The Silver Lotus (33 page)

There was no doubt that Dr. Neruda had the undivided attention of his audience, so he paused to sip his tea and order his words to avoid misunderstanding. The doctor said that Marshal Sanchez was not happy about letting him walk off into the dunes without protection, but the doctor prevailed by saying that after years in the army he was sure he could look after himself. However, he needed the houseboy to guide and translate. The little man was not overly enthusiastic about going back, but when the doctor explained that people's lives depended on his skill, he bowed to his better nature, picked up the basket once more, and led the doctor out into the dunes as the last light faded in the west. In parting, he cautioned the marshal to be patient and wait for his return. He didn't want his new patient, who was obviously delusional, believing that more demons were coming after him. His reaction would most assuredly be violent, and therefore counterproductive all around.

The doctor suddenly went silent, and an expression of profound sadness clouded his features. When he spoke again there was a catch in
his voice. He said that in all his years of service he had seen just about every injury and disease mankind is heir to. Most of these could be managed, if not cured, with proper care. But he said that those poor people who suffered mental disorders or insanity were the most distressing to him because, aside from sedation and close confinement and possibly even restraint, there was nothing that medicine could do to alleviate their suffering, and that was exactly the situation he now faced with Jimmy Wu. The doctor said that he had rarely seen such a pitiful case of paranoid delusion and dementia, which, sadly, usually ended in suicide or murder. He said that Jimmy Wu showed all the classic symptoms of a man tormented to the point of violence by advanced mental illness, and this, he said, was hardly surprising considering the size of the indented trauma on the back of his head, a deep concussive wound that had obviously gone untreated at the time of the injury.

When the doctor and the houseboy came upon Jimmy Wu, he was thrashing about, crying, begging his demons to leave him in peace, and Dr. Neruda said it was a good thing that he wasn't Caucasian, because the man appeared almost as terrified of white people as he was of his soul-consuming demons. After a pause, Dr. Neruda said the man looked almost relieved when the houseboy introduced the doctor not by name, but as the healer wizard.

The doctor said events went a little slowly at first, mostly due to the need for translation, and in many cases interpretation, but he finally convinced his new patient to drink some of the drugged wine, which he seemed to enjoy. Within twenty minutes his spirits had calmed to a point that made semi-rational discussion possible. In his role as demon-chasing wizard, Dr. Neruda finally convinced Jimmy Wu to talk about his demons. His patient said the devils inhabited everything and were everywhere. He recited a long, detailed litany of demons that he seemed to know by name. He said they dwelled in the soil, in the grass, in the trees, in the stones, and in the night sky. Even the air was thick
with them when the fog rolled in, and they were all bent on destroying him. He said they always talked to him and never gave him any peace. And sometimes they made him do bad things he didn't want to do.

With the administration of more wine, Jimmy Wu grew calmer still, and the doctor believed he'd at last become pliable enough to absorb and act upon authoritative suggestions. Knowing the effects of the drugged wine, the doctor said he asked if the demons were talking to him now, and Jimmy Wu found it pleasantly curious that they weren't. Dr. Neruda told his patient that he could indeed drive the devils away for a while, but they were bound to return unless Jimmy Wu protected himself with secret magic. When his patient begged to know how to save himself, Dr. Neruda confessed he was caught off guard. He'd been thinking on the run, as one must do with mental patients, and he really didn't know what to say that would sound plausible. The doctor reminded his hosts that mental aberration does not imply stupidity; in many cases the reverse is true. Mentally unbalanced people can be unusually intelligent and logically geared.

The doctor then smiled and said that suddenly something oddly fortuitous and feasible occurred to him. He told Jimmy Wu that no demon, no matter how powerful, could stand the presence of iron, and thus could not pass through doors or windows guarded by iron bars. This protection also extended to the white devils that were after him. He slowly convinced his patient that he knew of a fine stone building where he would be safe, well fed, and warm. As a fortunate afterthought, he told his patient that he could even arrange for a wagon with iron bars to protect him on the way, and armed men to see that none of the white devils harmed him in any fashion. And to seal his safety from the demons, Dr. Neruda told Jimmy Wu he would travel along and accompany him safely to his destination.

