One rainy day at Brooklands….
"And twenty-one bolts," Smyth relayed from the inside of a cupboard, as Biggles stood next to him with a pad of paper and a pencil.
"The weather may be foul, but at least it gives us an opportunity to get caught up on the inventory," Biggles commented.
Smyth grunted as he pulled out another drawer and started counting its contents – how Biggles could be so cheerful was beyond him. Before he could call out the number, the sound of young voices reached their ears. The subject matter made them grin. Biggles laid his finger on his lips as Smyth struggled to keep a straight face. Before long, they were convulsed with silent laughter.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the hangar….
"Have you ever seen a naked girl, Ginger?" asked Roy idly, not looking up from the bolt he was tightening.
"How naked counts as 'naked'?" Ginger asked, pausing in his work and wiping a greasy hand across his forehead, leaving a smear he wouldn't discover until later.
Roy didn't answer immediately, as he struggled to get his wrench in position. "Well, without her top on," he said at last, turning the wrench with a grunt.
"Sure," Ginger replied, shifting position to work on another bolt. "Dozens of 'em."
"Come off it," Roy protested, tossing an oily rag in Ginger's direction.
Ginger ducked, caught it, and threw it back. "Have too!" he retorted hotly. "Ask the skipper if you don't believe me."
"What?!" cried Roy in disbelief.
Ginger grinned. "When we were in Africa, and again in the Islands, hardly any of the natives wore much in the way of clothing at all," he explained.
"That doesn't count," scoffed Roy.
"What? Why not?"
Roy thought about this for a moment, before replying somewhat sullenly "I dunno, it just doesn't."
Ginger shrugged and, selecting a screwdriver from the toolbox near his hand, resumed his work. Without looking up at Roy, he added "Anyway, I bet it's more than you've done."
Roy grunted his acquiescence of this fact. Their work continued in silence for a few moments before Roy asked "D'you think I can convince Dad to bring me on one of your adventures sometime?"
The End