Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War Read online

  Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

  Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun, by Harry Collingwood.

  CHAPTER ONE.

  DISMISSED THE SERVICE.

  "Well, good-bye, old chap; keep a stiff upper lip, and hope for thebest; the truth is pretty sure to come out some day, somehow, and thenthey will be bound to reinstate you. And be sure you call on the Pater,and tell him the whole yarn. I'll bet he will be able to give you someadvice worth having. Also give my love to the Mater, and tell her thatI'm looking forward to Christmas. Perhaps I may see you then. Good-byeagain, and good luck to you."

  The speaker was young Ronald Gordon, one of the midshipmen belonging toH.M.S. _Terrible_, and my particular chum; and the words were spoken aswe parted company on the platform of Portland railway station, Gordon toreturn to his ship, while I, an outcast, was bound for London to seek myfortune.

  Yes; after doing splendidly at Dartmouth, heading the list at thepassing-out exam, and so at once gaining the rating of midshipman; doingequally well afloat during the subsequent three years and a half,qualifying for Gunnery, Torpedo, and Navigating duties, serving for sixmonths aboard a destroyer, and everywhere gaining the esteem andgoodwill of my superiors, here was I, Paul Swinburne, at the age ofseventeen and a half, an outcast kicked out of the Navy with ignominyand my career ruined, through the machinations of another, and he mycousin!

  He, Bob Carr,--like myself, a midshipman aboard the _Terrible_,--hadcommitted a crime of a particularly mean and disgraceful character--there is no need for me to specify its precise nature--and withdiabolical ingenuity, knowing that discovery was inevitable, hadsucceeded in diverting suspicion so strongly toward me that I had beenaccused, court martialled, and--although I had pleaded not guilty--foundguilty and dismissed the Service.

  Now, it is necessary for me to say here just a word or two inself-defence; for there is no reason whatever why the reader should beallowed to believe me guilty, although, for certain reasons of my own, Ipermitted the officers who tried me to think so.

  I am an orphan, both my parents having died within a few months of eachother when I was less than three years old, leaving me to the mercy ofthe world. My nearest relation was Aunt Betsy Carr, my father's onlysister, and at my mother's death she and Uncle Bob adopted me as theirown, although they had a baby boy of their own, at that time nearly twoyears old--the Cousin Bob who was responsible for my present trouble.They took me not only into their home but also into their hearts; theymade not the slightest difference in their treatment of Bob and me; Iwas as much a son to them as he was; and the result was that I soon grewto love them both as much as though they had been my own parents.

  At first, as children, Bob and I got on splendidly together; but lateron, when we were respectively about seven and eight years of age, mycousin gradually developed a feeling of jealousy that at length becameinordinate--although he was very careful to conceal the fact from hisparents; so that when, in my second year at Dartmouth, the matter ofsending him there also was mooted, I was exceedingly sorry, although Iof course gladly promised to help him to the utmost, in the event of hisbeing entered. And when in due time he turned up there, I redeemed mypromise, so far as Bob would let me; and it cost me a good deal to doso, for he soon became exceedingly unpopular. But he managed to scrapethrough his final, and, some six months before the opening of thisstory, was appointed to the _Terrible_--to my great chagrin, for I had apresentiment that his coming meant trouble for me.

  And now the trouble had come, with a vengeance. It was really Bob, andnot I, who had committed the crime of which I was accused; and clever asthe young rascal had been in diverting suspicion from himself to me, Icould have cleared myself, had I so chosen, but only by fixing the guiltupon him. And that I could not bring myself to do, after all thekindness which I--had received at the hands of my aunt and uncle; forthey not only idolised the lad but believed in him implicitly, and Iknew that disillusion would simply break their hearts--they would neveragain be able to hold up their heads and look others in the face.Therefore when I was summoned to be tried by court martial, I simplypleaded Not Guilty--which was regarded as an aggravation of my offence--and did not attempt to defend myself, with the result that I was foundguilty, and expelled.

  Of course I knew that this would be a bitter blow to my uncle and aunt;but it would not be nearly so bitter as it would have been had the guiltbeen fixed upon Bob, therefore of the two evils I chose what Iconsidered the least, although it involved the ruin of my career--acareer which I loved and of which I was intensely proud.

