11th January Short writes from aboard SS BARODA. He is miserable as he has not heard from Ambrose in six weeks. He describes at length the arrangement of photographs in his cabin, and asks for one more of his fiancee in evening dress to complete the set. By 15th January he is in Bahrain, and gives a detailed account of breaking and fixing his glasses. When he receives Air Mail from Ella, he realises her other letters have not been reaching him. As he progresses in his career, he supplements his work with studying maths and formulating ideas 'for saving and generally running the job better'. By February he is back in Bombay. He writes about how he wants to get as many qualifications as possible in order to get a good job ashore upon his return. February 9th he has moved onto SS VARSOVA, a mail ship, and describes the arduous process of changing ships. He is now in charge of 15 men, including a Tindal, a kind of fireman. The contract stipulates a voyage of 33 hours between Bombay and Karachi, and Short is proud that he achieves better times than more senior engineers. He left his mandolin on the BARODA, and is annoyed, but finds an air rifle has been left in his cabin by the previous Fourth Mate, so takes up shooting as a replacement hobby.