The Girls of Good Fortune

In her cell in the tunnels, Celia hears a man shouting for someone to let him out. Someone shoves a tray through a small slot in her door, and she hears a commotion as the shouting man grabs the person who is delivering food. Hearing sounds of fighting, Celia tries calling for help. She hears her captors returning the escapee to his cell, saying, “They’ll take him even if he’s dead” (73).

Marie gives Celia a pouch of coins and instructs her to buy opium. As Celia follows Marie’s directions, she walks through a rally of Chinese workers. At her destination, she sees a room full of men and women who are smoking opium. Hearing the cry of a baby, she follows the noise and discovers a tunnel behind a staircase. Inside the tunnel is a family of Chinese people who are cooking, sleeping, and playing a game. Celia suspects that they are living in the tunnel to avoid the violence that other Chinese immigrants are experiencing.

As she leaves the establishment, Celia sees men who are called “highbinders” (82) because of the way they wear their hair. Her father taught her that these men are often assassins for the brotherhoods known as tongs.