  And now I was not only without a career, but also without a home; for Isimply could not endure the idea of going back to my aunt and uncle, andwitnessing their grief as well as enduring their reproaches. Itherefore wrote them a brief letter informing them of the misfortunewhich had befallen me, assuring them of my innocence, and announcing mydetermination to start afresh, fight my own battle, and rehabilitatemyself as best I could.

  In making my plans I was greatly helped by my chum, Gordon. He had beenwith me at Dartmouth, after that in the _Vengeance_, and now again inthe _Terrible_; he therefore knew me well enough to implicitly believeme when I assured him upon my word of honour that I was innocent. Hewas a good chum; not only did he believe in my innocence but he alsostoutly maintained it to others, whenever the matter was referred to,although the evidence so cunningly woven was strong enough to secure myconviction. And when the result of the court martial was known, he notonly sat down and wrote a long account of the affair to his parents, butinsisted--taking no denial--that, before doing anything else, I shouldcall upon his parents and consult with his father, Sir Robert. And thisI at length, somewhat reluctantly, agreed to do, although I was by nomeans sure that his people would be so ready as he was to take me upontrust. Yet, apart from my uncle and aunt, Sir Robert and Lady Gordonwere the only friends I had; and now was the time when of all others Imost urgently needed the help of friends. At first I permitted myselfto entertain certain high-flown ideas of going out into the world andfighting my battle alone and unaided; but Gordon was a level-headedyoungster, and although he was a year younger than myself I was fain toadmit the wisdom of his assertion that no fellow is sufficientlyindependent to ignore the advice and help of friends. Besides, I hadalready met Sir Robert and his wife--had indeed on one occasion spentten days' leave with Ronald under their roof; and more genial, kindly,warmer-hearted people it would be impossible to imagine; so I felthopeful that, with Ronald for my sponsor and advocate, Sir Robert wouldnot refuse to give me his best advice and assistance.

  It was late in the afternoon when I arrived at Waterloo--too late, Iknew, to catch Sir Robert Gordon at his office; I therefore slung mychest on top of a cab, and ordered the driver to take me to a certainquiet and unassuming but comfortable hotel near the Embankment, where Iproposed to take up my quarters until I could see my way a little moreclearly. Here I dined, took a walk along the Embankment afterwards, andturned in early, not feeling in cue for amusement of any kind.

  On the following morning I rose late, of deliberate purpose, had mybreakfast, and then sauntered along the Embankment toward Sir Robert'soffice, timing myself to arrive there about eleven o'clock, by whichtime I calculated that Ronald's father would about have gone through hismorning's correspondence, and would be able to spare me a few minutes ofhis time.

  As it chanced, I could not have timed my movements better, for as I wasshown up to Sir Robert's private room I encountered his secretary justcoming out, with a notebook in one hand and a goodly batch of letters inthe other.


  I may here explain that Sir Robert Gordon was an official of highposition and very considerable importance in the Foreign Office. Hereceived me very kindly, bade me be seated, and then said:

  "Well, Swinburne, here you are at last. From Ronald's letter I rathergathered that I might see you some time yesterday. And now, before wego any farther, let me say how exceedingly sorry Lady Gordon and I areto hear of your misfortune--for a misfortune it is, and not a fault,Ronald assures me. Now,"--looking at his watch--"I can spare you just aquarter of an hour; so go ahead and tell me as much of the matter as youcan in that time."

  Thereupon I proceeded to relate, in as few words as possible, theparticulars of the whole affair, not concealing the fact that my cousinwas the actual culprit--for I knew that my confidence would berespected, and explaining my reasons for taking the onus upon myselfinstead of allowing the real culprit to suffer. But a quarter of anhour soon passes, when one is talking of oneself and one's ownmisfortunes; and the announcement that a certain important personage hadcalled by appointment gave me the signal that it was time for me to go,though as I rose to take my leave I had the satisfaction of knowing thatI had succeeded in convincing my friend of my innocence, for as we shookhands, Sir Robert said:

  "We must talk this matter over again at our leisure, Swinburne, possiblythis evening. Now, before you go, let me say that my wife and I expectyou to take up your quarters with us until your future is definitelyarranged. No, we will take no refusal; you are Ronald's chum, and weshould not think of allowing you to stay at an hotel while there is aspare room for you at Maycroft. So off you go; get your luggage at onceand make the best of your way to Norwood, where Lady Gordon will expectyou to arrive in time for luncheon at one o'clock. I shall 'phone toher that you are coming."

