p.

3.

for you to join me - & now I seem to have come to a
full stop, so far as action is concerned. There is nothing
I can do about being posted home, until applications for
the next batch are called for & of course I am
also waiting for your news about this. And about you
coming out here - I am now waiting for a reply to
my letter to Edwin Samuel. I have been making
inquiries about the journey & have so far learned that
the all air route is purely a matter of military
priority & so that sounds pretty hopeless. On the
other hand, I am informed that the sea route to
Capetown or Durban is fairly straightforward - then
you would either fly or continue by sea for the
remainder of the journey. And the cost would be
around £200 - by sea & air. You said in your cable should
you try for a passage to Africa - & so obviously you have
considered it as a possibility. But darling, now, I am
beginning to think more & more of the difficulties
& dangers. The dangers are naturally bound up with the
sea passage from England to South Africa & about
these I hardly know what to say. As you know, I
had a completely uneventful trip out here - & I have
talked to many people who have had exactly the
same experience - & I have never heard of anybody
who has had any other kind of experience. But, on the
other hand, ships do get sunk. It is really a matter of odds
& chances & the law of averages & one has to weigh them
up & come to a decision. In any case, you will probably
have your own views about this - & if you are booking a
passage in London, it should be possible, probably by
paying a bit extra, to get passage in a fast &
well convoyed ship. Another two difficulties which we have
to find out about, are whether you can get an