Summary

Chapter 1 – Narration describes how, in 1917, railroad construction worker Robert Grainier got caught up in the punishment of a Chinese laborer (referred to throughout narration as a “Chinaman” (1)) accused of thievery. Grainier, along with a few others (including project manager Mr. Sears) got hold of the struggling Chinaman, who shouted, screamed, and cried as he was restrained and carried up to the train trestle under construction. As Grainier and the others prepared to throw him off, the Chinaman twisted out of their grasp and, jumping over the barriers on the side of the trestle, took hold of its beams and climbed down and away. Sears tried to shoot him, but missed. The Chinaman disappeared.

That night, Grainier made his way home, pausing to bathe in the river that the trestle was being constructed to span. He noticed other workers there, but kept his distance. Along...