been employed by us to
facilitate the landing of the troops. The weather still continued
overcast, and the play of sheet lightning gradually grew more vivid and
frequent; but there was no wind, and not much sea; and as time went on I
began to think, with Yagi, that Takebe's apprehensions had been
groundless, and that we were in for nothing worse than, may be, a
thunderstorm, after all.

I spent a couple of hours in the saloon that night, watching the
infantry officers, of whom there were six, playing some wonderful game
of cards, of which I could make nothing, and then strolled up on the
bridge to see what the weather was like, and to have a yarn with Yagi,
before turning in for the night. It was still hazy and very overcast,
but there was not a breath of air save the draught created by the motion
of the ship, and there was a very beautiful display of sheet lightning,
almost continuous, which lighted up the clouds, the mist, and the sea in
the most marvellous manner.

The ship was then heading south-east, with all her lights burning
brightly, as in duty bound, and I was sitting astride a camp-stool, with
my shoulders resting against the port rail of the bridge, while Yagi,
also occupying a camp-stool, sat facing me. He was spinning some yarn--
a sort of Japanese fairy tale, it seemed to be--about a geisha, while I
was staring contemplatively into the darkness over the starboard bow,
watching the wonderful play of the lightning, when suddenly, as a flash
lighted up the gloom, I thought I caught a momentary glimpse of three or
four dark shapes, about a mile away, broad on the starboard bow. If I
had really seen those shapes, they could only be ships, _and they were
showing no lights_; I therefore ruthlessly cut into the skipper's yarn
by directing his attention to the point where the momentary vision had
revealed itself.

"What is that you say?" he exclaimed. "Ships without lights? Then it
must be our Admiral, still hunting for the Vladivostock squadron. Well,
we have not seen them, and we had better tell him so, and at the same
time inquire whether he has any fresh orders for us. Mr Uchida,"--to
the chief officer,--"our squadron is away out there, somewhere on the
starboard bow. Have the goodness to honourably make our night signal,
as I wish to speak the Admiral."

Uchida hurried away and, the signal lanterns being always kept ready for
immediate use, in less than a minute they were hoisted. Meanwhile ther