the veriest
cock-boat could have safely ventured upon it. The only drawback was
that there was a moon, well advanced in her first quarter, floating high
in a sky dappled with light, fleecy cloud through which enough light
percolated to render even small craft distinctly visible on the horizon.
But, after all, this would not greatly matter, indeed it would be an
advantage to us, always provided, of course, that we were not
prematurely sighted by some keen-visioned, swift-steaming Russian scout;
for the moon would set about midnight, while two o'clock in the morning
was the time set for our attempt.

The run to the offing of Port Arthur was like a pleasure trip; our fleet
of old crocks pounded along steadily, with a soft, soothing sound of
purling water rising from under their bows, dominated from time to time
by the clank of our crazy engines, which our mechanics had doctored up
as thoroughly as time permitted, in order to ensure that they should
outlast the run across. There was nothing for us to do but follow our
leader, so I spent an hour of the time in making sure that our solitary
boat should reach the water with certainty and on a level keel when the
time should come to launch her, taking the turns out of the davit
tackles, well greasing the falls, oiling the block sheaves, and rigging
up a device of my own contriving whereby the necessity to unhook the
blocks could be avoided when the boat touched the water.

At eleven o'clock Commander Arima signalled the destroyer flotilla, and
five of the fastest of them at once went full speed ahead, spreading out
in a fan-shaped formation ahead of us and on either bow to reconnoitre
the roadstead. At ten minutes to midnight the moon, a great golden
half-disc, swimming in a violet sky flecked with great islands of soft,
fleecy cloud, touched the high land of Liau-ti-shan; and as she sank
behind it, the order was given to stop our engines and lay-to for a
short while, as we had made a good passage and were somewhat ahead of
our scheduled time; also to await the return and report of the
destroyers. We were now about twelve miles off Port Arthur, and far
enough beyond the range of the searchlights to ensure our presence being
undetected.

With the setting of the moon, the clouds seemed to bunch together and
acquire a greater density, and it fell very dark, such starlight as
filtered through the canopy of cloud only barely sufficing to enable us
to detect our next ship ahe