  What could one do but gratefully accept an invitation proffered in suchfriendly terms? It would have been boorish to refuse. I thereforereturned to my modest hotel, paid my bill, and made the best of my wayto Maycroft, where I was received with such kindness and cordiality as Ihave no words to describe.

  Lady Gordon was a fit mate for her distinguished husband; smart, clever,accomplished, of attractive appearance, and so irresistibly fascinatinga manner that within two minutes she succeeded in not only making mefeel absolutely welcome and at home in her house, but also in somesubtle fashion imbued me with the conviction that, serious as mymisfortune undoubtedly was, it was by no means irretrievable. We couldnot talk confidentially at luncheon, the servants being present, butafterward, the weather being fine and the air warm for the time ofyear--it was the first day of December 1903--we adjourned to the garden,and there I told my tale all over again, this time in full detail, andreceived all the sympathy that my aching heart craved for.

  Sir Robert reached home that night only just in time to dress fordinner, so there was therefore neither time nor opportunity for thediscussion of my affairs until the meal was over and we had adjourned tothe drawing-room. Then, while we were sipping our coffee, my hostturned to me and said:

  "I have been thinking a good deal about you, to-day, between whiles,Swinburne; and at last I think I have discovered a way to help you. Bya lucky chance it happens that Viscount Hayashi--the Japanese Ministerto Great Britain, you know--with whom I have been brought into veryclose touch of late, is dining here, _en famille_, to-morrow night, inorder to have the opportunity to discuss certain rather delicate mattersin private with me; and when we have finished talking businesstogether--which will probably not occupy us more than an hour--I willput your case to him, giving him all the details of it--for we must beperfectly honest with him, you know--and ask him whether, under thecircumstances, there is any likelihood of your being able to obtainemployment in the Japanese Navy. Things are looking very black in theFar East just now; war between Russia and Japan is practicallyinevitable; and although the Japanese have long been preparing for it,and seem confident of success, I should imagine that they would be onlytoo glad of the opportunity to secure the services of a smart andspecially qualified young officer like yourself."

  Much more was said upon the same subject which it is unnecessary torepeat here, and I also completed the story which I had begun in SirRobert's office that morning, with the result that I was able to make myinnocence as clear to him as I had already done to his wife. Sir Robertexpressed the opinion that my action in taking the blame upon myself hadbeen somewhat quixotic; but when I explained my reasons in full fordoing so, he admitted that it seemed to be the only thing possible, andwas good enough to say that it reflected the greatest credit upon me.

  On the following night the Viscount and Sir Robert arrived at Maycrofttogether in the latter's limousine; and after introducing his wife andmyself our host excused himself and hurried away to dress, leaving LadyGordon and me to entertain our distinguished guest.

  The conversation before and during dinner was exceedingly lively andinteresting, the Ambassador telling us many remarkable things aboutJapan. Then the talk veered round toward naval matters, and my kindhostess afforded me the opportunity to parade my special knowledge byasking me to explain the difference between armoured and protectedcruisers, one question leading to another, until at length HisExcellency, who had been listening most courteously and attentively,said:

  "Am I mistaken, sir, in supposing that you are an officer in thehonourable Navy of Great Britain?"

  That was the opportunity for which Lady Gordon had been waiting, and sheat once replied:

  "Mr Swinburne was, until a few days ago, senior midshipman on the sameship as my son--the battleship _Terrible_. But a very exalted sense ofgratitude on his part has resulted in a grave miscarriage of justicewhereby, through accepting the blame for another's fault, he has beendismissed from the Service, to his great grief, for he was passionatelydevoted to his profession."

  The Viscount rather raised his eyebrows at this, and regarded me keenly,as though seeking to read my character from my face.

  "Really?" he said. "That is indeed a terrible misfortune, which Ishould scarcely have thought could possibly happen in such a Service asyours, where, I have always understood, such matters are inquired intowith the most scrupulous fairness."

  "So they are, Your Excellency," I replied. "But my expulsion was not inany sense due to remissness on the part of the officers who tried me.It was due to the fact that, for the reason named by Lady Gordon, Ideliberately refrained from producing evidence which would have resultedin my own acquittal and the conviction of the actual culprit; and thusthe members of the court martial were, in the course of their duty,compelled to find me guilty and to pass upon me sentence of dismissal."

