When You Were Absent

10

Mr. Spence. It was a long walk and a dangerous trip, but he enjoyed it and came back with the bread. Milk was another problem. Mrs. Bang and Mrs. Salvensen had each left a 5 lb. tin of Klim at Felix Villas. These I took with their permission by telephone. There was no one to deliver milk. We were told that we could go to the dairy farm and buy. Later I understood that the milk was thrown down the drains-it was so plentiful, but there was no one to look after the delivery. When the water works were hit Ah Ng began to growl. I reminded her that there was no water on tap in her native village. There was a mountain stream not far from us and Ma Lien Ching and Mrs. Clift's cook were able to bring pails of water. At least we were able to flush the lavatory once or twice a day by pouring in a pail of water. Then too, we were able to wash the baby's napkins. The situation in town did not bear thinking about. Not only would there have been no laundry facilities, but no place to hang napkins.

I was very anxious to get home to bring out our papers. I was also worried about Happy, the dog.

As I remember it was December 20th when I decided to go. I left Celene and the baby and took Clyde and the red wagon. Ma Lien Ching was free that morning and so he also came and Ah Ng. We planned to get to Felix Villas about 11 to have the quiet lunch hour there. We chose the wrong day because the bombing over the city seemed to be intensified. Several times along the road, we took to the bushes at the side of the road. A thick cloud of smoke from the burning petroleum stores curled up and covered most of the sky, so that the bombers flew out and underneath it and seemed to buzz about the various peaks like huge gnats. Once a bomber came out so low, it was on, or below the level of Mt. Davis. It banked sharply like a huge shark about our heads while we scuttled for a water pipe under the road. Ma and Clyde went in at one end and Ah Ng and I at the other. We were literally on our knees and had to remain there for half an hour. Clyde kept pretending to telephone me from his end and Ma and Ah Ng kept telling him to be quiet-as though he could be heard. There was an eider down quilt at Ma's end left by someone

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