BONES OF THE CHINAMEN

The entire play takes place inside a barracoon, an enclosure to hold slaves.

************************************

CAST

Narrator - Li Tong as an old man.

Li Tong - Chinese man who works in a barracoon as an employee of foreign slave traders. He is in his late 20's.

Armindo DaCruz - Portuguese ex-seaman who rents barracoons and charters ships to make profit from the Chinese coolie trade to Peru and Cuba. Known and feared for his cruelty. Age: Middle-aged

Dr. Murray - dissipated and alcoholic English doctor well paid to certify that Chinese coolies are fit for their grueling sea voyage. Age: About 50

Captain Elliott - Once proud American clipper ship captain now reluctantly involved in the coolie trade. Age: Late middle age

James Turner - corrupt British harbour master. Age: 30's

Mr. Anderson - incorruptible emigration agent: late 20's, early 30's

Ah-fuk - chief Chinese crimp, one who specializes in kidnapping or otherwise inducing Chinese coolies into the barracoon

Brother - A Chinese from a scholar gentry family kidnapped and brought into the barracoon. Age: late teens/early 20's

Sister (Tiang-si) - Captured while trying to free her brother. Mid 20's

Three Chinese musical players - er-hu, gong, cymbals

Chinese male prisoners

Chinese and Eurasian male guards

(Musicians can double as prisoners, etc.)

************************************

BONES OF THE CHINAMEN

DOUBLE ISLAND, SWATOW, CHINA, LATE 1800s

At rise the stage is completely dark. From the darkness is heard the sound of a two-stringed Chinese fiddle, an "er-hu." The pentatonic melody it is playing is painfully beautiful, almost heartbreaking.

Suddenly, as the music stops and a glimmer of light fades in, we hear a sound and even catch a glimpse of a naked or nearly naked CHINESE MALE running across the stage. In the style of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911) most of his head has been shaved and the remaining hair at the back of his head has been braided into a long pigtail (queue). The CHINESE MALE performs in response to commands of an O.S. VOICE.

O.S. VOICE

Run!..Turn! Flap your arms! Bend over!..Jump about while turning!..Duck walk!..Stoop!..Jump about! Quickly! Do not make the foreign-devil angry!...Enough! Spin your queue!..Enough! Now sign the paper and rejoin the other coolies upstairs! Do as you are told or you will be beaten!

(The CHINESE MALE, panting heavily, then

runs off the other side of the stage)

(After the COOLIE exits, we again

hear the sound of the er-hu. Gradually,

a spotlight comes up on the MUSICIAN

(NARRATOR)and his er-hu. He is dressed

in a nondescript Chinese jacket and

baggy trousers and wears soft felt or

cotton shoes. His hairstyle is also

that of the Ch’ing Dynasty. He is

sitting on a low support playing his

instrument. Behind him is a rattan

or wicker stool which he occasionally

sits upon)

(He faces the audience from extreme stage

left and throughout the play will be clearly

separate from the action he describes

- except near the end. He should sit a

bit higher than the stage so there might

be a few steps leading down from his

position to the rest of the stage)

(After 20 or 30 seconds pass, the

NARRATOR stops playing and, still

holding his instrument, looks out at

the audience. He smiles slightly.

He is a very elderly man and when he

speaks there is an undertone of sorrow

and melancholy in his voice)

NARRATOR

I am Li Tong, a Canton man of the clan Loi. I was born in Goose Run Village during the year of the dragon, hour of the tiger. This is a barracoon. I play music here; with this: a two-stringed fiddle. We call it an er-hu. The foreign-devils say the melodies I play are almost painfully beautiful, melancholy, plaintive and heartbreaking. My father always said it was the perfect instrument to express emotions. I have learned that it is certainly the perfect instrument to express pain.

(The narrator glances toward the semi-

dark stage where Chinese and men of

mixed Chinese-Portuguese blood are

lighting the wicks of tallow candles

and oil lamps. The stage should,

however, remain quite dark)

NARRATOR (cont)

I will play music here until I die. That day will not be far off; but before I journey to the Land of the Yellow Springs I want you to know the truth about what happened when I was still young. When I worked in a barracoon as a free man. I have much to apologize for. That much is clear. And as you will see my crimes were horrific. But please know I neither sold coolie slaves nor was I a coolie who had been enslaved. I simply served the various foreigners who ran the barracoons and sailed the coolie ships. I had learned English well from missionaries and in my father's shop I had worked with numbers and an abacus. These skills made me valuable to the foreigners who derived their profit from the coolie trade.

(The NARRATOR plays several notes, smiling

at the memory of happier times. The shadow

of the Calvary might briefly appear when

appropriate in the speech below)

NARRATOR (cont)

As a boy, I used to love to sit under the shade trees and listen to the itinerant story tellers who traveled from village to village filling our eager minds with outrageous gossip and tales of adventure and news of outside-the-province people. And one day a foreign-devil storyteller with long nose and green eyes dressed all in black with high black hat and silver cross and holy book with red letters spoke of his three-in-one-god and how the son of his god who was mocked and murdered would return and we should be ready. When I saw that even the Manchu soldiers would not disturb the temple he built to his god, I did the great washee and I too wore a cross.