  "I see. Yes, I think I understand," observed the Viscount. "Thefeeling of gratitude which could induce you to take the extreme step ofruining your entire career must have been wonderfully strong. I findthe incident remarkably interesting, Mr--er--Swinburne, so much so,indeed, that when my friend Gordon and I have concluded the businesstalk which has brought me down here to-night I should very much like tohear all the particulars of your story, if you will do me the favour toconfide them to me."

  I replied that I would do so with great pleasure; and then, the mealbeing at an end, our hostess rose from the table and retired to thedrawing-room, while Sir Robert, apologising for leaving me alone,carried off the Ambassador to the study, where he had ordered coffee tobe served.

  Naturally, I did not linger at the table after the others had gone, butfollowed my hostess to the drawing-room, where I at once proceeded tothank her for the kindly tact with which she had made my case known toso influential a personage as Viscount Hayashi. On her part, she wasjust as pleased as I was that so exceptionally favourable an opportunityto restore my wrecked fortunes had presented itself, and for some timewe sat talking the matter over. Then Lady Gordon insisted upon mysinging to her while she played my accompaniments; and in this mannerthe time passed rapidly, and before we dared expect them her husband andthe Viscount reappeared. But even then we did not stop at once, HisExcel
lency being polite enough to beg us to continue. At length,however, our guest rose and, beckoning me to his side, said:

  "Before I go, Mr Swinburne, let me say that Sir Robert Gordon hasconfided to me the full particulars of your remarkable story. And,having heard it, I should like you to know that, not only am I fullyconvinced of your entire innocence of the foul charge preferred againstyou, but also that I, as a native of a country in which filial affectionis held in the highest honour and esteem, am full of admiration for yourconduct. I am proud to have the honour of knowing a young manpossessing the courage to act as you have done; and I have no hesitationin expressing the opinion that, in dispensing with your services, yourcountry has lost a most promising and valuable servant. But if GreatBritain is unable to appreciate your value, there are other countrieswhich can, and Japan is one of them. You are doubtless aware that warbetween Russia and Japan is inevitable; it is merely a question ofweeks, perhaps only of days; the Japanese naval service will afford manyopportunities for an officer, qualified as I understand you are, todistinguish himself, and rapidly advance his fortunes. If you wouldcare to enter that service I believe the affair might be easily managed,backed up as you are by the recommendation of a gentleman of Sir RobertGordon's position. Think the matter over, will you? And when you havedecided, call upon me at this address, and let me know." And he handedme his card.

  On the spur of the moment I was very much inclined to close with HisExcellency's offer there and then; but even as the words of acceptanceleapt to my lips I bethought myself that it would only be courteous towait and hear what my kind host and hostess had to say upon the matterbefore taking the irrevocable step. I therefore expressed my heartythanks for the offer, and promised to give it my best and most carefulconsideration.

  When the Viscount had gone, Sir Robert, his wife, and I formed ourselvesinto a little committee to discuss His Excellency's proposal. Of coursethere was never a moment's doubt as to the wisdom of accepting theoffer, but Sir Robert expressed his satisfaction at my self-control. Heand his wife were quite of one mind that there was nothing to be gainedby my appearing to be too eager, and they strongly advised me to allowat least one whole day to pass before presenting myself at theAmbassador's residence; they also advised me not to accept any rankbelow that of a full lieutenant, which was quite in accordance with myown views.

  Accordingly, on the day but one following that of His Excellency's visitto Maycroft, I journeyed up to town with Sir Robert and, upon partingfrom him at the Foreign Office, made the best of my way to ViscountHayashi's residence.

  His Excellency was at home, and I was at once received. He was politeenough to express extreme satisfaction when I informed him that I haddefinitely decided to accept his offer, provided that the conditionscould be satisfactorily arranged; and within half an hour we had come toterms, the arrangement being that I was to enter the Japanese navalservice with the rank of a full lieutenant, my commission to bear dateof my landing in Japan; that a passage was to be provided for me; andthat I was to hold myself in readiness to depart at twenty-four hours'notice. A letter to this effect was given me to hand to a certainsubordinate official whose business it was to arrange all such details;and I then made my exit, the recipient of many good wishes on HisExcellency's part for my success.

