preparations were being made to use her gun. If the _Hitachi_ had
manoeuvred at all, it was simply so that she should not[1] present her
broadside as a target for a torpedo from the raider.

The Germans professed deep regret at the _Hitachi's_ action and at the
loss of life caused, the first occasion, they said--and, we believe,
with truth--on which lives had been lost since the _Wolf's_ cruise
began. The _Wolf_, however, they said, had no choice but to fire and
put the _Hitachi_ gun out of action. This she failed to do, as the
shooting was distinctly poor, with the exception of the shot aimed at
the wireless room, which went straight through the room, without
exploding there or touching the operator, and exploded near the funnel,
killing most of the crew who met their deaths while running to help
lower the boats. The other shots had all struck the ship in the
second-class quarters astern. One had gone right through the cabin of
the Second Steward, passing just over his bunk--where he had been asleep
a minute before--and through the side of the ship. Others had done great
damage to the ship's structure aft, but none had gone anywhere near the
gun or ammunition house on the poop. I saw afterwards some photos the
Germans had taken of the gun as they said they found it when they went
on board. These photos showed the gun with the breech open, thus
proving, so the Germans said, that the Japanese had been preparing to
use the gun. In reality, of course, it proved nothing of the sort; it is
more than likely that the Germans opened the breech themselves before
they took this photograph, as they had to produce some evidence to
justify their firing on the _Hitachi_. But whether the Japanese opened
the gun breech and prepared to use the gun or not, it is quite certain
that the _Hitachi_ never fired a shot at the _Wolf_, though the Germans
have since asserted that she did so. It was indeed very lucky for us
that she did not fire--had she done so and even missed the _Wolf_, it is