THE CAVE UNDER THE OCEAN.
By the time Oscar's interview with Hang Chang was over it was broad daylight.
The two Japanese and two Chinese warships had drawn as closely as possible to San Francisco and Oakland, and now they began to bombard those cities with all their power.
Shot and shell told heavily along the water front, but not one of either struck into the heart of the cities, for the foreign guns could not carry so far.
The guns of the forts in the harbor responded nobly and a well-directed fire soon put one of the Chinese cruisers, the Pekin, out of the race forever.
The Pekin was a sister ship to the Tien-Tsin, which the Holland had annihilated on her maiden trip at the opening of the great war.
She carried many guns and over eight hundred sailors and officers, and was certainly a formidable fighting machine.
This was Hang Chang's vessel, but Oscar did not let his prisoner know of this.
"No use to make him feel worse than he does," said the young captain to his lieutenant. "He may go and do something desperate. You know some Chinese commit suicide after defeat."
"But not Hang Chang," answered Andy. "He's too much of a coward."