Nor were the combatants idle while this provision was being made for their comfort and security. Mobile columns and strong patrols pushed forward on every side, scouring the country for miles, penetrating as far North as eighty miles due East of Mukden, and creating an impression of bewildering activity. On the East a Russian cavalry division, under General Renekampf--a soldier of great energy and recognised ability--struggled for mastery along the banks of the Pa-tao river, and for a week or more Saimaki became the objective of both forces. Now the town was held by the Japanese, and now we learned that two battalions of the enemy, with a field battery and a regiment of cavalry were in occupation, and that the Japanese had fallen back upon Nai-yang-meun on the Ai-ho. The presence of this force on our right was an embarrassment, and might at a critical moment become a menace. General Kuroki, accordingly, determined to remove the risk, and despatched a brigade to Nai-yang-meun with orders to get behind the enemy at Saimaki and thus cut off his retreat. As fate would have it, the Russians chose the very hour of the arrival of these reinforcements to attack the town, and were defeated. They retired in confusion, leaving our right flank unassailed. On the West, at Siou-yen the Guards joined hands with the Division landed at Takushan, and drove the enemy in the direction of Hai-cheng. General Kuropatkin, not being gifted with the power of divination, was deceived by this activity. He evidently believed that General Kuroki was moving Westward toward the railway, and would presently join hands with the divisions in the Liao-tung Peninsula. Appearances lent themselves to this deception. A force had landed at Takushan, two brigades of Guards had occupied Siou-yen, and every day brought report of encounters between patrols and small mobile bodies of the enemy. The long halt at Feng-hoang-cheng helped to confirm the Russian commander in his delusion. Chapter XXI ADVANCE TOWARD LIAO-YANG. The advance of the First Army toward Liao-yang, long expected, carefully prepared, began on the 24th of June. The Second Division, under General Nishi, moved along the Pekin road; their left flank protected by the Guards Division, and their right by the Twelfth Division. Our last view of the Phœnix Mountain was from the summit of a pass overlooking the river Tsao, and a tract of country as beautiful as an English park.