er and the contents of the
message. Also, he thought that, without a very great effort, he might
be able to name the man for whom that message was intended. What he did
wonder at was the audacity of the man who dared to undertake so
dangerous a business in full view of the fleet, and also whether anybody
besides himself had witnessed the transaction. Perhaps the mysterious
sender had reckoned on everyone else being too busy to notice the
occurrence.

A voice just beside Frobisher at that moment testified to the fact that
at least one other person in the fleet had eyes wherewith to see. The
voice was Drake's, and all he said was: "I suppose you saw that, sir?"
But from the tone in which the words were spoken Frobisher knew that his
own suspicions were shared.

Frobisher glanced round him. "Ay, I saw," he replied, with set teeth.
"There is a noose waiting for a certain acquaintance of ours, Drake; and
the sooner it is placed round his neck and hauled taut, the better will
it be for China."

Further conversation was out of the question, for at this moment there
came the boom of a gun, followed by a string of flags fluttering up to
the signal-yard of the _Ting Yuen_, which, interpreted, signified that
the flagship's anchor was up and that she was under way. Then came
another signal, ordering the ships to proceed to sea in double column of
line ahead, the starboard line being led by the flagship, and the port
line by the other battleship, the _Chen Yuen_.

Gradually the two battleships gathered way and proceeded to head down
the river abreast of each other. Then came Frobisher's own ship, the
_Chih' Yuen_, in the starboard division, with the _Shan-si_ as her
companion; the _Yen-fu_ and _Khu-ling_ came next, then the _Yung-chau_
and _Tung-yen_; while the old _Hai-yen_ and _San-chau_ ended the lines,
the fleet thus being composed often vessels, two of which--the two last
named--were practically useless for the fighting line, but were to be
employed as tenders or dispatch vessels as occasion might require. The
seven torpedo-boats had taken their departure from the anchorage while
the War Council on the flagship was in progress, and had been sent on
ahead to the mouth of the river as scouts. They were to run a distance
of twenty miles out to sea, to ascertain whether there were any of the
enemy's ships in the offing, and then to return with their report to the
entrance of the Pei-ho, where the battle fleet would awa