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who now came out to meet me; the Consul, who had suddenly- 

 been recalled to the Union, had sent his regrets and regards, and 

 his Deputy would provide or attend to any needs. Then to my 

 great joy I saw my old friends Comandante Correia de Barros, the 

 Governor-General's right-hand man, and his lovely wife, Senhora 

 Donna Maria Emilia. Phillip had kindly told them I was expected 

 and they had been waiting for an hour, and he one of the busiest 

 men in the world. It was one of the brightest spots in that flight. 

 Then there were greetings from various airport officials, all old 

 acquaintances, who had stood aside until Barros and his wife had 

 greeted me. On the way from Durban I had written a brief 

 account of events in Portuguese, and now sent this to NottciaSy 

 the Mozambique paper of Louren^o Marques, the staff of which 

 are old friends. I had taken the precaution of having a good supply 

 of Mozambique currency, and soon had the crew filling up on hot 

 coffee, soft drinks, and food. Even apart from our own sense of 

 urgency we did not have to stay long, for the machine was refuelled 

 and all formalities completed in rapid time. Anyone who has ideas 

 that the Portuguese are lackadaisical should speak to airmen or 

 to ships' officers, who will soon disabuse that notion. In all the 

 years I have worked in Mozambique, not a boat or a car or a plane 

 provided by the authorities has ever been late, not one. On this 

 occasion everything was laid on with unusual speed, partly 

 because it was by Government orders and partly as an extra bit 

 for me. We heard later that the Portuguese made no charge for 

 any of the services rendered on this whole flight. 



Off we went again straight away north, over the land, on a bee- 

 line for Bazaruto, Inhambane far on the starboard side. In the 

 plane we were now less like stilt-legged dogs walking cautiously 

 around and sniffing one another. At the level of Beira I opened my 

 packages and gave each man a small feed consisting of litchis, 

 biscuits, dried figs, and cheese. Eating together loosens reserve, 

 and there was now less tension and even occasional smiles from 

 the crew. I asked Blaauw if I might light my small primus to make 

 coffee for everyone, but he was plainly shocked to the core. It 

 was against all regulations. I told him I had often lit that very 

 stove in a hold full of T.N.T. without any concern, and would 

 do it in that metal hull and guarantee no danger. After all, man, 

 I pointed out, after all I had been through I wanted to 



