After the Wyoming had steamed away, Kano sent for his two friends, and together they discussed the event of that morning.
“It is easy to understand,” he said, “why our ships suffered defeat. Our samurai can scarcely be expected to learn to handle strange craft in so short a time. What puzzles me is that we could not sink her with our batteries.”
“Why,” said Ito, “that was plain enough. She steamed straight under us and for the vessels. If we had been able to loosen the rock, we might have sunk her by letting it fall, but if we had depressed our guns, the shot would have fallen out of them.”
“Then they are cowards!” Kano cried, “they knew that we could not hit them there, and so crept under shelter. I don’t call that honorable warfare.”
“I don’t see that,” said Inouye smiling. “It is fair in war to take every advantage over an enemy; besides, it was decidedly no coward who would come with one small vessel and attack three, while facing the guns of our batteries. No! We lack the skill. Suppose we put armor on our peasants and arm them with our swords, would they be able to fight as well as we, who are trained from our youth? The biggest and most powerful peasant, in armor, would not be a match for Ekichi. It is the same thing in this case. We have the weapons, but we do not know how to use them.”
“We fired well enough when she was in the channel,” objected Ito.
“Yes, but you confessed yourself that you could not depress your guns, while that fellow raised his cannon high enough to bring the whole battery about my ears. I don’t call it unfair, but it was a very one-sided affair.”