THE FORBIDDEN TERRITORY

Northern Advocate, 11 July 1936, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE FORBIDDEN TERRITORY

py y ERE is a writer who has lately | VI mi 1 been much acclaimed and adjl vertised by his publishers as combining all the best attributes of several of the outstanding popular authors of swift-moving and "exciting romance. That he tells a . good story and one with a continual succession of startling episodes is in- | ..disputable; he appeals to the readers I jwho desire hair-breadth escapes and ‘all too capable heroes, and in them he v • will find a large and receptive circle 1 -beyond doubt. His characters have some life, though one sees little be--low the surface of this, in fact only their most obvious and necessary fe' traits. How far his pictures of Russian /conditions and doings approach | correctness may be suspect, but as . most readers will scarcely be in a position to say that any of his details Y Ore not or could not be as described, g perhaps that matters not over much, I seeing he will not be read for actual ; enlightenment or instruction thereon. , Briefly the plot is of an American, E; • yery , wealthy, as are apparently all the three prominent men characters, iwhb pokes- his nose into places forbidden, discovers what he should not, aid is consequently, as might be expected, imprisoned for an indefinite |||;' period, and this without his where,- ■ abouts being admitted as known to the authorities. He succeeds in for? warding a somewhat cryptic message to one ! of two friends in London, both - of which" latter determine to proceed to the" Soviet territories in an effort to rescue him. Such is the opening of the plot; its development consists in finding first how his present position nufy;; be discovered, secondly where this is, thirdly how to reach him, and finaHy bow all are to escape from a || now thoroughly alert Russia. y Let it be admitted that there are no dull pages, though, at the same time, it must be stated that it is certainly doubtful if any impressions worthy of - - Consideration will remain in the mind after v!th.e passage of say a twelvemonth. The best method of dealing TVith'such a book seems to be by 'means of one of its incidents, thereby ; v I revealing the style, the movement and --the quality of its plotting. I Two whistles—low but clear, came ■ 'out of the night. All three silently . | left the narrow trench and wriggled --forward across the open. The hanVgats loomed up before them, seeming •- tall from their position on the ground. Within a few yards of ‘ .their goal De Richeleau stood up, he f‘helped Simon to his feet, and with | Marie Lou on the other side, support- ; | v | edr the wounded man round to the -front 1. i ... ■

>, The sliding door of the hangar stood j a little open; they squeezed through. •; The only light was the reflection from Item's torqh—he was already busy in the cockpit examining the controls. No trace of a sentry was to be seen. In the uncertain light the ’plane /- seemed a strange monster; Rex leanled out. “There’s a step ladder by her tail. Get Simon in the back.” De - Richeleau found the ladder and propr ped . it against the side, f ' “Go on,” said Simon. “I can manage now, don’t worry about me.” He hauled himself up his his hands and one' sound leg; fortunately his wound had .hot re-opened owing to the care they had taken in getting him so far. The Duke- disappeared to find the petrol pump, and Marie Lou to keep watch outside. , The pump was only a few yards away* and De Richeleau struggled manfully with the heavy wirebound hose. At last he got the muzzle to within a few feet of the ’plane—Rex climbed down and gave an extra heave—a moment later petrol was pouring into the empty tank. . “Do you think you can handle her?” De Richeleau asked. “Sure,” came back the cheerful answer. “The helicopter’s no essential part of the construction. I was scared it might be; we couldn’t have sailed up through the roof! But it’s all O.K. j reckon we can taxi out and take off in the open like any other ’plane.”

“Where is the sentry?” ' Rex jerked his head towards the back of the hangar. “Tucked up in a comer there, poor bum. I guess he never knew what hit him. Come on—now the reserve tank, then we’ll get right out of here.” They heaved again on the weighty hose; when the tank was full they threw it on the ground, and turned their attention to the hangar doors—great sheets of corrugated iron and steel on rollers. Marie Lou was outside, a small silent shadow-r-standing motionless and intent, her eyes riveted in the direction of the wireless music—the singing had stopped. Rex and De Richeleau put their shoulders to the sliding doors. Luckily the runners were well oiled; before long they had the hangar wide open. They could see the ’plane better now; it was a big double-engined monoplane, the engines fixed centrally a few feet above the wide metal wings, with propellers fore and aft. Immediately beneath, in the body, was a small cabin, with open seats for the two pilots side by side in front. Before each was fixed a

By Dennis Wheatley.

