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Post by dandare on Mar 18, 2019 11:18:55 GMT
Adair phones ahead, and speaks to somebody called Trelawney. it appears that Lady Phyllis and the Butler disappeared in Her ladyship's car 3 days ago. Police enquiries are continuing.
After a brief stop at Mount St to stock up on Grenades, ammunition and whisky, the party set off on the train to Exeter, where they hire a Crossley Tourer to get to Gruntfuttock Hall. On arrival in Futtocks End, the see a police vehicle parked outside the Police station. Adair an dco visit, and are greeted by Sergeant Trelawney- he passes them on to Inspector trelawney, who is in the office. She is rather glamourous, but slightly condescending , and rather evasive about the current police investigation. Sgt Trelawney thinks the "Beast" has got them.Permission is granted to visit the hall, with the strict admonition not to disturb anything. Not much is visible in the drive, except that there was heavy traffic from last weeks funeral of Sir Horace. The house is locked, all of the staff having been dismissed by the new butler.Thsi is no obstacle to Jakey, who deftly jemmies open a window at the back. Poking around reveals the following: 1. Lady Phyllis has not packed for a trip 2. There has been sherry spilled on the carpet of her room. Adair tries to suck it out of the carpet fibres. 3. The butler hasn't packed either, but there are traces of gun oil in his shirt drawer.
Adair has a brainwave and invites Chinky to sniff Lady P's unmentionables, and the plucky pup follows the trail outside, down a path to the stream. There Huai Mei's newly acquired tracking skill comes to the fore, and he detects 2 sets of heel marks, and some smaller footprints. They follow the trail through the wood, and find more prints, larger this time joining.
The trail leads over the moor , eventually leading to a Tor. Searching this , they find a small cave, and at the back of this, 2 bodies- Lady P has been strangled and the butler has been shot in the back of the neck.
Leaving Von W and Gupta to guard the cave, the party set off to alert the authorities, only to discover that a heavy fog has descened. There is some inspired blundering about, including Adair nearly being swallowed by a bog, before they get back to the hall.
At Futtocks End Police station, Sgt Trelawney reports the events to Inspector Trelawney by phone. He then phones the Main Police station in Exeter for assistance. He then arrests Rupert, apparently on the instructions of Inspector Trelawney .
Adair and Co think twice about direct action, as Adair notes that the Sgt phoned 2 different numbers....
Soon Inspector Bright arrives with more police, and ambulances. A party set out to recover the bodies, and Von W. Meanwhile, some dialogue with Inspector Bright reveals that there is no Inspector Trelawney. Rupert is released, and they all return to Exeter for the night.
Investigations the next day discover:- 1. The false Inspector Trelawney's phone number belongs to a small hotel on the outskirts of Exeter 2. The bird has flown, leaving a discarded police uniform 3. It transpires that Lady Phyllis had a Daughter, Ophelia. 4. Ophelia Gruntfuttock is known to the police in London as being mixed up with gangsters in London 5. Had Rupert been arrested and jailed, she would have inherited the hall and Lodge. 6. Lady Phyllis' car, supposedly used in th abduction, was dumped in a quarry on the Exeter road and set on fire 7. The Inspector's car, last seen in Futtock's End, is found in London, not far from Mount St.......
Next Week:- A threat received..
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Post by dandare on Mar 21, 2019 12:03:29 GMT
Having returned to the flat in Mount St, they are just finishing breakfast, when an envelope is slid under the door. Gupta retrieves it, and hands it to Adair- for it is addressed to him. Inside is a curious document, festooned with French flags, and purporting to be a death warrant, issued by "Les Patriotes Francaise". It lists various crimes perpetrated against French interests by Adair. Most are genuine.... Adair, burns it, and then phones the intelligence service. They are summoned to a secret meeting in a safe house off Grosvenor Sq. He is warned to to take precautions. It is decided that Rupert will be a decoy- Huei Mei disguises him as Adair, Jake will do the driving in Adair's Bentley. The others will depart in pairs , covering each other. As the Bentley leaves the mews lane, a shot rings out , and Rupert slumps to the floor of the car, blood pumping from his left arm. Jakey floors the throttle, and heads fo rth hospital. Meanwhile, Adair makes the rendezvous, and is briefed by Rear Admiral Smithers, of the SIS. there is some sort of conspiracy by exiled Parti Coloniale adherants. About a dozen people, deemed to be Anti French, have been sent Death warrants similar to Adair's. Four have been murdered after a show trial.
