When We Were Orphans

Mr. Lin leads Banks through the old house, apologizing for the changes the family has made over the years and talking about his family’s history in the house. Respectfully, Banks indicates that if he comes to live again in this house, he too, will make many new changes. He mentions Jennifer, becoming momentarily emotional, and the old man says: “Blood is important. But so is household” (194).

After the visit, Banks asks Morgan about Inspector Kung and learns the man is now a notorious alcoholic and opium addict. This angers Banks, who believes Morgan is again mistaken. However, during his meeting with MacDonald, the intelligence man also speaks similarly about Kung. Banks loses his temper when MacDonald refuses to help him meet the Yellow Snake.

Banks arrives at the Inn of Morning Happiness and into a narrow, windowless room to find former Inspector Kung - a bone-thin, shriveled man lying on a bed. He speaks good English and tells Banks that “this city defeats you. Every man betrays his friend” (204). Banks asks him about the case from 1915, a shooting in a restaurant. One of the suspects was a man called Chiang Wei, who admitted to being a member of a kidnapping gang some years earlier and gave information about houses where they held the hostages. Kung remembers that the police failed to check one house. Banks believes his parents are still in that house, but Kung can't remember the address.

That evening, in the Settlement, Banks receives a note from Sarah, whom he recently saw at a private party crying openly during a comedic performance. They meet on a half-landing in his hotel, and she tells him she has arranged everything to leave Sir Cecil and Shanghai. She asks Banks to leave his work and come with her to Macao the next day. She tells him they could be a family with young Jennifer. Banks accepts without deliberating, feeling suddenly relieved, and he kisses her hand.

The next day, Banks feels excited about his decision. He receives a phone call from Kung, who has remembered that the unsearched house is across the street from where a certain blind man, Yeh Chen, lived then.

A driver arrives for Banks, who informs Banks that Yeh Chen was a once famous blind actor. He directs Banks to a small shop, but Banks asks him to wait a while. In the back of the shop, he finds Sarah waiting, and they kiss for the first time. While they wait for their boat, Banks decides to pursue Yeh Chen. He asks the driver to take him to his house, since he claims to know where it is. As they ride, the nearby sound of guns indicates the fighting has started again. Banks begins to think the driver has gotten lost as they wind down narrow streets, and then he realizes they have entered Chapei, where the war is taking place. Frightened, Banks angrily berates the driver, who stops the car and walks away abruptly.

Banks runs after him and apologizes, but the man will not drive into the war zone and instead writes instructions to the house in Chinese, points Banks toward a police station, and leaves.

Banks arrives to the police station, where a man shows him down to a bunker in which he sees an unconscious Japanese prisoner and two Chinese army officers. Banks demands that Lieutenant Chow guide him to the house, even though they are in the midst of a war zone. Lieutenant Chow leads him to the roof to show him the Chinese slums, explaining how hard it is to push through them. He advises Banks to use the East and West Furnaces as guideposts for his journey. The Lieutenant gives him a gun, and they start their journey into the warrens.

Banks follows the Lieutenant through the bomb-torn passageways that remind him of a “vast, ruined mansion with endless rooms” (240). They soon come across Chinese soldiers holding an improvised fort, as the Japanese push their way farther into the area; the idea that this could delay his journey irritates Banks. He hears a wounded Japanese soldier cry in pain, and this disturbs him. The Lieutenant’s careful explanation does not calm his indignation, as he suggests that the Chinese soldiers should leave their posts and join them to facilitate progress. He rashly judges the Chinese to have been “sloppy” in allowing the Japanese to advance, and cries, “You believe this is all my fault, all this” (245). He brushes the lieutenant’s advice aside and decides to continue his journey alone.

As darkness falls, Banks goes deeper into the warren, coming across its inhabitants, families lying hidden in the wreckage. Then he reaches a group of people holding a wounded Japanese soldier prisoner—he recognizes his friend, Akira. The soldier at first spits at him and tries to scramble away, while Banks persuades the Chinese that this is his old friend who could not possibly have done them any harm. He hoists the man up, and they move away together.