nd Luke could remain on
shore. But nothing came of it, and with a heavy heart the young gunner's
mate returned to his place on the warship.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR

After the fruitless effort to escape from Port Arthur harbor the Russian
warships "bottled up" there remained where they were for a long time to
come. Occasionally one or another attempted to run the blockade, but
results were usually disastrous, and at last the risk became so great
nothing more was done in that direction. The Japanese continued to put
down mines and sank several boats loaded with stone in or near the
winding channel, and this made getting in as hard as getting out--thus
putting a stop to the arrival of more supply boats, such as brought Ben
to the seaport.

In the meantime the campaign on land was pushed forward with increased
activity. The headquarters of the Japanese army investing Port Arthur
was not far from the railroad, but the lines stretched many miles to the
east and the west. Troops were hurried both from Japan and from the
divisions near Liao-Yang, and heavy siege guns were mounted on every
available hilltop. The Japanese were, at the start, at a great
disadvantage--they could not see the enemy at which they were firing.
Hills and mountains cut them off from every view of the port. But they
kept hammering away, day after day, week after week, and month after
month, gaining steadily, throwing up new intrenchments, digging new
tunnels, and hauling their heavy guns forward to more advantageous
positions. The labor was body racking and the sacrifice of life
enormous. But the Mikado's soldiers did not appear to care. They had set
out to capture Port Arthur and they were going to do it.

For the foot-soldiers and for the cavalry there was at the start but
little to do in the way of fighting. Most of the time was spent in
digging trenches and tunnels, and in keeping out of the way of shells
that whistled and screamed in all directions--shells weighing hundreds
of pounds, which, when they struck, tore up the ground for yards around
and smashed the rocks as if the latter were passing through a quartz
crusher. Such is war of modern times, when carried on at a distance of
miles.

But as the months went by, and Japanese and Russians came closer to each
other, hand-to-hand conflicts became numerous. The Russians contested
every foot of the ground, fighting with a courage that was truly heroic,
and sacrificing