ointment--or of remaining in Wei-hai-wei
until he, the admiral, was ready to go to Tien-tsin and personally
present his protege to the Council.

To this Frobisher made reply that, if it suited the admiral equally
well, he would much prefer to accompany him to Tien-tsin; for he was
extremely anxious to secure the appointment as captain of the cruiser,
and knew--from what he had already learned of Chinese officialdom--that
he would have a far better chance with Wong-lih by his side as sponsor,
than he would as the mere bearer of a letter of recommendation from the
admiral. It was accordingly so arranged; and he spent the intervening
time in looking round the port, arsenal, and dockyard of Wei-hai-wei,
picking up all the information he could with regard to Chinese Naval
matters, and also managing incidentally to acquire a small--very small--
smattering of the Chinese language, which was afterwards of considerable
use to him.

On a certain afternoon, Wong-lih drove up to the hotel where Frobisher
was staying, and announced that his duties were now completed, and that
he was ready to start for Tien-tsin. There was, luckily, a
dispatch-boat in the harbour which had just arrived at Wei-hai-wei from
Chemulpo, on her way to Tien-tsin; and the admiral had decided to take
passages in her for Frobisher and himself. The Englishman therefore had
only to pack the few belongings which he had purchased in the town; and
five minutes later the curiously-assorted pair were being conveyed in a
rickshaw, drawn by a Chinese coolie, down to the dock, where the
_San-chau_, dispatch-boat, was lying.

The voyage from Wei-hai-wei to Tien-tsin is only a short one, of some
three hundred miles, but the course lies across the Gulf of Chi-lih,
notorious for its dangerous fogs at this season of the year and the
typhoons which, at all times, are liable to spring up with only the
briefest warning; and about two hours after they had left port, and were
passing the bold headland beneath which stands the city of Chi-fu, it
began to look as though they were in for one of the latter.

Wong-lih and the captain of the dispatch-boat held a short consultation
as to the advisability of running into Chi-fu harbour for shelter; but
as the roadstead was somewhat open, it was finally agreed to push on, at
top speed, and endeavour to get clear of the Shan-tung peninsula and the
Miao-tao islands before the storm broke. Otherwise, they might find
themselves in rat