The Silver Lotus

by Thomas Steinbeck

  By the time Captain Hammond’s cousin returned from his first trip back east, he had done a good deal of research on his own. He wrote that though it was called by several different tribal names, there were some eastern American Indians who also used wild ginseng in their own medicines. The natives said that in some places the root was plentiful, and would remain so if not overharvested, but it was time-consuming and difficult to hunt and gather. Great care had to be taken not to damage the tuberous root, for that was where the treasure lay.

  American ginseng roots were smaller than their Asian cousin, but what they lacked in size they more than made up for in profit when sold in the right Asian market. The first year’s cargo was modest in weight, only 890 pounds, but all of the best quality. And when it came time to sell his cargo in China, Captain Hammond was just as canny. Rather than flood the market and lower the value of his cargo, he stored the bulk of his ginseng in one of Master Yee’s warehouses and had him sell it off a few pounds at a time at the best possible prices. After all expenses, duties, and commissions had been paid, Captain Hammond still realized a profit of 280 dollars a pound. The following year he did even better, for he shared the wealth and increased the price he was willing to pay the Indian gatherers to fifteen dollars a pound.

  On the Arabian coast he traded iron tools for frankincense and other exotic resins, and did the same in Madagascar for rare hardwoods, baroque pearls, and medicinal compounds concocted from rare jungle flora, and in some cases fauna as well. One Chinese physician even asked for dried Indonesian fruit bats and emerald tree lizards. Captain Hammond regretted that he was unable to fulfill this request, but he did manage to make quite an impression with a half ton of candied Jamaican ginger and twenty-five barrels of very dark sweet Jamaican rum he purchased in San Francisco from a steamship captain whose vessel had been badly damaged in port by fire. The Chinese physicians who purchased the cargo used the rum to create tinctures of normally unpalatable oral medications, and the candied Jamaican ginger was a popular remedy for seasickness and morning distress in pregnant women. By always allowing Master Yee to broker his cargo to the right customers, Captain Hammond usually realized a profit of 600 percent after expenses. It wasn’t until much later that he discovered that Master Yee had the rum and ginger repackaged with Chinese labels, which made it far easier to sell to the normally suspicious markets in the provinces. The profits were far better than expected, and Captain Hammond saw to it that Master Yee was rewarded beyond his expectations.

  For a barbarian, the captain was insightful enough to realize that being able to cultivate a trusting and equitable relationship with a successful Chinese commercial agent was extremely problematical for most foreign traders. Such arrangements between Western and Eastern commercial factors had a tendency to lean toward the adversarial, with one element or the other working with an eye on one-upmanship. However, for Captain Hammond, having once established such a lucrative relationship, maintaining its impartial and candid foundation was imperative to success. Besides, it was the only way the captain knew how to conduct business. He once laughingly told Master Yee that having been raised by strict religious moralists, his ability to dissemble with any skill whatsoever had been discouraged. So naturally, in a pique of childish rebellion, he came to embrace a strong ambition to become a famous pirate. Unfortunately he never got the encouragement he needed from his family, so he settled for a more mundane and transparent vocation. He smiled and said that it wasn’t that he couldn’t tell a lie, but that he’d never had enough real practice to do it with any confidence, which for all intents defeated the purpose of the exercise. It was sentiments of this humorous and self-deprecating caliber that so amused and delighted Master Yee, and it came to pass that Captain Hammond soon became one of his preferred dinner guests.

  Of course it was inevitable that Captain Hammond would eventually be introduced to Master Yee’s phalanx of beautiful daughters, and though deeply impressed with what he saw, he hadn’t the slightest inkling that the youngest, most luminous, and loveliest of the three was charmed by the handsome Yankee captain upon the occasion of their first meeting. In fact, no one knew of her feelings for many months. The details of her growing affection remained at all times within the bounds and constraints of propriety. Lady Yee, though strong-willed, was not about to test the boundaries of tradition at the cost of her father’s reputation and peace of mind. Like the training given to a fine horse, Lady Yee very patiently used her considerable skills of persuasion to slowly introduce her father to the idea that his youngest daughter harbored a secret wish to be married to the handsome Yankee barbarian sea captain from the other side of the world. Master Yee knew Captain Hammond to be a man of wealth and principle, and yes, he could easily acknowledge that Captain Hammond was a dashing figure graced with good manners and civility, and the very model of a successful trader, but he was a round-eye barbarian after all. And the fact remained that Master Yee was not yet ready to be parted from his Silver Lotus. And when she did marry, her father would have nominally insisted that the groom be from an influential clan, be well educated and wealthy in his own right, be of modest and dignified deportment, and above all else, be Chinese. Unfortunately, though Captain Hammond qualified in several important categories, the last particular hurdle would prove almost insurmountable, even for someone as talented as Lady Yee. Needless to say, though Captain Hammond was indeed attracted to, if not smitten with, Lady Yee, he knew better than to betray even the slightest sentiment in that regard. And though his generous nature often inspired him to bring exotic presents when he came to call, he made sure that his gifts were equally shared out with all members of the family, showing no particular preference for one over the other, especially when it came to Master Yee’s daughters. In fact, due to Lady Yee’s well-practiced and perfected air of polite and demure ambivalence, Captain Hammond never had the slightest inkling that he already stood foursquare center in her sights.

