The officer who had questioned me was walking the platform leisurely. It was my turn to inquire. I had given him such information as he asked of me, and I determined that he should not escape my attentions. At once his English became very meagre, but I plied him so vigorously as to these troops and those, the number, intention, and destination of the armed militia; the how, why and where of their enrolment and condition of service, and other matters that he really deserved to be excused, after supplying so much information, when he declined to state anything respecting the special train which was following mine north. Luck favoured me a little, for later I had to change trains at Tashichiao, and whilst waiting there the special arrived, with the Viceroy and his staff. My attempt to board the train was frustrated by the cordon of sentries, but from my own car I saw the company foregather, dine, make merry, and converse. I recognized first one officer, then another, knew that a tour of inspection was being made and that the generals of the different divisions were receiving instructions or suggesting alterations. Then the train pulled out of sight and I journeyed to Newchwang without further incident but in possession of some news, and the story of events in Port Arthur to that date, which was cabled immediately. CHAPTER VII The Day’s Work Many suppose that because the special war correspondents achieved so little they had a comparatively easy life, pleasantly passed under the Sun-flag in the beauteous isles of the Orient. This was not so for those whose luck it was to be accredited to the Russian army in Manchuria, and still less for those newsgatherers who hovered on the frontier of the neutral territory. There the day’s work was long, often arduous, and seldom satisfactory. It had its dangers. Mr. Etzel, of the _Daily Telegraph_, the only correspondent shot during this war, was of us, and I intend now to describe the life we two led together at Yingkow, in the months of March and April. We were not alone, from first to last more than two score correspondents used Yingkow as temporary or permanent headquarters. If we had not been disturbed during the night we would be out early, and from a glance at the main roads east and west ascertain whether there had been any movement of troops during the hours of darkness. If there were tracks, we followed up the clue after breakfast. We had also to visit the hotels to see whether there were new arrivals from Port Arthur or the north, as the Russian train usually arrived very early in the morning, and the Chinese train left the station on the opposite side of the river at seven o’clock, so it was sometimes possible for a through passenger to travel from one station to the other without a stay in Newchwang, and correspondents could not afford to allow one to slip by unquestioned.