(At the sound of a whip and a scream

the narrator pauses to look toward

the stage, then continues)

NARRATOR (cont)

My father was very angry but when the Taiping rebels came they spared me and my family because they too were of the cross. And I met a woman I loved very much. And for a few years I was very happy…But that is all gone now.

(Not without difficulty, the NARRATOR

gets up and sits on the stool)

NARRATOR (cont)

The time came when China was once again plunged into chaos and many had little or no food. In that turmoil, my father lost everything, and I was content to make money as I could; I was not one of those known as a 'crimp,' a Chinese who kidnapped his own people and sold them to foreigners. And so I could live. And I could live with myself. Then, one day, on the 15^th day of the seventh month, during the time of year we call Cold Dew, everything changed. And yet, except for the storm, known today as The Great Storm, it was a day which began much as any other. I had overslept but it was still early morning when I made my way on foot from my one-room lodging at a cheap Swatow inn, fighting the howling wind and heavy rain every step of the way.

(At the sounds of pounding on the barracoon

door, the NARRATOR stands up and faces the

stage)

I arrived soaking wet and still flustered from my ordeal and pounded on the door until the guards finally let me in. Even these burly men had some difficulty in shutting the door against the fury of the wind and torrential rain. It was at Armindo’s urging that I had changed my outside rainwear from the coconut fibre typical in the Swatow region to the attire of Westerners.

(LI TONG, as a young man, enters the

still quite dark barracoon as described

above. His actions continue as the

NARRATOR continues to speak)

(At the sound of hammering, LI TONG

pauses and looks up and back to

where the sound is coming from)

(The light on him dims a bit and

is now crossing him in streaks,

suggesting prison bars. The

hammering stops and LI TONG unties

his queue holding his tarpaulin hat

in place and strips off his coarse,

thick, double-breasted pea coat)

(He places them on a wall peg then

adjusts the wicks on an oil lamp)

(He walks to a tiny kitchen and

prepares water for tea. He places

wood under a clay stove and an iron

kettle upon it, first shaking the

kettle to ensure it has water. While

busy with his kitchen chores he soon

infuses the water with tea leaves.

He also brings out a saucer for winter

lichees and dried melon pips, prepares

congee and vegetables, etc.)

NARRATOR (cont)

Yes, that's right, I remember now - the wooden venetians at the windows had been nailed shut to prevent coolies from escaping. And so inside the barracoon daytime was hardly distinguishable from the night. There were about three hundred men in the barracoon. All Chinese coolies. Not counting their jailers, of course. They were as they are now - Portuguese and mixed-blood Chinese-Portuguese from Macau. And some, I am ashamed to say, were pure Chinese. The coolies thought they were waiting for a ship to take them to "Gum San - the Gold Country... California;" but they were not. And that is why the door was locked and barred and the venetians were nailed shut and the keepers had keys...and guns and knives and swords and rattan rods and leather whips...

(The NARRATOR is now clearly embarrassed)

NARRATOR (cont)

I apologize for the odor. The only ventilation we had was through the crevices of the venetians and of the thick, pitch pine door when it was open. The door at the rear was always locked except when the outside kitchen staff carried in the baskets of coarse rice and poor quality tea in narrow-mouthed earthen pots. And when the tall jars overflowing with urine and excrement were removed from the terrace through the same door. The only other door was upstairs; it opened onto a terrace and the terrace jars were all the coolies had for a privy. The terrace was, of course, too high for a coolie to jump down and escape...Although some tried. Although I did no cooking for the coolie slaves or crimps, I would sometimes prepare fruit or congee or even dumplings for Armindo, Dr. Murray and Captain Elliott. On cold winter days I also placed lumps of heated charcoal inside small brass and copper braziers so that our feet and hands might stay warm.

(A CHINESE MAN appears and begins

swishing lighted incense sticks about

as he crosses the stage and exits

during the next speech. While he does

this, MEN continue to light candles

and turn up the oil lamps)

NARRATOR (cont)

(slight smile) Despite all that he was, Armindo was the only one who cared about the smell. So every day just before he arrived, one of the guards lit joss-sticks - sticks of incense; and soon the sandalwood aroma hid the offensive odors...as the music was used to hide the screams of coolies being whipped.

(As the NARRATOR says this three Chinese

coolie musicians – gong, drum and er-hu –

appear and take their place on stage)

NARRATOR

(Cont) (lost in memory)

Armindo was the only man I knew about whom I could say that, whatever he was, he was to perfection. Some of the foreign-devil slave sellers who came to the barracoon were the cruelest, most dangerous men on earth. Men who had survived only by making certain that those opposing them did not. And yet I never failed to see Armindo intimidate such men and impose his will on them. It was not simply that they knew he feared nothing; it was as if they sensed that whatever it was that inhabited his tortured soul was not quite human. If I had to sum him up in one phrase, it would be an intensity of purpose. His anger, his laughter, his indignation, whatever it was was somehow more absolute, more focused – I almost want to say more pure – than that of other men. Armindo-

(LI TONG suddenly stares at the audience)

Armindo DaCruz...Forgive me; I see from your lack of reaction that you do not know that name. Consider yourself fortunate. But, believe me, had you lived in southern China when I was a young man, you would have known it then. And had you displeased him in any way, it would have been the last sound in your consciousness before you slept and the first sound in your consciousness before you woke.

