The Case of the Fatal Ruby is the seventh short story in the sixth anthology of Biggles Air Police short stories entitled Biggles Presses On. The anthology was first published in January, 1958. In the anthology, this story is preceded by The Case of the Ambitious Fishmonger and followed by Fishy Business.
Synopsis[]
An ex-criminal whom Biggles help to apprehend is out of prison and has set up a private air charter company. Biggles gets worried when he learns that the company's next task is to transport a valuable ruby from Britain to India.
Plot[]
(Click on expand to read)
Ginger reads something interesting interesting in the newspaper. One Captain Carson, head of an independent air charter company, has been engaged to carry a famous ruby, "The Blood of Asia" to India. The ruby had a reputation for causing death and destruction. The regular air services had refused to transport it and so the job had been put out for charter and won by Carson.
Carson's face looks strangely familiar. Ginger and Biggles recognise it as that of Lancelot Seymour (or Hugo Gestner), a notorious criminal they had helped to arrest and convict some years ago. Is this a case that he has now done his time and is going straight? Or is it, as Biggles believes, "Once a crook, always a crook?" Biggles is worried but he cannot tip off the people responsible for the ruby as that would be slanderous.
Biggles tells Raymond, who decides to discreetly inform the insurance company backing the flight. They are worried but their hands are tied too. Raymond asks Biggles to follow Carson in his flight. Given his route via Marseilles, Rome, Athens, Alexandria, Biggles predicts that Carson, if he decides to abscond with the jewel, will most likely do so before getting to Rome.
Carson sets off for his flight in a Dragon Rapide. Biggles and Ginger follow in a Proctor. As predicted, Carson lands in the Camargue in the south of France and hides his aircraft among some tall reeds. Biggles begins an approach to land nearby but is spotted by Carson. He tries to run but unfortunately has attracted the attention of a herd of cattle, especially an angry bull. The bull pursues Carson and gores him. By the time Biggles lands, Carson is already dead. Biggles removes a packet containing the ruby from his pocket and they return to Britan, with Ginger all the while worried about carrying a cursed ruby on board.
Back in London, Biggles discovers that the agent responsible for the transport had been so spooked by the possibility of Carson stealing the ruby that he had put the jewel in his own pocket and taken a regular air service to India to deliver it. The packet given to Carson had been a blind and contained nothing more than a lump of coal!
Characters[]
The Special Air Police[]
- Air Commodore Raymond
- Biggles
- Algy Lacey
- Ginger Hebblethwaite
- Bertie Lissie
Others[]
- Lancelot Seymour - in this story he had changed his name to Captain Carson
- Marcel Brissac - mention only
Aircraft[]
Ships[]
Places[]
Visited[]
- Scotland Yard - Raymond's office and Biggles' office. Raymond buzzed him on the intercom so he couldn't have been at Gatwick.
- Camargue
- Bois des Rièges
- Marseilles - at the end of the story, Biggles mentions that he intends to head for Marseilles, refuel and then proceed to....
- Paris
Mentioned[]
- Plaine de la Crau
- Cevennes
- Gestner's supposed route: Marseilles, Rome, Athens, Alexandria
- Arles
Other points of interest[]
Cars[]
Newspapers/magazines/books[]
Firearms and other weapons[]
Brands/products[]
- "Blood of Asia" - a valuable ruby, notorious for bringing bad luck
Food and Drinks[]
Organisations[]
- Surete
Research Notes[]
References to the past[]
Incongruities[]
- The entire discussion about Carson's moustache is a continuity error. See discussion in the article for Lancelot Seymour.
Chronology[]
- About two years six months after the events in The Case of the Brilliant Pupil.