‘Although I don’t know him, darling, I am quite sure you are right. You so wonderfully always are,’ his wife consolingly cooed.
The Brigadier told the new CO that Captain Rance was obviously in need of a rest and that some local leave when it was suitable was an answer. Lieutenant Colonel Vaughan agreed and waited a few days before going to visit A Company in Rompin. He had a wander around with the Company Commander, met and chatted with the men. He saw their reactions were smarter and happier than in the other companies. He said to Jason, ‘let’s go inside and have a talk in your office.’
Seated, he said, ‘oh, by the way, I’ve brought some mail for you,’ and gave Jason a letter. He took a note book out of his pocket. ‘You can read it after our talk. First, why were you late that first night? You threw out the most carefully laid plans for the Order of March. Did you forget to tell the police about the gate or something?’
Jason told his CO about what had happened ‘and when I got back I went to see the Officer in Charge of the Police District who heartily apologised and told me that the Chinese policeman detailed to open the gate disappeared earlier on that night and has not been seen since.’
‘Then I’ll forgive you this once. Just as well you didn’t try to excuse yourself when you at last met up’ and he clenched his teeth in vexation as he remembered how frustrated he had been at the time. ’And the Brigadier has told me how embarrassed he was when you blew your top with the boys who wear crab-fat grey. Right?’
So that’s why they are called ‘Crabs’! ‘I was in the wrong, sir, and I apologise to you but the AVM was derogatory about our Gurkhas which upset me’ and he explained what had previously happened with a Smash-Hit venture.
Chakrabahadur Rai brought in two steaming mugs of tea. ‘Read your letter,’ said the CO.
It was from his mother. A close friend had had so vivid a dream of seeing Jason’s impending death when he was at the top of a tree sitting at the end of a branch, moving about dangerously ‘when a Chinese your age appeared at the bottom of the tree and said “don’t worry I’ll look after him”,’ and, to the dreamer’s great relief, ‘you did not fall off.’ So real was the dream that the friend had rung the next morning. Jason looked at the date of the letter and thought back. That’s the date of when the CT fired on me from four yards’ range. He worked out the time difference and the dream and the CT firing on him were almost simultaneous.
He broke into a sweat and mopped his brow. The CO watched him narrowly. ‘All right?’ he asked.
‘Yes, sir, thank you. Just some strange news from home.’
‘Which always makes you break out into a sweat?’ the CO asked pointedly.
Jason gave no answer
‘I think you need a bit of a rest. When you are ready, let me know and you can go on some local leave.’
Ah Fat’s suggestion came to his mind but he decided not to mention it lest questions were asked.
‘Drink your tea before it gets cold.’
Soon after that the CO drove back to Seremban, convinced that Captain Rance was, basically, fit but just a bit overwrought. I’m glad I ‘had it out’ with him. The bit that he had not ‘had out’ with him was that the Brigadier vowed that any recommendation for promotion or a bravery award were both O U T as far as he was concerned so no battalion citation for either need be forwarded.
18-23 November 1955, south Thailand: The Secretary General of the MCP was feeling both optimistic and frustrated. He was hopeful for a favourable Peace Talk summit as there had already been two preliminary meetings, both in Malaya, at Klian Intan, a tin-mining village near the Thai border. He had sent his chief confidant, Chien Tiang, to the first one on 17 October and the outcome had satisfactorily led to a second, exactly a month later at the same place. Again, progress had been made. His frustration was caused not only because since March his radio that had direct contact with Beijing had broken down but also by not having heard from Yeong Kwoh, his Deputy in Malaya, for more than a year.
One morning an unexpected visitor arrived saying he had come all the way from China with an important message. So unusual was this that the sentry told him to wait while he went to ask one of the Politburo before letting him in. ‘Can you believe me, Comrade?’ he asked, ‘he says he’s come from China and it has taken many months to get here. Can that be true?’
Chien Tiang went to see who it was, and indeed the man was a messenger from the Chinese Communist Party as well as being trained to mend the broken radio set. ‘Red Salute, Comrade, you don’t know how welcome you are. Come along in, meet the Secretary General, have some refreshment and, after a wash and rest, tell us what you have for us.’
The first priority was to mend the radio and later on that same day communications were restored. Chin Peng was delighted and said, ‘Comrade, now it is time to give us your message. Come to my office.’
Once seated the courier said ‘My message for you is about any peace talks you will be involved in and what both the propaganda people of the Soviet and the Chinese Communist Parties want you to do and say and bargain for is so secret that I was not allowed to bring it written down so had to learn it by heart instead. Ten pages of a closely written directive and it’s taken me so many months to reach here I’ve forgotten the four major points,’ and he looked dolefully at the ground as he spoke, full of embarrassment.
‘Now we have our radio repaired that’s no worry, is it?’
‘Let me see if they come back to me as I tell you what I do remember’ so the courier recited as much as he could of his secret message until he reached the four major points but once again he drew a blank. ‘It is no good, they’ve gone from my mind,’ he admitted.