(There is the sudden and very loud sound of

pounding and the spotlight on the NARRATOR

immediately dims while the lighting of

of the stage setting immediately lights up.

Throughout the play – except when the spot

intensifies as he addresses the audience –

the NARRATOR observes the play in profile)

The frightened CHINESE MUSICIANS rise quickly

- with the docile air of men desperately

afraid of being beaten. The MAN with the

drum stands over it ready to begin. The MAN

with the gong holds out his stick and gong in

preparation to beat it. The MAN with the

er-hu holds up his two sticks)

(Suddenly, there is an enormous crack of

a whip on flesh and the sound of a blood-

curdling scream. As lights come up on the

barracoon, the MUSICIANS begin franti-

cally playing their instruments. The

music now is loud and discordant and

cacophonous)

(Thanks to the increased lighting, we now

see that in addition to the one large room

there are stairs leading to a cockloft

above, where there are still more CHINESE

COOLIES. The COOLIES milling about the back of

` the rooms are not shackled in any way but have

obviously been told precisely what area of the

barracoon is theirs to move about in.

(Their space has no lamps or beds but only

a scattering of straw and gunny bags to

serve as sleeping mats)

(Throughout the play we see the - often distorted -

shadows of these MEN moving about in the background;

emaciated apparitions flitting between

lanterns and candles and absorbed by the darkness)

(A CHINESE coolie has his queue and thumbs and

large toes bound up together and is hanging

from a ceiling beam just inches from the floor's

packed earth)

(ANOTHER COOLIE wearing nothing but a kind

of loincloth stands against the far wall.

His hands have been bound behind him and

he is tied by his queue to a wooden wall peg.

His queue has been shortened in length by

being wrapped about the peg so that he cannot

sit down without painfully pulling his hair)

(WELL-ARMED MEN - both Chinese and mixed

blood Portuguese-Chinese - are observing

a furious PORTUGUESE whip a naked Chinese

who is hanging by his thumbs from ropes

tied to wall pegs. The COOLIE's back is

crisscrossed with welts. Blood runs freely

down his buttocks and legs. The long, black

objects hanging from the Portuguese's belt

are the severed queues of Chinese men)

(These CHINESE MEN also have their hair set in

the fashion of the Ch'ing Dynasty and their

queues are either wound around their heads

or else down in back reaching to their calves)

(Non-Chinese and mixed Portuguese-Chinese are

wearing mainly seamen’s clothes of the mid-

1800's: pea jacket, guernsey, bell-bottomed

duck trousers, boots. The weapons at their

belts are knives and flintlock pistols)

(Not far toward the rear of the room, a few

Chinese CRIMPS and GUARDS are engaged in a game

of dice for money, occasionally letting out

groans of "Aiiyaahh!" when luck is against

them. They take no interest in the beatings

as the beatings are nothing new to them)

(A CHINESE GUARD opens the door and we hear the

sound of wind and driving rain. A swarthy

Portuguese somewhere in his early 40s enters

(ARMINDO). An ex-seaman and an expert at

surviving in a very dangerous world. His

flat-brimmed tarpaulin hat, monkey jacket

and boots are wet, shiny and dripping from

the rain)

(He wears a black-and-emerald green flannel

shirt, black leather vest and striped merino

trousers. He wears no pocket watch but his

knife is sheathed at his belt and a small

cross hangs about his neck from a silver chain.)

(LI TONG has rushed out to offer him a towel

with which to dry off, but ARMINDO ignores

him and brushes by him to stand near his

PORTUGUESE EMPLOYEE whipping a CHINESE COOLIE)

(At each enormous crack of the whip on the

man’s flesh, the sound of a blood-curdling

scream is lost in the loud and discordant

and cacophonous music. The screams soon

cease. After observing the whipping for

several moments, ARMINDO moves quickly to

the MAN WITH THE WHIP, spins him about and

grasps his wrist)

ARMINDO

What the devil you whipping him for?

MAN WITH THE WHIP

What?!

ARMINDO

(to the musicians)

Stop that infernal noise, you heathen devils!

(The light on the THREE MUSICIANS

immediately dims as the music stops

and the men rush off into the darkness)

ARMINDO

I said, what the devil you whipping him for?

MAN WITH THE WHIP

Bloody heathen's still refusin' to sign his contract!

(ARMINDO grasps the man's face with both

hands and pushes it near the face of the

COOLIE on the wall)

ARMINDO

The Chinaman is dead, you damn fool!

