''7Uhia and hin other remarks 1 wrote down without taking in their meaning, for 1 was thinking bacd, land ft was only when I heard the voice of the chief of the guard and the honking of the car outside that knew he had gone. My manner was of course unnatural and constrained, for I knew that 1 was under stspicton, that arrest was not unlikely and that a strong sus} was equivalent to a sentence, so 1 Was running over in my mind the possibilities of an escape. Galen seemed {o know nothing for he pressed my arm and asked me what was wrong; but T had nothing. to say. When I felt that 1 could tak, without betraying agitation T made excuses and left the room.
T went home in a ear, taking the seat by the chauffeur and, as I got fu, Jenka appeared and told me that Ihe suspected that there was trouble in store for me and that I. should be on my guano. 'The chauffeur, an old Russian officer, asked me what was wrong as we drove through the streets, empty except for aa occasional: patrol, but I: said nothing and when T came to my' Jodgings 1 gave him a tip and ran upstairs to my room, T stood at the door and listened for a time, then opened it and switched on the Jight, found it empty and switched the light off again, A curtained door opened on to a balcony over the street. By moving the curtain 1 could see that there was a watcher stationed just opposite, in front of, the Club, another under a street Jamp and! cyclist moving aimlessly bout as though waiting for someone. I took off "my boots _and pputiees and slipped into the corridor, from which a window overlooked courtyard and there I saw two men sitting together smoking. I knew Red methods too well to doubt that spy house was picketed and that all chance of escape that night was cut off. I felt trapped and, desperate, and to collect my courage I hail re. course to.a bottle of spirits that stood 7 on the table, emptying it almost] without a breath. It worked better! than I had intended, for before mew what had happened 1 was asleep: A confused, nightmare in which, among other things I heard some one reading aloud from the psalter, came to an abrupt end when I awoke to the knowledge that} someone was knocking at my door /and calling to me. I: was soon aware! that it was the landlady and her husband, so I opened the door to them. They had heard me shouting] and wanted to know whether I was} il, in danger or drunk. They con-eluded that I was drunk and were relieved. I then discovered that the treading of the psalter came from an adjoining room where a Chinese Communist, a. fellow lodger, was most indefatigably studying English, reading his text books alou* to himself at any and all hours.
The Morning After By this time it was daylight though the sun was not yet up, 30] T stepped out into the balcony and surveyed the street, relieved to find that the pickets were gone. From the corridor I saw that the courtyard was also empty and I began fo think that my imagination had been playing me tricks the night} before and that there was no need for such alarm. I therefore took, oft my uniform and went properly to bed, dreaming this time that T was at home, first walking in the|5° garden and then bathing in the river that flowed past our house. The only sinister part of the dream was that the water was black as ink, T awoke thoroughly sober, dressed and went to headquarters to keep an appointment with Galen. I was} supposed to round up the military' units that were going up the Yangtze with us and it was already 11 o'clock. At 11.15 a.m, Borodin's ear came for me, but for some reason this did not strike me as Jominous or even unusual. With the ear came Comrade Chen, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. I had a small bag with me containing. a change of underclothing, a bottle of wine, a box of cigars and Browning. pistol. Chen _sntiled genially and helped me in with the} bag. I assumed at first that Chen had been sent to take me to keep) my appointment, so I did not ask, where we were going, but when we: had passed the Race Course. trance, run through a Chinese dis-[trict sand seemed to be bound for Jopen country, some of my doubts of the night' before came back to me. Chen smoked cigarettes and talked about Shanghai until we came at last to a large house larded by pickets. Tt was a three-storey house surrounded by a garden and a high wall. The sentries at the gate saluted as we rolled in and there were a number of Chinese Inside the doorway of the house who bowed as we approached, Suspicious Tea I was told to fo upstairs and make myself at home. They said that Borodin, Galen and Petroff probably would not arrive for some time so that I might as well have! some tea and a rest. It all sounded friendly and comfortable, but I felt that there was some ' constraint.
For one thing everyone was abnormally polite.
T went in with Chen, however and on upstairs. In the lower hall were Soviet flags, with the hammer and sickle insignia on them, and when we came to the top floor a delegation of Chinese Communists met us with unctious courtesy and took my! bag from Chen. Again the formalities were overdone, it seemed to me. To a person already suspicious the setting was alarming. At the doorway in the hall was a perfectly: enormous trunk, big enough to serve as a cage for three men, while the rooms into which I was ushered were no bigger that the trunk, veritable cells newly partitioned off. Then the tea that they urged me to. drink was suspicious looking. The glass was dirty and the liquid was. a dirty yellow. I drank one glass but when they poured another. I threw the contents out of the window. Again the glass was filled.
my opportunity I poured out and then all of a sudden I was sick-and very obviously sick.
No one stopped me when I ran down into the garden and found the big gate on the drive padlocked on the inside. My illness brought} relief and the Chinese on the top floor called down to me that food! was ready, 50, after some hesilation, I went up again and was taken into'a room where a table was lai. T was strongly inclined now to sleep but T fought this off and protested that I was ill.: Among the [Chinese were Communists. whom J} had seen at Borodin's house. They'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.