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quiet in my neighbourhood I gained the road to Sha Tin and
took my party to a safe distance along it and awaited daylight.
I, subsequently made my way to Sha Tin by boat
and as I saw no signs of the relieving force I started for
Hong Kong at 7 a.m. as the Sikh Police had had nothing to eat
for 24 hours, and the Chinese soldiers were thoroughly tired
out.
What struck me most in the above incident was
the evidently organized manner in which members from the sur-
rounding villages concentrated to take part in the attack on
the matshed. This is no doubt a method of the clans in which
the leased territory abounds, adopted both for offence and
defence.
It was difficult, owing to the darkness of the
night to estimate the numbers who took part in firing the
matshed, but there must have been between 100 and 200 men.
I have, &c.,
Y F H MAY