terate with him, and I felt that it would be a long time
before he would be able to recognise its incongruity.

"Well," I said. "What happened next?"

"Oh, nothing, so far as we were concerned," he replied. "We scrambled
down the cleft into our boat and pushed off, still keeping quite close
to the foot of the cliffs, although there was a heavy sea rolling in and
breaking upon them. And indeed it was high time for us to be off, for
when we pulled out of our little harbour at the base of the cliff, the
first light of dawn was showing along the horizon to the eastward.

"Suddenly, the cannonading, which had completely died away, broke out
furiously again from the heights above, and from the new batteries which
have been built on the low ground higher up the harbour. At first we
thought we had been seen, and that they were firing at us; but presently
a steamer hove in sight to seaward, and we saw that the firing was
directed at her and three others which followed her. These we presently
recognised as the remaining explosion steamers, which had lost their way
in the fog of the night before.

"On they came, rushing toward the harbour at top speed, with a hurricane
of shells of all sizes falling upon and about them, and the full glare
of the searchlights shining full upon them.

"The first of them to come I recognised as the _Edo Maru_, under the
command of Commander Takayagi. She looked frightfully battered as she
swept past us, yet she kept afloat and reached the spot for which she
was aiming. Her engines stopped and reversed, and she was evidently
preparing to anchor, when a shell struck poor Takayagi, who was standing
on the port extremity of the bridge, and, almost cutting him in two, hit
the funnel, and exploding blew a tremendous hole in it. Nagata--you
know Lieutenant Nagata, I think--the second in command, who was also on
the bridge, immediately took charge, anchored the ship, exploded the
charges down in her hold, and, ordering away the boats, left her, just
as she was sinking, the crew bringing away poor Takayagi's body with
them. He is to be buried ashore here, this afternoon, with full
military honours, of course.

"The next steamer to come was the _Otaru Maru_. I think the fire
directed upon her was even hotter than that which greeted the _Edo_.
Shells fell all round her, but none of them seemed to hit her; and
meanwhile she was replying briskly with her Hotchkisses. The din was
terrific, for eve