as scarcely able
to find time to snatch a couple of hurried meals while walking from one
point to another. I was not interfered with by anybody, for, with two
opposing armies facing each other at close quarters, the population
seemed scarcely inclined to venture out of doors. Of course I saw
plenty of armed men, both Russians and our own troops, moving about in
the plain which surrounds Kinchau, and there was a considerable amount
of desultory firing going on; but it was not until well on in the
afternoon that I came into close proximity of any of the troops, and
that was when it became necessary for me to cross a road leading into
Kinchau from the north. Along this road armed Russians, singly, in twos
and threes, and often in large bodies, were passing to and fro; and I
lost nearly an hour of valuable time waiting for an opportunity merely
to cross that road unseen. However, I managed it at last, and reached
my final observation point just in time to satisfactorily finish my work
before night fell and the light failed me.

And now my next task was to somehow make my way back to the cove in
which I had landed some eighteen hours earlier. To do this it was
necessary for me to recross the road where I had been held up during the
afternoon; but now the darkness was in my favour, and I succeeded in
getting across with scarcely any delay, arriving at the cove safely,
with a good hour to spare.

It was a weary waiting for the boat which was due to come for me at
midnight, for I was very tired after my unusual exertions throughout the
day, and would gladly have slept. But that would not do; for to have
slept would have exposed me to the double risk of being surprised, and
of missing my boat; I was therefore by no means sorry when, about
midnight, I heard the low whistle which announced her arrival. To step
lightly into her and murmur the order to shove off was the work of a
moment, and half an hour later I was again safely aboard the _Kasanumi_,
to the great joy of young Hiraoka, who, it appeared, had been all day
haunted with the fear that I might fall into the hands of the Russians.

And now, weary as I was, there were at least two hours' work before me,
with pencil, paper, protractor, parallel ruler, and scale, making
calculations and laying down upon map and chart the result of my
observations. This result was, on the whole, eminently satisfactory,
for although I discovered a few trifling errors in the map, here