Adair and co move into hotel, as 3 more envelopes, addressed to Huai Mei, Von Widdler and Jakey have appeared.
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Post by dandare on Mar 21, 2019 12:42:25 GMT
Adair gets plastered....
Adair and Jakey are invited to an RFC reunion, in the RAF club later thta week. They take variuos precautions, including a false plaster cast on Adair's arm, similar to Rupert's real one, but concealing a pistol. As Adair is seated, he feels a sharp pain, and realises that there is a drawing pin on the seat, shortly after this he feels quite drowsy, but is clearly managing to resist the drug. He goes to talk to Jakey, but at that moment the lights go out, and Adair is missing when they come back on.Luckily Von S and Rupert are staking out the rear , and give chase in the Bentley as a greengrocer's truck screams out of the yard. They lose track of int in the East end, but Rupert notes the registration, and using their contacts , they find out it was recently stolen. 4 Catering staff, all newly hired, are missing also.
Knowing roughly where they lost the van, Von S and Rupert search, and find it parked in a slum area near the docks. Mostly its shops an temnements, quiet at this time of night, but up an alley they see a church, with the lights on. Jakey and Huei Mei arrive, and break into the van, finding bits of rope, sacks, and a pad that smells of Chloroform. Jakey and Huei Mei sneak round the back of the church , while Von S and Rupert stake out the front door, where there is a guard. Huei Mei makes a noise while sneaking, and the guard runs round to see whats going on, allowing Rupert and Von S to sneak in the front door. There is some ineffectual shooting behind the building, before Jakey subdues the assailant. inside the church , Von S and Rupert see three armed men in the church. Hearing shots, 2 of them head for, the main door, while another goes through another door at the end of the room. Von S and Rupert hide, and then try to shoot them in the back. badly, however in the panic , one of the gunmen accidentally shoots his pal in the head, and then Von S manages to down the survivor. They rush to the end room, where a tied up Adair has managed to smash his stookie, retrieve his concealed pistol and shoot a baddy in the leg. Von S and Rupert deal with the last one.
Next week:- a breath of fresh air
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Post by dandare on Mar 28, 2019 8:57:24 GMT
Just as they think it's all over, they hear a noise from the room next door. Rushing in , the find a trapdoor in the floor, leading to a cellar. In the cellar there is a pile of sacking, which conceals and entrance into a sewer. Adair leads the way, followed by Huai Mei and Jakey. They proceed for some distance and then they see a glimmer of light at 2 baddies lift up a hatch covering the outlet. Jakey fires and missed, and Adair is winged by a return shot. The hatch clangs shut, and it takes the combined efforts of all three before they can move it. Outside, they can see a small landing stage, and a small motor boat disappearing into the fog, Jakey shoots one of the gunmen, who falls into the Thames, and wounds the one at the controls of the boat before it disappears.
Returning to the church, they find that the Admiral has arrived and instituted a search. This turns up a a clue or two. It appears that the next target is Frederick Fortescue, Master of Hounds at the Surrey Hunt, and his address, written on a sheet of hotel notepaper. Despite their lack of curiosity, the Admiral points this out to them...... The notepaper is from the Upchurch Vegetarian Hotel.
The Admiral informs them that there is a hunt meet that day, and it is likely that an attempt will be made to abduct Freddy fortescue. Adair and Von W are hastily kitted out in hunting pinks, and Jakey drives them down to Surrey in the Bentley, while the others do some research.
