Harper's Round Table, December 17, 1895

On a sweltering December evening off the Majuba coast, the aging steam‑frigate Sumter drifts under a crimson sunset. Barefoot sailors tiptoe around the creaking decks while a fever‑stricken captain lies confined below, and young Midshipman Bobby Seymour can’t shake the ache of longing for the icy riverbanks and jingling sleigh‑bells of home. The crew’s quiet is broken only by a restless monkey, distant parrots and the thin wail of a concertina that drifts over the water.

The night before Christmas, a sealed parcel bearing Bobby’s initials appears in his hammock, its tag warning “Not to be opened until Xmas day.” The mystery of the carefully wrapped gift fuels whispered speculation among the officers—could it be a taste of home, a secret message, or something far stranger? As the wind carries a faint, drum‑like rumble from the shore, Bobby sits on the deck, the sea’s scent mingling with his thoughts, poised on the edge of a revelation that could change the gloom of the holiday night.