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THE REASON 301
Besides the men, several horses and large sup-
plies of provisions, hospital stores, and ammuni-
tion were brought ashore, and the way this was
done was still more remarkable. As if by magic,
the Bund suddenly became crowded with army
coolies in their easily recognizable uniforms.
Heaven only knows where they had sprung from,
nobody had seen them before, they did not come
from the ships, still, there they were. The most
marvellous thing is that although, of course, the
large Japanese population of Chemulpo must have
known of the landing, and although all these
army coolies must have been in the place for
some time, the whole thing had been kept so
completely secret. Nothing had leaked out, and
not one of the Europeans in Chemulpo had the
faintest notion of what every Japanese knew was
about to happen.
Marvellous also was the way the provisions
and the other stuff were landed and piled on the
quay. Everybody concerned seemed to know
which particular bags or cases he had to take
hold of, and the exact spot where to take them.
No instructions, as far as I could see, were given ;
but the coolies took up their burdens and carried
them, some to one place, some to another, where
other men stood ready to stack them. And the
whole time not a word, not a sound, only the
shuffling of many busy feet. The completeness
and the minuteness of the “pre-arrangements”
were far beyond anything I had ever seen or
thought possible under similar circumstances.
But the most excellent organization, the most
perfect intelligence service, and the most thorough
“ pre-arrangements ” would be of little use, if the
troops which were to fight the battles had not
been of the right stuff, with officers capable of
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