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Post by dandare on Mar 28, 2019 9:43:03 GMT
Adair is nervous at the Hunt, but Von W is an accomplished horseman. Jakey follows as best he can , with Gupta on the car. All is normal for a while, until the hounds run a fox to earth in a covert. As this happens, Adair notices a female rider who wasn't with the hunt at the start. As he watches , she draws a curious looking long barrelled pistol, and aims at Freddy. Adair shoots, however his horse shies and the shot goes wild. This alerts Von W, and his shooting is better. There is a short chase which ends with the woman mortally wounded. As this happens, Jakey and Gupta spot a man running from a wood, carrying a rifle. It's loong shooting, adn Jakey misses. They set off in the car, and discover the man furhter down the lane , trying to unhook a horsebox from his car. The horsebox is blocking the lane. Jakey opens fire as the man drives off, hitting the tank , and one of the rear tyres. The car skids round a corner, as Jakey and Gupta pursue on foot. On arrival, they find that the man has legged it into a field, so they set off towards a wood in the distance. The baddie starts shooting, and Jakey returns fire, slightly wounding him. Gupta fumbles, and manages to break his rifle. Flinging it down in rage, he draws his Khukri and charges the hill, but falls badly wounded, his lower left leg shattered by a bullet.Jakey, with only 2 rounds left in his rifle, has to stop to bind up the wound and the gunman escapes by stealing the local vicar's car.
Meanwhile, the others have discovered that the Upchurch Vegetarian Hotel closed in 1914, and is located on the south bank of the Medway, east of Chatham.
They motor down there to discover that the abandoned hotel is on a low island in the salt marshes. There is no sign of life visible when Rupert does a quick recce.
Returning to London, they meet the others, and discover that Gupta is now a one legged batman, matching his boss.......
Many options are discussed, but finally they decide to borrow a RN picket boat, complete with 3pdr gun.
Next week:- "Can anyone drive a Boat?"
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Post by Von Widdler on Mar 30, 2019 1:01:57 GMT
Gott im Himmel! Mein loyal Gupta! I will not stop until your leg is avenged! He will still have to carry my gear for me...
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Post by dandare on Mar 30, 2019 10:20:15 GMT
You are all heart......
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Post by dandare on Apr 4, 2019 9:06:23 GMT
"Nautical Pinball, sheep and flares.."
The team set off in their borrowed boat. 1. Hit sandbank leaving harbour- Rupert and Huai Mei fall in. Adair jumps in to save them, and succeeds despite Huai Mei's desperate attempts to drown. 2. Hit another sandbank on the other side of the river- Rupert falls in , as does von S. Adair jumps in and tries to drown Von S, but eventually rescues him. Rupert is hit on the head with a lifebelt thrown by Huai Mei.Jakey notices that his feet are getting wet. Von W and Jakey manage to get the bilge pump working, and reduce the leak 3. Ram a Buoy. Boat dented. 4. narrowly avoid a destroyer Eventually they arrive at the island, and drop Huai Mei and Rupert off in a rowing boat. Rupert can only use one arm, so they both take the oars. And row in a circle. Eventually Huai Mei takes both oars and they make it ashore. Climbing a dike, they can see the hotel about half a mile away, with lights showing. The ground is marshy, but flocks of sheep have made paths. Huai Mei reckons that they should follow the sheep. Rupert can't remember why they have landed.The rest are having cocoa on the boat.... Then it gets worse..... Rupert remembers, and points out that the sheep don't know where the hotel is. Huai Mei is unconvinced, as he wants to use the sheep as camouflage (which comes to pass later, in tragic circumstances). Rupert prevails, and the approach that rear of the hoterl. They then split up to recce the front of the hotel. At this point they both blunder into sheep, raising the alarm. Shots come from the hotel, missing Rupert, but hitting Huai Mei. Rupert fires a flare into the hotel causing a fire, both in the hotel and one of the riflemen's trousers. Huai Mei fires his in the air, and gets shot again. Luckily a sheep intercepts the bullet and Huai Mei is knocked out and covered in sheep entrails (fate point!).
