‘You intrigue me. Explain please.’
‘Sir, of course you will remember how we managed the follow-up of the killers of Colonel Ridings that was named Operation Red Tidings.’
‘No need to ask. I most certainly do.’
‘So you will also remember that four of Ten Foot Long’s people came over to my side, one of whom was the man detailed to look after his personal radio, the one eventually that led to his demise. I will take two of them, put them in CT uniform if I can, otherwise merely to wear a starred cap, and they will be my screen and liaison with any hostile.’ He did not say that he and his Gurkha gunman and radio operator would also were similar headgear. Something about some Geneva Convention will be flung in my face if I suggest it.
‘Are you sure they won’t turn?’ the Colonel asked, doubt evident in his tone of voice.
‘Sure as I can be, sir. They will be fully dependent on me for a return to their families. They’ll be lost in north Malaya.’
‘I’ll go along with that. Call them a “Q” Party.’ He broke off, obviously in some distress. ‘Sir, I must ask to go to a lavatory. I have just come back for four days of enforced constipation hiding in the middle of a rubber estate where such an operation would be given away by any smell of human ordure. I had to take a laxative on my return, all of my small group did, and only now is it working.’
He was shown where to go and came back, looking much more comfortable. ‘And where you successful?’ the Colonel asked.
‘Sir, we would have been had the guerrillas not had a dog to go in front of them as a sentry. As soon as it smelt us it barked so gave us away. After such an effort by my men, yes, it was disappointing.’
He never mentions himself, does he?
‘Now back to the “Q” Party: I’ll fix it when I get back to Seremban.’ Seeing a map on the wall Jason went over to look at it. He found the Sungei Perak and traced it up to the Thai border, noting Gunong Gadong. ‘No crossing the border for me and my men, that’s correct, isn’t it?’
Before the Colonel could answer Ah Fat broke in with ‘there’s a border stone marked with a hammer and sickle in its stem. We put it there as we passed through on our way to Thailand. It is a good reference point and easy to find. That could be a good RV as the Bear knows where it is.’
‘Useful,’ said Colonel Mason and continued, ‘No crossing the border whatsoever. This venture is hairy enough already without anymore whiskers being added. Unwanted whiskers could well be meeting up with the opposing group.’
To the Colonel’s surprise Jason grinned and said something in Chinese to Ah Fat who grinned back. ‘Sorry sir, that was rude of me. What I started to say was that I can make jungle noises that Ah Fat can tell the Bear to listen out for.’ He smiled delightfully as though enjoying a joke. ‘He’s bound to recognise one noise I make as it is unique.’
‘I don’t get you,’ said the Colonel, a tad gruffly, not fully understanding what Jason was trying to say.
‘Listen, sir,’ and he cupped his hands and made some startlingly realistic cuckoo noises. ‘Why is that unique?’ the Colonel queried.
‘Because there are no cuckoos in Malaya or rather, to be accurate, members of the cuckoo family that are in Malaya don’t “cuck”. When I used it to keep distance with my people the guerrillas heard it, knew it was not a Malayan bird and quickly left. In fact I was the only cuckoo there was,’ and he gave a burst of laughter. ‘I can also coo like a dove but that doesn’t carry so far,’ and he gave a lifelike call with his cupped hands,
Colonel Mason asked how such esoteric pieces of jungle lore had come his way and Jason explained, ‘I learnt how to make the noise when a cadet at the Indian Military Academy to use as a recognition signal on patrol exercises in the Tons Valley. I “cuckoo-ed” to such good effect that a real bird answered and the patrol I wanted to call in to me went the other way towards the bird. By the time I had made several calls the poor fellows were going round in circles. Were they mad when they met up with me!’
‘What other noises can you make?’
Jason answered by belling like a deer, first the male then the female, followed by the call of the ‘dawn-and-dusk’ bird, the burong tetabu, the great-eared nightjar. ‘Ah Fat will tell his Bear to listen out for any one of those noises, each set to be three longs, two shorts followed by three longs.’
‘Well, I’ll be damned,’ exploded the Colonel, shaking his head in amazement.
Jason continued, ‘So to clear my mind, my old friend the Bear with a group of his men will bring the Emissary and meet me there then I and my men carry on down river?’
