'The moon was brushed with hurry. Jing black clouds the night we passed the Russian border. At the last post on Russian soil our luggage was taken ut of the train and ransacked. When 'We got back with it, carboys, walters and' Intourist guide had" vanished, We and the engine-driver had the train. to ourselves. Would that ali|¢ tipping problems" were solved satisfactorily. The train was searched, passports restored to us and the train earched again, Russian stowaways are shot if discovered by the Russians. If discovered by the Japanese they are also shot.
We steamed slowly under the! frontier arch with a glimpse of the sentry standing there immobile in a temperature of 40 degrees below zr.
30 into Manchuli where the whole game of luginge and passport examination was played over again with rear. zest by Japanese officials. It was 4am, and the train to Harbin id. not Teave till 930 am. A momentary sense of depression was completely dissipated by the discovery of a station restaurant where beer and real hot food was obtainable. Six hungry people sat down {o toast the end of delays and a hot bath on the morrow at Harbin, The morrow dawned sunny and bright but with a sinister and usual sense of quietness. We had broken down in the middle of a sandy basin ringed by snow-covered hills. Our pidery looking locomotive stood happily blowing off steam from every crevice with a military" guard of honour on each
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.