Chapter Fifteen 



MALAN AND MALANIA 



s I lay back, my friends swam into my consciousness and 

 took hold. I could not speak, but tried to smile thanks for all 

 they said. Photographer George Symons took my two precious 

 rolls of films, and swore to let me have them before 3 a.m. 'When 

 can we see the Coelacanth?' my friends asked, and this was 

 drowned in a chorus from the press, who asked to photograph it. 

 There was near consternation when I shook my head, then ex- 

 plained that Dr. Malan was to be the first to see it ; until then, no 

 one else. They tried all they could, but I was adamant. Then came 

 a telephone call from Pretoria, to say that in the matter of taking 

 the Coelacanth to Cape Town to show Dr. Malan, it was felt that 

 as he was resting and on holiday, and in view of his age, having 

 need to conserve his strength, it would be too much for him to come 

 all that way in from the Strand. They had obviously mistaken my 

 intentions. I asked if the matter had been put to Dr. Malan himself, 

 and the answer was *No,' they did not want to disturb him, but 

 he had been told of our safe return. So I said that I appreciated 

 all their kind concern for Dr. Malan, but I certainly had as much 

 myself and had never expected him to come to Cape Town and 

 certainly did not want that. I wished to take the Coelacanth to 

 him wherever he might be, and unless he expressly forbade it, 

 would do so. I added firmly that if all else failed I would push the 

 thing there on a wheel-barrow myself. At any rate, that could be 

 settled later. Would the Commander-in-Chief kindly authorise 

 the flight to Cape Town, and the issue could be put to Dr. Malan 

 in the morning; but it must, please, be put to Dr. Malan himself, 

 for whatever else might happen I intended to go and find out 

 myself if it had been. He very amiably said go ahead, and he would 

 pass on my message. Then they put through a call to my wife in 

 Grahamstown, when I told her what had happened and asked her 

 to bring all the necessaries for coffee and food for seven to the 



