Part 8 (1/2)
But it was as thick as a hedge, the lighthouse lantern was unlighted, and there was not even a gleam from the searchlight on the cliffs above to enable us to verify our position. True, the roar of breakers close at hand told us we were not far from the sh.o.r.e; but that was all we had to guide us; there was nothing for it, therefore, but to go ahead and do the best we could.
There is no need for me to enter into a detailed and technical description of the operation of laying mines; I will therefore merely state that, despite the adverse conditions, we succeeded in accomplis.h.i.+ng our task and withdrawing without mishap. But we were not a moment too soon, for the light of dawn was filtering through the haze as we dropped our last mine and moved cautiously away from the completed field.
The next thing was to find our escort, which we had left two miles out at sea. We were groping our way slowly seaward through the fog, keeping a sharp lookout for the destroyers, when all in a moment the mist lifted, and we sighted them about half a mile distant. And at the same instant, some four miles away to the north-east, appeared a squadron of five destroyers, which we at once identified as our second destroyer flotilla. And yet--no that could scarcely be right, for our ”second”
consisted of only four boats, while yonder were five--with--yes--a sixth close insh.o.r.e. I turned to get my binoculars out of the case, in order to investigate a little more closely, and even as I did so the five destroyers became suddenly enveloped in a wreathing cloud of powder smoke, while the sharp, angry bark of quick-fire guns broke the morning silence. The five destroyers were unquestionably engaged in a fight among themselves. The firing continued quite briskly for about five minutes; then there pealed out a sharp, violent explosion, a great cloud of smoke shot into the air; the firing abruptly ceased; and the smoke cleared away just in time to show that one of the destroyers--the craft which we had been unable to identify--was sinking, a shattered, shapeless wreck.
At this moment a cry from my ”Number 1” distracted my attention from the interesting little drama which I was eagerly watching, and, turning toward the harbour's mouth, in response to his pointing finger, I saw a big, four-funnelled, two-masted cruiser, which I instantly recognised as the _Bayan_, coming foaming out of harbour, evidently intent upon driving off our destroyers, which were now busily launching their boats to save the crew of the destroyer, which had by this time foundered. I was in the very act of issuing an order for one of our Hotchkisses to be fired, to warn the destroyers, when the _Bayan_ opened fire upon them with her light guns, and they were obliged to retreat, double-quick.
Of course the _Bayan_ was no match for them in the matter of speed, so after covering the retreat of the second destroyer, which was creeping along close insh.o.r.e, and pausing to pick up the survivors of the sunken destroyer, the cruiser turned her attention--and her guns--upon us. But we were out of range of her light guns, and for some unknown reason she did not open fire upon us with her heavy weapons, we therefore quickened up to about her own speed, or a trifle less, hoping we might be able to entice her out to where we knew our own cruiser squadron was waiting to cover our retreat. Unfortunately for the success of my scheme, Admiral Dewa, who commanded the squadron, no sooner heard the firing than he put on speed and rushed to our rescue, emerging from the mist and becoming visible while still some three miles away. The instant that they were clear of the fog bank, and could see what was happening, the squadron opened fire upon the _Bayan_ with their heavy guns, when that s.h.i.+p was in turn compelled to up helm and beat a hurried retreat, to my intense disgust; for I felt confident that if our cruisers had only lain doggo in the fog bank, I could have cajoled the Russian s.h.i.+p into following me so far out to sea that her retreat could have been cut off, and we should have nabbed her. As it was, the _Diana_ and _Novik_ came rus.h.i.+ng out to her rescue; whereupon Dewa, who by this time recognised the mistake he had made, turned and retired, apparently in a panic, for great clouds of smoke were presently seen to be pouring from the funnels of all his s.h.i.+ps. But before ten minutes were over it became perfectly evident that the Admiral was ”playing foxy,” for despite the clouds of smoke, his s.h.i.+ps were barely holding their own, if indeed they were doing as much as that. Naturally, we in the _Koryu_ at once took our cue from the Admiral, and stoked up for all we were worth, using as much small coal as we could sc.r.a.pe together, in order to increase the volume of smoke pouring from our funnel, while we allowed the _Novik_ to gain upon us a trifle from time to time, and then, by an apparently desperate effort, drew away from her again. And this time it really looked as though our ruse was going to prove successful, for the three Russian cruisers continued to chase us with the utmost pertinacity and determination.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE PETROPAVLOSK LURED TO HER DOOM.
