stant that they were
clear of the fog bank, and could see what was happening, the squadron
opened fire upon the _Bayan_ with their heavy guns, when that ship was
in turn compelled to up helm and beat a hurried retreat, to my intense
disgust; for I felt confident that if our cruisers had only lain doggo
in the fog bank, I could have cajoled the Russian ship into following me
so far out to sea that her retreat could have been cut off, and we
should have nabbed her. As it was, the _Diana_ and _Novik_ came rushing
out to her rescue; whereupon Dewa, who by this time recognised the
mistake he had made, turned and retired, apparently in a panic, for
great clouds of smoke were presently seen to be pouring from the funnels
of all his ships. But before ten minutes were over it became perfectly
evident that the Admiral was "playing foxy," for despite the clouds of
smoke, his ships were barely holding their own, if indeed they were
doing as much as that. Naturally, we in the _Koryu_ at once took our
cue from the Admiral, and stoked up for all we were worth, using as much
small coal as we could scrape together, in order to increase the volume
of smoke pouring from our funnel, while we allowed the _Novik_ to gain
upon us a trifle from time to time, and then, by an apparently desperate
effort, drew away from her again. And this time it really looked as
though our ruse was going to prove successful, for the three Russian
cruisers continued to chase us with the utmost pertinacity and
determination.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

THE PETROPAVLOSK LURED TO HER DOOM.

The explanation of the Russian cruisers' pertinacity was soon made plain
to Admiral Dewa by a wireless message which he picked up, addressed to
the captain of the _Novik_, which, decoded, ran thus: "Keep in touch
with enemy but do not attack until I join you. Two battleships and
_Askold_ following to support you. Signed Makarov."

Of course I did not know anything about this until afterward, the
_Koryu_ not being fitted with a wireless installation; but Dewa at once
made a code signal to me instructing me to continue my present tactics;
and while this was being done his wireless operators were busily engaged
in transmitting a code message to Admiral Togo, who was at that moment
lurking, enveloped in mist, some thirty miles away, near the Miao-tao
Islands, with his whole battle squadron and the new cruisers _Nisshin_
and _Kasuga_.

Makarov, however, was evidently ignorant of