Chapter 6
Adventure by night.

Mordechai and the waiter who was delivering the tea returned together. After the waiter had left, Mordechai apologised for the discourtesy and spoke briefly to Merav in his own language.

After this brief conversation Merav turned to the others and told them, “Mordechai has had a brief contact with our superior officer while he was downstairs ordering the tea. I hope you do not mind about that, because now we have received authorisation to exchange information with you. That is a point which worries us less now.”

“That’s fine,” agreed Algy. “Bertie, you're best informed about the details in this case," he continued.  "Will you tell them what we know so far?”

“Yes, old boy, certainly,” agreed Bertie and proceeded to tell the Israelis everything they knew about what had happened during the past few days.  When Bertie had told his story Mordechai gave them the details the Mossad knew.

“As you all know," he started,  "the Jewish population in Europe has suffered very much under the Nazi regime. Millions have been the victim of this en masse annihilation. All their possessions were taken by the Nazis.  When the war was over and the World became aware what had happened in the German death camps, most of these Jewish possessions have disappeared into Swiss bank accounts and foreign countries."

Algy acknowledged the accuracy of that statement with a wry smile and a slight nod of the head.

"War criminals were hung and took their secrets with them into their graves, which also made investigations afterwards fruitless.  There were rumours about the so-called “Fritsch” conspiracy but there was never found any evidence by the Americans and the British. The Russians knew more about this conspiracy. In their hands they held an important link, Hans Werner Dietrich. Whatever they tried in their efforts to get him to talk, it all was fruitless because he never told them about the conspiracy. This must have saved his life because he was sentenced 15 years of hard labour in Siberia."

Bertie nodded his encouragement while von Stalhein remained grimly silent.

"Regularly KGB agents who promised his freedom in change of information approached him but he never gave in," said Mordechai.  "After his 15 years of imprisonment he was released and sent back to West Germany. When he arrived in West Germany,” Mordechai continued “he was tracked by lots of KGB spies who were about in that country. Even the East German Secret Service was involved and a man from Russian German descend, called Ludwig Karkoff, was put in charge.
From the beginning the Mossad was involved and together with a famous Nazi hunter we gathered all this information.  The Israeli Government's official position is that, money and possessions taken from Jews during the Holocaust still belong to the relatives of those who were killed and when there are no survivors left, it belongs to the Israeli Government, acting as the representative for the surviving Jews."

"Seems fair," murmured Bertie, absent-mindedly stirring his tea.

"When his cousin, Carl Alfred Schmidt, appeared on the scene," continued Mordechai, "Dietrich went several times to Holland where he was meeting a coloured guy, probably born in Surinam. Our service is still tracking down this coloured guy but till now we did not get information.  Suddenly Dietrich and Schmidt left for St Malo in France and there went by ship to Guernsey with Merav and I on their tail.  Of course, also Russian KGB agents were tailing them and Merav witnessed the burglary of the holiday home by those Russians where they took that map."

Bertie and Algy exchanged glances at this piece of information.

"When this Karkoff character arrived I followed them to the farmhouse. From there, Hebblethwaite witnessed everything and you know what happened then.
Meanwhile Merav was tailing Dietrich and Schmidt and she witnessed the killing of Dietrich by Schmidt and the dumping of his body into the harbour, which was puzzling us very much.  Merav hereafter lost contact with Schmidt and also her attempts to tail him again via Russian KGB agents proved to be fruitless because the Russians seems to have lost interest in Schmidt.  We decided that I would first go to Alderney and Merav would stay longer on Guernsey in an attempt to track down Schmidt again by tailing Karkoff and his gang.  From there you chaps appeared for us on the scene when you were visiting the farmhouse. Merav was frightened because she was first convinced that you were neo Nazis."  He looked at von Stalhein before adding, "especially because your friend here has Prussian looks!”

Von Stalhein flushed slightly and lit a cigarette.

“After she has checked the licence plate of your car, she was happy to find out that she was dealing with Bigglesworth and his comrades.  Meanwhile I discovered the secret entrance of the bunker. I reported this to my superior officer in France and I was ordered to enter the bunker."

He paused and took a sip of tea before continuing.  "So I did and I discovered that inside the bunker loads of ammunition boxes were stored.   Meanwhile Merav arrived here after further investigations on Guernsey proved to be fruitless and we had just decided to return to the bunker this night to do some more investigations when you guys raided my room.”

“Well," observed Algy, "we only have one problem to solve, then.  The chief of our former department is fully informed about what we have been doing, but we must clear this with him, too. Hebblethwaite was reinstated as a Police officer and ordered to work on this case. That makes it all official Government business. I suggest I inform our chief about our co-operation and I advise you to do the same with yours,” concluded Algy.