The picket boat starts shelling the hotel, causing a lot of damage, and also alarming Rupert, who comes close to catching some of the overs. The Frenchmen abandon the hotel as Rupert runs round the back and then discovers Huai Mei, apparently disembowelled. "Why you", he wails, panicking horribly, throwing up as he tries to stuff Huai Mei's guts back in. This is all too much , and Rupert blunders off in the dark, back towards the rowing boat.
Meanwhile Adair get's bored with all of this long range stuff, and they sail round to the front of the hotel. The sink the Frenchmen's motor boat, and then they get a misfire on the 3pdr. Jakey is dissuaded from trying to remove the shell (which is fizzing), in the dark while being shot at. Von W and Von S stay on the boat which has moved up to the jetty, giving covering fire while Adair and Jakey storm the hotel. The Frenchmen are shot up, but one of them shoots Jakey with a Bergman. Jakey shakes off the spent rounds, runs up to the window and hands the startled Frenchman a Mills Bomb. Resistance crumbles as the lucky recipient of Jakey's present is sprayed over the hotel dining room.
Rupert recovers and arrives as they are rounding up the prisoners, and tells them that Huai Mei is lying dead in a ditch, with his innards more in the nature of outards. Adair and Jakey, investigate, and discover that Huai Mei is KOed, but the insides belong to an unfortunate sheep, and he is carried back to the boat.
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Post by dandare on May 2, 2019 8:33:41 GMT
The team are resting up after their recent traumatic experiences, and saunter down to a village called Milton St Botolph, where Adair wishes to pursue his new interest in archaeology. One morning, the local postie alerts them to strange goings on at a neighbour's house. Investigating, they discover that a professor has been abducted by some foreign men with heavy accents. He appears to have been conducting research into advanced fuels. His car has been stolen, and a search turns it up at the local station. A train has just left for the main line station at Dixburgh, and the gang have time to intercept it before it makes the connection to the London train. They race off, Adair trying out his new motor bike, the rest in the Bentley. After plucking Adair from a hedge, they carry on at breakneck speed through the country lanes. Adair manages to overtake, and reaches Dixburgh in time for the london train. The station is in uproar, as 4 men got off the Milton St B train and then 3 of them stole a car .One of them has attacked the train driver, and pushed him off, setting the train in motion towards the sidings , where a line of oil tankers is parked next to a primary school. He then jumps from the train, and runs off. Adair sets off on his motor bike, and heroically jumps into the cab of the engine. There are a number of tense moments, due to him not knowing which lever does what, however the train and it's passengers are saved at the last minute. In the confusion the baddies get away, but they find a note, full of gloating, and bizzarely, signed by a Baron Von Leipzig.
Enquiries to the Admiral confirm that the Baron has a lair in Bavaria, in a Schloss high above the village of Trauntstein. they are charged with bringing the Professor back before the Germans force him to reveal his discoveries about advanced fuels.
They decide to fly to Munich, dropping off the illegal stuff, and Jakey, by parachute in the country north of the airfield . In the dark.....
Jakey lands unhurt, but 80 feet up a tree. It takes tome nervy moments , but he gets down, and recovers the weapons crate. It then takes the team 2 days to find him in their hired lorry.
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Post by dandare on May 30, 2019 7:59:05 GMT
Proceeding to Traunstein, the party make contact with the local British agent, and settle down in the gasthaus.They are chatting in the bar, when a party of off duty soldiers from the castle enters the bar .They get stuck into the beer, so Huai Mei decides to rifle their coat pockets. This fails miserably, and he knocks the coat stand over. They are annoyed, but are mollified when he pretends to be drunk, and buys them a round. They are so mollified, and entertained by the novelty of a Chinanman, that they get him involved in a schnapps drinking game. He falls over after two.....
