The Silver Lotus Read online

  Lady Yee ceased smiling and pinned her husband’s gaze. “My dear husband, that’s not quite what I meant when I said that I had inadvertently put others in jeopardy. There was also present an innocent soul that I haven’t yet mentioned, but who had the most to lose from my lack of self-discipline and forethought.”

  Captain Hammond looked confused for a moment, and then thought perhaps Lady Yee was pulling his leg to lighten the mood. “I do hope you are not referring to that half-mad savant Ah Chu you hired as our cook. Or your Li-Lee who swears she’s born of Mongol royalty and always demands more respect and fermented mare’s milk. For the sake of heaven, where does one find ready supplies of fermented mare’s milk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?”

  Lady Yee laughed slightly, and appreciated her husband’s attempt to hobble the tension, but she also felt obliged to tell him the truth. “No, in point of fact I jeopardized the life of our child, little Macy.”

  There was a serious interval when Captain Hammond looked as though he had just been coldcocked with a belaying pin. His eyes almost rolled up into his head, and for a few moments he was the one with serious vertigo. When he regained his power of speech, the first thing he said was tinged with incredulous emphasis. “We are going to have a child? Are you serious, my dearest girl?” The future father blinked like a toad on a hot rock. “And you have already given our little blessing a name? I suppose you already know whether it will be a boy or a girl.”

  Lady Yee grinned to reflect a private insight. “Macy will be a girl, a very intelligent and talented girl. And she will help care for the son that is to come next. Trust me. A mother needs all the help she can get raising a little boy, and an older sister makes a perfect foil and proctor. Besides, Macy is a reasonable name for either a boy or a girl. But as it stands, I’ll wager my finest black pearl that the first to arrive will be a girl, and what’s more she will look just like you, and without doubt she will grow to become the love of your life.”

  When she looked up at her husband, Lady Yee suddenly witnessed something that she never thought she would ever live to see. Though he smiled with the angelic sweetness of a child, a cascade of fat tears came streaming down the captain’s face and dripped on the counterpane. Lady Yee reached up and wiped away his tears with her handkerchief. “I sincerely hope, my dearest friend,” she said with a wan sarcastic smile, “that this is not how you’re going to behave every time I announce that we are going to have a child . . . At the very least you’d stand to hazard all credibility with your crew as the insensate, raw-boned Yankee swashbuckling martinet that they have come to love and respect. And more pointedly, if you do stake a habit of wandering about the decks weeping like a lost child, the men will commit you to an institution just to save their own investments.”

  The stunned future father gave forth with an embarrassed and deeply self-conscious grin. He slowly wiped away his remaining tears with his sleeve. “I’m afraid, my dear Lady Yee, you’ll have to take this old martinet just the way you find him. But you should count yourself fortunate that I kept my emotions in check the day we were married. For even then I felt these same torrents of joy when you parted your veil, and I suddenly realized that I was about to be wed to the most beautiful and brilliant creature I had ever known. But now to know you are physically sound and will also present us with a child, you might be asking for a bit more self-control than even a Yankee barbarian might be expected to display.”

  With this last sentiment Hammond drew his wife’s hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. After a moment, he leaned forward and kissed her brow.

  “Becoming your husband is possibly the only truly enlightened thing I have ever done.” Then he paused as a thought occurred to him, and a look of mild surprise brightened his expression. “I can’t imagine what our crew is going to get up to when they find out. I’ll be fortunate if they don’t toss me to the tuna and then make you captain.”

  Lady Yee smiled at the compliment. “But there is really no need for them to find out anything just yet. So far, the only people who know are you and I, and my maid.”

  Captain Hammond laughed. “My dear girl, you’ve been at sea long enough to know that there are no such things as secrets aboard a ship. And if Li-Lee knows, then you can bet Ah Chu knows, and if he knows, then I can almost guarantee that the whole crew will know all about it by three bells tomorrow, if not sooner.”

  And so it came to pass just as Captain Hammond said it would. Though no one mentioned a word within the captain’s hearing, of course, the crew’s conduct spoke of its knowledge. The first thing the prospective father noticed was how quiet the ship had become. Suddenly there was no shouting of orders, and the men working in the rigging signaled each other with whistles and hand gestures. Some top man who was on duty in the crow’s nest even invented a way of getting the attention of the deck officer by throwing down a bolt washer tied with a long strip of red flannel and blowing a single note on a bosun’s whistle while it fell to deck. Once contact was made, the man in the crow’s nest indicated the bearing and distance to his sighting with hand signals. By common understanding, the crew even agreed to avoid the stern of the ship so that Lady Yee would not be bothered by their footsteps and voices overhead. They also assigned one man on each watch to tend a stout trolling line deep off the port beam in the hope of hooking a fat tuna or dolphin fish for her table. Even the ship’s cook, Mr. Gill, set aside his professional bias and made sure Lady Yee’s chef had the first choice of any fresh fruits and vegetables that remained on board, and in gratitude Lady Yee’s cook taught Mr. Gill how to make Chinese noodles and dumplings, which the crew heartily enjoyed as an alternative to potatoes and broth-soaked hardtack.

