“I can’t talk about it,” she repeated. “... Please—my glass is quite empty.”
When he had refilled it:
“How did you get away from Yian?” he asked.
“The Japanese.”
“What luck!”
“Yes. One battle was fought at Buldak. The Hassanis and Blue Flags were terribly cut up. Then, outside the walls of Yian, Prince Sanang’s Tchortcha infantry made a stand. He was there with his Yezidee horsemen, all in leather and silk armour with casques and corselets of black Indian steel.
“I could see them from the temple—saw the Japanese gunners open fire. The Tchortchas were blown to shreds in the blast of the Japanese guns.... Sanang got away with some of his Yezidee horsemen.”
“Where was that battle?”
“I told you, outside the walls of Yian.”
“The newspapers never mentioned any such trouble in China,” he said, suspiciously.