Later they team recce the castle, and discover a bricked up sally port. There follows hours of debate over a plan of the castle supplied by their contact. Eventually they decide to unblock the old sally port.
The following night they do so, and break into an old store room, where there are piles of ammo, and a pile of petrol cans. Keeking out through the door, they see a large shape covered by a tarpaulin. Huai Mei crawls out and under the cover, finding a primitive helicopter therein.
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Post by dandare on Jul 4, 2019 15:00:04 GMT
Von Widdler does some wooing......
Huai Mei escaped from the tarpaulin, after a while, and after a narrow escape from an inquisitive sentry. Meanwhile, the others discover a stair leading to a long disused door. There is a long discussion on the various merits of methods of opening it. Von W tries to wheedle a maid into opening it- they having discovered that the corridor behind contains servant''s bedrooms. Eventually Jakey picks the lock, using a large crowbar and brute strength. Ascertaining that only 3 rooms are occupied, Von S, Adair and von W take bedroom each. Von S threatens his maid with a pistol , and ties her up and gags her. Adair hits his maid with his pistol butt, stunnnig her, and with the help of Huai Mei tie her up. Von W knocks politely on the door. "is that you, Lothar" says Heidi seductively.."Ja ja mein liebschen" replies von W., and enters." Keep der light off mein liebschen" whispers Von W. Just as well, Heidi is 20 stone and built like the Fuhrerbunker. "Vat is der squeaky noise" says Heidi, as von W unscrews his wooden leg. He then hits Heidi with the leg. This has no effect as she has toughness 6. He tries again, with a similar lack of success. Tiring of this foreplay, he tries to hit her with his pistol, and fumbles, scattering 9mm rounds all over the bedroom. There follows a wrestling match between , in the blue corner, Von W, 10 stone, one legged and with a pigeon chest, and in the red corner Heidi Bratwurst, 20 stone, thighs that could crack walnuts, and a chest like a melon smuggler. Luckily for von W, Adair and Von S intervene after around 5 minutes of Von W desperately defending as much of his honour as remains. Meanwhile Jakey is getting on with the job in hand , and has found a way through the attic and into the chemical store for the labs, followed bu Rupert. The rescue goes with out a hitch, and von S concocts a delayed action explosion to divert attention. Taking advantage of the fire, the team steal the helicopter, and fly off to Munich and home.
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Post by dandare on Jul 7, 2022 12:18:58 GMT
New Adventure- Adair and the Temple of Doom The party are relaxing in the flat in Mount St, when Mrs Hudson announces that there are two gentlemen at the door. These are ushered into the "Presence" of Adair, Von Widdler, Von Stauffenberg and Jakey. The sharp eyed among you will have noted that Hui Mei is missing. He has PTSD after that last adventure. (Ken has lost his character sheet!). The newcomers introduce themselves as Professor Google and his assistant Dmitri Denisov. The Professor outlines a proposition- he would like to hire them to look for a lost temple in the jungles of Cambodia. The temple belonged to an exiled branch of the Thuggee sect, and contains a monstrous sratue of the God Khali, with a gigantic ruby, the size of a football, embedded in it. There is one fly in the ountment- the Professor's bitter rival, Professor Xi Chiang Ching has a head start, and is backed by mysterious Chinese money. Time is of the essence, and the old atlas is dusted off... A telegram is dispatched to Miss Pennyfeather in Cairo to have the amphibian dusted off and made ready.