  The captain and crew were reminded daily of their recent ordeal. They were cued to the memory by the incredible amount of flotsam and debris they spied floating on the passing swells. They identified parts of ships as well as parts of houses. At one location they passed a whole tree with two dead monkeys still clinging to the broken branches. They spotted a few bloated corpses of animals and people floating amid miles of drifting debris of every description. It was like the whole world had been torn to small pieces and scattered over the ocean. Then there’d be nothing for two hundred miles or so, and then another floating field of wreckage with different hints as to its origin would cross the bow. The lookout spotted four broken ships adrift. Two were swamped to the gunwales, one was broken clean in half with the bow and stern still sticking out of the waves, and one large ship was found completely capsized. None showed the slightest sign of survivors, but squadrons of sharks were easily spotted from the crow’s nest as they patrolled the litter of ship’s wreckage that floated around each broken hull. But Captain Hammond was most surprised by small islands of shattered vegetation so far from any shore. One afternoon they came across just such a patch of floating greenery. A small flock of yellow finches had taken refuge in the branches of a shattered tree drifting among the vegetation. The moment The Silver Lotus came close the birds deserted their temporary refuge for the more substantial safety of the ship. The men were charmed and fed them breadcrumbs, broken grain, and fresh water, and the birds rewarded their generosity by tamely taking food from their hands and perching on their shoulders and caps. Three days later, as the ship slowly approached the northwest of the Hawaiian Island chain, all the birds save one took their leave and flew off. The remaining bird seemed quite content with its present company and decided to stay, so the cook created a lovely little cage from green bamboo, and the crew presented the bird to Lady Yee as a memento of their mutual good fortune in surviving the monsoon. Because Lady Yee had always enjoyed a Chinese fondness for songbirds, she was most touched by the gift and kept the bird close by her. She named it Joss, and it soon became so tame that it spent most of its time perched on Lady Yee’s shoulder.

  Captain Hammond had insisted that his wife stay in bed until a proper doctor could be consulted. He worried that she might have sustained internal injuries and was unwilli
ng to let her move about the ship until a full diagnosis could be made. However, he came to visit often through the days, and brought her every bit of news, including the fact that they had rescued a lone Dutch sailor who was found adrift in a shattered lifeboat from one of the lost ships. He was near death when they found him and was as yet unable to talk.

  Two days later the lookout reported sighting the leeward islands of the Hawaiian chain off the starboard quarter. The next evening Kauai and Molokai came close into view, and the next morning Maui and Hawaii appeared out of the mists. And by six that evening, Captain Hammond’s injured crewmen were being cared for at the merchant marine infirmary in Pearl Harbor.

  7

  LADY YEE and her baby were another case altogether. The captain sought out the best physician he could find and paid him a bounty to come aboard ship to examine his wife. If she needed better care ashore, he would have her taken to the best hospital on the island.

  Happily, the doctor told Captain Hammond that he believed Lady Yee was on the mend, and he didn’t think that the fetus had suffered any injury, for he discerned a small but steady heartbeat in that quadrant. Nonetheless, the doctor said that Lady Yee needed a few weeks ashore to recover her strength. He said her health required fresh foods, springwater, plenty of fruit, sunshine, and rest. He smiled knowingly, and suggested that her condition required care in the future, but as far as he could tell she had not suffered any serious internal damage, and her other injuries were healing very nicely thanks to the care of her maid.

  The doctor felt obliged to use his influence and connections to help the captain find a pleasant cottage to rent in the cooler mountain air. He also arranged for servants to take care of their needs while ashore. Lady Yee was so overjoyed by the prospect of a real bed that Captain Hammond arranged for everything at once.

  The ship was another matter. Having nothing perishable in the sealed holds, the captain decided to apply for an anchorage in the harbor for one month. Keeping only a rotating maintenance crew aboard, he allowed his other men time ashore and kept them all on full sea pay as a sign of his gratitude for their efforts during the storms. The injured men were doing as well as could be expected, and only one of them remained in hospital. However, their spirits were buoyed by constant presents of fruit, fresh pork, and beer sent aboard the ship as gifts from Lady Yee.

  With his wife resting in the cooling breezes of a tropical veranda, Captain Hammond decided to visit the mercantile exchange. He was anxious to have more news from the East since the monsoon. He knew that an extensive interruption in trade, or destruction of sources, would drive up the prices of some goods from Asia. Rubber, copra, tea, palm oil, teakwood, nutmeg, and other spices sometimes sold for many times their original purchase prices. And luxury goods requiring great labor and expensive materials, or of fashionable antiquity, often did even better. The auction prices offered at the Hawaiian/American exchange, where information from the western Pacific would be freshest, could indicate what prices to expect in the futures markets of San Francisco, Seattle, or even Mexico.

