That evening the train officials decided to return to Hankow. It was a relief to be speeding back through the night, but so disappointing that we could hardly think about sleep. We reached Wuchang on Tuesday, the 20th, at 3.30 am. and by 5 p.m. were at the terminus. A lovely summery Again we returned to the train, half-heartedly laughing and joking, to dab our scratches with iodine and wash off some of the countryside we had carried with us. Then tiffin and the hope of a rest after a trying morning.
All this time the train had been standing in the small station near which it had stopped, but again it began its uneasy movements to and fro. Suddenly "Air laid! Air laid!" brought us to our feet again as the porter rushed through the coaches with his warning cry. Realizing its sinister meaning, again we jumped and scrambled down the steep bank. "he planes could be heard but not seen, so we had enough time to gain a small hamlet. Passing over a stone bridge of several granite slabs with spaces between, we decided to take shelter beneath it. The ditch was damp and filthy, but we were all too grateful for its protection to mind its unpleasantness.
Train Bombed It was rather confusing after that. Planes came and went at a height of about 4,000 feet and we could hear them dropping bombs in the distance. They then broke formation and deliberately began reconnoitring in groups of two or three at a much lower level. The train meanwhile had drawn out of the station and had
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.