‘Yes, just that, in outline. And before you go any further it now strikes me as it must have already struck you but you have yet to mention it, from just before till just after your suggested timings, there will be no other troops at all in the area. You must not have the worry of meeting any of our own people.’
‘Thank you, sir. I was coming on to that,’ said Jason, then asked, ‘What is this pin here, quite a way up the Sungei Perak?’
Colonel Mason went to look at it. ‘That is a Police Field Force fort, Fort Tapong.’[3]
‘And are there police boats that can go farther up river?’
‘Yes, they can be arranged. Sometimes their engines break down and their propellers break their shear pins but with a fitter aboard with plenty of shear pins that should not be a problem, especially if the engine has had an overhaul before.’
‘The General is pretty keen on this, isn’t he?’ Jason asked.
‘Yes, he is. He is still not sure whether the civil authorities will accept such a person but he feels that their reaction will be positive rather than negative if the man can be shown as being an intelligence bonanza and if he is brought in without a great fuss.’
He was interrupted by the phone ringing. He went over to answer it and Jason heard him say, ‘excellent news, sir. So the civil boys are happy with what we’re planning provided a government representative is with him from the moment he steps over the border. Yes, sir, I’ll tell Major Rance who’s here with me now.’ He rang off.
‘All systems green, Major Rance. You’re on. Let us sit round the table, us three and work out a time and space programme, so beloved by military planners and what they make much of at Staff College.’
Within half an hour they had an outline plan. D Day, the day the Emissary was to start his journey, was fixed for 20 February. Today was Friday the 10th so that would give Ah Fat enough time both to conclude his job in KL for the Secretary General and for the Emissary to start his journey on the 20th.
That should be plenty of time to brief the Emissary – they decided not to use his name for security reasons – and to get the Bear and his men rations without seeming to, not an easy task. During that period Major Rance would return, get his men ready – he said that he, his three escorts and a radio man were enough – and bring them to KL. He thought he would need five days for the journey – ‘it’s unknown territory for me and there are some inquisitive guerrillas to evade’ – and he would like first of all to have an air recce in an Auster on Sunday the 19th, please for me and two others. I’m sure you’ll help out if the air boys get sticky, sir’ – and he and at least one other fly up the river, past Fort Tapong and, with his map, locate Gunong Gadong. He would like a heli for his team to fly to Fort Tapong the next day, the 20th, and one police boat to be there to take them up as far as the boat could go. That would be all in one day. They would take eight days’ hard tack and scrounge meals in KL and Tapong.
For their return could there be a boat at the place they disembarked at, or two come to that if the police wanted an escort – and that would apply to the way up also – on the 28th and a chopper warned to stand by to pick them up from Fort Tapong for the 29th but only to be confirmed on re-reaching Fort Tapong, so it could be the 1st of March. ‘On the way up I think the chopper should land as far away from inquisitive eyes as possible, don’t you, sir?’
‘Yes, I agree. I will arrange for transport to take you back to the battalion. In case it is too late I’ll get the Gurkha Engineers at Sungei Besi to look after you for the night. There will be someone to tell you about it, with transport, after you have deplaned.’
‘Thank you, sir. That is all in the best case. May I turn to the worst case, being intercepted by the guerrillas and taking casualties? What I would like is to have a rear link close to you. There are some Gurkha Signals men who work nearby, surely. What I plan is a nightly sitrep with our grid reference. If you hear nothing it could be because our set has gone “dis” or that the set has been shot off the signaller’s back. I’ll take a Very pistol and green and red flares. When I hear an overfly I’ll fire whichever colour is needed. If it is red can you arrange a stand-by group somehow to come to our aid?’
There was no need to go into details now but, ‘yes, yes, yes,’ came the replies.
The Director asked Ah Fat is he had anything to add. ‘No, sir. I have yet to make up my mind quite how to play it my end but play it I will. If the Emissary does change his mind I’ll have to get my Bear to disappear on some mission or other and get a message through to Mr Too. I can’t think of any other way.’
‘Any more before we finish off?’ the Colonel asked.
‘No, sir. I’ll just say farewell to my childhood friend and leave you.’
