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Commodore would make the decision whether we should sail for Canton on Saturday, December sixth, as usual, or not. There were suggestions that the vessel might be used as an evacuation ship to take Westerners out of the Canton area. Thursday passed, a day of indecision. Should I pile the family and our servants on board my steamer and take them to Canton? If I took them and brought them back would it embarrass the U.S. Consular Authorities? Why did I not take them all with me? Yet, was it not God's will that they remain? Did not Stanley give spiritual rebirth? Friday came and went without decision. Strained and awaiting a telephone call I remained at home all day. About 2 p.m. I began watching the islands to the southward of our home to see if the Japanese river vessel would come down from Canton to Hong Kong to make her routine trip. Surely the Japanese would not send an unarmed ship right into the fortress of Hong Kong on the eve of a declaration of war. During the day I had argued with myself that if the Japanese river vessel showed up that would be an indication of the trend of the situation. I had succeeded in fooling myself to think that the Japanese High Command cared about Hong Kong's "might." They alone knew the hour of attack, and after all, the Japanese river vessel could leave Hong Kong early on Saturday morning December 6th and be safe in Japanese patrolled waters in two hours' time. What straws we cling to in our frantic efforts to deceive ourselves. Eventually she hove in sight. I telephoned the information to the shipping company. They, in turn, thought that her arrival seemed to indicate an easing of the situation. They did not tell me that the shipping company executives had already packed their trunks and sent their wives and families on board one of their motor vessels. They had even taken their dogs. The excuse was "there is no sense in our remaining here. We will be more valuable to the war effort outside." Their war effort was carried on as they draped themselves over a Fremantle "pub" counter. Their war effort was to cast their loyal Chinese crews into concentration camps and have the Australian military forces shoot down and kill an unfortunate Chinese seaman who, in his bewilderment at the sudden transition from China to Australia, had failed to see "reason."
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