'I told him he'd better watch out for the aircraft from Farnborough that was due in about half past four, but he said he'd have taken off long before that; so I came back here.'
'Didn't you report this unscheduled landing?'
'I did, Sir, to Flying Officer Leathers, when he and others came along to see the Farnborough arrival in.'
'And what did he say?'
'He entered it in the log, and said he'd send the Hebrides Station a rocket for having failed to warn us that they were sending this aircraft down.'
'Then you let two hours elapse before you reported it?'
The corporal's face became a little sullen. 'Well, it isn't the first time that someone's forgot to send a routine signal, Sir. Anyhow, I didn't think it was anything to get excited about, and neither did my officer when I told him.'
'All right! All right! Describe the pilot to me.'
'He was a tallish chap, age about thirty. Clean shaven, and I think his eyes were brown. He was wearing pilot's kit, not uniform.'
'How many people had he with him?'
'Only one man, Sir. He'd left the aircraft by the time I reached her and, being Sunday, with no one about, he'd walked over to the hangars to get the runabout out for himself. He drove it off towards the laboratory block, to fetch the stuff they'd come for, I suppose.' The corporal turned towards Khune, and added, 'I didn't see him close to, but he was about your build, Sir; dressed like you too, in a mack and a beret.'
'What make was the aircraft,' Verney asked.
'I'm afraid I didn't notice, Sir. She was a two-engined job and I'd say she'd carry up to a ton of cargo.'
'Did you take her number??
'No, Sir.' The corporal bridled again. 'This isn't like a civil airport, you know, with aircraft coming in from all sorts of places all the time.'
'Hell!' muttered C.B. and, turning, he strode across the passage to the office. He was just about to pick up the telephone when it rang. The corporal, who had followed, murmured, 'Excuse me, Sir,' reached a hand past him, and answered it. After a minute he said:
'It's Squadron-Leader Forsby, saying to have the tower manned to clear the Farnborough plane in three- quarters of an hour.'
C.B. took the receiver from him. 'Dick. This is Verney. There's been a spot of trouble. Instead of going to the Club, drop everything and come here. Yes, at once, please.' Hanging up, he said to the corporal:
'There's no need to get your team together yet. The Farnborough plane won't be leaving till later. I expect the pilot is on his way here though. Go outside and, when he turns up, tell him there has been a postponement.' Then, to Khune, he added, 'Would you be good enough to wait for us across the passage.'
Directly the two men had left the room, he rang the exchange and asked for a priority call to the Air Ministry. While it was being put through he remarked with a frown to Barney: 'As it's Sunday the place will be practically empty and none of our people available. We can only hope that the Duty Group Captain is a live wire.'
The Group Captain proved willing but far from hopeful about tracing Lothar's plane. He too remarked upon its being Sunday, which meant that, in addition to normal traffic, hundreds of trainers and aircraft from Flying Clubs all over the country would be up, so that with such an inadequate description to go on, the chances of the plane being identified were extremely slender. But he said he would send out an emergency signal to all airports to hold any twin-engined transport aircraft that came down to refuel, pending special clearance.
C.B. then got on to Special Branch and asked for a warrant to be taken out for Lothar's arrest, and for a check up that a night and day watch was being kept on the house at Cremorne, in case he returned to it.
While he was still on the telephone, Forsby joined them and Barney told him in a low voice what had happened. When he realized how completely they had been fooled, he shut his eyes and began to curse under his breath. Verney hung up and turned to him.
'This is a bad business, Dick, and I'm afraid I can't congratulate you on your security arrangements for your airstrip.'
'Yes, it's I who am to blame, Sir.' Forsby's tone had at once become formal. 'Normally one of my men is present at every aircraft arrival and departure, to check the passes of the crew as they come off or reboard the plane. The thought that an unauthorized aircraft might come in without warning, land, and get away with it, never occurred to me.'
'In a place of this importance, I think it should have.'
'I'll resign, of course, Sir.'
Verney gave him a gentle pat on the arm. 'You'll do nothing of the kind, old friend. This afternoon we've all been taken for a ride. If anyone is responsible, it is myself, as I came down here to take charge. Now, as an airman, tell me - what is the chance of our bird getting out of the country with his loot??
The Squadron-Leader glanced at his watch. 'It's now twenty minutes to six, so he must have been gone the best part of three hours. From the description of the aircraft it doesn't sound as though he has anyway near a full load, so he should have had plenty of petrol. Anyway, by now he could have refuelled at some small landing-ground near the East coast and be well out over the North Sea.'
'I feared as much. Still, we might get a break even in Belgium or Holland through the Air Ministry tie-up with N.A.T.O. Anyway, there is no more we can do for the moment, so I'm in favour of accepting that late tea you offered us.'
Having collected Khune, they drove round to the Club and, owing to the hour, settled for drinks instead of tea. Taking their drinks into a corner, they held a gloomy inquest. As a result of it they reached the conclusion that Lothar had probably taken Otto's excuse for not coming up to London - that an American boffin was coming down - to be a lie; so, from Friday night, he had given up hope of persuading him to co-operate and switched to threatening
