Page 294 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 294
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
Percy talked to the Air Force staff who remained and found them all most sympathetic and anxious to
help, but none of their remaining planes were going in the direction we wanted to go. At last a Major
Varney said he was flying to Beijing and would return through Xi’an and bring Raymond back that
night. Our hopes soared high as we heard his plane take off and thought that day might be the day
we had waited for, for five long years. It was Sunday and we were busy, but as it got nearer nightfall
we kept listening for the plane which was bringing Raymond home. It did not come and Percy went
down to the airfield to make enquiries. They said there was bad weather between us and Beijing and
he had probably not been able to take off. So we went to bed disappointed but hoping they would get
through in the morning. Monday morning dawned and the rain was pouring down, so we knew no
planes would be moving all day and we settled down to wait another day.
Tuesday, about 10am, while it was still raining a little, we heard the sound of a plane which we
recognised as Major Varney’s. Percy dropped everything and dashed out to the airfield while I waited.
He came back alone - no Raymond.
The Major actually spent the night in Xi’an, asked somebody about Raymond, who said he had been
taken to Kunming, so he made no more enquiries. I sat down and cried my eyes out with
disappointment, and muttered under my breath (rather unfairly I must admit) “After all I’ve done for
these American airmen, they can’t even do for me the one thing I want most in the world, bring my
little boy home!” I gave up all hope of seeing him for another week. It was still raining.
Percy would have to go to himself to Xi’an to get him, but the rain would hinder buses going for
several days at least. Rather than do nothing, Percy decided to walk out to the north/south motor road
and try to ‘thumb’ a ride with anybody going north. We had a wonderful system of ‘yellow fish’
functioning at that time. If you could not pay for a ticket legally at the bus station, you could bribe the
bus driver to let you be a ‘yellow fish’. That meant you could travel on the bus as far as the next major
city, then you had to get off the bus, walk through the city, and wait to get on the bus again on that
side when all fear of having tickets inspected would be past. This would be repeated at every major
city the bus passed through, and ‘yellow fish’ meant big business for bus drivers and rather less
comfort on the uncomfortable bus for the paying passengers. Percy felt he was wiling to be a ‘yellow
fish’ or anything else if he could get quickly to Xi’an.
Alas! He came back home on Wednesday night tired and despondent. Not a vehicle of any kind had
gone north all day.
Thursday morning was the regular bus day and the rain had ceased, so bright and early I went to the
bus station with Percy while he bought a ticket. I watched him squeeze himself between two other
passengers on top of the overloaded truck, and waved him off as the truck set off on its two day
journey (if there were no hold-ups) to Baoji. Then I settled down to wait!
This was Thursday morning. With no breakdowns, he could be in Baoji by Friday night, catch the train
to Xi’an and be there some time on Saturday morning. There might be a train back to Baoji on
Saturday night and perhaps a bus leaving Baoji for Hanzhong on Sunday morning, so the earliest I
could expect them home would be Monday night. I mentally decided that would be almost too much to
expect. Things did not go as smoothly as that in inland China, so probably the earliest I could expect
them would be Tuesday night. I settled down to fill my hands with work and wait.
Surprisingly, Percy reached Baoji on Friday night, bought his railway ticket to Xi’an and, while he
waited for train time, wandered round Baoji which he had not seen for some time. To his surprise,
there seemed to be a big British Army convoy just pulling in to Baoji, and he was even more surprised
to recognise the Major in charge as an old school friend of his from his school days in Chefoo. As
294
Amy Moore
Percy talked to the Air Force staff who remained and found them all most sympathetic and anxious to
help, but none of their remaining planes were going in the direction we wanted to go. At last a Major
Varney said he was flying to Beijing and would return through Xi’an and bring Raymond back that
night. Our hopes soared high as we heard his plane take off and thought that day might be the day
we had waited for, for five long years. It was Sunday and we were busy, but as it got nearer nightfall
we kept listening for the plane which was bringing Raymond home. It did not come and Percy went
down to the airfield to make enquiries. They said there was bad weather between us and Beijing and
he had probably not been able to take off. So we went to bed disappointed but hoping they would get
through in the morning. Monday morning dawned and the rain was pouring down, so we knew no
planes would be moving all day and we settled down to wait another day.
Tuesday, about 10am, while it was still raining a little, we heard the sound of a plane which we
recognised as Major Varney’s. Percy dropped everything and dashed out to the airfield while I waited.
He came back alone - no Raymond.
The Major actually spent the night in Xi’an, asked somebody about Raymond, who said he had been
taken to Kunming, so he made no more enquiries. I sat down and cried my eyes out with
disappointment, and muttered under my breath (rather unfairly I must admit) “After all I’ve done for
these American airmen, they can’t even do for me the one thing I want most in the world, bring my
little boy home!” I gave up all hope of seeing him for another week. It was still raining.
Percy would have to go to himself to Xi’an to get him, but the rain would hinder buses going for
several days at least. Rather than do nothing, Percy decided to walk out to the north/south motor road
and try to ‘thumb’ a ride with anybody going north. We had a wonderful system of ‘yellow fish’
functioning at that time. If you could not pay for a ticket legally at the bus station, you could bribe the
bus driver to let you be a ‘yellow fish’. That meant you could travel on the bus as far as the next major
city, then you had to get off the bus, walk through the city, and wait to get on the bus again on that
side when all fear of having tickets inspected would be past. This would be repeated at every major
city the bus passed through, and ‘yellow fish’ meant big business for bus drivers and rather less
comfort on the uncomfortable bus for the paying passengers. Percy felt he was wiling to be a ‘yellow
fish’ or anything else if he could get quickly to Xi’an.
Alas! He came back home on Wednesday night tired and despondent. Not a vehicle of any kind had
gone north all day.
Thursday morning was the regular bus day and the rain had ceased, so bright and early I went to the
bus station with Percy while he bought a ticket. I watched him squeeze himself between two other
passengers on top of the overloaded truck, and waved him off as the truck set off on its two day
journey (if there were no hold-ups) to Baoji. Then I settled down to wait!
This was Thursday morning. With no breakdowns, he could be in Baoji by Friday night, catch the train
to Xi’an and be there some time on Saturday morning. There might be a train back to Baoji on
Saturday night and perhaps a bus leaving Baoji for Hanzhong on Sunday morning, so the earliest I
could expect them home would be Monday night. I mentally decided that would be almost too much to
expect. Things did not go as smoothly as that in inland China, so probably the earliest I could expect
them would be Tuesday night. I settled down to fill my hands with work and wait.
Surprisingly, Percy reached Baoji on Friday night, bought his railway ticket to Xi’an and, while he
waited for train time, wandered round Baoji which he had not seen for some time. To his surprise,
there seemed to be a big British Army convoy just pulling in to Baoji, and he was even more surprised
to recognise the Major in charge as an old school friend of his from his school days in Chefoo. As
294