  The captain visited the exchange every other afternoon and made friends with the brokers. He was affable to all, treated some to coffee and cigars, and listened carefully to everything said in his presence. He also made a point of seeking out the Chinese traders on the island, as they maintained their own exchange. When the captain let it be known that he was the son-in-law of the renowned Master Yee of Canton, all doors were thrown open to him. He was told details of the extent of the monsoon disaster that none of the other traders knew. These canny old Chinese factors, who were as sharp as pins, were presently busy buying up certain goods in bulk before word spread about possible future shortages. They politely inquired what the captain was carrying in his holds, and whether he was interested in selling any portion of his cargo in Hawaii. His responses were very polite, of course, but he revealed as little as possible, just as his hosts expected of a son-in-law of the cunning Master Yee.

  Nevertheless, making the acquaintance and gaining the trust of various important Chinese traders brought forth unexpected bounties. To begin with, when these venerable gentlemen discovered that Lady Yee was indeed on the island, and recovering from a dangerous mishap at sea during the height of the monsoon, they began to send along an endless train of exotic flowers, candied fruits, rare teas, expensive Chinese medicines, silk pillows stuffed with fragrant herbs, and all manner of Chinese confections. One very rich old gentleman, who claimed to have known Master Yee in Canton, sent over his prize chef to help her own cook prepare special meals for Lady Yee. He had received instructions to purchase the best of everything necessary to guarantee a healthful diet for as long as Lady Yee remained on the island. But his efforts almost proved unnecessary. So as not to be outdone, when word got out, all the trade barons sent along handsome letters of condolence, and politely appealed for permission to visit her in person if matters permitted. And still more gifts kept arriving each day. Fresh fish, dressed duck, freshly butchered and cleaned chickens, live crabs, shellfish, sweet Chinese sausage, the finest polished rice, and Chinese vegetables only hours from the soil were delivered with daily regularity. Captain Hammond swore to his wife that he’d never eaten better.

  One fastidious old trader, hoping to ensure favor from Canton, even personally delivered a whole suckling pig, roasted in caked salt and stuffed with coriander and almond-flavored pineapple. Lady Yee, who ate little meat, thanked the gentleman with great sincerity, but then had the gift secretly sent along, with her compliments, to the men working aboard The Silver Lotus. She also sent along a two-pound tin of the best Virginia tobacco her husband could find. Since the watch crews were also laboring to effect necessary repairs to the ship, the captain thought the gift appropriate to their efforts, but he also sent along a butt of locally brewed beer and baskets of fresh baked bread so the crew wouldn’t immediately switch their allegiance to his wife and beach him for crimes of sentimental insufficiency.

  The Chinese merchants also gifted the captain with secret trading connections in the western Americas that were heretofore unknown to Yankee shipping princes. In effect, the Chinese merchants abroad ran their own separate economy under the very noses of governments powerless to regulate exports deemed of no value, and imports supposedly only valued by a poor minority population. In reality, both markets were priceless to the wealthy elite of both East and West, and in particular those brokers who set the prices. Captain Hammond, because of his privileged relationship with Master Yee, was presented with introductions to the very agents in America who would ultimately secure and increase his wealth for the next ten years. He gilded his reputation and honored his Chinese benefactors by never divulging their confidences to anyone except his business partner, Lady Yee. She would become his guarantee as well as his credential when it came to dealing with Chinese trading companies in foreign ports. The most prominent among these in America were agents for a San Francisco conglomerate with the mysterious title of the Three Corporations. Besides being the richest Chinese businessmen in America, they were the largest labor brokers in the country, and as such, closely associated with western railroads and public works in six states.

  Five weeks to the day after anchoring in Hawaii, The Silver Lotus sailed on for Oregon and California. Health had been restored, damage repaired, paint freshened, and spirits renewed all around. The ship enjoyed steady winds and strong currents flowing east-northeast. Best of all, Lady Yee showed herself in excellent health, only slightly larger in the midriff, and even this would have gone unnoticed beneath her robes.

  The crew’s gratitude for all they had enjoyed while in port was focused on Lady Yee. Captain Hammond paid their wages and commanded the ship, and in all things maritime he was a highly respected figure of authority. But as far as the crew was concerned, it was Lady Yee who commanded their hearts. They remembered every little kindness and gift that she had bestowed, as well as her selfless attention to their health and well-being. She became a symbol of their good
fortune, and there wasn’t one among them who wouldn’t have sacrificed their last breath in her defense. Captain Hammond told his sailing master that Lady Yee had inadvertently created the best-behaved ship’s crew ever conceived of, but that it had to be seen to be believed, as no other blue-water captain would credit the story on good faith alone.

  Their first destination was Portland, Oregon, where Captain Hammond took on supplies and made arrangements for his ship to return to the yards to be refitted with an auxiliary diesel engine, and then modified for the lumber trade. The sailing master would return to Portland with the ship in two months and supervise the refit.

  The next port of call was San Francisco. Here the captain housed his wife in the very best accommodations, and then paid court to various Chinese businessmen to whom he carried introductions. They helped him to find secure warehousing for his own cargo, and even purchased the crew’s portion of goods at a very handsome price.