MAN WITH THE WHIP

...What's one coolie more or less?

(ARMINDO draws his sheath knife with

amazing speed and shoves him hard)

ARMINDO

That's thirty Spanish dollars I lost! I ought to cut your heart out! If you don't know how to whip coolies without killin' 'em, get the hell out!

(ARMINDO tosses his knife from

hand to hand with obvious skill

and sneers malevolently)

ARMINDO (cont)

Unless you'd like to try me.

(The MAN hesitates)

MAN WITH THE WHIP

I got no quarrel with you.

ARMINDO

You will have, if you ever kill one of my Chinamen again.

The MAN moves quickly away. ARMINDO

gestures to his CHINESE EMPLOYEES who

cut the COOLIE down and prepare to

take the body out by stuffing him in

a sack. He replaces his knife, takes

off his jacket and hat, and looks about)

ARMINDO

Li Tong...Li Tong!

(LI TONG appears from out of the

darkness, as always eager to please

ARMINDO. He rushes to ARMINDO and

takes his hat and jacket. He

hangs them up carefully on wall

nails)

ARMINDO

I'm chilled to the bone. Hurry up with the tea.

LI TONG

Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I overslept.

ARMINDO

And add a bit of ginger to it; it’s bloody cold out there.

LI TONG

I have done that, sir, it is all prepared.

(LI TONG obediently brings fruit and

tea while ARMINDO removes his two

pearl-handled pistols from his belt.

As he speaks, he carefully examines

the powder in the pistols' priming

pans, then changes the flint in each

cock. He might also clear the barrels

with his ramrod, etc.)

ARMINDO

And how many times have I told you: when we got a storm, we don't need the damn heathen music! Nobody out there can hear anybody screamin' in here during a typhoon! Tell the buffle-headed musicians not to play except when they're needed or I'll ship them out!

LI TONG

I am sorry, sir. It won't happen again.

ARMINDO

The storm smashed open the shed door. Tools are gone. Most likely blown out to sea by now.

LI TONG

Yes, sir, I know. Even the barracoon was barely visible until I was almost upon it.

ARMINDO

Aye. A black silhouette that bids no one welcome. Sheets of rain sweeping from one end of the roof to another and the tempest winds battering its China fir frame. It was moaning, Li Tong, almost like a living thing.

LI TONG

Yes, sir, I heard it. I thought it sounded like an enraged beast maddened by the fury of the storm but unable to escape.

ARMINDO

(chuckling)

Well, maybe that’s what it is.

(The door opens and a BRITISH PHYSICIAN enters.

We again hear the sounds of the storm outside)

(As the CHINESE carrying the coolie's body move

past him they collide with him. DR. MURRAY

manages to clutch his leather bag but his walking

cane is knocked from his grasp. He utters an

oath but he steps aside to let the guards pass

with their burden. A GUARD picks up the cane by

its ivory handle and holds it out for him. The

COOLIES exit with the body.)

(The PHYSICIAN removes his peacoat and LI TONG i

mmediately takes it from him and hangs it up)

(He is a rotund man, about 50, rather shabbily

dressed, whose red face shows unmistakable signs

of a life of dissipation. His silver-rimmed

spectacles are propped halfway down his

protuberant nose. His round, oily face is

framed by curly white hair and long sideburns,

and, regardless of his choice of apparel, never

fails to appear rather shabbily dressed. His

black frock coat is well worn and his old serge

trousers and gray flannel shirt are far from new.

(He attempts to retain his dignity but appears a

bit unsteady on his feet and has difficulty

repressing a bad cough)

DR. MURRAY

Mornin', Li Tong. Glad to see you here. The other so-called interpreters know about as much English as I know Chinese.

LI TONG

Thank you, Dr. Murray. I arrived late because of the storm. But I’ll get you a brazier. You'd better dry off.

(LI TONG hands him a towel. DR. MURRAY

rubs his face and arms)

DR. MURRAY

I wager this weather'll be the death of me yet. And the lightning’s in the north sky, so we can expect a lot more of this misery before it’s over. (motions toward the door) What was that about? Not dead of disease, I hope. If so, I need to examine him.

LI TONG

No, sir, he died of a beating.

DR. MURRAY

Well, that’s a relief; no contagion for us to worry about and no more hell on earth for that poor creature.

(He returns the towel to LI TONG then

takes his bowler hat out of a

leather sack. He carefully examines

the hat for damage while speaking)

DR. MURRAY (cont)

The rains loosened the sand. Bones of Chinamen are exposed all along the north shore of the island. The lucky ones had coffins. But now their coffins are bein' swept out into the river. Poor bastards had no peace in life and now-

ARMINDO

You're late, Dr. Murray.

DR. MURRAY

I was detained.

ARMINDO

By a bawdy house bottle and a more-than-willing chick-a-biddy, I'll wager.

DR. MURRAY

Chick-a-biddy?

DR. MURRAY (cont)

To those dear friends who refuse nothing: the gallows and the sea.

(He drinks it down and clears his throat. DR.

