The Packet is a short story which was first published in Popular Flying in May 1932 and was subsequently collected as the second chapter of the very first Biggles book The Camels are Coming, published in September 1932. The story was subsequently republished in The Modern Boy Issue 258, 14th January 1933 where it was given the title Peril Over the Line. In "The Camels are Coming", this story is preceded by The White Fokker and followed by J-9982.
The story also appeared in Biggles of the Special Air Police published in 1953.
Synopsis[]
Colonel Raymond asks Biggles to fetch a packet of secret plans obtained by an agent and hidden in a rabbit hole in a field twenty miles behind enemy lines.
Plot[]
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
work in progress Colonel Raymond has a special mission for Biggles. A secret agent with an important packet of plans has been captured and shot, but before being taken, he had hidden the plans in a rabbit hole in a small field near Ariet. At least three other pilots from other squadrons had already died trying to retrieve the packet. Raymond asks if Biggles is willing to accept the mission. Biggles agrees but asks if he can have Mahoney and MacLaren fly high cover for him. During the egress, he would probably not have time to gain height and he would have to fly back "on the deck" and vulnerable".
The rabbit hole is in a small rectangular field. Getting in and out requires the wind to be blowing in the right direction. This means Biggles should set off immediately. He gathers MacLaren and Mahoney and asks them to fly escort for him. They are puzzled at first but see Raymond and Mullen walking to the mess and guess what the mission is about.
Biggles flies to the field and locates it with the help of a photo Raymond had provided. It proves to be dangerously near an encampment of German troops, but it's too late to worry about that! Biggles lands and heads for a tree and digs into a rabbit hole. Nothing! He heads for another tree and trips. He had stepped into another rabbit hole! In fact there are many of them. Biggles soon finds the packet and runs for his Camel. A file of German soldiers are rushing towards him.
The field is too short! It doesn't look like the Camel can get off. There is a gap between the trees. Will it be enough? Just enough!
Biggles heads straight for home but nearing the lines he finds himself cut off by a flight of six Fokkers. Where is Mahoney and MacLaren? He is trapped! But suddenly the enemy aircraft shear off and start to climb. Puzzled, Biggles looks around and is startled to see MacLaren and Mahoney on either wing and two more Camels behind him.
The Fokkers now dive in to attack, to be joined by two more Fokker Triplanes. Biggles doesn't get tangled in the dogfight but races for Maranique. Over the airfield, he sees Mullen and Raymond down below waiting for him. Without landing, Biggles swoops low over them and flings the packet of plans at them, causing them to duck. He then turns his Camel to rejoin his friends.
Biggles meets the Camels coming back but Mahoney is missing. MacLaren points downwards and Biggles is relieved to see that Mahoney standing beside his crashed aircraft waving. He has made it back to British lines after all.
Characters[]
- Biggles
- Major Mullen
- Colonel Raymond - he's a colonel here
- Captain MacLaren
- Captain Mahoney
- Batson
- Quinan
- Miller
Aircraft[]
- Sopwith Camel
- F.E.2
- D.H.9
- D.H.4
- Fokker fighters - a line of 6 straight-winged aeroplanes. Later to be joined by two triplanes. The text seems to imply that the first 6 are of a different type. The Fokker D.V had a swept upper wing, so these may have been the D.IV.
- Fokker Dr.I
Places[]
Visited[]
- 266 Squadron, Maranique
- Ariet (fictional location 20 miles behind the lines)
Mentioned[]
Editorial Changes[]
- See incongruities below.
Other Research Notes[]
- Other R.F.C. and R.N.A.S. Units mentioned:
- 297 Squadron. Equipped with D.H.9 bombers. Too large for the mission here.
- 287 Squadron. Wilk's S.E.5 squadron. They had already lost two pilots for the same mission.
- Raymond said he ought to send an F.E.2 by night but the field was too small. This reference is accurate as by this time, the F.E.2 was in use as a night bomber by units such as 100 Sqn.
References to the past[]
Incongruities[]
- There is something wrong with the bidding sequence of the bridge game at the beginning of the story. Biggles opens with 2 no trumps. Quinan then follows 2 diamonds--this is not allowed. Furthermore, Mahoney. as Biggles' partner passes. They then play the game as though Biggles/Mahoney had won the contract with Biggles playing no trumps as the declarer whereas the last person to bid was Quinan.
- This incongruity is due to the fact that the text was edited before the story was published in book form. In the orginal text from Popular Flying, Biggles bids 2 no trumps. Quinan follows with 3 diamonds--which is allowable. Mahoney says no bid but after some prodding by Biggles bids 3 no trumps. Biggles ends up as declarer. For some reason, an editor changed 3 diamonds to 2 diamonds and removed Mahoney's 3 no trumps bid. The error introduced by this edit was not corrected in subsequent editions of the book.
- See chronology below for anachronisms.
Chronology[]
(see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories)
- As the second Biggles story to be written, one would naturally expect details to contradict those from later stories.
- 266 is flying Camels, Biggles has just been promoted to Captain, Batson is still alive and Algy has not yet arrived (August 1917). So June-July 1917.
- Raymond is a colonel here but he is still a major in Biggles Flies East (November 1917).
- Biggles is introduced to Raymond like he is meeting him for the first time, and Raymond takes the trouble to explain to him all the nuances of espionage flights. But Biggles has already met Raymond many times before and had done an espionage flight for him in The Laughing Spy (set around April 1917) when Biggles was still at 169 Squadron. We just have to remember that this was the second Biggles story ever to have been written so Johns was doing all this for the benefit of his readers more than anyone else.
- Given the June-July 1917 timeline, the appearance of D.H.9s and Fokker Triplanes are anachronistic.
Publication History[]
- Popular Flying, May 1932
- The Camels are Coming, John Hamilton, 1932
- The Modern Boy, Issue 258, 14th Jan 1933 (as Peril Over the Line)
- Biggles in the Camels are Coming, Boys' Friend Library, 1938 (as Chapter 2: Peril Over the Line)
- Biggles of the Special Air Police, Thames, 1953 and reprints (as Chapter 9: The Packet)
- Biggles: The Camels are Coming, Red Fox, 1993 and subsequent reprints and editions
- The Camels are Coming, Norman Wright, 2010