Night after night Paul and his crew watched for an opportunity to place one of their torpedoes under the dark hull of a Chilano; but the latter were on the alert for them, having been informed that Boyton had been engaged by Peru.

The phosphorescence of the water at night was also against them.

The least disturbance on its surface would cause a glow of silver to flash in the darkness that could be seen for quite a distance.
One night as they were watching from Chorrillos, a cruiser was sighted steaming slowly up the coast and Paul determined to test her alertness at all hazards.

He put on his dress and taking a one hundred pound torpedo in tow, paddled out as carefully as possible until he saw her head toward him.

Then he set the fly torpedo across what he thought would be her track and pulled in shore.