“The Bookman’s” Review

wicked-looking machine-gun. At the back of the cabin were twin seats for observers, each equally well armed. The roof of the cabin bulged up in a wide funnel to the engine so that a .mechanic inside could attend to them in flight. A tall shaft rose from the centre of the engines bearing the wings of the helicopter.

The Duke touched Marie Lou on the arm. “Quick, up into the back with Simon.”

He began to haul the npzzle of the petrol hose from under the plane. Rex had already clambered up into the pilot’s seat. “Don’t waste time monkeying with that,” came his sharp whisper.

“One moment, my son,” De Richeleau persisted, dragging tne hose outside tne hangar. “Tne ladder! What shall I do with it?” came Marie Lou’s voice.

“Shove it clear of the ’plane,” Rex called back softly.

From her seat beside Simon she gave the ladder a push. There was a loud clang as it struck the corrugatediron .side of the hangar. It shattered the silence like the blow on a giant gong. *

“That’s torn it,” said Rex angrily. “For God’s sake come on,” De Richeleau clambered hastily up beside him. With straining ears they listened for the sound of running feet. It did not seem possible that such a sound should pass unnoticed, but nothing stirred. - “All set?” cried Rex loudly. There was an answering cry from Simon and the girl at tne back. “Praises be sues the latest thing in ’planes with an electric starter,” he added to the Duke, but the latter part of his sentence was lost in the roar of the engine. In the corrugated-iron hangar the poise reverberated like thunder — the ’plane remained quite stationary. “Can’t you start her?” yelled the Duke apprehensively, in Rex’s ear. “Sit tight!” Rex bawled back.

The roar of the engine- drowned every other noise, but in the distance, on the right, squares of light showed where the hut doors were being thrown open, and against the light little figures could be seen hurrying forward.

Suddenly the dark shape of a man loomed up right in front of the hangar; he shouted something—but what, they could not hear. He did not carry a rifle, and in the faint glow his face expressed surprise.. / De Richeleau levelled his automatic —another second and he would have pulled the trigger. With a gasp he lowered his pistol and, stooping, yelled through the cabin to Simon: “Don’t shoot! For God’s sake, don’t shoot!” “Time to go home,” said Rex to himself, as he smiled in the darkness. He had not wasted the last few moments. Better to take the risk of a few shots as they left the ground than chance a dead cold engine conking out fifty yards from the shed. Slowly the big ’plane slid forward—the man ducked hurriedly under the right-hand wing—in a moment they were in the open and gathering speed. As the ’plane left the shed the din of the engines lessened. A whole crowd of rnen surged out of the darkness, shouting and gesticulating. Sbmehow, to the occupants of the ’plane, they looked' stupid and helpless —waving their arms and opening their mouths when not .a word they

said could be heard. One fell over backwards as he jumped aside to avoid the onrush of the metal wing. The speed increased —the cool night air rushed past—the ’plane began to bump gently in great leaps along the level ground; almost in an instant the running men were left behind, swallowed up in the shadows. “We’re off,” cried Simon, to Marie Lou, and for the first time the girl realised that they had left the ground. Another group of hangars rushed past them, twenty feet below —they both looked back. The crack of a rifle came to them faintly from the hangar. It was followed by a great sheet of flame.

The Duke gave a chuckle of delight —he had come? through the small cabin and joined them unnoticed. “What —what happened?” gasped Simon.

“I left the petrol turned on in front of the sheds,” De Richeleau smiled, grimly.

“That’s why you called out to me not to fire?”

He nodded. “I only just remembered in time myself. If I’d shot that man the flash from my pistol would have blown us up.”