The Israelis realised the good sense of the suggestion so both Algy and Mordechai left the room in order to consult their respective superior officers by telephone.    
Mordechai returned first. He did not get in touch with his duty officer somewhere in France but was going to call back later.
Algy returned 20 minutes later and informed the others that Commodore Stone was positive about the cooperation but he had to deal with the ministry concerning this matters in order to learn from them the official British Government position and the official position of the local Government, The Bailiwick of Guernsey, Alderney and Herm.
He promised to telephone the pub that very night as soon as he received the wanted information.

“We can stay here twisting our thumbs but we can also go to the rock to have a look if there is taking place some action on behalf of Karkoff and his accomplishes,” suggested von Stalhein. “That’s good thinking Erich,’ agreed Algy. “In the meantime I will wait here for Commodore Stone’s call.”
“When we return here we can have diner all together,” suggested Bertie.
“Agreed,” said Merav and she took her coat and pulled it on.
They all left the room and the pub. Algy stayed behind near the pub’s telephone enjoying a Whiskey Mack.

The weather was quite nice and it was not too cold for a brisk walk. They walked through the small streets towards the coastline. When they arrived there was nothing to discover. Mordechai pointed them the upper exit/entrance, which was carefully camouflaged. They decided to return to St Anne and when they walked through the streets von Stalhein suggested that they should buy some torches and batteries. At a local store they bought torches and the shopkeeper, selling almost his whole stock, asked them if there was a treasure buried somewhere on Alderney.
Bertie told the shopkeeper that they were torch collectors who were collecting torches from all over the world. Von Stalhein sighed and looked at him and shook his head disapproving while Bertie winked at him secretively.
After they paid for the torches and batteries they left the shop and went straight to the pub were they joined Algy.

“Any news from the Commodore,” asked Bertie. “No. Nothing at all till now.” Algy replied. Drinks were ordered at the bar and after a good pub meal Mordechai tried to contact his superior Officer again. This time it proved to be successful.
When he returned to their table he informed the others that there was a lot diplomatic talk about the matter between the Israeli Ambassador in London and the British Government representatives.
Finally, after coffee, the Commodore was on the phone. He informed Algy that they received permission for cooperation with the Mossad agents in order to find out about Biggles and Gingers disappearance and the Communist involvement in this case.  James “Jolly” Jones was ordered to come back straight to England in order to be on stand-by in when the case was getting out of hand. He ordered a full report the next day and wished them best of luck on their investigations the coming night.
Mordechai also phoned with his superior Officer and received similar orders.
Bertie ordered another drink at the bar and all toasted on their cooperation and health.   
They all agreed to meet at two o'clock in the morning at the guesthouse where Biggles and Ginger had already rented a room. Algy had managed to book two more rooms for Bertie, Erich and himself when the others went to the coast. After exchanging warm parting words, Algy, Bertie and von Stalhein left the pub and turned in early.

At two o'clock sharp they all gathered near the guesthouse and left for the coast.  Near the cliffs Mordechai showed them the way down to sea level.  It was not very cold that night and they were able to advance quickly thanks to the bright moonlight and the stars that were twinkling in the dark sky.  It was bright enough for them not to have to use their torches.

Suddenly Bertie stopped the gang. ”Shhhhhh,” he whispered. “Do you hear what I hear, chaps?"

They stopped and listened.  Faintly they could hear a plane descending with its engines throttled back. They all searched the dark sky and shortly glimpsed a large black shadow about to land on the sea.  Suddenly the plane switched on its landing lamps and the darkness was driven by a bright beam that illuminated the sea in front of the aircraft as it came into land.

When the plane had landed, the lights were switched off again and the darkness seemed deeper than before.  A few seconds later they heard a mighty roar as the plane taxied through the water towards the coast, sending out a foaming bow wave.
Suddenly lights along the coastline were switched on to illuminate the scene once more and the five friends saw several people dressed in black uniforms running with a rubber boat towards the sea.

Two men paddled the rubber boat towards the large flying boat. The three engines were switched off and a small anchor was thrown out of the nose of the seaplane.
As soon as the rubber boat reached the plane, a door was opened in the hull and a tall man stepped out of the plane into the dinghy.

The friends were glad that the lights had not been switched off. By their illumination they witnessed another rubber boat being carried into the sea, then a consignment of black boxes.  When they had been loaded, the rubber boat was paddled towards the plane.

