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Updated: June 7, 2025
But even now we had not quite done with her, for almost immediately she swung round to cross our stern, and a moment later we saw the silvery flash of a torpedo as it left her tube. Kusumoto, however, was not to be caught unawares; apparently he more than half suspected something of the kind, and was on the watch.
"Very true," I assented. "That may be so. Such action is contrary to international law, and in fact is closely akin to piracy, if indeed it is not piracy, pure and simple. Now, suppose these fellows attempt to interfere with us, what do you propose to do?" "Ah!" ejaculated Kusumoto, "that is an exceedingly difficult question to answer.
The Russians halted as if turned to stone, and glanced anxiously at their commander. Kusumoto raised his megaphone and hailed: "Is that enough, or will you have more? Now, sheer off at once, if you please. If you don't, I shall fire again; and my next shots with my Hotchkiss guns will be at your waterline and your boilers."
After luncheon, by which time all the passengers but ourselves had gone ashore, we engaged a sampan, bade Kusumoto and the ship's officers farewell, and landed in the English "hatoba," which is a sort of floating basin, the shore end of which consists of landing-steps alongside which a whole fleet of boats can be accommodated at once.
"Because," replied Kusumoto, "Dgiboutil belongs to the French, who are strongly pro-Russian; and those craft must have a sort of headquarters at which they may receive news and instructions, and where they can replenish their bunkers and storerooms, and I know of no place so likely for this as Dgiboutil." "I see," said I. "Yes, you are most probably right, so far.
Starboard your helm, you confounded fool; hard a-starboard, or you'll be over us." "Then get out of my way," retorted Kusumoto. I'll teach him to lay his tin kettle athwart a Japanese ship's bows." The destroyer leaped from under our bows like a frightened thing, though not so quickly but that we caught her quarter with the rounding of our bows and gave her a pretty severe shaking up.
Our engines were still running at full speed, and our safety valves were lifting, allowing a "feather" of steam to show at the head of our waste-pipe, while our quartermaster grimly kept our stem pointed fair and square between the second and third funnels of the Russian. Then skipper Kusumoto raised his megaphone and hailed the destroyer, in Russian, with: "Ho! the destroyer ahoy!
For the chat which Nakamura and I had had with the skipper, shortly after leaving Port Said, had been succeeded by another on the following day, the outcome of which was that Kusumoto, with the full approval of my friend Nakamura and myself, had resolved to take the very serious step of broaching cargo, with the result that, when the passengers came up on deck, on the morning which found us off Shadwan Island, they were amazed to discover two 1-pounder Hotchkisses mounted, one on the forecastle-head and the other right aft over the taffrail, while a Maxim graced either extremity of the navigating bridge.
As soon as the destroyer had disappeared, Kusumoto retired to his cabin and wrote a lengthy account of the affair in his official log-book, getting Nakamura and me to sign it, as before, in testimony of its veracity.
"You will fire into me, if I don't stop, you say? Is Russia at war with my country, then?" hailed Kusumoto. There was silence for a minute or two aboard the destroyer, during which the two officers on her bridge consulted eagerly together. We could see that her engine-room telegraph stood at "Full speed," yet, strange to say, she was only just holding her own with us.
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