MURRAY looks about for a spittoon and LI TONG

quickly moves the spittoon closer to DR. MURRAY'S

feet. DR. MURRAY expectorates into the spittoon,

then primly wipes his mouth)

ARMINDO

The whole blooming lot of them get the mulligrubs from their own addle-pated stupidity and some beetle-browed emigration agent relands my pork!

DR. MURRAY

Be that as it may, as your designated ship surgeon, I concurred that we have no choice but to replace the pork or else-

ARMINDO

Replace thirty casks of pork!? Over my dead body! You can doctor it up by runnin' pickles over it. That'll take care of the bloody maggots.

DR. MURRAY

Temporarily.

ARMINDO

Long enough until we get out to sea!

(ARMINDO places his face close to the

PHYSICIAN's and speaks in a threatening

manner)

ARMINDO (cont)

You best not be forgettin' you work for me, Doctor Murray.

DR. MURRAY

I...never...forget I work for you. And you should never forget that without my attestation as to the good health of the coolies, you don't receive permission to sail.

(ARMINDO stares at the PHYSICIAN

for several seconds, then moves away.

LI TONG refills his tea cup)

(ARMINDO angrily drinks some tea, then

stares into his cup)

ARMINDO

Strong taste, this. This Hyson?

LI TONG

Yes, sir.

(DR. MURRAY leans close to ARMINDO’s

cup and inhales deeply through his

nostrils)

DR. MURRAY

Shade of primrose and a brisk, agreeable flavor. Just what I used to drink before I gave up tea in favor of something a bit more fortifying to my system.

(ARMINDO stares into his cup

suspiciously)

ARMINDO

Scarcely any color at all.

DR. MURRAY

My dear Armindo, many of China’s finest teas barely color the water.

ARMNDO

Aye, some do not. And many aren’t teas at all.

DR. MURRAY

True. If anyone knows how to pull the wool over a tea drinker’s eyes it is the Chinamen. They give the poorest quality tea to their Manchu overlords because the Manchus add milk, and in restaurants they serve rotgut known as foreign-devil tea to us because they think we would not know a fine quality tea if it bit us on our behinds.

ARMINDO

Is that a fact?

DR. MURRAY

Indeed, sir. Of course, such chicanery is not limited to transactions in tea. Ducks being weighed by the pound, I will not deign to describe the manner in which pebbles are shoved down the poor birds’ gullets to cheat the foreign housewife. But with tea their manner is far more subtle.

(ARMINDO’s stare never wavers. The spot

gradually intensifies on the NARRATOR

who sits on his rattan stool observing

the scene)

ARMINDO

Aye. I’ve heard plenty of gup about how John Chinaman adulterates the tea and makes a profit while passing off sloe or ash as tea leaves. And of course he is clever enough to add Prussian blue and other trickery to the coloring.

(DR. MURRAY runs one chubby hand through

the white hair of his ring beard, looking

from ARMINDO to LI TONG and back to ARMINDO)

DR. MURRAY

What the deuce! Surely you are not suggesting that Li Tong is adulterating our tea?

ARMINDO

I suggest nothing. But I did once spot such trickery in a barracoon in Macau. The Chinaman that done it got himself shipped out along with the rest.

(ARMINDO turns and stares at LI TONG)

ARMINDO

Li Tong, pour this water out of the pot and get me a plate.

NARRATOR

During the time I was in the tiny makeshift kitchen, Dr. Murray did not say a word. I think he understood that Armindo now suspected me of substituting poor quality tea and selling the better grade for profit. It was not uncommon among my people to do so. I suppose I should have been indignant but I did as he asked. I had never had the courage to oppose him. Nor had any other man. The most frightening thing about him to me were his eyes. They were a charcoal gray, the same cold shade of gray as the ash left by the joss-sticks my father burned in his village temple.

(ARMINDO speaks as he carefully removes

the leaves from the kettle and arranges

them on the plate)

ARMINDO

Our bill for tea has doubled since the arrival of our young friend here. Did you know that, Dr. Murray?

DR. MURRAY

Well, of course it has; it has everywhere in southern China and the port cities. The Taiping rebels have seized the tea growing provinces and blockaded the trading routes.

(ARMINDO continues to stare at the leaves)

ARMINDO

Aye, that they have.

(THE MEN stare at the leaves in silence.

The only sounds in the barracoon are the

hawking and spitting of the COOLIES and

the GUARDS and the creaks of the roof and

walls in protest of the wind’s fury)

DR. MURRAY

And just what are you hoping to discover, sir?

ARMINDO

If the tea is genuine, the leaves will retain their color. If they’re sloe or ash or something else, the false coloring will be carried off in the water. And these leaves will be black.

NARRATOR

Another minute went by. I had done nothing wrong, but I had no idea if that could be proved to Armindo’s satisfaction. I knew it was absurd but as each second passed I felt a guilt rise up in me, as if I had something to confess. I knew it was my own weak nature and Armindo’s strong character which made me feel that way. My nerves were being strained as if I were about to be found guilty of a crime. And I think at that moment to please Armindo I would have confessed to that which I had not done.

