January 1940 to February 1942

CHAPTER II

KIDNAPPED

By the beginning of the winter of 1941 the situation in the Far East deteriorated with the passage of each day. There was constant speculation as to the probable outbreak of hostilities between America and Japan. Chinese newspapers headlined the breakdown of Japanese-American negotiations in Washington and hopefully predicted war in the Pacific.

Most thinking people considered it inevitable and were mainly concerned with the probable duration: three months, six months, or a year at the outside! We were confident. I-lad we not rubbed shoulders with the Japanese in China for the past ten years since the Manchurian " incident "? They manufactured only the cheapest goods, incapable of standing up to hard wear and tear it was unlikely that their armaments would prove the exception; lack of raw materials made it impossible for them to engage in a prolonged war. They were copyists, completely lacking in initiative and in capable of sound military or civil administration; it was inconceivable that they could withstand the combined forces of the United States and Britain. What had we to fear from the Japanese?

The British and American community in Peking and Tientsin, and elsewhere in China, in response to repeated warnings from their Consular representatives to evacuate, at last began to face hard facts. People commenced to pack, to dispose of their houses, and flocked to the offices of the shipping companies in a last-minute endeavour to obtain passages to America and to the British Colonies.

I had already notified my head office in Shanghai of my intention to proceed to Hong Kong at the end of the year to join the Naval volunteers.

One afternoon, late in November, I was having tea and reading the day's news when my servant Liu came in, looking rather excited, which for him was most unusual. He said that he believed the house was being watched both day and night. He had not mentioned it before, as he was not sure and did not want to worry me, but he was now convinced. There were two Chinese on the job, he said, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Not only was the house being watched but that morning he had met Nikoli, who had told him he would be around to sec me in a day or two. It was already dark, but I went outside to have a look. True, there were several loafers in the street, but then this was one of the main thoroughfares, so I thought little more about it.

Later I had just finished dressing preparatory to going out to dinner, when the front-door bell rang. Liu opened the door and I heard him tell the callers that I was not at home, which struck me as being rather strange, and I walked over to the banisters to listen to the conversation that was still continuing at the front door. I immediately recognised Nikoli's voice and that of a Japanese. They insisted upon coming in and Liu showed them into the sitting room and, on the pretext of getting them a drink, retired to the servants' quarters. He soon reappeared with a tray of glasses, ice and whisky, and at the same time the coolie, armed with brushes and dusters, worked his way up the stairway and, once out of sight, bolted up the remaining stairs and into my room with a message from Liu that, whatever happened, I must not appear, otherwise, if Nikoli and his companion found out that he had lied to them, there was no knowing what might happen to him! I quite saw the point, but having just arrayed myself in my best suit, I failed to see the necessity for climbing into a closet or crawling under the bed, and told the coolie to return with a whisky and soda at the first opportunity. After all, they were having a drink, pressing my servant with questions, and from their point of view having a very successful time. No doubt they would go very shortly.

But on the contrary: they had one drink; they had another; they stayed an hour, an hour and a half, and I was that much late for my dinner appointment. They consumed more than half a bottle of whisky before they felt the urge to explore. Liu did his best to deter them but without success.

Long having given up interest in. the proceedings and hearing voices in the hallway below, I took it that they were on the point of leaving. But not at all. Slowly they came upstairs, discussing in rather bawdy terms the merits of certain whore-houses in the city. Too late to do any-thing else, I slid under the bed. Liu conducted the tour with admirable tact through the three bedrooms, at the same time giving them a lucid, though completely imaginative, account of the affairs of the various company wives who had occupied the house during past decades, and, with the Chinese servant's penchant for gossip, not without a few rather succulent truths. At last they retraced their steps and, promising to return next day, left in an alcoholic glow.

Covered in dust and feathers and determined to fire the coolie for not having cleaned under the bed, I emerged, two hours late for dinner.

The following evening Nikoli called again, accompanied by the Japanese gendarme, an old Kalgan buddy. He told me that he and his friend had been transferred to work in Tientsin and I wondered at the time what connection their transfer had with my movements. We talked for an hour or so on life in the port city and he left with the usual assurance that if I ever needed any assistance, I should remember that he had good connections with the Japanese and was always willing to help an old friend.