“We must stop those Russians,” said Bertie angrily.
“Yes,” agreed Mordechai and he and Merav took their pistols from their pockets.
“Those men are armed with machineguns,” said Algy. “We can't stop them with just a couple of pistols.”
“Those men are not Russians,” interrupted von Stalhein. “I recognise that tall man who came from the plane.  I cannot recall his name at the moment, but I can assure you that it is a former Nazi boss."  He paused, racking his brains then continued, "Yes, now I remember him.  His name is Strasser. He was once the so-called Gauleiter of Berchtesgaden. He and Martin Bormann were very close. He vanished in 1945 and was presumed dead. What is he doing here?”

Merav was standing next to von Stalhein. “I do not know him,” she said sorrowfully, “but the other chap, who is welcoming this Strasser, I know very well. That is that Schmidt who killed Dietrich in Guernsey and dumped him into the harbour.”

As they watched, Strasser and Schmidt vanished into the hole in the rock. Meanwhile the rubber boats were sailing to and fro, loading the seaplane with more dark boxes.
“I wonder what's in those boxes,” mused Bertie.
“I think,” said Merav, “that must be the treasure we are looking for.”
“You’re probably right, but what can we do?” asked Mordechai desperately. “When this plane flies off we are too late.”

“We must think of a plan fast,” said Algy but just at that moment they all stopped to stare, startled not so much by the emergence from the hole of Strasser and Schmidt, but by the fact they were now accompanied by Biggles and Ginger. The four of them walked towards a rubber boat and climbed aboard.

“We've got to do something to rescue them,” Bertie whispered to the others but his voice was drowned by the sound of a heavy machinegun opening fire out at sea. The lights were dowsed immediately and the men in front of them returned fire. At the same time, another heavy machinegun from another point in the massive rock formation also started firing in the direction of the sea. The friends followed the tracer bullets fired from the shore, and they could see the small dark commando hull of a submarine lying offshore at a distance of about 200 metres.

“Russians,” hissed Mordechai.

“Now it is starting to get rather hot here,” remarked von Stalhein.

The engines of the seaplane were started and the firing from both the shoreline and the submarine ceased for a moment. Suddenly the shooting started again and a small gun aboard the seaplane also started to fire at the submarine, managing to silence the machinegun on board the underwater craft. The pilot of the seaplane jerked the throttle open and with a mighty roar took off quickly without any problems.

When the plane disappeared the shooting from the shoreline stopped immediately.

“We must do something before it's too late,” said Bertie anxiously. “They've kidnapped Biggles and Ginger.”

“Mordechai, said Algy decisively. “You know where the secret exit of that bunker comes out. Take us there at once. Hopefully we shall be able to follow those chaps and they'll lead us to the place where Biggles and Ginger are being held.”

“Come on, hurry up now,” urged von Stalhein. “This time we won't let them get away with it.”

They all climbed to the top of the rock as quickly as the darkness would allow.
When they reached the secret exit, Bertie and Merav were put on guard while the others got as close as they could. Nothing happened for a long time and the friends' anxiety increased the longer they had to wait.

It was nearly dawn when six men emerged from the secret exit. They were all dressed in civilian clothes and each carried a travel bag.
“It looks like they're making a run for it,” observed Algy to von Stalhein.

The comrades followed the six men in two couples keeping at a safe distance.  The men made for the airfield and when they arrived there they entered the main hall. Algy ordered von Stalhein and Mordechai to follow them as close as possible to find out where they were heading for.

The main hall was quite busy for such a small airfield. People were sitting around on benches, obviously waiting for a flight.

Von Stalhein and Mordechai were standing close behind the six men in the queue in front of them and were able to ascertain that the men had changed their tickets for boarding cards for the Paris flight via Cherbourg. Quickly they walked back to their friends to report this, whereupon Bertie, who had sufficient funds with him, gave von Stalhein and Mordechai enough money to buy tickets for Paris. 

Once the tickets had been secured, they gathered again and made a plan of campaign.  Algy would go to Paris with Merav in the Islander.  As he was going to fly straight to Paris, they would arrive earlier than the airliner, which would make a stop at Cherbourg. In Paris Algy and Merav would relieve Mordechai and von Stalhein of their job of tailing the men. Bertie would go straight to London to inform Commodore Stone on the first regular flight out of Alderney.

Algy enquired at the information desk which aerodrome the flight was bound for. It was Le Bourget.

Algy and Merav left the others and headed for the Islander. After the tanks had been topped up they took off for Paris, waved off by Bertie.

The passengers in the main hall were asked to follow a stewardess and after the custom checkout they boarded a four-engine Vickers Viscount.  When all the passengers were aboard the plane, the door was closed and the engines started.
When the Viscount had taken off, Bertie was left alone.  He bought a ticket for his London plane then went to the buffet where he bought some breakfast.  Over his coffee he turned the whole thing over in his mind again.

‘I hope they'll succeed in finding Biggles by tailing those men,’ was his main thought.