The explanation of the Russian cruisers' pertinacity was soon made plain to Admiral Dewa by a wireless message which he picked up, addressed to the captain of the _Novik_, which, decoded, ran thus: ”Keep in touch with enemy but do not attack until I join you. Two battles.h.i.+ps and _Askold_ following to support you. Signed Makarov.”
Of course I did not know anything about this until afterward, the _Koryu_ not being fitted with a wireless installation; but Dewa at once made a code signal to me instructing me to continue my present tactics; and while this was being done his wireless operators were busily engaged in transmitting a code message to Admiral Togo, who was at that moment lurking, enveloped in mist, some thirty miles away, near the Miao-tao Islands, with his whole battle squadron and the new cruisers _Niss.h.i.+n_ and _Kasuga_.
Makarov, however, was evidently ignorant of that fact; the atmosphere in the neighbourhood of Port Arthur was now quite clear, and to the lookouts on the highest points about the fortress no j.a.panese s.h.i.+ps were visible, save the cruiser squadron, which was undoubtedly in full retreat from the pursuing Russian s.h.i.+ps, which it was perfectly evident they were afraid of. It was the moment and the opportunity for which the Russian Admiral had long been pining, the moment when a weak j.a.panese force, entirely unsupported, lay at his mercy, and now he would smash them!
Accordingly, he hurried aboard the _Petrofiavlosk_ and signalled the _Poltava_ and _Askold_--both of which, like the flags.h.i.+p, had steam up-- to weigh at once and proceed to sea. This was done, with marvellous smartness, considering that the craft were Russian, and presently out they came, their funnels belching immense volumes of black smoke and the water leaping and foaming about their bows as they pounded after us at their utmost speed, which, after all, was only about fourteen knots.
Meanwhile, Dewa, who was bringing up the rear in the _Asama_,--by the speed of which s.h.i.+p the rest of the squadron regulated theirs,--was very cleverly allowing the Russians to slowly overtake him, while the Russians were straining every nerve to do so, stoking up furiously and wasting their coal in the most reckless manner.
Then came an order from the Admiral to me to increase speed and pa.s.s ahead of the squadron, out of harm's way, as he was about to open fire upon the Russians. Of course there was nothing for it but to obey, which I did forthwith; but when I had got about a mile ahead, I gradually slowed down again; if there was any fun toward, I was not going to miss it. Besides, it was just possible that I might be of use, for, following the Russian battles.h.i.+ps and cruisers, there was now coming up, hand over hand, a crowd of destroyers, against which the _Koryu's_ Hotchkisses might be brought into play.
Admiral Dewa only allowed me just bare time to get ahead of his squadron, when he made the signal to open fire upon the pursuers with our cruisers' 8-inch turret guns; and the signal, which had been awaited with the utmost impatience, was promptly responded to with a steady and deadly deliberate fire upon the _Bayan_, which was leading the Russian line. Before her officers had time to realise what was happening, sh.e.l.ls were hurtling all about her and raining against her bows and upon her deck, punis.h.i.+ng her so severely that they had to stop her engines and allow the rest of the fleet to pa.s.s ahead. The Russian fleet, which had thus far been coming on in line ahead, now hurriedly formed line abreast, the two battles.h.i.+ps opening fire upon our cruisers with their 12-inch guns. Luckily for us, although the water was smooth the Russian aim was bad, and their sh.e.l.ls flew over and on either side of us, but none hit us. Then Dewa, who was far too good a tactician to pit his cruisers against battles.h.i.+ps, gave the order to increase speed, and we ran out of range, undamaged.
