nd stout chain cables.

We were hard at work upon the boom again when, during the afternoon of
the following day, our battle fleet returned from Pi-tse-wo, after
covering the landing of General Oku's army. The fleet steamed in
between the islands and Cape Terminal on the mainland, toward which we
were running the boom; and my friend Ijichi, the skipper of the
_Mikasa_, told me, with a laugh, that when the little Admiral first saw
the boom and made out what it was, he could hardly credit his eyes. He
had been under the impression that I was still in hospital, and would
probably not be able to get to work for a week or more. Yet there I
was, as large as life, in a picket boat, with my head still swathed in a
bandage, superintending operations, and clearly recognisable with the
assistance of a pair of binoculars. And when at the close of the day I
went aboard the flagship to report myself, Togo did not hesitate to let
me understand how intensely gratified he was at the progress which we
had made.

Meanwhile, I was fast progressing toward complete recovery; and on the
day following the return of the fleet to the Elliots, the bandage was
removed from my head, and I was pronounced to be practically all right
once more. And, to add to my gratification, a destroyer arrived from
Sasebo, bringing mails for the fleet, among which were no less than
three delightful letters from my friends the Gordons, at home, and two,
equally delightful, from my Sasebo friends, Mr Boyd and his wife.
Those from the Gordons were full of congratulations; for I gathered from
them that a long and circumstantial account of our second attempt to
seal up Port Arthur harbour had appeared in the home newspapers, in
which somewhat conspicuous mention was made of my doings, and my friends
were delighted to learn that I was "so successfully maintaining the
finest traditions of the British Navy," as they were kindly pleased to
put it. My chum, Ronald, was particularly chirpy about it, expressing
in no measured terms the wish that he could have been with me, while he
informed me that, notwithstanding the painful circumstances under which
I had left the _Terrible_--and the British Navy--the officers of that
ship, with only one or two exceptions, had expressed their
gratification, while several of them, whom he named, had desired him to
convey to me their congratulations and good wishes.

During the next day or two excellent progress was made with the
con