struction of the long boom; and then came a spell of bad weather
which, although it did not hinder the putting together of the sections
of the boom, in the smooth water of the anchorage, rendered it
impossible for us to tow them out and splice them to the portion already
in position. But although the bad weather greatly delayed us in this
way, we did not altogether regret it, for the heavy sea kicked up by the
gales afforded a splendid test of that portion of the boom already in
place, and we were greatly gratified, as we steamed out day after day to
examine it, to find that it had not been damaged or displaced in the
smallest degree.

It was toward the end of the third week of May that the Admiral
signalled me to proceed on board the flagship. It was late in the
afternoon of a thoroughly wretched day; the wind had been blowing hard
from the south'ard for the past three or four days, with almost
incessant rain, and there was a very heavy sea running between the
islands and the main. I had just returned from my second inspection of
the boom that day, and I naturally thought that the signal indicated a
desire on the part of the Admiral to question me in relation to the
stability of the structure. And when I entered his cabin, and he
greeted me with the question:

"Well, Captain Swinburne, how is the boom standing the sea, out yonder?"
I was confirmed in my opinion. But I presently found that I was
mistaken; for when I had told him all that there was to tell about the
boom, and he had expressed his satisfaction, he said:

"By the way, it is Commander Tsuchiya who has been your chief assistant
in this work, is it not?"

I replied in the affirmative.

"And I suppose he understands the whole business pretty well by this
time, eh?" the Admiral continued.

"Every bit as well as I do, sir," I answered, seeming to scent other
work for myself at no great distance.

"That is good," commented Togo. "Do you think he would be capable of
completing the work without further assistance from you?"

"Undoubtedly he would, sir," I replied. "Indeed, I think it right to
say that, after the first day, Commander Tsuchiya required no help or
suggestion of any kind from me at all. He seemed to perfectly
understand the principle of the boom's construction, almost from the
very beginning; and after the first day's work upon it he took the
entire supervision into his own hands, leaving me nothing whatever to do
but merely to look o