miral, with General Oku's transports, to
Pi-tse-wo.

I was discharged shortly after eleven o'clock in the morning, and was
conveyed in a hand ambulance down to the landing-place, where my boat
was waiting for me, having been semaphored for, the instant that I
obtained my discharge. I was glad to find myself aboard my own little
ship once more; and the crew seemed to be as glad to see me as I was to
see them; for it appeared that during my absence the _Kasanumi_ had been
employed upon nothing but patrol work, which was not at all to the taste
of my lads. Young Hiraoka, my lieutenant, seemed keenly disappointed
when he learned that our most exciting work, for some time to come, was
to be the construction of the long boom; but philosophically remarked
that no doubt as soon as the Russians learned what we were about, we
should have a few of their destroyers paying us a call, when we might
hope for a little fun.

By the time that I got aboard, it was noon; and I at once signalled the
transports, asking how soon they could be ready to start. The reply was
that, not expecting to be called upon to go to sea so soon, their fires
were all out--but boilers were full and fires laid, and they could have
steam in three hours; whereupon I made the signal to light fires at
once, and report when they were ready to move. Then I got into a
reclining chair under the awning aft, and, having partaken of a hasty
luncheon, treated myself to a snooze, since I expected to be up all
night.

We all got under way shortly after three o'clock in the afternoon, and,
having cleared the harbour, headed away north-west for the Elliot group.
The weather was, for a wonder, beautifully fine, no fog, very few
clouds, brilliant sunshine, very little wind, and the water as smooth as
a mill pond; consequently we made very good progress, although the speed
of the slowest transport was only ten knots, and of course the rest of
us had to regulate our pace by hers. Had the weather been threatening I
should of course have been anxious, but the barometer stood high, and as
even at ten knots the passage would only occupy about thirteen hours, I
felt quite easy in my mind.

The trip across the Yellow Sea was made without mishap or adventure
until we arrived within about twelve miles of our destination. The
night was still gloriously fine, the water smooth, the stars brilliant,
and the moon, within about an hour of setting, hung in the western sky,
spreading