Although Admiral Makaroff did not venture out to sea with his smaller squadron when the Japanese fleet was absolutely upon the spot, this did not prevent him from engaging in active operations of a much more daring character than any his predecessor had dreamt of. On the 26th, for example, he took out the whole of the ships under his command for a reconnaissance to the Hwang-Ching-Tau Islands, a group situated about thirty miles to the southwest of Port Arthur, a proceeding that must have heartened both officers and men considerably. No trace of the enemy's warships was discovered, but while the fleet was making its way back to Port Arthur, the _Novik_ fell in with a small merchant steamer, the _Hanien Maru_, on board of which were a number of Japanese newspaper correspondents. The crew were transferred to the warship and the steamer was taken in tow and subsequently sunk. The whole Russian squadron returned safely to Port Arthur after this excursion without once coming in sight of the enemy. [Illustration: A SKIRMISH BETWEEN JAPANESE AND RUSSIAN CAVALRY.] [Sidenote: Individual Heroism] But in the meantime the Japanese were busy with fresh plans. Unable to draw Admiral Makaroff away from the protection of the forts when the whole Japanese fleet was lying in wait, Admiral Togo determined to use another card in this game of skill. The project of corking up the bottle at Port Arthur, though a failure on the first attempt, had not by any means been abandoned, and on the very night of Admiral Makaroff's cruise to the Hwang-Ching-Tau Islands, a fresh effort was made to block the harbor entrance. It resulted in operations which, although again only partially successful, were most brilliantly executed, and were marked not only by consummate skill, but by acts of individual heroism and self-sacrifice of the most inspiring kind. Nor was the gallantry confined to one side alone. The Russians were not slow to accept the opportunities for glory vouchsafed to them by the daring of their foe, and one of the features of the conflict was the attack by a solitary torpedo-boat upon six of the Japanese flotilla. CHAPTER V. Volunteers for Fireships--A Drama of Searchlights--The Devil's Caldron--The Sacrifice of Fire--Heroic Hirose--Undaunted by Death--Covering Themselves with Glory--Casualties Few but Terrible--The Hero of Japan--Channel Still Unclosed--The Shadows of Fate--The Great Catastrophe--The Story of the "Petropavlovsk"--A Double Trap--Captain Oda and his Mines--The "Bayan" to the Rescue--Preparing an Ambush--Makaroff Lured Out--Cutting off the Unwary--Weather Permitting--Into the Jaws of Death--Haphazard Fire--Rescue Work--The Character of the Explosion--Accounts of Survivors--Tribute from the Japanese--On Land--Chong-Ju--The Advance to the North--Concentration of Troops--Kuroki's Line of Front--The Russian Position--Russian Confidence.