About twelve o’clock midnight, August 30, the search-lights revealed a Japanese torpedo-boat near White Wolf Bay, not far from one of the sunken steamers. She fired on the search-light, but was driven off by fire from Tiger Tail coast forts and shots from the guardship and fortress, apparently suffering some damage. Although the Japanese seemed to be paralyzed by the non-success of their persistent attack, they maintained a constant fire on the Russian positions, and on the town. On August 29 a shell falling in China Town caused a fire which spread with alarming rapidity. The town fire brigade were successful in confining the outbreak to some stores of butter and matches. The volume of dense smoke which arose from the conflagration spurred the Japanese gunners to renewed effort, with the result that much damage was done in the town and the fire brigade also suffered. Port Arthur was at this time in ruins. The houses and stores in the Old Town were demolished or uninhabitable. The townsmen, as well as the troops, lived in the bomb-proof trenches, or in caves, some of which suffered at times, for there seemed to be no spot absolutely safe from the rain of shell. Most of the fighting was done in the trenches outside the line of forts, and even civilians were requisitioned to take their turn, but these had ten days off duty after a term at the front. The soldiers got little rest, and all prayed that soon the guns of Kuropatkin’s army might be heard as he approached to raise the siege and relieve the fortress. With September General Nogi put aside for a time direct assaults and frontal attacks. The engineers were set to work with a view to undermining a coveted position and by sapping and blasting create a breach which could not be repaired, a breach by which the Japanese could effect an entry more easily. The approach by parallels had been proposed in June, and was abandoned only when it was discovered that the material was hard and unsuited to mining. The progress was very slow even after a fair start had been made. The artillery duel was maintained, the Japanese bringing up many reinforcements of every arm. On September 3 the Etseshan battery was silenced by ten-inch shells, and the breastwork brought down by the fire. The Japanese, before reaching the line of forts, had still to capture the Tung-yen Redoubt before Erhlung-shan, and the works on Métre hills before Antszshan and Etseshan, also lunettes near the railway to the south of Sui-shi. It was not until September 20 that the attack on these positions became possible. The tactics employed were the same throughout. First, there was a general artillery fire upon the redoubts and the forts behind them, all along the line in fact. This heavy bombardment raged from early dawn until past mid-day. Then it was concentrated upon the advanced positions it was intended to assault.