shown. Semenoff's description of that night of
anxious expectation is worth quoting. He was on board the flagship, the
"Suvaroff":--

"The night came on dark. The mist seemed to grow denser, and
through it but few stars could be seen. On the dark deck there
prevailed a strained stillness, broken at times only by the
sighs of the sleepers, the steps of an officer, or by an order
given in an undertone. Near the guns the motionless figures of
their crews seemed like dead, but all were wide awake, gazing
keenly into the darkness. Was not that the dark shadow of a
torpedo-boat? They listened attentively. Surely the throb of her
engines and the noise of steam would betray an invisible foe.
Stepping carefully, so as not to disturb the sleepers, I went
round the bridges and decks, and then proceeded to the
engine-room. For a moment the bright light blinded me. Here life
and movement were visible on all sides. Men were nimbly running
up and down the ladders; there was a tinkling of bells and a
buzzing of voices. Orders were being transmitted loudly, but on
looking more intently, the tension and anxiety--that same
peculiar frame of mind so noticeable on deck--could also be
observed."[29]

[29] "Tsu-shima," pp. 27, 28.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF TSU-SHIMA
SKETCH MAP TO SHOW THE EXTENT OF THE WATERS IN WHICH THE FIRST
PART OF THE FIGHT TOOK PLACE. THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE KOREAN
(OR TSU-SHIMA) STRAITS ARE MAPPED IN BLACK, & AN OUTLINE MAP OF
THE NORTH SEA BETWEEN THE EASTERN COUNTIES OF ENGLAND & THE
OPPOSITE COAST OF THE CONTINENT IS SKETCHED OVER THE MAP IN RED
ON THE SAME SCALE]

At daybreak the Japanese scouts were in touch. As the day came in grey
light over the misty broken sea, one of their scouts, the auxiliary cruiser
"Siano Maru" (an armed passenger liner), sweeping round through the haze,
almost collided with the hospital ships, and then dashed off and
disappeared in the twilight. In former wars she would have had to run back
to the fleet with her news. Now from her wireless apparatus the information
was sent through the air to the receivers of the "Mikasa" in Masampho Bay,
and in a few minutes Togo knew that "the enemy's fleet was in square No.
203 of the chart, apparently steering for the eastern passage," i.e. the
strait between Tsu-shima Island and Japan.

In the straits and outside Masampho Bay a heavy sea