But only just out of range; for we wanted to draw the Russian s.h.i.+ps so far away from Port Arthur that Admiral Togo might have a chance to come up, slip in between them and the fortress, cut off their retreat, and force them to fight. And without a doubt we should have been successful, had not the capricious weather played us a scurvy trick at a critical moment when the Russians were some eighteen miles off the land in a south-easterly direction from Port Arthur. For it was at this moment that the fog, which had hitherto hidden Togo's approaching fleet, suddenly cleared, revealing to the Russian lookouts on the Liau-ti-shan heights, the j.a.panese wars.h.i.+ps, racing up from the south-west.
The approach of the j.a.panese was instantly frantically signalled to the wireless station, which in turn wirelessed the alarming intelligence to the Russian Admiral. A few moments' study of the chart revealed to Makarov the precariousness of his situation. If he turned and retreated at once, he might possibly escape by the skin of his teeth and get back into harbour before Togo's s.h.i.+ps could get up to cut him off, and he did not hesitate a moment. Up went the signal to retire, over went the Russians' helms, and away they scuttled back toward their lair, even faster than they came out, while our cruisers, keenly on the watch for some such movement, also wheeled sharply in pursuit, keeping up a steady fire upon the _Bayan_ and the _Novik_, the rearmost s.h.i.+ps in the Russian line. Naturally, the _Koryu_ turned when our cruisers did, following them up at full speed until we were close in their rear, while Dewa was far too busy attending to the pursuit to spare any attention to me and my doings.
It was at this juncture that the Russian destroyers made a gallant effort to check our pursuit by distracting our attention from their big craft to themselves. Believing that they held an important advantage over us in point of speed, they boldly slowed down, dropped astern, and, in two divisions, made a determined demonstration on our two flanks, repeatedly threatening to make a dash, close in, and use the torpedo.
There was one exceptionally audacious craft, the pertinacity of which caused me to take particular notice of her, and keep a specially watchful eye upon her, because I speedily came to the conclusion that she was doing more than merely demonstrate, she was bent upon mischief.
She was making a dead set at the _Asama_, our most valuable s.h.i.+p, getting right to windward of her, and pouring dense volumes of black smoke from her four funnels, so forming a screen for herself, under cover of which she was evidently trying to edge in to within effective torpedo range. Of course the _Asama_ and one or two of the other cruisers opened fire upon her with their light guns, but we, who had crept up to windward, saw that the smoke screen was serving its purpose admirably, and that although the projectiles were falling all round her, she was not being hit. It occurred to me that now was the time when we in the _Koryu_ might be able to render a little useful service, our own destroyers having been unfortunately ordered to return to their rendezvous, some time before, and were now out of sight. Accordingly I gave orders for the gunners to stand by their Hotchkisses, and rang for full speed, also calling down to the engineer for the very last ounce of steam he could get out of his boilers.
Like an arrow shot from a bow, the _Koryu_ started forward and, edging well out to windward of the destroyer, opened a brisk fire upon her with our Hotchkisses, aiming at her deck tubes, round which I had seen some men busily cl.u.s.tering. And it was well that I did so, for the Russians were in the very act of launching a torpedo at the moment; indeed they actually _did_ launch it, but by one of those extraordinary flukes that sometimes happen, and are so difficult to describe convincingly, one of our shots struck the weapon at the instant that it issued from the tube, wrecking its propeller and rudder and sending it to the bottom.
Evidently the destroyer's crew had been so completely absorbed in their attempt upon the _Asama_ that they had been oblivious to our approach; but now, seeing us bearing menacingly down upon her, her skipper suddenly s.h.i.+fted his helm and would fain have beaten a retreat. As it happened, however, we had by this time drawn up abreast and were between him and his friends, so he evidently came to the conclusion that there was nothing for it but to fight his way out; accordingly he made a dash to cut out across our bows, at the same time turning his whole battery of guns upon us. I instantly ordered my men to leave their guns and get away aft, out of the way of the shot, dismissing the quartermaster also, and taking the wheel in his stead.