  However, about this time a festering political conflict born of ancient rivalries erupted unexpectedly, and Master Yee, despite his best efforts to stay above the fray, suddenly found himself between the proverbial hammer and the anvil. Accusations had been spread that Master Yee was in the habit of smuggling portions of his cargos upriver to avoid port duties. And though these claims were completely spurious, no matter which way Master Yee turned he seemed to find political havens of refuge mysteriously closing to him. It soon became obvious that his old adversaries and competitors would soon make the best of every opportunity to assist in his downfall and disgrace. Even Captain Hammond had been secretly approached, as had other Yankee traders; each offered inducements to change their trading allegiances away from the house of Yee.

  It was a deeply concerned Captain Hammond who spoke to Master Yee about this dangerous situation and, being a friend of some standing, took the opportunity to suggest that the only way to avoid the impending destruction was to secretly exit the field of conflict as soon as convenient, and hopefully take as much of his portable fortune with him as possible. He reminded his good friend that discretion was always the better part of valor. There were certainly other cities and countries where he already enjoyed substantial business contacts and affiliations; locations where he might set himself up comfortably and wait for the winds of the this present intrigue to blow themselves out in the usual vortex of political self-destruction, a cultural inevitability which always seemed to come to pass in Chinese affairs. Captain Hammond reminded Master Yee that the only certain way to avoid becoming either a partisan or a victim was to absent himself, his family, and his wealth as quickly as possible. Special care must be taken with his ledgers, of course. In an enemy’s hands they could be easily forged to reflect the substance of the charges made against the house of Yee. Captain Hammond respectfully suggested that there would be plenty of time to prove his innocence at some reserve, and at a later date. He could then return as a totally vindicated figure of respect. The captain noted that men in prison who have been stripped
of all their worldly possessions rarely find the wherewithal to employ respected legal advocates to speak for them. Master Yee was free to employ the best legal representation even at a distance. Hammond smiled and winked. “And if matters turn really sour,” he said, “then it is preferable that a lawyer or two go to block, rather than their innocent employer.” Captain Hammond paused to gauge Master Yee’s response, then added a codicil: “With your permission, Master Yee, and strictly for illustrative purposes, mind you, I would equate your present unpleasant situation with a duel of heavy artillery. It is by nature a dangerous military exercise, and best practiced at very long distances. Hopefully from behind thick walls.” Master Yee smiled broadly for the first time in weeks.

  To that end, Captain Hammond said he presently had two ships in harbor unloading cargos of Indian wheat, mined salt, coconut oil, and high-grade copper ingots. He put both vessels at Master Yee’s disposal with the promise that he would secretly transport the whole Yee clan, as well as his household servants and all his portable goods and wealth, to any destination he liked.

  At first Master Yee truly believed he could weather the political and economic crisis, so he politely but very gratefully declined the offer. But quite soon his fast-eroding political influence, and the strained circumstance forced upon him by the gnashing ministers of trade and duties, changed his way of thinking. He soon bowed to Captain Hammond’s timely and munificent suggestion.

  It took eighteen long days and nights of very secret business manipulations, numerous clandestine household maneuvers, and a long train of nocturnal porters—who were paid well for silence—to accomplish everything that was necessary. With Master Yee’s predators smelling blood, only days from the proverbial gates, early on the foggy morning of June 5, 1896, Captain Hammond’s two stout ships sailed out of Canton harbor with the entire Yee clan and their faithful servants except the two older married daughters, whose husbands were fully equipped to protect their safety and honor. The Yee family and all their moveable wealth were comfortably stowed away and invoiced as Captain Hammond’s private property, thus exempt from inspection by treaty. For all intents, the Yee family just vanished like the morning fog. Their disappearance would soon become a mystery spoken of in every quarter, which was just as Master Yee and Captain Hammond had planned.

  Per a private agreement, the two men kept their ultimate destination a secret from everyone until after they’d departed Canton, but it had already been decided that Singapore was the best possible choice to service Master Yee’s present circumstances, as he had always maintained well-established trading offices and business associates in that busy port. In that he’d invariably entertained and honored all the right people, his relative safety in Singapore was a foregone conclusion.

  Though it sometimes seemed the odds against success were almost beyond hope or prayer, Master Yee and Captain Hammond somehow managed to effect their departure from Canton without Master Yee’s enemies being any the wiser for days. In fact, Master Yee, determined to have his revenge even at a distance, arranged his affairs in such a canny fashion that it appeared to one and all as though his sudden disappearance, and that of his family, had been the object of a deadly plot on the part of his political enemies. Only Master Yee’s chief clerk, who had loyally stayed behind to cover his master’s tracks and look after the warehouse business, knew the truth, and he was encouraged to say that he believed Master Yee and his family had been done away with, and all their goods stolen, for there was no other rational explanation for their sudden disappearance.

