‘Nippon – you see this!’ (pointing to a projecting Marmite jar) – ‘Very good!’

The Nip answers with some indescribable noise that we rightly take as a query.

‘Yes, this, Nippon! Number One food. Very strong! You like. We like.’

The Nip then pointing to the Marmite: ‘Very goodererana? O.K. – ga?’

‘O.K. Nippon. Number One!’

The subject now being officially opened, we had to persuade the Nip, first that we could open the crate as quick as lightning, secondly that there was no cycle patrol about, and thirdly that he himself would like Marmite very much. All during this conversation surreptitious tinkering and levering had left the crate fit to fall to pieces, and the first pots of Marmite had already disappeared. Seeing the situation the Nip made up his mind, snatched two pots for himself, which he hid in his hat, and in a twinkling of the eye the crate was empty and the Marmite gone. Once again an ideal food for vitamin starved people.

That day I smuggled my gas-cape, bulging with food past the sentries by carrying on top of it a large, toy black dog I had found in the Go-Down. The Nips looked at the dog and laughed at the crazy Englishman who carried it – and thus the food got by.

But the best day was when I was down at the Empire Docks again in charge of a party of forty men. One other officer accompanied me, unofficially. We had a shocking morning in a bust-open Go-Down that had nothing in it at all except cement. The whole morning the men carried and stacked broken bags of the stuff until their hair and whole bodies were completely impregnated with cement dust. There was a speedo on, and the work was to be finished by mishi time, or ‘rice lunch’ time, and everyone was very disappointed because that meant no booty at all. At about 1.30 we crammed onto the two laden lorries, and drove off.

But then the miracle occurred. Instead of doing north back to Bukit Timah, we headed east through the town, and finally ended up in an open air factory for making malarial drains. To the right of us was a tall block of flats, and to the left was a big Chinese Fish and Fruit market. It was now 2 p.m. and the Nips were late for their mishi, so they shelved their responsibilities and vanished to the last man.