    'But that's madness; it's