The _Buiny_ kept close alongside, dancing up and down. Her Captain, Kolomeytseff, shouting through his speaking trumpet, asked: “Have you a boat in which to take off the Admiral? We haven’t!” To this the flag Captain and Kruijanoffsky made some reply. I looked at the turret. Its armoured door was damaged and refused to open properly, so that it was very doubtful if anything as big as a man could get through. The Admiral was sitting huddled up, with his eyes on the ground; his head was bandaged in a blood-stained towel. “Sir, the torpedo-boat is alongside! we must go,” I said. “Call Filipinoffsky,” he replied, without moving. Rozhdestvensky evidently intended to lead the fleet after hoisting his flag on another ship, and therefore wanted to have with him the flag navigating officer, who was responsible for the dead-reckoning and safety of manœuvres. “He will be here in a minute; they have gone for him.” The Admiral merely shook his head. I have not laid stress on the fact that before transferring him to another ship it was necessary to try and arrange some means of getting him there. Kursel, with the boatswain and two or three sailors, had got hold of some half-burned hammocks and rope from the upper battery, and with these had begun to lash together something in the shape of a raft on which to lower the Admiral into the water and put him on board the torpedo-boat. It was risky, but nothing else was to hand. The raft was ready. Filipinoffsky appeared, and I hurried to the turret. “Come out, sir! Filipinoffsky is here.” Rozhdestvensky gazed at us, shaking his head, and not uttering a syllable. “I don’t want to. No.” We were at a loss how to proceed. “What are you staring at?” suddenly said Kursel. “Carry him; can’t you see he is badly wounded?” It seemed as if it was only for these words and the impulse they supplied for which we were waiting. There was a hum of voices and much bustling about. Some forcing their way into the turret, took hold of the Admiral by his arms and raised him up, but no sooner had he put his left leg to the ground than he groaned and completely lost consciousness. It was the best thing that could have happened.