Kincade

Thinking that the big gun had run out of ammunition, the patrol boat laid in a direct course toward the Hornet. Flying across the water at top speed and with both her guns blasting, the patrol boat suddenly hit something hard. She came to a sudden stop. As she hit, she made a terrible thunk. As the boat began to rip her self apart, she cried like a woman screaming in torment. Her bow nosed downward into the sea. Incredibly, the seventy five foot boat stood on its' prow, and it then flipped over. She lay capsized on the surface of the water. A huge hole was ripped open in her hull from her bow to amidships. She floated there for some time, and she then exploded into a great orange fire ball. From the force of the explosion, the hull was then turned into burning splinters which were hurled into the air. As the sound of the explosion dissipated, the fiery fragments fell back into the sea with a plop.

On the Hornet, Sam, Susie, Chung and Lee stood and watched. There was a moment of silence. Each person was alone with their thoughts.

Susie was the first one to speak, "It's all over, isn't it Sam?"

Sam replied, "We still have to get out of here, but it's over."

Sam continued to navigate the Hornet through Rocky Bottom. Later on, the four adventures would recall that Sam's plan was a good one.

The Hornet made it through the dangerous stretch of water. Sam's ability at the helm was uncanny. After the threat was gone, Sam steered the Hornet through Rocky Bottom with ease. Soon, they were back out on the open sea where they could set a course for home.

Epilogue

There are moments which come to be significant in a person's life. Forces come together in unknown ways. When this happens, the people involved become bonded together forever. This is the stuff which creates lifetime friendships.

Sam, Chung, Lee and Susie came together in just such a way. From a friendship which was made in a war torn part of China, a series of events were set in motion. Sam Kincade's life was saved by Lee Wong in the struggle with the Japanese. In the Chinese way, the favor was returned when Sam Kincade saved Lee Wong's life in a struggle with a gang of cut throats. Out of the force of love and friendship, a pretty young Eurasian woman traveled across an ocean to become involved in a struggle of life and death. Susie Benton showed unusual courage as she was swept along with the currents of change. Having studied eastern philosophy, Chung Low may have been the only participant who understood the forces of change which would encompass them all.

The four adventurers sailed into Hong Kong harbor knowing that their lives were forever changed. Sam and Chung would go on to become wealthy men in the shipping business. Susie Benton would return to America to wait for her stepfather. Lee Wong would use his share of the money which Sam and he had liberated from the gangsters to arrange safe passage out of China for Jade Wong. Lee and his daughters would then start a successful business in the Jade trade when they made a home in San Francisco.