CHAPTER II

Not yet discovered--Intercepting Japanese wireless messages--Night of 26th May--Doings in the _Suvoroff_-- The engine-room--The ward-room--Reflections and ruminations--Commander V. V. Ignatzius--His opinion--A desperate adventure--Dawn on 27th May--The _Sinano Maru_ runs into the hospital ships--The fleet discovered--Recall of the scouts--Four Japanese ships reported--_Idzumi_ sighted 6.45 A.M.--And later the 3rd Japanese squadron--Russian fleet takes order of battle-- 11.20 A.M., opens fire--A mistake--Ship’s companies have dinner--The alarm--Japanese light cruisers-- Russians manœuvre--Orders misunderstood--Result-- Japanese main force sighted--The eve of battle-- Rozhdestvensky enters the conning tower 25–50