en others. Strangely enough, however, the ship herself was only very
slightly damaged. Less fortunate were the Russians; for, only a day or
two later, two of their gunboats, while engaged in the attempt to remove
some of our mines, came in contact with them, and both craft immediately
went to the bottom, taking most of their men with them.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

THE FLOATING MINE.

It is a true saying, that "the pitcher which goes too often to the well
gets broken at last;" and thus it came about with me, or rather with the
_Kasanumi_.

As the days passed, we became aware of greatly increased activity on the
part of the garrison of Port Arthur. Cruising in the offing during the
daytime, well beyond the range of the Russian's biggest guns, yet near
enough at hand to make sure that our blockade of the port was effective,
the sound of violent explosions came floating off to us all day long,
telling us in unmistakable language that strenuous efforts were being
made to clear the channel of the sunken steamers wherewith we had
blocked it, at such heavy cost to ourselves. There could be but one
reason for such tremendous activity: it was doubtless that the enemy had
it in contemplation to send his fleet to sea, probably with the object
of finding a more secure shelter in the port of Vladivostock, a surmise
which was confirmed by our spies in Port Arthur.

If still further confirmation of this intention were needed, it was to
be found in the increased efforts which the Russians put forth to hamper
our mine-laying operations in the roadstead; for about this time it
became the practice of the enemy to send out a ship, sometimes two, or
even three, to lie at anchor in the roads all night. The ship, or
ships, always anchored well under the cover of the heaviest guns of the
fortress, yet so far out that her, or their, own heavy guns completely
commanded the waters of the roadstead, thus tremendously increasing the
difficulty of sowing those waters with mines.

Naturally, the presence of these ships in the roadstead offered an
almost irresistible temptation to our destroyers to essay the task of
sinking them, or at least putting them out of action; and this desire on
our part was smiled upon by Togo, to put the case mildly, for
information was now continually reaching us to the effect that the
formidable Baltic fleet was being rapidly prepared for sea, and that its
departure on its long voyage to the Far East was imminent;