The Children of Huang Shi Page #3

Jack Chen has given you

quite an introduction here.

Except he's called you 'Mr. Pig'.

It's not that funny.

He's a very nasty bit of work, that one.

I can't think why.

He only saw his father beheaded,

his mother raped and beheaded,

his sister raped and beheaded...

After that they lined him

up on the edge of a pit

He's a smart kid.

He waited until he felt the guy

next to him get hit

Stop. Please.

Nanjing. I was there.

Jack told me.

That's why I thought you'd be good here.

You're going to need

a Chinese name, you know.

One they can actually say.

Ho-ke.

You're out of your mind

if you think I'm staying here.

I didn't come half way round the world

to play nanny to a bunch of savages.

- Okay.

- So in the morning,

if you'd kindly point me in the

direction of the war and I'll be off.

I said okay.

Why do they give you such a wide berth?

Out here people die all the time.

Typhus, cholera, tetanus.

Anyone gives me any trouble,

I just tell them:

'One day you graze yourself.

You'll think it's nothing.'

'Next day you wake up with a fever.'

'You think it's a cold. That's all.'

'Pretty soon your bones ache,

your jaw locks,

your teeth clamp together... '

'... and slowly, very,

very slowly, you die of tetanus.'

In my bag I have vaccines

when I can get them.

If I go, the bag goes with me. So...

Who's going to mess with me?

Why don't they just close this school

and send the boys home to their families?

This isn't a school.

It looks like a school.

This is an orphanage.

Every one of them

has a story, just like Shi-Kai's.

Now you want to find your war,

Mr. Hogg? Look around.

Because they don't need a teacher.

What they need is someone who can

make them care whether they live or die.

The beds are crawling with lice.

The kids are too.

How adorable.

No joke.

Body lice carry typhus.

Okay. Now for the boys.

What are you going to do?

Boil them? Jolly good!

Flea powder.

I haven't been able to

get my hands on any before.

But the thing is to figure out how to

make them understand it won't hurt.

I'm sure you'll manage.

Ho-Ke has lice on him.

Scratch.

The lice could make him sick.

This powder will kill the lice...

but will do him no harm to him.

Smile.

So Ho-Ke is very happy.

Now take off your clothes.

Oh, for Pete's sake,

it's nothing I haven't seen before.

Hands...

Slow down

Don't do that, the water is cold.

Here's to you, George.

I haven't had a real

coffee since Shanghai.

So, why China?

Because it's in trouble.

Because everyone back home

is waiting for the shoe to drop

- waiting for the next war.

It's like being stuck in a cellar

waiting for a storm to break.

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