The journey was continued Lienyun and immediately steps. wes taken to have a Wharf tug to go out and meet the destroyer, which was in plain sight, 'Three times the prepa Hons were delayed by air-raid. alarms, 'Two planes at a time would fly over and' the Chinese" anti-aircraft batlones would fire at them. While the tug was being delayed in starting, tWo small gigs from the des troyer lett ship with the purpose of bringing Dr, Reed ashore so that he ould make'a trip to his hospital in Haichow. The Pope meanwhile was waiting for a party of evacuees who wore due-on the Lunghai Express. The {wo gigs had no sooner approached the island which ig just outside the Lienyun Harbour than rifles began to crack, and it was 'soon apparent that the fre was being directed perilously close to the two small boats. "When the captain of the destroyer, who was on one of the igs, noticed that a rangefinder on the island was directing the fre and that the shots which had come closer suddenly wore directed over the gigs, he ordered the boats to turn to the Pope, The firing then Later, the commander of the arrison at Lienyun sent a letter of apology to the captain on the Pope, explaining that the isolated sentries on the island had not fully under~ stood the situation and that they had fired with no other intention except to stop the small boats from coming fon any farther. The plan. was for the tug to go out to the destroyer, and not for small boats to come over from the ship. It is easy to understand that the sentry Would have been unwilling to take a chance, specially when. Japanese aeroplanes were flying over at intervals for some hours, and it was known that Japa~ nese warships were not far away.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.