Part 4 (1/2)

'Zut! The question!' The question!'

'I am a stranger here,' reminded Ginger.

'A Monegasque, my young friend, is-a Monegasque.'

'Not French?'

'Name of a name! No.'

'Italian perhaps?'

'No, although there are many Italians here, good Italians, who obey the laws of Monaco. Some came to avoid the conscription in Italy-and who shal blame them? There are few true Monegasques- three thousand perhaps. They rule themselves. Most of them live on the Rock.'

'Where did they come from in the first place?'

'Ah! That is another question. First of al , long long ago, lived here the Ligurians, wild people with stone clubs. Then came the Phnicians-they built many of the old vil ages round about. Later came the Greeks. Then came the Romans who, to mark their conquest, built the great monument at La Turbie- look, you can see it from here. After that came al sorts of people-French, Italians, Lombards, adventurers from the sea, yes, even English, the Crusaders, and such people, as wel as Christian prisoners brought by the Saracens. Between them al they leave a type which long ago became cal ed the Monegasque. Do not, my young friend, confuse us with the French, or the Italians, although because we are so near to France and Italy most of us speak the languages of those countries.'

'I see,' said Ginger.

'But I can't sit here talking,' went on the proprietor, rising. 'It is too early in the morning. I have work to do. Cal next time you are pa.s.sing and I may buy some more onions-but next time bring the Spanish.

Au revoir.'

'Au revoir, monsieur.'

Perceiving that there was nothing more to be learned, and wel satisfied with the smattering of news he had picked up, Ginger slung his lightened burden over his shoulder and departed. He stil did not know what had happened to Biggles, but the bare fact that even in Monaco there was a doubt about his fate, was encouraging. It had evidently leaked out that the princess's betrayer, Zabani, was concerned with the affair. The cafe proprietor's reference to the Camorra, the dreaded Italian secret society, in connection with Zabani, was a new and interesting piece of information.

Thus pondered Ginger as he strode on towards the sea, which could be observed beyond the casino gardens. People were beginning to move about in the streets, ordinary people, as far as he could judge, mostly fel ows in simple working clothes, or blue overal s. Their faces were brown, and while a few walked as if with a definite object in view, the majority slouched about, listless, without any set purpose, creating an atmosphere very different from the mental picture he had always held of the famous society playground. Police were conspicuous, although for the most part they seemed to be content to stand at street corners and gossip. They were easily identified by their uniforms. There were the local police, the Monegasques, in the service of the Prince of Monaco. They wore white dril suits with scarlet facings-the colours of the princ.i.p.ality-and scarlet facings-the colours of the princ.i.p.ality-and sun helmets. It was one of these who had invited Ginger to the Cafe de Lyons. There were a few French gendarmes gendarmes, in dark blue tunics and khaki slacks; they were usual y in pairs. There were also Italians who, official y or unofficial y-Ginger was not sure which-were evidently in occupation. There were a few cars outside the big hotels which, like the gardens, and everything else, had a look of neglect.

Outside the imposing Hotel de Paris there was a saloon car carrying a swastika pennant on the radiator cap, and another flaunting the Italian flag. He pa.s.sed without stopping, and going over to the ornamental bal.u.s.trade on the far side of the road, saw the little port of Monaco below him.

It was the neatest, tidiest port he had ever seen, largely artificial, having been formed by the construction of two moles, one springing from the Monaco vil age side, and the other from Monte Carlo. Between the ends of the moles, a gap gave access to the open sea. Within the smal square harbour itself there were no s.h.i.+ps of any size-a few yachts at moorings on one side, and a col ection of smal craft on the other.

As Ginger looked down, the broad walk on the near side was, he knew, the Quai de Plaisance, his immediate objective. On the opposite side of the harbour, known as the Quai de Commerce, some men were rol ing barrels. A short walk took him to the offices of the water company, beside which a steep flight of steps, named the Escalier du Port, led down to the Quai de Plaisance.

