The Neptune"s Challenge had been at sea for a week. She was a clipper built in New England in 1853. Sleek and fast, she"d made her first trip from New York to Hong Kong in 102 days. Now iron ships and steam had pushed the wooden ships aside. The iron steamers carried larger cargoes and made the trip with smaller crews and more speed. The Neptune"s Challenge now worked the South China Sea, hauling cargo from Asian ports and delivering them to Hong Kong. Today she carried a cargo of spices and coffee picked up in Sumatra and was on her way back to her home port, Hong Kong. Ebenezer Hyde, her master, was in his quarters, finishing the daily log when a loud knock at his door startled him. He looked up over his glasses. “Who is it?”
“It"s Macabre, Sir!” Macabre was the first mate and had shipp
