The house reached, the animals four foreign goats, a dog and a cat—and the house-boy's eldest son, a baby, were put into the van, together with the superintendent and the other foreigner. They did not start immediately, however, for the earth was quivering every few moments from the explosions of bombs which were intended for a Chine field battery several hundred yards away.
The noise was terrific and the battery fire almost continuous and in such quantity that the finding of the best shelter on the best side seemed to be merely a matter of luck. The two foreigners began to fear that bomb craters would make Hungjao Road impassable for the return journey but, during a lull, when the aeroplanes seemed to have gone back for more bombs, a start was made. Noise was still going on, but of a different sort; one of the goats was backing into the side of the van with a "boom" and then lurching forward and butting the dog, which was howling. At times, the commotion at the back was so great that the two in the front seat thought the van doors were going to give way.
Things went fairly smoothly. however, although a bumpy bit of road through the Homeside Farms at Chungsan Road made driving somewhat difficult. Owing to the depth of the ruts in the road, the car chassis grounded, but cleared again ihe van was on asphalt once more. A few hundred yards and the rat-way was reached; through the new Chinese lines in Rockhill Avenue, past the British outposts—and the adventure was over, with everyone safe and sound.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.