As we would soon be examining coolies, I thought I should use the time to nib the quills, but the quill needs to be held as steadily as possible and I was afraid my hands might shake exposing my anxiety. Which might be mistaken for guilt. And so I sat and stared at the leaves, knowing my future depended on their ability to retain their color… And the leaves did retain their color.

DR. MURRAY

Satisfied?

(ARMINDO nods)

ARMINDO

More tea if you please, Li Tong.

LI TONG

Yes, sir.

ARMINDO

Replace the pork?! Next they'll be demandin' we provide every Chinaman wot goes on board with his own concubine!

DR. MURRAY

An interesting thought. But I dare say we may have some trouble with this particular agent.

ARMINDO

I never met an emigration agent that a stack of silver dollars couldn't buy.

DR. MURRAY

This one-

ARMINDO

This one won't be any different. One way or another, I always bring them to their bearings. And what about Captain Elliott? Did he say the ship is ready to sail?

DR. MURRAY

Oh, yes. The clipper is all shipshape and Bristol fashion. The ship isn't the problem. It's the acting harbour master. Elliott's on his way over with him now.

ARMINDO

Doesn't he know the arrangement we had with Nicholson?

DR. MURRAY

We'll soon find out. And, if I were you, I'd cut those Chinamen down and get them out of sight.

ARMINDO

What the bloody hell for?!

DR. MURRAY

Because the acting harbour master is a fellow named James Turner and I heard when he was at Ningpo he was the sort who worried about how Chinamen are treated.

ARMINDO

Turner. Aye. I know that name. Damn his eyes! Li-tong! Get those Chinamen cut down and put 'em with the others. And get Ah-fuk over here.

(As other CHINESE begin untying the COOLIES,

LI TONG walks to a group of armed CHINESE

CRIMPs and GUARDS absorbed in a game of dice)

LI TONG

Where is Ah-fuk?

(ONE of the MEN points to a sleeping

figure. LI TONG walks over to him and

lowers his voice)

LI TONG

Ah-fuk...Ah-fuk! Wake up! Armindo wants you.

(The man rolls over)

NARRATOR

Ah-fuk was bundled up like a child inside a worn wool slate grey blanket. At the center of the blanket I could make out the black letters USM. I had heard Ah-fuk boast of having snatched it on the streets of Hong Kong from a drunken American marine. As I shook him, a pair of dice fell from his sleeve to the floor: The red aces seemed almost to glow in the semi-darkness like a tiny pair of angry eyes.

(AH-FUK rolls over and grunts)

NARRATOR (cont)

Ah-fuk was one of the most repulsive looking men I knew and on occasion when speaking with him I had been unable to repress a shudder. He had prominent, feral eyes set into a thin dark lupine face and even his most relaxed expression seemed to suggest that sudden violence was just below the surface. On the orders of a magistrate, part of his upper lip had been cut away. It was the Manchu government’s way of discouraging inveterate opium smokers from continuing with their habit. In addition to disfiguring his face, the punishment had also affected his speech. He compensated by raising his upper lip when he spoke and moving his lips in an exaggerated way. He had also once contracted smallpox and his deeply pitted face was what we Chinese call a “chop dollar face,” because the Mexican and Spanish silver dollars introduced by the foreign devils were tested for purity so often by our merchants that the tiny testing implements left a myriad of small holes on the faces of the dollars. I knelt beside him, steeled myself to look upon him at such close range, and lowered my voice still more.

LI TONG

Did you take care of that thing we discussed?

NARRATOR

As was his habit, he inhaled noisily and widened his mouth before speaking. His upper lip raised up as if it were some living thing which moved independently of his will.

LI TONG (cont)

Ah-fuk, Did you take care of that thing we discussed!

AH FUK

Don't worry. It is done. But the storm-

ARMINDO

Ah-fuk!

LI TONG

The storm what?

AH FUK

We will talk later.

NARRATOR

He snatched up the dice and placed them inside his sleeve. Before I could pose another question he leapt to his feet and hurried over to Armindo. I followed quickly after him. He placed one fist inside the other as we do in greeting and gave him a slight bow. I remember how his long, thin queue always hung down his back, its natural hair oil already having permanently stained his tunic.

ARMINDO

You bring the new coolies?

AH-FUK

Hab got. First chop coolies. Number one.

ARMINDO

First chop?! You bracket-faced, buffle-headed loon, half the bloomin' coolies you bring me are so sick they die before they reach Peru. I'm within an ames ace of buyin' all my Chinamen from somebody else.

AH-FUK

Ga la! First chop! You looksee! You catchee plenty dolla'!

ARMINDO

That better be right. Bring 'em out!

(As the CRIMP obeys, ARMINDO sits in

a chair beside the BRITISH PHYSICIAN.

