condensed master

Will Bonner
Will looked astern to see that a destroyer had turned it's beam to the oncoming
plane, and as it left the convoy, a violent blast of anti-aircraft gun fire ensued, the
plane disintegrating into fragments which fell into the sea like confetti. Loud
cheering broke out once again but Will felt sickened by the whole affair. What a
stupid waste. It had just been a spectacle.
The all clear sounded within minutes, signalling that the crew could leave their
emergency stations. As a rule, these incidents were sporadic, so no further attacks
were predicted in the near future. Everyone relaxed to resume their normal duties,
and there would be plenty of discussion amongst the crew about the attack, during
the remainder of the day.
Arriving in Port Said, Will had not seen the war correspondent since leaving
Algiers, probably because he had quartered with the officers. No doubt by now
he would be ashore, waiting for another ship.
The parcel arrived, as arranged. It was a small package with a sealed brown
paper covering addressed to Will, but not stamped, and about the size of a
cigarette package. He shook it, but nothing rattled inside. Placing it in his
pocket he knew that it would be a constant reminder to him of the circumstances
surrounding it’s arrival.
Ships were making their own way from Port Said to Aden as there was no
concerns about enemy aircraft or submarines. They would all reassemble again
at Aden before crossing the Indian Ocean to Bombay. The one hundred mile
journey down the Suez Canal was always interesting. The common sight that
never failed to capture Will’s imagination was that of a ship ahead which had
followed a bend in the canal. Viewed from across the sand dunes gave it the
pseudo appearance of steaming across the desert!
The four or five days journey down the Red Sea was typical. With desert on
all sides the searing heat was unbearable, any breeze after passing over the hot
sand resembled the output from a hot air dryer.
Will felt for the troops as he did during the fierce weather in the Atlantic.
Coming from the mild English weather they were totally unprepared for the
relentless heat. The short stay in Aden would at least, give them some respite.
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