大象传媒

At breakfast the day after my encounter with the"sailor" we dicussed what happened.
How did he get on this ship?? It looked like he was one of the crew.
I am aware that in wartime some might slip through the security net. When we were in LONDON 2 girls were returned to Holland after Security found something after the interview they did not like.
But being posted to a TROOPSHIP with possibly, more often than not, warbrides.......
The Security Officer told me again:"Keep your eyes open. " Easier said than done.
This guy knew how to hide his identity.
They all wore dark navy blue clothes and had no insignia in what category of the ship they worked at least not that I knew of.
So I decided to see what the next step would be.

One day I was sitting on the deck playing poker with a bunch of my new found friends.
I did not dicuss of what happened to me just recently: I thought the least said the better.
This guy possibly would make a fatal mistake that would cause the Security to find out who he was.

But I did not expect that I would be involved in it.
Suddenly a message came over the intercom.
My name was called and I was to report to the captain's cabin.
My poker friends laughed and looked at me:"Heyl, Josephine what did you do to have to report to the captain of all people".

I said: "NO IDEA"!
I asked a crew member how to find the Captain's cabin.
In the cabin it looked like many high echelon staff was there.
The captain introduced himself and then the SECURITY OFFICER talked to me:
He wanted me to go to a certain staircase on a certain deck.
There would be a crew member polishing the brass rods securing the carpet.
"Have a good look at him and see whether you recognize him as the man you wanted to brand with a hot iron".
I answered that I barely could see his face, but that I would try.

Off I went.
I found the stair and sure enough there was a person in dark navy blue polishing brass rods.
On the stair was also a little girl playing with her doll.
I started a conversation with her. In the meantime I looked at this sailor : was he the man???
I returned to the captain's cabin, met the high brass still there and told the Security Officer that it might be him,but I was not 100% sure.

I was told to return to whatever I was doing:talking about keeping a poker face!!
My friends were very curious but I kept mum.
We continued playing poker when a second call came over the intercom to go back to the Captain's cabin.
When I entered: there was the brass polishing man in hand cuffs looking mad at me. When asked I told the Security Officer that I thought it was the same guy.

Off I went.
It turned out that this man had a record of being a sexual deviate.

He was escorted to the BRIG.
The Security Officer thanked me for my co枚peration.

But as we say in HOLLAND "This mouse had a "TAIL" : i.e. no end to the story yet.
One day we had a day of entertainment for the troops: a dancing contest was on the program and a boxing contest.
A dutchman I had never seen before asked me whether I would be his partner and dance a TANGO with him.
I said : "OK, but you better be a strong leader".
We tried out the intricate steps a few times and boy was he a fantastic leader :
We danced and......won first prize!!
This was a much nicer meeting with a compatriot than the man who threatend to jumpover board if I did not marry him.

I don't remember the prize nor the name of this terrific dancer. But to my horror I saw the sexual deviate in the crowd: he was going to give a boxing exhibition.He looked me straight in the eye. It scared mne: I took off to my cabin and bolted the door.
The last time I saw him was when he was led off in handcuffs in Sydney Harbour.

Life is full of surprises.

I was involved in a second incident in Brisbane resulting in an other Aussie captured and sent to prison.
After payday our group of nurses decided to go shopping. We went into a very nice store with leather goods.
I bought a large leather zippered mail "envelope" for lack of a better description to put my VE mail in.
I paid and when I walked out of the door I looked at the money he returned: he short changed me.

Outside the store I approached a tall BOBBY.
I told him what happened.
He said:"Ok, We'll see what the clerk has to say."
This man swore on the Bible that I was not shortchanged;he openend the till and said:"See, no large denomination bills! As a foreigner she must have made a mistake!".

But the officer took out a drawer in the till and ...... there on the bottom was my large bill:the only one in there.

I was so happy and thanked the officer for his help.
The man was put in handcuffs and it turned out he was on the list of criminals the police was looking for: an escaped prisoner .

I was asked to appear in court to testify.
That never happened possibly because this case was scheduled when I had already left for the Dutch East Indies.

Some peole reading the" D茅nouement" might have hoped that I caught A BIG FISH!
To me any sexual deviate is a BIG FISH.

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