If Gale had hoped for a good talk with Mac, she was doomed to disappointment, for as she and Than Shwe entered the long, low room that was evidently an eating place, someone grabbed them both by the arms to exclaim:
“How are you, girls? How you making it?” It was the colonel himself. “Come on,” he urged. “We’ll all sit together at this table.” So it happened that the four girls ate at the colonel’s table, along with his driver and orderly.
“This is a Chinese place, but don’t order chop suey,” the colonel warned. “The waiter won’t know what you mean.”
“Golly! Why not?” Jan asked.
“I’ll explain that later,” said the colonel. Then he exclaimed:
“Boy! Oh boy! Are we in luck! This Chink’s been raiding a hen coop. There’s stewed chicken and dumplings to be had. How about an order all round? This is on me. It’s the happiest night of my life.”
There was a chorus of assents, and so the meal was ordered.
“Why so happy, colonel?” Jan asked.
“Oh! Don’t you know?” Than Shwe exclaimed. “This is our road of remembrance, is it not colonel?”
“Yes, yes!” he agreed. “Our road of remembrance. Than Shwe and I are going back.”