Dr. Neruda sat back and wiped the weariness from his eyes. Then he smiled to himself and told his hosts that at the very moment he told
Jimmy Wu that he would protect him, the full moon suddenly appeared out of the clouds and brightly illuminated everything in sight. Jimmy Wu took this as a sign that the wizard had driven off all the demons, and he instantly agreed to accompany the doctor anywhere, as long as it led away from his tormentors.

After encouraging his patient to finish the wine, Dr. Neruda said he and the houseboy guided a stumbling and sleepy Jimmy Wu back to where the marshal was waiting. The poor man soon fell fast asleep in the Black Maria even before they started out for the jail in Monterey. The doctor rode with him all the way, and for safety's sake saw to it that he was placed in a cell alone. The doctor informed Marshal Sanchez that he believed it might be best to keep the prisoner partially sedated until the court could make a medical disposition. It was obvious that Long Jimmy Wu could not possibly be prosecuted, thus the only alternative would be commitment to the state hospital for the insane.

When Dr. Neruda at last concluded his narrative, he slowly declared that it was all indeed very sad to acknowledge, especially after everything that had been done to save the man's life, but based upon a cursory examination of Jimmy Wu's initial head injuries, done while he was in a drugged sleep in the wagon, Dr. Neruda had come to believe that there was nothing that could possibly be done to save the man from his inevitably painful death, which, from all indications, would occur very soon.

Lady Yee at last spoke up, and with uncharacteristic emotion pleaded to know the reason why. After a sip of tea to moisten the tension in his throat, the doctor said he had found definite signs that beneath Jimmy Wu's original skull injury, which had not healed correctly, there was now evidence of a large tumor pressing on the base of his brain and protruding down into the neck. Without further examination he couldn't be certain, of course, but since there were no surgical procedures that could possibly deal with the problem one way or the
other, he gave Long Jimmy Wu less than two months to live, and considering his mental state, that figure could prove generous.

After a few moments to allow this information to distill, Dr. Neruda rose from his seat, thanked his hosts, and said it was time he returned to his family. But in parting, he observed that despite the ethics of his profession and his religion, he now believed that perhaps a well-aimed bullet from a marshal's gun might have saved suffering all around. Yet, with that said, he was still inspired by Lady Yee's compassion to see that Jimmy Wu was cared for till the end. This, he said, had kept his instincts for empathy kindled, and he would look after his patient until the court directed otherwise. He was contracted to care for the Chinese of Monterey, and he would do his best to fit reality to the model set forth.

Before he departed, Dr. Neruda bowed to Lady Yee and generously attested that the Hammonds' houseboy had been indispensable in bringing the whole affair to a peaceful conclusion. He suggested that his efforts be acknowledged. Lady Yee affirmed that those arrangements had already been seen to. However, upon the doctor's kind recommendation, she determined to amplify the agreed compensation and reward her faithful servant with a new suit of clothes and a hat.

19

DESPITE THE CAPTAIN'S insistence that she no longer become embroiled in civic upheavals, social calamities, or police business of any kind, Lady Yee's reputation as a person of influence, insight, and perspicacity still hung in the air like a battle flag. And in a town like Monterey, anonymity was a rare commodity usually reserved for drifters, saddle tramps, and seamen on shore leave. While she diligently sought to remain in the shadows, and was never seen out in public, Lady Yee's repute and celebrity seemed to grow of their own accord. Anything remotely remarkable that transpired always brought with it the question of whether Lady Yee might be involved in one way or another, and for most people a lack of denial was as good as a yes vote. As a result, people slowly began to send her petitions for help with their problems, and it wasn't just the Chinese who sought her wisdom and advice. Because of her exotic background, her beauty, and her great wealth, Lady Yee was not seen as occupying the same stratum as other Chinese. She was thought of as royalty, and therefore acceptable to all but the most socially rigid and racially intolerant denizens of the upper crust. Thankfully, they were few in number, mostly rich ranchers who prided themselves on pure and legitimate strains of everything from draft horses to children.