Descending to the quay he found himself on a broad concrete pavement, bounded on one side by a high stone wal , and on the other, by deep water.

He looked about him. The only people in sight were a few elderly men, and children, fis.h.i.+ng with simple bamboo poles. A short distance to the right a man was mopping out a slim motor-boat that floated lightly on its own inverted image. After a cursory glance the people fis.h.i.+ng paid no attention to him, so he began to strol along the wal looking for writing in blue pencil. He did not real y expect to find any, but the bare possibility, now that he was actual y on the spot, gave him a curious thril .

He walked along towards the outer mole, his hopes dwindling as he approached the end without seeing anything resembling what he sought. The only writing was the usual French warning notice against the sticking of bil s. Returning, he was about to examine the wal beyond the foot of the steps by which he had descended to the quay, when an incident occurred which at first astonished, and then alarmed him.

Along the inner side of the harbour, which ran at right angles to, and connected the Quai de Plaisance with the Quai de Commerce, there was a broad stone pavement similar to the one on which he walked. This pavement was obviously the part given over to local fishermen. It was backed by a number of tiny houses, and boat sheds, from which s.h.i.+pways ran down into the water. There was quite a col ection of smal craft, both in and out of the water. A number of fishermen, dressed in the usual sun-bleached blue trousers and s.h.i.+rts, were gossiping as they worked on their boats or mended their nets.

From this direction now appeared Betray, made conspicuous by his guitar. He was strol ing along unconcernedly, apparently on his way to examine the wal of the Quai de Plaisance. Watching, Ginger saw him-for no apparent reason-stop suddenly, back a few paces, turn, and walk quickly away. A moment later, the boatman who had been mopping out the motor-boat, sprang up on to the quay and hurried after him. Ginger was not sure, but he thought he heard the boatman cal out. Bertie glanced back over his shoulder, and seeing that he was pursued, quickened his pace. The boatman broke into a run.

In a disinterested way Ginger had already noticed this man, first on account of the innumerable patches on his overal s, and secondly, because of his outstanding ugliness. His face might have been that of a heathen idol, carved out of dark wood. To make matters worse his nose was bent, and his eyes, due to a p.r.o.nounced cast in one of them, appeared to look in different directions. The effect of this was to make it impossible to tel in precisely what direction the man was looking, a state of affairs which Ginger, conscious of the secret nature of his task, found disconcerting.

Stil fol owed by the boatman Bertie disappeared behind a colourful array of sails that were hanging up to dry.

Ginger watched al this with serious misgivings. It was obvious that the boatman was trying to overtake Bertie, and he wondered why. He watched for some Bertie, and he wondered why. He watched for some time, and the fact that neither of them returned did nothing to al ay his anxiety. When twenty minutes had pa.s.sed, and stil Bertie did not return, Ginger gave it up, and continued his interrupted survey of the wal .

Chapter 4.

The Writing on the Wall A dozen paces Ginger took and then stopped short, his heart palpitating, Bertie's strange behaviour forgotten. For there, before his eyes-indeed, within a foot of his face after he had taken a swift step forward-was what he sought, what he prayed might be there, yet dare not truly hope to find. It was writing on the wal , bold blue lettering on the pale grey limestone; and the first thing that caught his excited attention was the final symbol of the message. It was a triangle, quite smal , but clear and unmistakable.

The actual message consisted of three words only.

They were: CHEZ ROSSI. PERNOD.

Ginger's first reaction as his eyes drank in the cryptic communication was one of disappointment.

Doubtless the message contained vital information, but at the moment it told him nothing. Worse stil , there was no indication of when it had been written.

That Biggles had written the words he had no doubt whatever, and that they were intended to convey important news was equal y certain. But-here was the rub-had the message been written before the catastrophe at the Californie landing ground, or afterwards? Upon that factor everything depended.

Whatever the words might mean, reflected Ginger, they did not tel him what he was most anxious to know. Was Biggles alive or dead?

