Summary

Ah Boon thinks about Siok Mei when the Gah Men come, but she has moved away with Eng Soon. Little Ah Huat, Ah Boon’s nephew, comes to him, and Ah Boon thinks he resembles his mother more than his father. When taking Ah Huat out on the boat, Ah Boon scares the boy by telling him stories about, and embellishing upon, what he saw out there as a child with the islands.

Gah men is a word derived from the English word, government. Originally Gah Men were the Ang Mohs, but now they are made up of many different groups. Still, the Ang Mohs maintain control of crucial aspects of the island. Many people supported the Gah Men because they liked the jobs and security after the war, and the Gah Men positioned themselves...