Dangerous by Nature by Manning Coles, 1950

 

About the author: Manning Coles is the pseudonym of two British writers, Adelaide Frances Oke Manning (1891–1959) and Cyril Henry Coles (1899–1965), who wrote many spy thrillers from the early 40s through the early 60s. The fictional protagonist in 26 of their books was Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon, who works for the Foreign Office. (wikipedia)

Major characters:

• Tommy Hambledon, British Secret Service
• Mateo Delmonte, Tommy's local guide
• Ernst Busch, a German café owner
• Don Angelo Argo, a collector of antiquities
• John Bartholomew Grant, the British envoy to Esmeralda
• Rodrigo De Silva y Garacia, Esmeraldan army officer
• Wilbur K. Hobkirk, US Intelligence

Locale: (fictional) Republic of Esmeralda, Central America

Synopsis: On a river tributary deep in the jungle of Esmeralda, eight men are observed disembarking from a freighter with much freight, and disappearing up a jungle trail. The observer reports this to the authorities, and Tommy Hambledon of British Secret Service soon arrives on the scene. He reports to British envoy John Bartholomew Grant, and is to await the arrival of US intelligence agent Wilbur K. Hobkirk before proceeding.

Tommy enlists a local guide, Mateo Delmonte. Mateo urges he buy a lottery ticket, which he does. Tommy suspects the lottery is rigged, but somehow wins. In the night, a man breaks into Tommy's room seeking the lottery money, but Mateo dumps him off the veranda, killing him.

The men with the freight are identified as Russians, and they are building something large in the hills. Meanwhile, the Esmeralda military, led by Rodrigo De Silva, is training to oust their president. Tommy and Mateo spy on the Russian project, and Tommy is captured and taken prisoner.

Review: It doesn't matter where Tommy Hambledon is, the adventures always delight. This adventure doesn't disappoint. Mateo is a fun character and a good match. Another good character is the poet Mentov, who shares Tommy's prison cell. The action winds up with a really big bang, which no contemporary book would dare use - but this is 1950 and such things were contemplated back then. The Hambledon stories could use a woman now and then - maybe a femme fatale - but they never seem to get included.