the signal was made for all captains to at
once proceed on board the flagship. Some such signal had confidently
been expected, after the news of the preceding day; we were in fact all
waiting for it, and its display was equivalent to the starting signal
for a race, for no sooner did the flags break abroad than they were
read, and the next instant the shrill piping of many boatswain's
whistles was heard in the calm morning air, the crews of the captain's
gigs were seen rushing along the booms and dropping recklessly down into
the boats, and in less than a minute the mirror-like waters of the
harbour were being churned into foam as the flotilla of gigs darted away
from the ships' gangway ladders, each striving to be the first to arrive
alongside the _Mikasa_. I was not the first to reach the goal, for the
battleships were all lying together, with the cruisers some distance
outside them, but my boat was the fourth alongside, beating the
_Asama's_ gig by half a length, to the intense disgust of Captain
Yamada, who occupied her stern-sheets.

"Never mind, Yamada, old chap," I exclaimed, as we shook hands and
ascended the _Mikasa's_ side ladder together; "perhaps you will get the
pull of me later on. But I'll bet you a case of champagne that the
_Yakumo_ scores a hit before the _Asama_, to-day."

The bet was eagerly accepted, and, chatting gaily, we passed along the
flagship's deck and entered the Admiral's state cabin, where we found
Togo and the captains of the four battleships already assembled and
conversing eagerly. The Admiral shook hands with both of us,
complimented me upon my rapid recovery, and then turned to welcome the
other captains who were fast arriving, while we joined the little but
quickly swelling group of officers who had already arrived; for of
course Togo would say nothing until everybody was present.

We were not kept waiting very long, however, perhaps a matter of ten
minutes after my arrival, and then Captain Ijichi, of the _Mikasa_, who
as each captain arrived, had been ticking his name off a list, announced
that all were present, and rapped sharply on the table with his
sword-hilt for silence. The next moment, to use a common expression,
one might have heard a pin drop. Then Admiral Togo stepped forward,
unrolled a chart and spread it open upon the table, and stood for a
moment looking round the crowded cabin with a curiously intent and eager
gaze.

"Gentlemen," he said, "the wireless mes