By this time I had begun to feel suspicious that some-thing serious was in the air. The next morning in the office I had a long talk with Mizuno-san and he too felt that there was some cause for anxiety and warned me never to leave the British Concession. He promised to make discreet enquiries. I had already filed an application for a pass to leave Tientsin for Shanghai, but had been continually put off. Mizuno learned eventually that the military authorities in Kalgan had put in a request that I be sent up there for further questioning, and for this reason the gendarmes were refusing to issue my travelling pass. This looked bad. I decided to send Mizuno along to the gendarme headquarters to make enquiries; he returned in a somewhat more optimistic frame of mind and said they had agreed to let him know definitely about my travelling permit within three or four days.

A British merchant boat was scheduled to leave from the British Concession wharf for Shanghai during the next day or two and it was suggested that I should go aboard and hide until the examination at the mouth of the river had been completed, but Mizuno thought this unwise. If I was caught, there would certainly be trouble.

On the morning of 6th December Mizuno received a telephone-call requesting my immediate presence at the pass-issuing office in order to complete the necessary formalities covering the permit, which they had decided to issue to me. This office was in the Japanese Concession and we discussed the advisability of my going. If I wanted the pass, there seemed to be no alternative, so I arranged to go with a couple of friends who also had to go over to collect their passes. Once there the Japanese who was in charge asked me to wait in the crowded room. An hour went by ; I seemed to have been forgotten. Slowly and methodically, and with much questioning, passes were being issued. Being very busy in the office, I told the clerk I would have to return later but he asked me to wait for another twenty minutes, explaining that my pass had not yet been completed. The time dragged and, making up my mind to go, I informed him that I would be back in the afternoon.

In the entrance lobby Nikoli's companion approached me with the request for a lift in my car, as he wanted to go to the station. As this was directly on my route, I agreed, but no sooner had I sat down in the car than he slammed the door, got into the front seat, produced a pistol and told the chauffeur to " get going ". The realisation that I was being kidnapped numbed me for a moment. My first reaction was to attempt to get out of the car, which by now, under directions from the Japanese, was heading deeper into the Japanese Concession, but there was little chance of getting away, and I would most probably have been shot. I decided to sit tight and see what happened.

Arriving at what appeared to be the small Japanese Army barracks, I was escorted by two armed soldiers to an office. The man who accompanied me made a brief report on his achievement to an Army colonel sitting at the desk, and was then dismissed. The colonel read from a document which he held, bowed gravely and instructed a Chinese to interpret. He spoke good English and informed me that I had just heard the warrant issued by the Imperial Japanese Army Head-quarters at Kalgan for my arrest in connection with certain acts that were considered as economic sabotage, with intent to undermine the stability of the Mengchiang currency, a criminal offence punishable under military law. I would he taken to Kalgan for court-martial. I argued and threatened dire international consequences, but at a curt command two soldiers forcibly dragged me from the room. I was pushed into a room with a couple of armchairs and a table upon which was a box of cigarettes, and left to myself. Lighting a cigarette I sat down visualising all manner of unpleasant possibilities; but I felt confident that it would be only a matter of hours before the wheels of diplomacy started to move. With the political situation as it was, I felt that publicity would probably have the desired result and I would eventually be set free with the usual profuse apologies that it was just another case of mistaken identity.

An hour passed and nothing happened. I tried the door — it was not locked. Opening it and looking up and down the deserted corridor, I decided to walk out boldly as if released. Reaching the entrance, and looking the tougher of the two sentries straight in the eye, I proceeded to walk out. He made no sign, but just as I was about to pass, the smaller, more insignificant of the two shouted something in a surprisingly gruff voice, and lowering their rifles, they barred the way. A second order brought six more soldiers at the double from the guard-house and I was roughly escorted back to another room, handcuffed, and the door locked.

