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Updated: May 7, 2025
After this the hemp portion of the tow-rope was secured to bollards on the quarter-decks of both craft, the slack of the hawsers attached to the kedge-anchors was taken up, the skippers stood by their respective engine-room telegraphs, and, at a signal from Wong-lih, the San-chau went slowly ahead until the towing hawser was taut.
I will seize the opportunity to introduce you to the officials composing it, and we will get your commission made out and signed, so that you may be ready for service whenever called upon." With these words Wong-lih went up on deck, followed by Frobisher, and the two men, entering the San-chau's gig, were pulled ashore.
"To be of any real use as captain of a cruiser it seems to me that a thorough acquaintance with Chinese is an absolute necessity." "If that is your only objection," exclaimed Wong-lih in a tone of relief, "you may dismiss it at once.
But, luckily, Wong-lih met her on the way there, screwed the information out of her captain, and stopped Hsi's little game. He hates Wong-lih, therefore; and, as I am a friend of the admiral's, he has honoured me also with a share of his dislike." "The low-down, ruffianly swab!" Drake burst out. "But there! that's just the sort of beast he looks.
Wong-lih also had no intention of retiring during the short time that still remained before they were ready to leave, so he invited the young Englishman into his own spacious and luxuriously-fitted quarters in the stern of the ship, where the two remained smoking, talking, and drinking coffee, until the sound of the morning gun from the fort, followed by the report of one of the twenty-four pounders on deck, announced that it was "official sunrise", and that the hour had arrived for them to take their departure.
The remnant of her fleet, under Admiral Ting, had fought another bravely-contested naval action, and had been destroyed, with the exception of one ship, the Chen Yuen, which had been captured. Her southern fleet had been bottled up by another Japanese squadron, and Admiral Wong-lih had gone to Tien-tsin to see whether he could be of use there.
Everything being then in readiness, and both ships being under a full pressure of steam, the crews went to breakfast; and directly that was disposed of, the San-chau's boats were sent across to the cruiser with a light steel hawser, Wong-lih accompanying them in person, to see that "that fool of a captain" did not make any mistakes this time.
They were, it afterward transpired, first of all to occupy the town of Asan, and operate against the insurgents, with Asan as their base, until further instructions were received or other developments arose; and the officer was then waiting to hold a short consultation with Wong-lih with reference to his future course of action, so that the admiral would be in a position to report fully to his Government upon his return to China.
The wall of water crashed into and over the San-chau with a power that made it appear as though she had struck something solid; and for a few moments Frobisher, clinging to the bridge rail beside the captain and Wong-lih, could see nothing of the deck of the ship, so deeply was she buried in the wave.
Wong-lih and the captain of the dispatch-boat held a short consultation as to the advisability of running into Chi-fu harbour for shelter; but as the roadstead was somewhat open, it was finally agreed to push on, at top speed, and endeavour to get clear of the Shan-tung peninsula and the Miao-tao islands before the storm broke. Otherwise, they might find themselves in rather an awkward situation.
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