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In fact, this experience left Mahn Nyein with a lasting sense that he would never again feel fear in the face of adversity. After the storm, it rained continuously for five days. The skin on their hands started to swell and split open, and the only warmth the men could feel came from the food in their stomachs. After this long wet spell, it became so hot that Mahn Nyein was reminded of the Burmese proverb that “even prawns die from the heat at the height of the hot season.” Using their compass and the stars at night, they were able to keep a steady course, deviating only to avoid ships and schools of large fish. Finally, early one morning, Mahn Nyein thought he could see land, but hesitated to wake his companions, thinking it might be just a bank of clouds. When he was certain it was land, they all rejoiced that they were now very close to successfully completing the second part of their mission. Four days later, they finally reached dry land, coming ashore at the village of Zee Phyu Thaung Dan in Ye Chaung Phyar. They wasted no time in trying to contact someone from the New Mon State Party. In the village they asked an old couple for help, and they were told to go to Tu Yha, the village headman, who was assigned by the NMSP. But when they went to see the headman, they discovered that there were Burmese soldiers at his home, asking questions about recent fighting between Mon and Burmese troops. The three men hid in the jungle, then returned at night. After the close call with the soldiers earlier that day, they were relieved when the headman agreed to help them. Their relief was short-lived, however, as they soon discovered that the headman had betrayed them. Standing guard that night, Mahn Nyein was the first to be grabbed and dragged away by Burmese soldiers. He did not know what happened to his companions. His captors beat him and asked him about weapons. With his hands tied behind his back, he was taken to a temple for further interrogation. There they continued to abuse him, beating him with their weapons and rolling heavy mortar shells over his legs. He was powerless to resist, but when a sergeant stepped on his throat, he managed to push him away and protested that he was a student, not a rebel. He said he had no weapons and insisted on speaking with a superior officer. Finally he was taken to see their commander, who accused him of belonging to former prime minister U Nu’s resistance army. Mahn Nyein, following Mahn Aung Kyi’s advice to always be truthful and forthright, told the commander that he had escaped from Coco Island, and that he was a political prisoner. “If I’m not telling the truth, you can do as you like with me. I’m in your hands,” he said defiantly. The commander was so insulted by Mahn Nyein’s tone that he ordered his men to continue beating him. When they were done, they threw him under a low bedstead made of bamboo and continued to torment him a bit more before finally leaving him alone. With his hands and feet bound together, he suffered not only from the pain inflicted by the soldiers, but also from lingering motion sickness from being so long at sea. He spent the night like that, on the bare ground under the temple, surrounded by three lines of guards, wondering how he would ever get out of this situation alive. The next day, he thought he might have a chance when one of his guards went out, leaving his gun behind. Although he was tied to a pillar, he attempted to get the gun. But an officer was watching his actions through an opening in the floor overhead, and he yelled at the soldiers to keep a better eye on their prisoner, saying he was “not an ordinary person.” Later he was given some chicken curry, which by this time looked like it might be his last meal. Feeling defiant in the face of death, he was overjoyed at the sight of real food. But when he tried to eat it, he found he could not swallow because his throat hurt from being stepped on the night before. Finally he was taken to the police station in Ye Township, where he discovered that one of his fellow escapees, U Aung Ngwe, had also been captured. The schoolteacher had no idea what had happened to Mahn Aung Kyi. Later they also saw their betrayer, the village headman, who grinned at the two prisoners when he saw them behind bars. This angered Mahn Nyein so much that he started shouting threats, making the village headman so nervous that he hastily retreated from the police station. On October 3, the two prisoners were taken from the detention center in Ye to be transferred to Than Phyu Zayed, which was under the command of Light Infantry Battalion 31. They were sent by train in the company of two soldiers who evidently knew nothing about them. The soldiers asked them who they were, and U Aung Ngwe replied that he was a teacher, and Mahn Nyein said he was a student. Deciding that their charges were “decent” people, the soldiers decided not to tie them up.