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support refugees from Hongkong until positions could be found for them. I had obtained them through the recommendation of that organisation, as also the two wireless operators. Although they had volunteered for active service, in the interests of security, I had been unable to explain to them the exact nature of our work and they were already beginning to show symptoms of uneasiness the nearer we approached to the front. Rogue, whose real name was a long Portuguese word ending in Rogue, too difficult to spell or pronounce, had also escaped from Hongkong. He was originally a Portuguese subject from Timor, half Chinese and half Portuguese by blood. At one period of his life he had served in the Chinese Army, and at another he had commanded a small Portuguese vessel sailing out of Macao. He was very tough, always cheerful, always ready to do what was asked of him, and brave as a lion. Wherever he is I hope the British government will look after him for the excellent service he gave while with our party. Lao Teng was the cook-boy who had joined me in eastern China and who continued to look after me, until I left China. He was not only an excellent cook, well able to accommodate himself to all the food and fuel crises to which troops are exposed, but he was a personal friend, usually singing and laughing, and always ready to turn to and prepare a meal after a day's march, however long. He looked after me like a mother; I hope we may meet again one day.
Owing to the limitation imposed by the numerous demands on the single R.A.F. 'plane received each week at Kun-ming, our clothing and equipment was peculiar and modest. We hoped to have further supplies dropped to us in due course, but in the meantime the party was dressed in a mixture of uniforms which would have given occasion for comment had they appeared on the square at Wellington Barracks; as Stan said, watching the men jump out of our lorry on arrival at Paoshan, he wondered what the heck was going to jump out next. What our American friends thought of us Heaven only knows; they were too polite to tell us.
As far as Paoshan we had moved by lorry; we were now to take to our feet, with pack animals to carry the baggage. The Chinese would not allow us to proceed directly to Kokang, but insisted that we should go via Shunning; it meant covering two sides of a triangle. The instruction was not unreasonable because it was at Shunning that the headquarters of the army, covering the portion of the front which included Kokang, lay.
The Chinese system of providing coolies, in areas where coolies carried the baggage, or pack animals, where such were available, was