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nonsense. It doesn’t fit with what we know.”
    â€œYes, but without hard evidence, it’s not worth the effort of bringing serious charges against him. He’ll likely be charged with negligence and get probation. After all, he’s a minor player in the whole thing.”
    â€œTrue. So the world goes on as before.”
    â€œNo, it doesn’t.” We look up to see Rose MacAuley striding through the diner toward us. She’s a small, energetic woman with a mop of gray hair that never seems to be under control. “I thought I’d find you here,” she says, sitting down in our booth. “I wanted to tell you something as soon as I could.”
    â€œWhat?” we both ask.
    â€œThe pot you found,” Rose says. “I haven’t finished working on it yet, but I have found something.” She opens a huge purse, rummages for a moment and then brings out a small Ziploc bag, which she hands to us.
    Annabel and I put our heads close together and peer at it. There’s a coin in the bag, about the size of a quarter, but brown. It’s badly corroded, and there’s a hole in the center.
    â€œDo you know what it is?” Rose asks enthusiastically.
    â€œA coin?” I suggest.
    â€œExactly,” Rose enthuses. “To be precise, a Chinese coin.”
    â€œSo the pot was dropped by a Chinese laborer,” Annabel says. “At least we’ll get something to add to our exhibit.”
    â€œI think you’ll have a whole new exhibit.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, Rose?”
    â€œI mean,” Rose says with a grin, “that when you examine the coin under a lens, you see writing. Chinese writing that places the coin in the Ming Dynasty—specifically, the reign of the Xuande Emperor.”
    Rose looks at us triumphantly. We stare back blankly.
    â€œThe Xuande Emperor,” Rose repeats to no greater effect. “I don’t know what they teach you kids in school today,” she says, shaking her head sadly. “The Xuande Emperor of the Ming Dynasty ruled China between 1426 and 1435. He sent Admiral Zheng He and his treasure fleet out on their final voyage.”
    Rose sits back and folds her arms. It takes a moment for what she has said to register. Then it hits us both like a ton of bricks. The Mahogany Ship is older than even the conspiracy theorists thought. The Chinese got to Australia almost two hundred years before the Dutchman Janszoon and more than three hundred years before Captain Cook.
    â€œThis’ll change everything,” Annabel says.
    â€œNot everything,” Rose says, “but a lot. I don’t think there will be much difficulty getting funding to excavate the Mahogany Ship now. But I have to get back to the lab. The more coins I can clean up, the more persuasive the argument will be.” She takes the Ziploc bag and stands. “This is such an exciting time to be an archaeologist.”
    â€œWow,” is all I can think to say.
    â€œSo, I guess our school holidays will be spent digging in the sand,” Annabel says.
    â€œI don’t think anyone will be able to stop us.” We laugh. Coming to Australia and Warrnambool were the best decisions my dad ever made.

Author’s Note
    There is considerable evidence that an unidentified shipwreck is buried in the sand dunes somewhere along the beach from Warrnambool. Theories as to its identity range from its being one of Zheng He’s treasure ships to a lost Portuguese caravel to simply a lost fishing boat. Until a storm uncovers it, we’ll never know.
    The Princess Sophia disaster actually happened, as did the wreck of the Loch Ard . It is possible to climb down and visit the cave where Tom and Eva sheltered and drank brandy. Miraculously, the porcelain peacock did survive the wreck and does now sit in pride of place in the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum. However, it is probably much harder to steal than I suggest. I am also certain that the