Part 12 (1/2)

It was toward the end of the third week of May that the Admiral signalled me to proceed on board the flags.h.i.+p. It was late in the afternoon of a thoroughly wretched day; the wind had been blowing hard from the south'ard for the past three or four days, with almost incessant rain, and there was a very heavy sea running between the islands and the main. I had just returned from my second inspection of the boom that day, and I naturally thought that the signal indicated a desire on the part of the Admiral to question me in relation to the stability of the structure. And when I entered his cabin, and he greeted me with the question:

”Well, Captain Swinburne, how is the boom standing the sea, out yonder?”

I was confirmed in my opinion. But I presently found that I was mistaken; for when I had told him all that there was to tell about the boom, and he had expressed his satisfaction, he said:

”By the way, it is Commander Tsuchiya who has been your chief a.s.sistant in this work, is it not?”

I replied in the affirmative.

”And I suppose he understands the whole business pretty well by this time, eh?” the Admiral continued.

”Every bit as well as I do, sir,” I answered, seeming to scent other work for myself at no great distance.

”That is good,” commented Togo. ”Do you think he would be capable of completing the work without further a.s.sistance from you?”

”Undoubtedly he would, sir,” I replied. ”Indeed, I think it right to say that, after the first day, Commander Tsuchiya required no help or suggestion of any kind from me at all. He seemed to perfectly understand the principle of the boom's construction, almost from the very beginning; and after the first day's work upon it he took the entire supervision into his own hands, leaving me nothing whatever to do but merely to look on and satisfy myself by personal observation that the work was being properly done.”

”Which it was, I presume?” remarked the Admiral.

”Which it certainly was, sir,” I replied.

”Good!” said Togo. ”That being the case, you are free for another service. How would you like the chance to get a little fighting ash.o.r.e, by way of a change?”

”Jove!” I exclaimed, ”that would be splendid, sir. Are you going to land a naval brigade anywhere?”

”Well--no,” answered the Admiral, ”hardly that, I think; at least, that is not my present intention, although circ.u.mstances may possibly render it desirable, eventually. The matter stands thus,”--turning to the table where a map of the Liaotung peninsula lay unfolded upon it.

”This,”--pointing to a certain spot on the map--”is where General Oku landed, the other day, with his army. And this,”--pointing to another spot--”is where he is now. His object of course is to march south and lay siege to Port Arthur. But at this point, some two and a half miles south of Kinchau, which, as I suppose you know, is a Chinese walled city, the isthmus is only about two miles wide; and in and about the city the Russians have established themselves in force, prepared, apparently, to dispute Oku's pa.s.sage of the isthmus to the last man.

”This mountain, so prominently marked on the map, is Mount Sampson. It is more than two thousand feet in height and, as you will readily understand, dominates the entire district. Upon this mountain the Russians very strongly established themselves, scarping the heights and constructing formidable breastworks behind which to shelter themselves.

Of course it was necessary for our troops to take this mountain, since, until that could be done, to pa.s.s the isthmus would be impossible. I am glad to learn that the mountain is now in our hands.

”But here, just to the south of Kinchau, is another range of hills, known as the Nanshan Heights. They form a sort of backbone to the isthmus, and occupy almost its entire width, their crests completely commanding the narrow strip of low ground on either side. On these heights, too, the Russians have very strongly established themselves; so that although Mount Sampson is in our hands, the isthmus remains impa.s.sable. The unfortunate fact, so far as we are concerned, is that General Oku has no heavy artillery with him, otherwise he would be able to sh.e.l.l the Nanshan Heights from Mount Sampson, and drive the Russians out. But he has only field and mountain guns, of a range insufficient for that purpose; therefore he has requisitioned help from me, and I propose to send some craft round to Kinchau Bay, to sh.e.l.l the Russian positions from the sea.”

”Kinchau Bay, sir?” I interrupted. ”Pardon me, but the water in Kinchau Bay is so shallow, according to the chart, that I am afraid any of our craft capable of carrying guns heavy enough to be of service would have very great difficulty in approaching the land near enough to be of any real use. Why not Hand Bay, sir, on the eastern side of the isthmus?”

”For the very good reason, my dear fellow, that not only is Hand Bay mined, but it would also be impossible for us to clear it, the bay being completely commanded by works which our craft could not face for five minutes. No, it must be Kinchau Bay; there is nothing else for it,”

answered the Admiral.

”That being the case,” he continued, ”it is my intention to dispatch thither the _Akagi, Chokai, Hei-yen_, and _Tsukus.h.i.+_ to afford the a.s.sistance required by General Oku; and those s.h.i.+ps will be accompanied by a torpedo flotilla, the duty of which will be to take soundings, lay down a line of buoys inside which the s.h.i.+ps must not pa.s.s, and search for and clear the bay of mines, as well as to render such further a.s.sistance as may be possible to the land forces.

”I antic.i.p.ate that the work required of the torpedo flotilla will be of an exceptionally arduous and hazardous character; and for that reason, Captain Swinburne, I am going to place it under your command, with the _Kasanumi_ as your flags.h.i.+p. I have been keeping my eye upon you, sir, and I will take this opportunity to express my very high appreciation of your conduct. You have manifested all the dash, the fertility of resource, and the cool courage under exceedingly trying conditions which we have grown to look for as a matter of course from Englishmen; and to that you add an element of caution which I fear we j.a.panese have not as fully developed as we ought to have done; I therefore regard you as the fittest man I could possibly select for the service upon which I now propose to employ you. That also is the reason why I have so fully explained to you the situation at Kinchau, for it is very necessary that you should clearly understand all that may be required of you.

”We have, of course, any number of j.a.panese officers whose courage would be quite equal to the task I am a.s.signing to you, but they unfortunately lack that element of caution which you possess, in proof of which it will be my painful duty to presently announce a series of terrible disasters, news of which has just reached me, and three of which, at least, I am afraid I must attribute to a lack of caution.”

”Indeed, sir,” I said; ”I am exceeding sorry to hear that. Is it permissible to ask particulars?”

”Oh yes,” answered the Admiral, with a heavy sigh. ”I should not have mentioned the matter to you at all, but for the fact that it must very soon have come to your ears in any case. Within three days, sir, we have lost six war vessels, while a seventh, the _Kasuga_, has been temporarily put out of action. And of the six lost s.h.i.+ps, Captain, two are battles.h.i.+ps, the _Hatsuse_ and the _Yas.h.i.+ma_!”

”The _Hatsuse_ and the _Yas.h.i.+ma_! Good heavens! sir. Is it possible?”