les.

Meanwhile, Togo was busily engaged in the preparation of his plans for
the great battle toward which we had all been looking forward for so
long. In this work he was of course hampered by his lack of knowledge
as to the intentions of the Russians. There were two routes by which
they could reach Vladivostock: one--much the shorter of the two--by way
of Korea Strait and up through the Sea of Japan; and the other, via the
east coast of Japan and La Perouse Strait. Also, should Rojdestvensky
choose the shorter route, he could pass either to the east or to the
west of Tsushima Island. Togo solved the problem by preparing a plan of
battle for each of the three alternative routes.

On 26th May the Russian fleet was reported as being south-west of
Quelpart Island, off the entrance of Korea Strait, and its position
rendered it practically certain that it was Rojdestvensky's intention to
take the shorter route up through the Sea of Japan.

It was shortly before sunset, on 26th May, that the fateful wireless
message--"Enemy in sight, fifty miles west of Torishima,"--came in from
one of our scouting cruisers; and two minutes later a signal was flying
from the _Mikasa_, summoning the Japanese admirals to a council of war.

The council was a brief one, lasting barely a quarter of an hour; then
the admirals returned to their respective flagships, and the latter at
once signalled the captains of the several squadrons to meet in the
cabin of the admiral of that squadron. The _Yakumo_ formed part of the
armoured cruiser division, under the command of Admiral Kamimura, and
accordingly it was in the cabin of the _Idzumo_ that the six captains of
that division presently assembled to receive our instructions.

These were concise enough, and of such a character as to indicate that
Togo had given this long-expected battle a tremendous amount of
consideration, and had finally settled all the details with almost
mathematical precision. In the first place, for good and sufficient
reasons, the battle was to be fought in the eastern strait, and, as
nearly as possible, off the northern extremity of the island of
Tsushima. To ensure this, the old _Chin-yen_, the _Itsukushima,
Matsushima_, and _Hashidate_, of the protected cruiser squadron,
accompanied by one division of destroyers, were to act the part of
lures, approaching the Russian fleet on the following morning, as it
neared the Straits, alternately attacking and retiring in the