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who must have slept there. Later Ma returned to get it, but it had been taken. With my head almost tucked under my arm, I could look back and see the beautiful sapphire waters of "our sea." There were several "Mosquito" boats in full flight like swift water spiders. They left a spreading white wake as they twisted and dodged a bomber that was after them. Felix Villas was deserted except for a P.W.D. Engineer who was working on a wire. I believe the idea was to blow up the road. The house was in utter disorder. Not a pane of glass was left. The floors were covered with debris and the dust was inches thick, so that you had to be careful not to get cut on shattered glass. Happy was curled up on a forbidden bed of golden tapestry. He was so excited he didn't know whether to greet us or to eat the food we had brought, but kept running from us to the food and back again. Germaine's dogs were also excited. Germaine's little white dog was missing. He was a little bigger than a rabbit and how Happy hated him! I think Happy must have eaten him for a rabbit. We suspected Happy of having Greyhound blood. We decided to take Happy back with us and keep him on the roof. We had to work quickly. Clyde was told he could take out any of his things that he would pull for himself. He went for his stuffed animals and books. Later he thought of other things, but it was too late. After I got the papers, I went from one thing to another in indecision. I took one thing only to replace it by another, and finally left with half a load. We had been continuously told that we could stand months of siege and that we would not surrender except street by street. I thought that if we did surrender, we should be allowed to stay in our own houses as the Europeans did in other parts of China. Therefore, I fully expected to return eventually to the house, whichever way was the outcome, and this was the reason I didn't take more that I might easily have taken. Had we been told the truth, not only I, but many of my friends might have packed up essentials and have saved a great deal in the way of money and strength.
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