‘That’s no worry comrade. With our radio now operative, we will ask our representative in Beijing to find out what the four points are.’ They were devastated when told that nothing would be forthcoming.
When Ah Fat heard that he made a mental note. C C Too will be interested when he learns how far spread is the interest about the peace talks and that now, even with radio contact, Beijing won’t say.
Another unexpected arrival was a courier who wanted a direct meeting with the Secretary General and asked to see him more forcibly than normal protocol permitted.
‘Comrade Chin Peng is busy. What do you want with him?’ was the gruff reply. ‘You can’t just barge in as though you were his equal.’
‘I was told to deliver this letter personally and immediately on arrival’ and he took an envelope out of his pocket. Unexpectedly it had the logo of the Royal Thai Embassy in KL on it. Could be important!
‘Come with me. I’ll see if the Comrade Secretary General can spare you a few minutes.’
When Chin Peng saw the envelope he knew he had to give the messenger priority: he tore the envelope open and there was a message from one of his prize sleepers he had not heard from for a long time. The gist of it was that on 20 April he had seen comrade Ah Fat leaving HQ of Malaya Command in a police vehicle with another Chinese he had not recognised. Intrigued he had gone to the HQ entrance and, for a small sum, had learnt that the other man was a Mr C C Too, a senior government propaganda official, and they had visited the Director of Operations.
The Secretary General, clenching his teeth, knew this was something he could well have done without. He wrote a short letter for the courier to take back: ‘Thank you for your valiant efforts. After we have won our political agreement, great will be your reward.’
The courier gave the Red Salute and retired.
Seven months! Yet nothing has exploded. It could be a bold attempt to find out something for me. But he has never mentioned it. We’ll watch him very carefully from now on but won’t take any positive action yet.
23 November 1955, onwards, south Thailand and Malaya: With the repair of the radio and receipt of most of the courier’s message, a Politburo meeting was held. Ah Fat, not realising that he was an object of suspicion, attended as usual. The main point of discussion was the tentative date of the Peace Talks, 28 December, at a largish village named Baling, west of Klian Intan. Once he had heard that Ah Fat let his mind wander: how best to put what Jason had termed ‘Operation Red Tidings Mark II into action? After the meeting he went to his own part of the camp and asked Wang Ming, his ever-faithful Bear, to come to his room for a serious talk.
Seated in a couple of easy chairs, Ah Fat said, ‘Hung Lo, I have arranged with C C Too that Shandung P’aau and I, aided by you, both as innocent civilians, must meet, over the border, just before the peace talks take place on 28 December in Baling. We don’t know if there will be any troops in the area but, even if there are, we won’t be with them. The way you can help is to leave here and, bribing your way over the border as we have done in the past …’
‘I can use my Thai passport.’
‘Yes, of course you can. You will phone C C Too and say, “Operation Red Tidings Mark II now” before going on to KL. Too will arrange to alert Shandung P’aau who will meet up with you where it can best be arranged. The reason is I want to give him some documents that are held in the secret box in the Secretary General’s office and I daren’t go too far from the border myself. With me so far?’
Yes, the Bear was.
‘C C Too may arrange your meeting in KL or in Sungei Patani. I expect Shandung P’aau will have a Gurkha with him and he’s sure to want you to stay with him all the time, except when he is in the Gurkha camp. After that, quite how I don’t yet know, but C C Too will have told you, I want you all to move to the Gunong Lang area east of Kampong Lalang to meet me. I will have one of our men with me. Our meeting point will be the old hut above the tin mine. You know the one we pass when we move out that way?’
‘Yes, I know where you mean. It will be good to meet up with Shandung P’aau again.
‘Yes, take a couple of men to the border, change into plain clothes and give them your guerrilla clothes to bring back to me. I’ll bring them back with me for the meeting.’
The Bear sat quietly, envisaging any snags. ‘I won’t be armed, will I?’
‘No. Sorry about that but you’ve brought up a good point. Tell C C Too to tell Shandung P’aau to carry a pistol, even though he, too, will be wearing plain clothes once you have started coming my way.’
27 November 1955, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban: The unlisted phone in C C Too’s office rang and Wang Ming introduced himself when asked who was calling. ‘I have been told that Operation Red Tidings Mark II is ready to launch and so Shandung P’aau has to be alerted.’
‘Where are you?’ C C Too looked at his watch and noted 1029 hours.
‘Just this side of the border. Are you in a hurry to see me?’
‘No desperate hurry but make it as soon as you can. Use this number when get here. Best to stay at home until I call you. Everything okay?’
‘So far we are all healthy and,’ unusual for the Bear to add any superfluous commentary, ‘long may that remain. Details later but there’s great excitement and heads are nodding,’
Can’t get vaguer or more veiled than that, can one? Too grinned and then rang Colonel Mason’s unlisted number and introduced himself. ‘We have a date for when the operation Captain Rance named Red Tidings Mark II must be launched. Is this line safe or shall we have a face-to-face meeting?’
‘Can you come round right away? I’ll alert the gate sentry to allow you in.’
