THE JAPAN-RUSSIA WAR.
foam, "white as the bitten lip of hate."   But the calm resolution »f
the attacking force was undisturbed. The The Devil's Caldron     fan-like formation of the escorting flotilla
opened out more widely, and the fireships,
passing swiftly through, drove straight into the devil's caldron in front of them. A mile away stood the point for which they aimed, a mile charged every yard of it with destruction and death. But setting their teeth dauntlessly, intent only on gaining the fateful goal, the picked crews of the merchantmen pressed forward upon their desperate errand.
At last they reached the harbor mouth.   The leading steamer, the Chiyo Maru, drove straight from the east side of the channel,
heedless of the terrible fire of which she The Sacrifice of Fire    was the central target.   Everything was
ready; the anchor was dropped; the fuse
was set; and swiftly" but with precision the crew slipped into the boats and made off. A moment later a terrific explosion rent the ship from stem to stern, and down she sank through the boiling waters.
The next to take her position was the Fukui Maru, which, edging to the port side of the Chiyo Maru, let go her anchor.   Now
occurred one of the most heroic acts Heroic Hiroso        which had yet characterized the course
of the war—an act which for cool and
devoted gallantry has never been surpassed in the annals of European seamanship. Waiting until the vessel was securely anchored, the boatswain, Sujino, went calmly down to the magazine to light the fuse. Just at that moment the Russian torpedo-boat Silni approached and discharged a Whitehead torpedo, which struck the