Even though he knew his wife had done nothing to personally encourage this tide of petitions and requests for help, Captain Hammond began to feel that something had to be done to stem the flow of expectations or there would most assuredly be trouble down the road. With this in mind the captain set about making his own plans.

Captain Hammond had recently purchased controlling interest in a newly launched steamship that had been purpose built on the River Clyde as a grain freighter. The owners had sailed the 230-foot ship all the way to San Francisco before running out of money and patience with each other. It was all a matter of being in the right place at the right time, but Captain Hammond knew a profitable and timely opportunity when it cleared the horizon. So with the help of a San Francisco investor as a junior and very silent partner, the captain purchased the ship at the asking price. His actions had been inspired by a burgeoning tragedy thousands of miles to the west.

Mainland China was at present suffering through a third year of widespread drought. Even the great rivers flowed at record low depths, making navigation all but impossible in some places. The suffering and privation soon spread to every level of Chinese society. The captain's father-in-law, Master Yee, had written several letters describing the disaster, and said that for the first time in living memory the rich and the poor were eating from the same bowl, grateful for every noodle and grain of rice. He related that food imports were woefully inadequate and selling at black market prices, which only increased the suffering. Russian grain was neither easy to come by at the best of times nor easy to transport, and it only rarely made it all the way to the eastern cities. And while grains from the Americas were always of high quality, they were also too expensive after costs, and because the present political system was in tatters, importers demanded gold or silver paid on the barrelhead. As matters worsened, shipping costs had become almost predatory, leaving Master Yee, a respected grain factor in his own right,
to heartily regret that so many swine were feeding at the trough of this calamity. He surmised that there had to be a way to break the cycle, but it was beyond his power of insight to come up with a solution.

Then, one rainy night a few weeks later, the captain awoke from the effects of a strange dream, and suddenly he knew the answer to Master Yee's problem. After a little consideration, Captain Hammond was surprised that he hadn't thought of it before. The next morning he informed his wife that Hammond, Macy & Yee was going into the grain-exporting business. The primary market would be China, of course, and their factor would be Lady Yee's father. The captain pointed out that because of the close familial relationship, Hammond, Macy & Yee could easily afford to do something no other exporters and shippers could match: finance the cargo, sell it at reasonable market prices, and extend credit to Master Yee until such time as the cargo was liquidated. If in turn he could find brokers willing to pass on the savings to people of like mind, then more would benefit and perhaps other companies would find it necessary to modify their need for broad profits. Captain Hammond also added that, unlike the other companies, they could also afford to take their profits in goods like teas and silks and porcelains, with a full line of credit guaranteed by Master Yee's company. The scheme had several advantages, but the most interesting one seemed to be that, with the ability to sell quality grains at reasonable prices, Master Yee would become a local hero, venerated for his honest dealings. Of course this would only attract more customers, but one way or another, Hammond, Macy & Yee would make reasonable profits as it always had in the past. But there was also the spiritual profit that comes from doing something necessary for the benefit of others.

 

 

 

LADY YEE was very impressed with her husband's plan. And as a sign of her support, and to honor her father's lifelong generosity, she insisted
on financing the first cargo herself. So with approvals all in hand, Captain Hammond went looking for another ship, and found one.

The captain's new ship had originally been christened
The Baltimore Eagle
, which considering her utilitarian lines, deck cranes, and bluff appearance, sounded rather pretentious and inappropriate to Captain Hammond. Waiting until certain modifications had been made to the vessel's accommodations, and without bothering to inform Lady Yee, the captain rechristened the ship
The Silver Macy
. Though they were his children's names, he knew everyone would ask him just what a Macy was, and why was it made of silver. The whole idea made him chuckle with the humorous possibilities, though he knew that Lady Yee would not be amused he had used her son's nickname, yet he felt that
The Nathanial Macy
sounded almost as pretentious as
The Baltimore Eagle
, and only appropriate for an old Nantucket whaler.