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Post by dandare on Aug 18, 2022 8:41:29 GMT
The Battle of Mount St The party are loading their baggage outside the Mount St flat (not Wei Mei has returned and Denisov has been dismissed) when a shot rings out, hitting Von Widdler in the arm. Jakey instantly recognises that the shot was fired from a Mauser 98 model 345, one of a batch of 50 donated by the Kaiser to the Chinese warlord Li Tin Wu in 1905. More importantly, it came from a window in the flats opposite. Jakey, Adair and Wei Me run across the road to investigate, Von W dives under the car, as do Prof Google and Von S. Wei Mei has a narrow escape as he crosses the street, while shooting at the sniper, and Adair fails to break the door down. Jakey finds a lane on the left side of the building, and as he does so, screeching tyres are heard. Wei Mei heads for the lane, Prof G jumps into the car, as does von W. A truck appears with 3 Chinese in it, and one of them sprays the area with a Tommy gun, Wei Mei is hit in the back with 1 bullet, and Jakey catches 3! He's still OK ish though.... Adair shoots out a tyre, while Von W tries to get a grenade out of his leg. Von S wings the man with the Thompson , who manages to shoot his driver in the back, truck crashes. The party capture a Chinaman with a cleaver, and hustle him into their coal cellar for interrogation. Jakey, though wounded managed to finish off the sniper, just as the Police arrive. Fortunately, their Home Office credentials save the party from too much close questioning. Those that need it are given medical treatment. The prisoner proves resistant to questioning, so Wei Mei is thrown in to act as a stool pigeon. This doesn't work, as he lacks a blue dragon tattoo. The prisoner tries to kill WM by kicking a lump of coal at him, but this fails spectacularly as he rolls 100. Instead, it hits the lightbulb and a shard of glass hits the prisoner's carotid artery. Adair and Von W then dispose of the body out in the countryside.
The party set off after some recuperation, taking the boat and train to Paris, where they make arrangements for boats and supplies in the headwaters of the Mekong. They fly off to Cairo to pick up their plane. Unfortunately, the plane has been sabotaged, the mechanics have been murdered, and Miss Evadne Pennyfeather has mysteriously disappeared. In steps Detective Inspector Wei Mei of the Cairo Special Branch!
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Post by dandare on Sept 1, 2022 10:39:45 GMT
Von Stauffenberg, Dancing Master!!
Hours of painstaking detective work (literally. Who'd have though there were so many Blind alleys to go up...) leads the the startling conclusion that some Chinamen kidnapped Miss Pennyfeather using a hijacked and badly disguised whisky delivery truck. The truck subsequently disappeared south into the desert towards Helwan. Adair and Google return from a trip to see the pyramids in time to be briefed on all of this. By now the plane has been repaired so they set off on a high altitude recce down the Nile. Von Widdler is the sharp eyed one, and spots the red roof of the lorry in amongst a group of palm trees, adjacent to an archaeological dig. They land on the river , and Adair buys a string of camels from a passing camel saleman, Ahmed the used camel dealer. One of the extensive El Shareef family, of whom they have met a number during the investigation of blind alleys.... The camel mounting scene was memorable, if only for the sheer incompetence, the spitting and foot stamping. The camels were just as bad. Arriving at the dig, the team snurgle through the trees, then Prof Google, hiding at the back , decides that a pinch of snuff would be a good idea. The now alerted Chinese appear from various doorways, and a right good fight ensues. Adair has a lucky escape from a burst of Tommy gun fire which hit the truck he was hiding behind. Jakey spanners a man to death, Von S Hits one with a shotgun, felling him, but another hits him with his nunchakas (Ooh! Matron!) . A second blow is incoming, when Von S dazzles the man with a display of Bavarian Folk Dancing, complete with lederhosen and thigh slapping, and von W shoots him in the back. This after von W had beaten some kind of warrior monk to death with his wooden leg (now up to 3 notches). Wei Mei's manages to eject the magazine of his Mauser instead of shooting at one stage as well, just to add to the atmosphere..... Adair and Jakey advance into the ruin, and rescue Evadne from the clutches of the last Chinaman. Sher is suitably grateful, and responds cheerfully to Adair when he asks her if she can still type... It appears that an aircraft is expected , with Prof Xi aboard, to whisk Miss P off to the mysterious east....
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Post by dandare on Sept 1, 2022 15:40:09 GMT
on Stauffenberg about to be jumped, as is von W- see Chinaman top left
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