Chapter 08

Summary

• Struan goes to the plaza and sees that a crowd has gathered around a woman who has been struck by lightning.
• Struan orders his men to take the woman to the hospital and to bring a priest.
• Struan speaks with the American consul, Mr. Hedge, and learns that the woman is an American missionary named Mrs. Horatio Sinclair.
• Struan and Hedge discuss the situation, and Struan suggests that they keep the incident quiet to avoid attracting attention from the Chinese authorities.
• Struan returns to his office and finds that Jin-qua has arrived with the silver.
• Struan thanks Jin-qua and gives him the promised favors.
• Struan and Jin-qua discuss the situation in Canton and the possible repercussions of the lightning strike.
• Struan and Jin-qua agree to keep the incident quiet and to work together to maintain peace in the city.
• Struan receives a letter from his brother Robb, who is in Hong Kong, and learns that the new governor, Sir William Longstaff, plans to evacuate the island of Chu-Shan.
• Struan is concerned about the implications of the evacuation and decides to go to Hong Kong to speak with Longstaff.