The most elusive thing I chased was the ghost of the SS Marigold. A tiny magnetic anomaly in a quiet stretch of the Gulf led me to a 3‑meter‑deep patch of driftwood and a rusted hull that had been hidden beneath a layer of sediment for over a century. The only clues were a single, corroded compass needle pointing north‑west and a fragment of a brass plate that read “Marigold.” I followed those scraps, trench by trench, until I finally saw the outline of the ship’s keel on a side‑scan sonar sweep. The patience paid off when I could finally read the story it had been hiding in the water.