tain was in command,
and German sailors replaced the Japanese, who had all been transferred
to the _Wolf_. The German Captain spoke excellent English, and expressed
a wish to do all he could to make us as comfortable on board as we had
been before. He also told us to report at once to him if anything were
missing from our cabins. (He informed us later that he had lived some
years in Richmond--he evidently knew the neighbourhood quite well--and
that he had been a member of the Richmond Tennis Club!) There was of
course considerable confusion on board; the deck was in a state of dirt
and chaos, littered with books and chairs, and some parts of it were an
inch or two deep in water, and we found next morning that the bathrooms
and lavatories were not in working order, as the pipes supplying these
places had been shot away when the ship was shelled. This state of
affairs prevailed for the next few days, and the men passengers
themselves had to do what was necessary in these quarters and haul
sea-water aboard. The next morning the transference of coal, cargo, and
ship's stores from the _Hitachi_ to the _Wolf_ began, and went on
without cessation day and night for the next five days. One of the
German officers came over and took photos of the passengers in groups,
and others frequently took snapshots of various incidents and of each
other on different parts of the ship.

We know now that we were then anchored _in a British possession_, one of
the southernmost groups of the Maldive Islands! Some of the islands were
inhabited, and small sailing boats came out to the _Wolf_, presumably
with provisions of some kind. We were, of course, not allowed to speak
to any of the islanders, who came alongside the _Wolf_, and were not
allowed alongside the _Hitachi_. On one occasion even, the doctor of the
_Wolf_ went in the ship's motor launch to one of the islands to attend
the wife of one of the native chiefs! On the next day--the 28th--all the
_Hitachi_ passengers returned on board her, and at the same time some of
the Japanese stewards returned, but they showed no inclination to work
as formerly. Indeed, the German officers had no little difficulty in
dealing with them. They naturally felt very sore at the deaths of so
many of their countrymen at the hands of the Germans, and they did as
little work as possible. The stewards were said to be now paid by the
Germans, but as they were no longer under the command of their own
countrymen, th