to
be carried out as I had planned it; and in a moment all my anxiety
vanished, I was my own man again, mentally planning what I would do; and
from that moment I felt as cool and collected and keen as was Ito who
stood beside me.

As the tail lights of the 4th and 5th Divisions of the flotilla vanished
in the darkness on our port quarter, the _Asashio's_ signal lantern
began winking again, and Ito read off and translated the message to me:

"Reduce speed to twelve knots. Be ready to show signal lanterns if
required. When I starboard helm, Division one will follow me, while
Divisions two and three will port helm and sheer off to the eastward."

A single flash from our own carefully shrouded signal lanterns informed
the Commodore that the message had been read and understood, and all was
opaque darkness once more. The rain had by this time cleared off and
the atmosphere was much clearer, so clear indeed that the outlines of
the hills ahead showed with tolerable distinctness, and the water was
getting smoother.

The lighthouse light was showing very bright and clear by this time, and
two or three other and much dimmer lights, like those of houses, showed
here and there in the shadow of the hills. The gap between the hills
which marked the harbour entrance was also visible, while a faint glare
in the sky to the right of it showed that Port Arthur was still awake.
But everything seemed absolutely peaceful, and there were no signs of
that alertness which we had expected to find.

Suddenly the lighthouse light, upon which my gaze happened to be fixed,
seemed to blink several times in a very curious manner; then it
disappeared altogether for a moment, and I saw a great black shadow that
seemed to rapidly increase in size as I stared at it. Then I glimpsed
at the base of the shadow the ghostly gleam of phosphorescent foam, such
as is piled up by the bows of a ship travelling at speed, and high above
it a rolling, swirling cloud of blackness spangled with evanescent
sparks which, a moment later, I saw was issuing from three of a group of
five tall funnels.

"By Jove! Ito," I exclaimed, "here comes the patrol cruiser--the
_Askold_--and she is heading straight for us! Gun and tube crews, stand
by! Quartermaster, light those two signal lanterns, white above red,
bend them on to the signal halliards, and stand by to hoist away when I
give the word."

"Yes," agreed Ito, his voice tense with excitement; "she has seen an