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and food. A glance at Ride's map and Lee's information confirmed that we were on the opposite side of the water to the SHATIN Straight, a position which it was our original intention to avoid at all costs!
Our intention was then to follow the easy coast path from the village to any convenient sampan base in TOLO Harbour but frequent groups of villagers and more particularly, two Japanese in rowing boats, caused us to change our minds and make overland for such a base.
This decision involved the ascent of TURRET HILL, which was done towards the middle of the afternoon, and then we passed through a series of villages en route to our "base". The first village was SAN UK where Lee reported the absence of Japanese and food. If questioned en route through these villages it was our intention to describe ourselves as Germans. This precaution was unnecessary as the villagers were not too inquisitive since Japanese had not penetrated so far at that time. Probably, in future, all such villages would have to be avoided. This means more food and a billy-can for boiling river water. A similar reception was obtained at the next village.
Finally, near the village of MAU PING we met a group of villagers who attached themselves to us and obtained for us a Chinese meal at MAU PING.
Some of the same villagers then offered to guide us to SAIKUNG, our "base" and bargain there for a sampan to take us out of TOLO Harbour. Lee and one such guide went on ahead to make preliminary enquiries while we three and another guide followed at a slower pace, this time on the main path to SAIKUNG as the villagers believed correctly that we would not meet Japanese en route.
We reached SAIKUNK before dark and were left outside the village.
After two hours wait we contacted Lee who quickly ushered us away from the village because of known NANKING sympathisers there, and out on to the hills where we spent a miserably cold night.
12th January, 1942.
With the dawn we found a more sheltered spot in a nearby wood about two miles from SAIKUNG. Lee then returned to SAIKUNG to look for a boat. He returned with three pieces of bad news:-
(a) that the only offer of a boat that he had
received was for 500 dollars;
(b) that NANKING sympathisers in the village had
had word of the arrival of three Europeans, and
(c) that his original MAU PING guide had warned
us to be on the look-out for a band of robbers known to be operating in that neighbourhood
The last two pieces of news caused us to retreat still further into the wood just in time,
for
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