Flight of Eagles by Higgins Jack

Author:Higgins, Jack
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harper
Published: 1998-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

10

Harry reported to Croydon at ten the following morning and found a Hurricane waiting for him which had been delivered from Duxford by a Czech pilot named Hess with heavily accented English.

‘Wing Commander Kelso. Is pleasure to meet you.’ He had some Czech decoration plus a DFC.

‘I know you lot,’ Harry said. ‘Are you sure you’re not palming me off with second-hand goods?’

Hess grinned. ‘How would we do that to you? I was in the Battle too, you know.’

‘That’s all right then.’

‘I don’t know what this is about, but good luck, my friend. I’ll get off. A car’s waiting to take me back to Duxford.’

He walked away through the rain and the flight sergeant who was checking the Hurricane with a crew turned to Harry. ‘Looks good to me, Wing Commander. We’ll refuel, do a final check and then you can go whenever you’re ready.’

Harry changed into flying jacket and boots, then drank tea and ate a bacon sandwich while looking out of the window at the Lysander parked on the other side of the Hurricane. A pilot in flying dress was doing something inside. The sky was overcast and it looked as if a front was coming in. He went into the Ops Room and checked conditions for Cornwall. Clear at the moment, but the news wasn’t all that good. As he went back into the other room, he saw a staff car drive up outside. Munro and Jack Carter emerged. The surprise was Molly Sobel.

They came in and the Lysander pilot got out and followed. Munro said cheerfully, ‘Ah, there you are.’

Harry said to Molly, ‘Are you coming with us?’

‘So it would appear.’

‘Just a precaution,’ Munro told him. ‘A hazardous mission could lead to casualties. Better to have Molly on hand.’

Harry turned to Jack Carter. ‘Major now? Congratulations.’

‘And you.’

They shook hands and the Lysander pilot came in.

‘Flight Lieutenant Grant,’ Munro said. ‘He flew in from Tangmere last night. He’s done umpteen drops in France for me. Really knows his business.’

Grant was twenty-two or three and had a ginger moustache. ‘I say, this is a first, meeting you, sir.’ He turned to Munro. ‘I’ll check the weather reports.’

‘I already have,’ Harry told him. ‘We’ll get there all right, but there’s a front moving in. It’s not good for tonight.’

Grant made a face and went off to the Ops Room. The orderly sergeant provided tea and Harry unzipped his holdall and found a carton of cigarettes. His Swedish jump bag was on the table beside the holdall and Molly said, ‘Is the famous Tarquin in there?’

‘Oh, you know about him?’

‘Of course. May I look?’

‘If you like.’

He lit a cigarette and she unzipped the bag and took Tarquin out. Munro and Jack stopped talking. ‘My word,’ Jack said.

‘Oh, he’s wonderful.’ Molly held Tarquin close.

‘He did every flight over Flanders with my dad when he flew for the Royal Flying Corps, that’s why he wears RFC wings. The RAF wings come from me. He’s earned them.’

‘Every flight?’ Munro asked.

‘Every flight.’

Molly replaced Tarquin in his bag and closed it, as Grant came back.

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