He did not stand staring at the message. There was no need for that. The words were engraved on his memory. n.o.body appeared to be watching him, so he strol ed over and sat down on one of the many benches provided for visitors in less troublous times.

It was easy enough to see why the message had been expressed as a meaningless phrase.

Obviously, Biggles could not write in plain English. In fact, it seemed that English words had been deliberately avoided. He pondered on the puzzle.

Chez Rossi was almost certainly the name of an establishment, probably a cafe, bar or restaurant.

The word chez chez, meaning 'the house of,' or 'the home of,' was a common prefix to public places of that sort. Rossi was probably the name of the owner.

Chez Rossi, therefore, was most likely the name of a bar or restaurant in Monaco, run by a man named Rossi. At any rate, the original proprietor would have been thus named. Pernod was a word he did not know, although it sounded like another name. That was something which could perhaps be discovered at the cafe, bar, or whatever the establishment turned out to be. Clearly, the thing to do was to find out if there was such a place, and if there was, pay it a visit.

Remembering Bertie and his peculiar behaviour he looked along the back of the harbour where he had last seen him, and even walked a short distance in that direction; but there was no sign of him, nor of the boatman with the mahogany face who had fol owed him. He waited for a little while, and then, loath to waste any more time, made his way up into Monte Carlo, his intention being to cal on the friendly proprietor of the Cafe de Lyons to inquire about the Chez Rossi. He would know if there was such a place.

For the sake of appearance he cal ed at several shops and houses en route en route*1, and did, in fact, dispose of so much of his stock that he became afraid he might sel out, which did not suit him. So with the two strings that remained he strode on to the Cafe de Lyons.

It now presented a different appearance. Many of the chairs, which in accordance with French custom had been put out on the pavement, were occupied by people reading newspapers, with a gla.s.s or a cup at their elbows. However, this made little difference to Ginger, who had no intention of staying.

He managed to catch the eye of the proprietor who, recognizing him, and evidently noticing that his onions had diminished, congratulated him on his sales ability. With that he would have gone on with his work, but Ginger caught him by the arm.

'One moment, monsieur monsieur,' he appealed. 'I am told that I might find a customer at Chez Rossi. Could you direct me?'

'But certainly,' was the wil ing response. 'It is at the back of the town. Take the Boulevard St. Michel, here on the right, and the second turning again on the right. At the corner of the first escalier escalier you wil see the Rossi bar-restaurant.' you wil see the Rossi bar-restaurant.'

'Merci, monsieur,' thanked Ginger, and turned away to the boulevard which, before the war, had clearly been fas.h.i.+onable shops and hotels. But when he took the second turning on the right, the scene and atmosphere changed even more suddenly than a visitor to London finds when turning out of Oxford Street into Soho. This, obviously, was where the people lived, the working cla.s.ses, the permanent residents, as opposed to the wealthy visitors. The street was narrow. Tal but shabby whitewashed houses rose high on either side. Laundry, strings of bright-hued garments, stretched from window to window. A drowsy hum hung on air that was heavy with suns.h.i.+ne. Caged birds twittered. Through narrow open doorways he saw families eating, lounging or sleeping. Music crept from tiny cafes.

Occasional y he pa.s.sed an unfenced garden overgrown with cacti, geraniums and trailing vines, or shops where objects for which no earthly use could be discovered mixed up with nails, dried fish, bundles of dried herbs, oil and vinegar. Sometimes a n escalier escalier, a crazy flight of steps without number, wound into mysterious distances.

Ten minutes walk brought him within sight of his objective, made conspicuous by a faded red awning bearing in white letters the name of the establishment-Chez Rossi. A smal er notice announced the place to be a bar-restaurant. So far so good, thought Ginger. Closer inspection revealed it to be one of the smal restaurants, with a bar on one side, common in al French towns. Judging by the name, mused Ginger, the proprietor was, or the original proprietor had been, an Italian. If the latter, the name of the business would not be changed.