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into the river. I could see their desire to be reasonable, and also to ridicule their own sanitary code. I read the letter before I destroyed it. That letter was the first step in my disillusionment. It was a vague letter mentioning the preceding week of confusion and indecision in Hong Kong, with a hope that London could arrange with M.B.K. in Tokyo some scheme of mutual protection of business interests if the "worst did happen." The M.B.K. was one of the largest mercantile firms in Japan with universal interests. What confounded rot! The M.B.K. was as powerless in the face of their own Army Juggernaut as we were. It came as a profound shock to me. Here was evidence in writing that big business interests could enter into deals with enemy business interests behind their own governments' backs. Why were we at war if we could be friendly enough to dicker about mutual protection of business interests and properties? At one time, during the first moments of captivity, I had almost felt compelled to eat the letter unread, in order that it would not fall into enemy hands. Imagine my disgust to think of how near I came to having a stomach upset over such a supine and stupid epistle! Instead of a stomachache I got a headache to think that a head of my own shipping firm could pen such a letter at such a time. However the disillusionment of Archibald was proceeding apace. The idols were crashing, the feet becoming clay. Shorn of "the Club," the "Hong House," the retinue of servants, the facade of imperial invulnerability, the executives were becoming mere men, selfish, uninformed, indecisive, - like the rest of us. During the day, all passengers, Asiatics and foreigners, were disembarked. The Chinese were permitted to go anywhere within the occupied zone. The foreigners were instructed to assemble in the gardens in front of the British Consulate on Shameen Island, the foreign concession. After the passengers had disembarked, the Japanese told me to tell the officers and crew to pack up and prepare to leave the vessel. A skeleton crew was to remain on board for
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