He places his pistols on the table and

wraps his whip around his wrist. He

brings out a snuff box from inside his

jacket and smears a pinch of snuff on

his nostrils and sniffs. He sneezes)

(LI TONG brings over a pot of tea, tray of

cups, sheaf of paper, quill pens, an abacus,

and an ink container. HE sits beside ARMINDO,

uses a small knife to sharpen the point of

the quill pen, then dips it into the ink)

NARRATOR

Dr. Murray had wanted to change over to steel pens but Armindo insisted we stay with quills. He claimed the steel pens lasted only ten days, that they corroded, that their ink flowed poorly and the needle-like nibs scratched the coolie contracts to shreds. And so we continued to use a feather from the wing of a goose as our writing instrument.

(The light of an oil lamp reflects on the

foolscap and on the barrels of ARMINDO's

two flintlock pistols lying beside it and

on the cross about his neck)

(AH-FUK and his ASSISTANTS bring six

frightened CHINESE COOLIES from out of the

darkness. They lead them out by walking

behind them and holding their queues.

The COOLIES are naked or nearly naked)

LI TONG

(to the first enslaved Chinese)

Move about to show the outside barbarians that you are healthy. Otherwise, you will be taken outside and left to starve on the island. And don't think anyone will take you to the mainland. They are too afraid to interfere with the foreign-devil business. So do as I say. Run!..Jump!..Turn!..Bend over!

(ARMINDO and DR. MURRAY watch closely as the

first CHINESE is forced to run about and flap

his arms and leap and stoop and jump)

ARMINDO

He looks strong enough to me. 'Ave 'im duck walk again.

LI TONG

Walk like a duck again! Quickly! Before the foreign-devil is angry!

(The COOLIE obeys. ARMINDO looks toward DR.

MURRAY who nods)

ARMINDO

All right! Sign.

(LI TONG employs his quill to make notes on

sheets of foolscap before him and noisily

slams beads on his abacus)

LI TONG

Sign the contract.

(The COOLIE walks forward and LI TONG

roughly grabs the COOLIE's finger and

pushes it onto a kind of ink pad then

presses it down onto the contract. He

then places a cord around the COOLIE's

neck which has a number on a bamboo tag)

LI TONG (cont)

This is your number. Number two-nine-zero. When you go on board the black-sided coolie ship, a foreign-devil will call out your number. You will walk forward and he will ask you if you go on the voyage willingly. You say 'yes,' understand? Anyone who says 'no' will be beaten and dragged in the water from the rowboat! You understand?!

(The COOLIE nods)

LI TONG (cont)

Now go upstairs! If you cause trouble you will be whipped and left to hang by your thumbs.

(the COOLIE obeys)

(Much the same action is carried out with the

second COOLIE)

LI TONG (cont)

Jump! Squat! Flap your arms...Duck walk...Now, the other way.

(LI TONG looks to ARMINDO and DR.

MURRAY. Both men nod)

LI TONG (cont)

Enough! You are number two-nine-one. You heard what I said. When you are asked if you want to go, you say, 'Yes.' Otherwise you will regret it.

(The COOLIE walks forward and LI TONG

places the cord with number around his

neck)

COOLIE

Please, I am a charcoal seller. Some men told me where I might find better employment. But when I went with them I was gagged and tied and taken here.

LI TONG

Be quiet!

COOLIE

I would rather die than go on the outside barbarian ship. Others say it has no shrine to the heavenly goddess. How will it find its way in a storm?

(LI TONG grasps the coolie’s arm and

gestures toward it)

LI TONG

You were burned by joss-sticks before. Do not cause more trouble or you will receive even worse! Here! Sign!

(LI TONG dips his finger in ink and presses

it to the contract. The COOLIE moves off

and the next COOLIE attempts to move about

as ordered)

LI TONG

Hurry up! Flap your arms about and run!..All right, now jump up and down!..Now duck walk!..Stoop!..Enough! Now, spin your queue! Quickly, you coffin chisel, or else the red faced barbarians will whip you again!

(As the COOLIE spins his head sending his

queue flying about, we hear the sound of

a coin as it is flung against the wall.

AH-FUK walks to the coin and picks it up)

LI TONG

Hiding coins in your queue! For that you will be beaten! And lose your queue. All of you had better remember what I told you: If you cause trouble you will be beaten! Go to the back! Wait there!

NARRATOR

Ah-Fuk walked to me while still intently studying the coin. I suspected the man was a triad member and that it was a coin issued by one triad or another. But when I saw what it was, my pulse raced. I turned to Armindo.

LI TONG

This is a coin of the Taiping rebels. Tai ping tien guo. Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace.

(ARMINDO studies it in silence then

rapidly turns it over in between his

fingers as a gambler might do. A

nervous tremor has crept into DR.

MURRAY’s voice)

DR. MURRAY

The rebels are getting stronger all the time. Rumor has it Frederick Ward was killed fighting them at Tse-kie. And now one of the Taiping armies is said to be heading this way.

