d of
thunder, but the occupants of the forts and trenches on the crest and
side of Nanshan Heights at once opened a terrific fire from every piece,
great or small, that could be brought to bear upon the foot of the
slope, which was instantly swept by a very hurricane of shrapnel and
rifle bullets, while the Japanese, safely under cover, looked on and
smiled.

For two hours that storm raged with such fury that the volleying peals
of thunder quite outroared the booming of the Russian artillery and
rifle-fire, which gradually died down as the Muscovites began to realise
that there was no attack; and about two o'clock in the morning the storm
passed away, still rumbling and muttering, to the eastward. But during
that two hours of elemental fury, a Chinese village in the neighbourhood
was set on fire and practically destroyed, while several Japanese
soldiers were struck by lightning, and either killed outright or more or
less seriously injured.

With the passing of the storm a thick, white mist arose from the low
ground, completely blotting out everything beyond a few yards distant;
and under the cover of this mist the Japanese made their dispositions
for the coming battle, entirely unseen by the enemy, and probably
unheard also, for it was a revelation to me to see how quietly large
bodies of men could be moved when the necessity for silence had been
fully impressed upon them.

As the dawn gradually brightened the sky behind the ridge of Mount
Sampson, the Russians again became uneasy, and their rifles once more
began to speak from the trenches, a shot here, then another shot yonder,
followed by quite a spluttering here and there all along their front;
but their artillery remained silent, for the fog was still so dense that
nothing could be seen at which to aim.

Protected by the cover of the fog, the Japanese soldiers went to
breakfast, fortifying themselves with a good meal, in preparation for
the arduous labours of the day that lay before them; and I did the same,
for I knew not how long it might be before I should again have the
opportunity to eat or drink; also, following the example of several of
the officers and men, I filled my jacket pockets with biscuit, and
provided myself with a good capacious flask of cold tea, having done
which, I felt ready for anything.

We had barely finished breakfast when the sun showed over the ridge of
Mount Sampson; and almost immediately the thick curtain of fog, which
had thu