"Of course you are right, Doctor."

Before parting, he gave me a little sketch of Port Arthur which I have
still. I keep it as a treasured memento of one of the few really good
men I have met, and one of the few from whom I had been able to part
without harming.

Verestshagin's premonition was fulfilled. He died--a hero's death,
going down with Admiral Marakoff on the flagship of the Russian
squadron six weeks later.

I remained at Port Arthur for another five weeks, and exactly seven
days before Togo's first night attack I received a cable from my
government. It was in cipher, of course, and I was ordered to leave
Port Arthur immediately and make my way home as there was danger of my
being bottled up at any minute. It is significant that in the
Intelligence Department at Berlin they knew an attack was imminent,
although they did not know it at Port Arthur. Furthermore, Russian
securities dropped eighteen points on the New York Stock Exchange,
hours before the official knowledge of the attack came through. This
information leaked out through the German Embassy in Washington.
Seven days after I left, Togo made the torpedo attack in which he sank
the _Czarevitch_, _Retvitsan_ and _Palada_.

Before I took the steamer back to Europe, I went to Kiou-Chau, the
German colony in China, and filed a long report by cipher cable. Six
months later I had the satisfaction of having a talk with numerous
officers of the German General Staff and of receiving compliments on
the correctness of my observations, reports and predictions.