As such ships had been used before as decoys for
German submarines, we gave her a wide berth and informed Gibraltar who
were to send out a destroyer to have a look at her. We reached Malta
on 14th September, but we were too late to get into Valetta Harbour,
so we anchored in St Paul's Bay for the night and got into Valetta
Harbour early next morning. For most of us it was our first glimpse of
the Near East, and no one could deny the beauty of the scene--the
harbour full of craft of all sorts down to the tiny native skiff, and
crowned by the old Castle of St Angelo, the picturesque town, the palm
trees, and the motley crowd of natives swimming and diving, and
hawking fruit and cigarettes from their boats. Some of us got ashore
to see the historical old town, full of memories of the Templars--St
John's Cathedral, the Governor's Palace, the Armoury--but most had to
stay on board to bargain and argue with the native vendors. We slipped
out of the harbour at dusk, showing no lights, but to show we were not
downhearted, Lovat's entire pipe band started to play. But not for
long; as the captain threatened to put them all in irons, which
brought the concert to an abrupt conclusion.
We reached Alexandria on the morning of the 18th, and the first stage
of our trip was over--to everyone's regret. We had had a lovely
voyage, a calm sea and perfect weather, and only the most persevering
had managed to get seasick.
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