  Lastly, Master Yee could not help himself against natural instincts that were overtly vengeful, so he set a deep hook in the bait. He created an elaborate but obviously fraudulent bill of sale for his own house and named his most caustically outspoken and dangerous adversary as the new owner. This done, Master Yee had his chief clerk sloppily forge his master’s name and add a badly carved copy of Master Yee’s chop to seal the document. Even a first-year student of law could have spotted it as a forgery. As a last twist of the barb, Master Yee sent his clerk to secretly insert the document into the tax files of the office of government records. There it would be found when the inevitable investigation took place, or when the tax assessor came for his money. Whichever came first, Master Yee’s bomb had a long and elegantly plaited fuse, and it went off in the face of his enemies exactly six months later.

  By the time the authorities in Canton were informed that Master Yee was still alive and quite well in Singapore, it was too late to save the reputations and fortunes of his adversaries. The forged bill of sale still hung in the air like a floating recrimination, and Master Yee’s many friends in Canton were more than willing to believe that he had only escaped to Singapore to save himself and his family from certain destruction at the hands of highly placed conspirators, which was the truth.

  Nonetheless, no one ever thought to ask Master Yee how he had managed his spectacular disappearance, and certainly Captain Hammond’s participation in the scheme was never divulged. This left the captain free to come and go to Canton on trading voyages and, with the help of Master Yee’s chief clerk, stay abreast of news and business information so necessary for Master Yee’s continuing success.

  These strained and unusual circumstances placed Master Yee under great obligation to Captain Hammond for any number of private kindnesses as well as loyal business considerations, and Lady Yee privately rejoiced at the knowledge that her father was now under no illusions concerning his own social status. For despite his wealth, as a political refugee he had none. Without Captain Hammond’s timely aid, the family would have been ruined and left destitute. Captain Hammond was in a position to ask for anything he wanted.

  3

  THE VOYAGE FROM Canton to Singapore was not without its hazards. Hammond’s ships ran afoul of an unseasonal monsoon off the coast of China, which drove the vessels many miles off course and left almost all of the passengers weak from seasickness. The only person who seemed to thrive under the strain was Lady Yee. She thought the whole experience a wonderful adventure, and though she had never been to sea before, she expressed every confidence in Captain Hammond’s abilities to get them to Singapore safely.

  Over the long days aboard ship, Captain Hammond and Lady Yee were much in each other’s company. She took her meals in the officers’ saloon and spent much time on deck when the weather permitted. She was always brimming with intelligent questions about the ship and how it was sailed, and she boldly asked her questions of anybody at hand. She was especially fond of the ship’s carpenter, Ho-John Woo, who was Chinese, but born in San Francisco.

  Lady Yee was always most curious about everything nautical, but her pleasant manner and modesty soon made her a favorite with the crew, and they often vied with one another to please her in little ways. The French sailing master gave Lady Yee a beautiful fan made of whalebone that he had purchased for his own daughter, and some of the more gifted seamen carved scrimshaw boxes and decorative combs for her hair.

  Captain Hammond, who had always been very attracted to Lady Yee, but of course at a very respectful distance, now found her in such close proximity that everything about her person, her presentation, her wit, and her broad intelligence seemed to entice him even further down the road of secret romantic speculations. Pluming even that enticement, the olfactory lure rested in the fact that Lady Yee always distinctly smelled like a cross of spring tea roses and night-blooming jasmine, and on occasion, when the sea winds blew hot and sultry, she also smelled of coconut-roasted cinnamon. The poor captain was most vulnerable while he stood night watch on the stern, because he could always smell Lady Yee’s subtle perfume even before she arrived from the companionway on the deck below. She seemed to enjoy witnessing the change of watches at all hours, but most especially in the dead of night. It thus began to occur to Captain Hammond that Lady Yee had taken on the meter and pulse of his ship with true insight and compassion, and with that began a true friendship from his quarter.

  Lady Yee
spent much of her time looking to the comforts of her family. The storm’s ferocity had overawed the power of candied ginger, dried papaya, and ginseng tea to stifle the agonizing symptoms of seasickness, but happily, aside from a slight residual weakness brought on by a lack of nutrition caused by nausea, the whole Yee family recovered nicely. Captain Hammond had generously given his stateroom to Master Yee and his wife, while he and the first officer moved in together with the purser so that Lady Yee and the chief maid might have a cabin to themselves. This only worked out because the three officers served on different watches and napped in the pilothouse when they could.

  A few days after the conclusion of their journey, Lady Yee acknowledged the three officers’ chivalry by giving each a large baroque pearl set in gold and crafted into an elegant tiepin. She presented the captain with the largest pearl of the three, but aside from innocent motives of gratitude, the underlying significance of the gift escaped Captain Hammond altogether. Having little or no experience of feminine machinations where romance was concerned, he naturally believed that she had presented the gifts on behalf of her family. His lack of familiarity with such strange sensations insulated him from realizing that he had inadvertently fallen deeply in love with Lady Yee, and he became confused and disoriented by the maelstrom of emotions that assailed him every time he saw her.