In less than half an hour I was taken to a car waiting at the entrance and already overcrowded with soldiers. Two of them got out and I was pushed into the back seat with my plain-clothes guards, one on either side, and each with a soldier sitting on his knees, so that I could neither see nor be seen. Two more soldiers squeezed into the front seat with the driver. In less than fifteen minutes we had passed through the French Concession over the International Bridge and had arrived at the station. The station clock showed a few minutes past two and I guessed that we were going to catch the two-twenty for Peking. This was rather encouraging. Being a Saturday, there were sure to be a few people going up to Peking for the week-end, and even if there was no chance of getting in touch with them, they would at least see me and realise that something unusual was going on. I was hurried out of the car and kept well out of sight in the booking-office. When the train came in, I was whisked across the platform to a compartment which had been reserved. My two companions pulled down the blinds and locked the compartment door.

We sat down; they offered me cigarettes -- one spoke a little English they showed me their pistols. I did my best to be pleasant and before long the atmosphere was easier. I had to find some way of getting out into the corridor, so complained of the heat and suggested that they open the door. After half an hour or so I got up and, stretching my legs, strolled out into the corridor. Standing at the far end of the corridor I saw a Greek girl whom I knew and, with my back to the entrance to my compartment, signalled to her to come over. She greeted me and I asked her to come in and sit down. My two guards were rather at a loss to know what to do; fortunately she spoke fluent Japanese and in a short while they were plying her with questions and thoroughly enjoying themselves. During the conversation I managed to get in a few words every now and again to show my predicament, and asked her to get in touch with Billy Christian, our managing director for North China, who was at that time in Peking, and let him know what had happened. Promising to do so immediately she arrived, she excused herself to the Japanese, wished me good luck, and returned to her own compartment. I felt a good deal better and knew if anything could be done, it would. We arrived in Peking with just sufficient time to change trains and within a quarter of an hour we were on the way to Kalgan.

The country was familiar to me and I considered jumping off the train as soon as it was dark, but every time I moved, one of the guards accompanied me. I was not even allowed in the lavatory alone.

There was no passport examination upon arrival this time, and, as a guest of the State, a car was waiting for me outside the station to take us to the Military Headquarters. It was now after one in the morning and, apart from sentries, the buildings were deserted. A sergeant in a dingy little office searched my pockets and took everything I had, including my wristwatch, and finally snapped a pair of handcuffs on my wrists. Writing out a receipt for me, he handed it to my companions and dismissed them, then led me across two open courtyards to a long low building. As he pushed open the door a shaft of bright light lit up the snow, which sparkled in the cold electric light. We entered a long corridor about four feet wide on one side of the building, the other side consisting of wooden bars forming a long row of cells. The two guards on duty came to meet us; my sergeant snapped out an order, and one of them, grabbing me by the arm, pulled me along the passage-way. Half-way down the line he produced a bunch of keys and, bending down, unlocked a small, barred wooden door about two and a half feet square. The cell floor was raised about two feet above the earthen floor of the corridor. I crawled in and the door was bolted.

The cell was empty, but in one corner was a dirty grey cotton blanket. I wrapped it around me as best I could stretch out on the board floor. Sleep seemed impossible under the glare of the electric light, yet many sleepers nearby rent the air with their snoring. It was horribly cold and the wooden hoards were hard. I closed my eyes: jumbled thoughts whirled through my brain . . . . I should be lucky if I got through this mess! Most probably I would be given the water treatment if I didn't die from disease. What would the office be able to do about it? Surely it would be only a matter of a day or two before one of our Japanese advisers came up and straightened things out? I was supposed to be at a party tonight too . . . what a time we had had last night! . . . everyone was very gay .. . What a comfortable bed I had in Tientsin . . . . I was in a train full of Japanese . . . I was chained to one on either side of me . . . Nikoli's face was laughing at me from the baggage rack on the other side of the compartment . . . . What a cruel dissipated face he had . . . now Okata of the pass-issuing office in Tientsin was sitting on my chest and he was holding both my wrists. I struggled but he would not release my hands . . . it was daylight, and I was lying on the floor . . . . Okata was no longer on my chest but he was still holding on to my wrists . . . somebody was holding them . . . . God! Where am I? Slowly it all came back to me.

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