Tang-u.
15
netting, exploded harmlessly, flooding the deck with water. The great warship with over three hundred souls had been saved from annihilation,—and by one of the enemy.
A few months later, when Tang-u's exploit was brought to the notice of the Mikado, that dignitary conferred upon the little Chinese rat-catcher the rank of honorary admiral in the Japanese navy.
And it was in this way that a heathen nation furnished the youngest naval hero in existence.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/The_Black_Cat%2C_Feb_1896%2C_pg_17.png/300px-The_Black_Cat%2C_Feb_1896%2C_pg_17.png)