ied him out of the magazine,
closing the door after him, and took him to his own cabin, where he
deposited the senseless body in its bunk, afterwards securing the
Prince's wrists and ankles firmly with some lengths of rope which he
procured from one of the men. This done, he locked the door, put the
key in his pocket, and went in search of the admiral, whom he fully
expected to find dead. At the same moment he heard the _Ting Yuen's_
guns again opening overhead, as her temporary commander brought her into
action once more, and he smiled grimly as he thought that, if Hsi had
had his way, the shells from those very weapons would at this minute
have been crashing their way through Chinese hulls, instead of being
directed, as they were, against the Japanese ships.

Frobisher found Admiral Ting lying on the floor of his cabin, his hands
lashed behind him, and senseless from a severe cutlass or sword cut
across the forehead. He had evidently been cut down while in the
conning-tower, and had been brought to the cabin and there secured and
flung down; for the Englishman had noticed a trail of bloodstains on the
deck on his way to Ting's quarters.

In a very short time he had cut the old gentleman adrift, and after a
few drops of brandy had been forced down his throat, Ting quickly
revived, and gave Frobisher an account of what had occurred.

It was short, but to the point. Hsi had entered the conning-tower with
a drawn sword in his hand, and before the admiral could open his mouth
the Prince had ruthlessly cut him down. After that the admiral knew no
more until he awoke to find Frobisher pouring spirit and water down his
throat.

He was profuse in his thanks to the young Englishman, and, when he had
learned from the latter all that had happened, promised that he would
never forget the brave deed by which he had been rescued from eternal
shame and dishonour. Then, despite his wound, which Frobisher roughly
bandaged, the plucky old fellow insisted upon going on deck again and
taking charge.

But when the two men regained the open, what a sight met their horrified
eyes! The _Kau-ling_, which, although dismantled, had been fighting
bravely when Frobisher led his boarders away, had disappeared, and the
_Tung-yen_, the engines of which had broken down, had been surrounded by
five Japanese ships, and was even then sinking. The _Yung-chau_, which
had taken fire early in the fight, was now but an abandoned, charred
wreck;