  My next visit was to a Mr Yuri Kuroda, the subordinate official abovementioned, who, having read the letter of which I was the bearer,immediately became very polite, requested to be favoured with myhonourable name and address, which he at once entered in a big book, andthen proceeded to discuss the question of my passage out to Japan. Ittranspired that his Government was negotiating with the ArgentineRepublic for the purchase of two powerful armoured cruisers, built forthe Government of the latter country at Genoa; and Mr Kuroda suggestedthat if the negotiations resulted successfully, it might suit me to goout in one of them as an officer, the date of my commission to beadvanced accordingly. I asked for some particulars of the ships; andupon learning that they measured 7700 tons, that they were entirelysheathed amidships in 6 inches of Krupp steel, and that they were armedwith four 8-inch guns in their turrets, with a central batteryconsisting of fourteen 6-inch guns, I quickly replied that there wasnothing I should like better. And so it was arranged, Kurodaundertaking to inform me in good time when my services would be likelyto be required.

  Two days later, however, I received a telegram from Kuroda, requestingme to call upon him at the earliest possible moment. It came while wewere sitting down to dinner, and Lady Gordon expressed the opinion thatif I made my call on the following morning it would be early enough, andSir Robert was rather inclined to agree with her. But the receipt ofthe telegram seemed to suggest that something unexpected had happened,and I therefore determined to obey the summons that night. Iaccordingly scribbled a reply saying that I would present myself at nineo'clock; and within ten minutes of that hour I was once more in theAmbassador's house. His Excellency was out; but Mr Kuroda was in andwaiting for me; and he expressed his gratification at my prompt responseto his summons. He then proceeded to inform me that certain news hadarrived--he did not state the nature of it--which rendered it highlydesirable that I should expedite my departure for Japan, instead ofawaiting the issue of the negotiations for the purchase of the Argentinecruisers, and inquired when I could be ready to start. My reply that Icould start on the morrow, if necessary, pleased him greatly, but heintimated that the earliest date upon which it would be possible todispatch me would be the 8th of the month--it was then the 5th--andrequested me to make my arrangements accordingly, and to call upon himagain on the morning of the 7th, when he would give me my finalinstructions and hand me my credentials, with railway and steamertickets, etcetera.

  The Gordons received the news of my impending departure with mixedfeelings. They were delighted that, through their help and influence, Ihad been able to so quickly find another opening for my energies, butwere exceedingly sorry that I was to leave them so soon, as they hadconfidently reckoned upon my spending the Christmas holidays with themand Ronald. However, Sir Robert took me up to town with him, in hiscar, on the morning of the 7th, and Lady Gordon accompanied us, sayingthat she had some shopping to do. I left them at the entrance to SirRobert's office, and in due time found myself once more in Mr Kuroda'spresence.

  It was easy to see that the little man was so busy that he scarcely knewwhich way to turn, but he was as smiling and polite as ever, and hadeverything ready for me, neatly enclosed in a stout official envelope,the contents of which he turned out for my inspection. There was myrailway ticket from London to Dover, my steamer ticket from Dover toCalais, my railway ticket from Calais to Marseilles, _via_ Paris, mysteamer ticket from Marseilles to Yokohama, and my credentials, whichwere to be presented to a certain official in Tokio, who would hand memy commission and give me my final instructions. Everything was cut anddried, even to a travelling schedule giving me the train and steamertimes of departure and arrival; therefore, having looked them throughand satisfied myself that nothing had been omitted, I returned theseveral documents to the envelope, thrust the latter into my pocket, andbade Mr Kuroda farewell. He replied with hearty good wishes for mywelfare and success, expressed his deep regret that he was not goingwith me instead of remaining in London, shook my hand with great fervourand friendliness, and, as he bowed me out, touched the bell which wasthe signal for another visitor to be ushered in.

  When Sir Robert came home that night, he brought with him two parcelswrapped in stout brown paper, one of them being rather long and slim;but I thought nothing of it, as I knew that it was a custom, when thingswere urgently needed, to have them sent to his office, so that theymight be brought home at night in his car. After dinner, however, thetwo parcels were produced, opened, and found to contain, the one ahandsome oak case containing a pair of heavy and very business-like Coltautomatic pistols, with all necessary tools, bottle of oil, and onehundred cartridges; while the other was a beautiful naval sword andsheath, the blade perfectly plain but
of such exquisite temper that, byexerting my full strength, I was able to bend it until the point met thehilt. The pistols were a farewell gift to me from dear Lady Gordon,while the sword was from Sir Robert. The gifts were accompanied by theheartfelt good wishes of the donors for my welfare, happiness, andsafety in the strenuous times that seemed to be looming ahead, and thehope that the weapons would prove useful to me in my new service. Theywere, as will be seen from the account of my adventures, set forth inthe following pages.