Meanwhile along the foot of the mountains across the river wound a thin black line like a mamba uncoiling its length out of a ravine. The sight of it called to my memory the dark cataract that flowed from the heights beyond Lombards Kop to engulf the men at Nicholson’s Nek. This was the Japanese infantry on the right who had made good their footing and were swarming up the precipitous slopes to storm the left wing of the Russian army, and to perform a feat of arms more daring and successful than that which gave General de Wet his first victory in Natal. Upward and onward they went--now vanishing in some dark depression; now visible against the bare rock, until at last they began to fall over the crest like a mountain torrent that swept down to the banks of the river Ai. The Russians could not have been ignorant of this incursion, but for a long time they gave no sign. Presently three or four mounted men came down from the low hills North-east of Tiger Hill and halted under cover of the houses near the river. Their mission was quickly apparent. The buildings burst into flame and the Cossacks rode off into the smoke, followed by shrapnel from the battery East of Wiju. The night of the 30th was one of crowded yet silent activity on the South bank of the Yalu and the island of Kontonto. Two Divisions--the Guards and the Second--had still to cross and pontoons had to be placed. At ten o’clock all was ready and men and guns passed over. The speed and silence with which these movements were effected was remarkable. Every man knew his part and his place: there was no noise or confusion: the approaches to the river were screened and the men reached them from behind sheltering hills: the pontoons were padded with straw and matting. Meanwhile two important problems had been solved by a few gallant officers--whether the field guns on Kontonto island could be moved to Temple island, and whether the river Ai must be bridged or could be forded. In the event of disaster the guns must inevitably be lost, as there was no means of retreat across the river and the only way to reach Temple island was by pontoon ferries. Late in the night the batteries were ferried over to Temple island. For men to cross the Ai under rifle fire seemed a hopeless task, and many suggestions were made and discussed. One proposal was that the men should carry floats of wood or small tubs: another that a picked body of swimmers prepared to die should cross the river with leading ropes for their comrades.