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wire from the broken ladder.
3.
The night in question was very
dark and the failure of the lights on the
northern and eastern perimeter made it
impossible to see more than a few yards
ahead. The nearest sentry was at a post
some forty or fifty yards away, and the
constable on patrol inside the camp was
on the opposite side from the eastern
perimeter. The ladders used in the escape
had been roughly constructed from material
obtained from the work-matshed. They were
of a type which could have been made by
Chinese in a few minutes, but it is believed
that they were, in fact, prepared some time
previous to the night of the escape and were
concealed under the earth near one of the huts.
It now appears evident that the
escape had been carefully pre-arranged, but
that it was carried out without the general
knowledge of the rest of the internees who
continued with their normal routine without
disturbance when the lights failed. It is
obvious that it was planned to take place
just before additional sentries were posted
at 7 p.m.
4.
5.
Every effort has been made to
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