At such short range, his shots could not possibly miss, and in less than a minute our bows and fore deck showed a very pretty ”general average,”
a 6-pound sh.e.l.l blowing a hole through our plating and wrecking the topgallant forecastle, while several 4-pound projectiles pierced our funnel, blew away our fore topmast, and knocked one corner of the wheelhouse to smithereens. But I did not care; the purpose which I had in mind was fully worth all the damage and more, and I knew now that unless I personally was. .h.i.t and disabled, I should be able to accomplish it. For I meant to give that impudent destroyer the stem, to run her down and sink her, knowing that our stout bows would shear through her thin plating as though it were paper. And the _Koryu_ had the speed to do it, the destroyer having lost much of her speed by the barnacles and weed on her bottom, which she exposed at every roll.
Evidently the Russian did not realise my purpose until it was too late; he seemed to think I was a fool who was giving him a chance to inflict a deadly raking upon me as he crossed my bows; and it was not until I suddenly s.h.i.+fted my helm, rendering a collision inevitable, that what was going to happen dawned upon him. Then there arose a sudden outcry as the crew forsook their guns and made a mad dash at the two small boats slung to the davits, there was a frantic jangling of bells down in the destroyer's engine-room, an officer on her bridge s.n.a.t.c.hed a revolver from his belt and snapped off five shots at me in as many seconds--none of which took effect--and then we were upon her. With scarcely any perceptible shock we struck her fair and square amids.h.i.+ps, right in the wake of where I judged her boiler-room would be; there was a horrible crackling and rending of wood and iron as our stem sheared into and through her deck, a clamour of yells from the crew as they fought with each other in their mad haste to lower the boats, and the destroyer heeled over until she was almost on her beam-ends, a volleying succession of deep, heavy _booms_, accompanied by a tremendous outburst of steam, proclaimed that her boilers had burst, and at the same instant she seemed to crumple up and break completely in two, her bow-half sweeping along our port side, while her stern-half drove past to starboard, the crew, unable to get the boats afloat, leaping desperately overboard. A moment before striking the craft, I had rung down an order to the engine-room to stop the engines, and shouted for my crew to stand by with ropes' ends; and now several of these were hove, by means of which we managed to drag three Russians up on to our deck; and then we backed astern and fished up eight more, all of whom we marched below and locked up securely. The other poor fellows, including the captain of the boat, must have gone down with her, for we saw nothing more of them.
But we had taught the destroyers a lesson, for thenceforth they kept their distance.
Examining into our own condition, we discovered that our injuries arising out of the collision amounted to about as much paint sc.r.a.ped off as might be replaced by the contents of a 10-pound tin, while all other damage was so high above the waterline as to make it of no practical account. And we had not a man injured; so I considered that we had emerged from the encounter very cheaply.
It was just half-past nine o'clock, by my watch, when, bursting through the curtains of haze, our battle fleet hove in sight in the south-west quarter, with flags flying, the water leaping and foaming about their cut.w.a.ters, and a fine ”white feather” of steam playing on the top of their waste-pipes, indicating that the stokers were maintaining a full head of steam in the boilers. But--j.a.panese luck again--they were just too late; for at that moment the Russian fleet entered the protective zone of their sh.o.r.e batteries and, with a very poor attempt at bravado, slowed down to a speed of about six knots, while the _Sevastopol, Pobieda_, and _Peresviet_ came steaming out to meet them. They had managed to escape by the skin of their teeth; and now, in accordance with the instructions given to the Admiral not to risk his s.h.i.+ps by pitting them against the sh.o.r.e batteries, we also were obliged to slow up, and finally to stop our engines. As a matter of fact, the time had come for us to retire; but evidently everybody was curious to see what would be the result of my mine-laying operations of the preceding night, and by common consent we all lay-to.