NARRATOR

We all knew what Taiping rebels did to anyone involved in opium or prostitution or in any religion other than their bizarre form of Christianity. Or even to anyone subjecting himself to the Manchu hairstyle. No doubt they would have nothing pleasant in store for anyone involved in the slave trade. Ah-Fuk had had a narrow escape from them and I could tell he was becoming excited. His men had also grown very quiet. He spoke hastily and his deformed upper lip jumped about.

AH-FUK

Plenty piecee bad man Taiping hab got this side, too muchee likee cut throat pidgin.

ARMINDO

Tse-kie is only some ten miles from Ningpo, is it not?

DR. MURRAY

Yes. Just a short ride inland. And not that far from here.

(ARMINDO stares at the coin)

ARMINDO

Well, let’s hope if one of their mobs is heading this way it’s one of their all-women outfits. I wouldn’t mind a tryst with their so-called silken army. I hear they look right proper flash packets in those silken gowns of theirs.

DR. MURRAY

Aye, silk they looted from Hangchow. But I hear they fight more bravely than the men.

(ARMINDO slaps the coin on the table.

He raises his voice)

ARMINDO

Well, Dr. Murray, I have no interest in rumors. Li Tong, have our best men question that man carefully and thoroughly. Now bring in the next coolie.

(AH-FUK takes a step toward Armindo)

AH-FUK

But what if-

ARMINDO

Be quiet, you bullet-headed fool! We’ve all smelt powder and heard ball. If the bloody long-hairs want a fight, they’ll find one waiting for them here. Now bring up the next man.

LI TONG

Jump! Run! Squat!..Duck walk and flap your arms!

(While the next coolie is leaping and duck-

walking and flapping his arms, he begins to

cough and stumble. DR. MURRAY rises and looks

into his eyes and mouth and runs his hands

along the man's body as if checking the health

of an animal)

DR. MURRAY

This man is sick.

AH-FUK

No sick. It too much laining. Him hab cold.

DR. MURRAY

No, not a cold. His teeth are discolored and his cheeks are sunken. His skin is withered and chalky pale. And he’s short of breath. The man's an opium smoker and he’s at death's door.

(ARMINDO walks to the CRIMP and slaps

his face. The CRIMP reaches for his

knife but then thinks better of it)

AH-FUK

You no 'cassion makee so-fashion!

ARMINDO

I warned you not to bring me anymore like that. One more time and I'll find another crimp. You savvy?!

AH-FUK

...I savvy.

ARMINDO

Take him out.

DR. MURRAY

He'll die out there.

ARMINDO

He'll die where 'e's goin', so what's the bloody difference?

(DR. MURRAY reaches for his doctor's bag)

DR. MURRAY

I might be able to save him with-

ARMINDO

He'd be shark meat before we were three days sail out of Swatow. (to the CHINESE) Take 'im out!

(As the CHINESE ASSISTANTS take the COOLIE

to the door the man begins shouting to the

other COOLIES)

ARMINDO (cont)

Ask him if he's afraid to die.

LI TONG

The foreign-devil wants to know if you are afraid to die.

COOLIE

The next world will be much better than this. My spirit will rise to the Jade Heaven in the Western Paradise. I will be with the immortals. These foreign barbarians are like the silkworms which blight our mulberry leaves. Heaven will not endure men such as these and you - for helping such men - you will go to the Land of the Yellow Springs!

LI TONG

He says the next world will be better. That you are like silkworms destroying the mulberry leaves. And he damns me for helping foreigners.

ARMINDO

But is he afraid to die?

LI TONG

He says he is not.

(ARMINDO stares at the COOLIE for a few

moments then stands up)

ARMINDO

A man who's not afraid to die deserves a chance to cheat death.

(He moves one of his flintlock pistols

closer to the COOLIE, and places the other

near himself on the table)

ARMINDO (cont)

Tell him the pistols are loaded. If he can kill me I order that he be let go.

DR. MURRAY

Armindo, what-

ARMINDO

And returned to the mainland. Unharmed.

DR. MURRAY

Armindo-

ARMINDO

Damn your eyes! Clap a stopper on your tongue!

LI TONG

The foreign-devil has told the others that if you can kill him, you are free to go. No one will harm you.

(The COOLIE stares at the flintlock nearest

him. There is no sound in the room except

for a few moans in the darkness from Chinese

who have been whipped or beaten. ARMINDO

steps away from the table, tempting the

COOLIE)

ARMINDO

(whispering)

Go ahead. Grab it. Maybe you're faster than me.

(After several seconds the COOLIE quickly

reaches for the pistol and grabs it. He

rapidly points it at ARMINDO. ARMINDO

has not moved. The COOLIE is puzzled but

he pulls the trigger. There is only a flash

in the pan holding the powder. The COOLIE

stares at the the flintlock, then lowers it)

ARMINDO (cont)

Well, look at that. The Chinaman had the nerve, after all. The rain must have made the bleedin’ powder damp. When that happens, powder only flashes. A flash in the pan.

(He walks forward and reaches for the

other pistol)

ARMINDO (cont)

This one, though, I expect the rain didn't get to quite so much.

COOLIE