In that case I had to act promptly, before I gave the Chinese the chance to announce this fact to me and rob me of my freedom. The “Guard of Honour” was a nuisance, but I hoped to find means of getting rid of him.
The same evening we were all bidden to the house of a German friend. I had settled on my plan. After a few pleasant hours, during which I had to recount time and again the last days of Kiao-Chow, the other officers took their departure at ten o’clock, followed by their faithful sentries. I stayed on, but after half an hour decided that it was imperative for me to depart, if I still wanted to make my escape.
But when my host stepped out from the house whom did he see? My yellow guardian! We were in a fix; but with prompt decision I sent our “boy” to ask him what he meant by waiting, as all the gentlemen had been gone for a good while, and he would be punished for his carelessness if he did not catch them up.
And whilst the poor devil ran off in their wake, a closed carriage was taking me to the station at breakneck speed. I was just in time to secure the last berth in the newly run express train. The sleeping-compartment was already locked, and a tall Englishman opened the door unwillingly and with a furious face, in answer to my spirited knocking. I simply ignored him, jumped into the upper berth, and, turning off the light, pretended to undress. In reality I crept under my pillows and blankets, resolved not to wake up under any provocation. But during the next eight hours I never slept. As often as the train stopped, I felt cold shivers running down my back, saying to myself: “Ha, they will fetch me now!” And, when loud voices sounded outside, I felt convinced that my last train-trip during this war was over.
But nothing happened. The Chinese did not yet seem to have thought of telegraphing in connection with arrests, so, according to schedule, at seven in the morning we arrived in Shanghai. After successfully passing the ticket-collector, I promptly bowled along in a rickshaw through the Chinese quarter—where the Chinese authorities still had a hold on me—and at last reached the European side, where I felt safe and free from interference.
I went straight to a German acquaintance, who received me with open arms, and whose guest I remained during the next three weeks.
For it was fully that before I was able to continue my journey; and in the meantime how many adventures, perils, and games of hide-and-seek!
For what was more natural than that Oberleutnant P. should not be known at all at my quarters, and that Herr Meyer, who had stayed there for a few days, should already have left?
That Mr. Scott had come on a visit to his kind friends, of course, was no one’s business. But prudence was essential, especially as I knew a great number of people in Shanghai, many of whom were English, met previously in Kiao-Chow before the war.