CHAPTER XII.
At Last.
Night had settled down. The Chinamen lay under their tents andlistened to what Lihoa spoke: "So far we have avoided discord; from thesea we have been saved, and now surely the God of the Golden Fish willnot let us perish from thirst. Within a few days it must rain;drinking-water will come to us from the heavens. Tonight, Iunderstand, that the helmsman is to set sail for Australia in a smallboat, and take the boy with him. That will never do. As you know theCaptain and Redbeard are the helmsman's enemies and have conspiredagainst his life. He will not come back to save them--he would be afool if he did--but he loves the boy. Our only salvation lies inkeeping the boy here with us; in holding him as a whiplash over thehelmsman. Otherwise we are lost."
All nodded assent to Lihoa's words, but as they had no way of tellingthe Captain what they wanted, they decided that when the time came forthe boat to sail they would forcibly detain Willy. Just here littlePeppo, whom they thought dead, appeared in their midst. He and onesailor had escaped and swum across the little inlet. The cannibals hadnot killed them when they did their companions for some reason or otherbut had bound them with cords and left them on the shore. These cordsthey had managed to unfasten, and, protected by the darkness, had gotaway. While the sailor was telling his companions of his awfulexperience Lihoa told Peppo what to say to the Captain, and to addforce to the words, the Chinamen in a body attended the smallinterpreter on his mission. Great was the noise and excitementfollowing his announcement, but how could a handful of men oppose threehundred Chinaman? Willy was ready to stay behind.
"Tommy," he said to the helmsman, "leave me here with Peppo and myuncle. In the boat I'd only be in the way. I'll pray that you mayreturn soon. Good luck to you. Be brave of heart, Tommy, and may yourholy guardian angel watch over you."
Those embarking promised faithfully to come back or to send help assoon as possible, and parted with tears in their eyes. Tommy kissedWilly and said: "God knows that if I do not put my faith in yourguardian angel there is little hope of ever seeing you again on thisearth. Once more good-bye until we meet again. Pray for us all,little one."
Thereupon he sprang into the boat, and they were off. The moon wasfull and in its light they could be seen as they passed through theopening in the reef. Again they called farewell and waved theirhandkerchiefs. The crew raised the sail and in a few moments the stiffbreeze had carried the little boat beyond the tongue of land and out ofsight. With hearts too full for utterance the men sat and wonderedwhat the future would bring. If by chance the boat fell in with amerchant vessel--not a likely thing, as few vessels frequented thisroute--help might come soon, otherwise under the most favorable ofcircumstances they must wait for months for Green to go to Australiaand come back.
In the crow's nest of the mast which was still standing they kept aconstant watch in the hope of sighting a vessel and signalling of theirdistress. Day after day went by with no sign of help. Mercilessly thetropical sun burned down on the dreary sandbar. Scurvy broke out. Thesmall amount of rations which they had, water-soaked biscuits andsalted meats, increased their thirst, and to add to their distress thecannibals on the opposite shore mockingly showed them bunches ofluscious bananas and other tropical fruits.
"Don't look there any more, Willy," said Peppo. "Those dreadfulcannibals are only just showing us the fruit to tantalize us, and if wego after it we shall be murdered and eaten up the way I've told youabout."
"But, Peppo, I think the thirst is just as bad as being killed,"complained Willy, "I'd just as soon be killed as die of thirst."
"That's just what my people were saying today," answered Peppo. "Lihoatold them that they were to be patient a little longer, that the rainwould surely come for he had seen unfailing signs. We will bear thethirst with patience for a little time yet. You know why I want themto hold out. I want to convert them. My poor countrymen!"
"Peppo! how came you to think of that?" said Willy, looking at hisfriend with open eyes.
"I don't know. Just a little while ago when I was praying the thoughtcame to me, and I firmly believe that God saved me from the cannibalsfor this purpose. I have been talking to Lihoa and the others aboutthe belief in Jesus Christ and baptism, and many of them said that ifour God would save them now in their hour of peril, they would bebaptized. The most of them are looking for help from one of their godswho rides on a Golden Fish. They expect he will be forced to rescuethem from this miserable reef through the offerings of one of theirpriests."
"A God that rides on a Golden Fish? I'd like to see him," said Willy."You are right about advising them to be baptized. We may all perishhere before Tommy gets back with help. And if we do, the Chinese withthe holy grace of baptism will go to heaven. If we are all saved, thenthey will take back with them to Hongkong a greater treasure than allthe gold of the Goldland to the south. That would be such a fine thingfor yon, Peppo! Do you not remember what Father Somazzo said about thesaving of a soul--that one precious soul was worth more to God than allthe gold and jewels in the world. What a happy boy you will be, if yousave not one but three hundred souls? Oh, if I only understood Chineseand could help you explain our faith!"
"You can help by offering this awful desire for water to God as asacrifice. Father Somazzo used to tell us to offer up many unpleasantlittle things as sacrifices to God for the conversion of the heathensand promised us our reward for so doing."
Willy did as Peppo suggested and his thirst became easier to bear.Captain Brown who happened to be standing by and overheard thisconversation most heartily approved of the plan. Since the rescue fromthe shipwreck he had been a different man. Redfox no longer held himin his power; drinking and gambling had no attractions for him and heturned away from "his bad angel" in disgust. His sins and frivolity herepented most sincerely, and with tears in his eyes, he said to theboys, "If only you and the rest can be saved I will give my life.--OLord, Lord, take my life as atonement for the past," he prayed aloud.
Next day Lihoa's prophecy came true. The heavens clouded over andthere came a frightful thunderstorm. The rain poured down. Thethirsty men caught it by spreading out the sails and soon the emptycasks were filled. Its coming gave relief to dire distress but broughtwith it a new misery. The water soaked and rotted the sun-dried woodof the wreck, which the Chinese had made into small huts, until feverbroke out to add to the suffering caused by scurvy. The coming of thefever more than anything else caused the Chinese to lose their faith inthe God of the Golden Fish.
"Neither by discord, the sea, nor thirst, concerning which our lyingpriest warned us, have we lost a single one of our number, but nowdisease rages until our men die like flies," said Lihoa.
From this time on all of the sick were willing to be baptized--not bythe Captain but by the two boys, Willy and Peppo. The Captain becamevery ill and Willy nursed him. Redfox was taken with fever, and in hisdelirium would trust no one to wait upon him. Constantly he cried"Water! water!" then would not take it when offered him. Willy gavehim a glass and he threw it at his head screaming, "Poison! poison!The boy wants to poison me!" One morning he was gone. His companionssearched for him in vain, and finally recognized his agonizing criesfrom the opposite shore where the cannibals were torturing him. In hisdelirium he had swum across the narrow inlet which separated them fromtheir enemies; his heartrending cries told of the reception accordedhim. "Oh, if he had only repented!" cried the boys with a shudder, asthey listened.
* * * * * *
The rainy season had been over for weeks and again the water in thecasks was running short. When it was gone, what then?--Men lookeddeath in the face and prepared for it. Of the crew barely a dozen wereleft; and of the Chinamen not more than fifty, and all of them weresuffering from scurvy. They wandered about looking more like ghoststhan human beings, and now still another danger threatened. For a longtime they had noticed that the cannibals were preparing to attack them.
"How s
hall we protect ourselves?" asked the Captain; "if they really dofall upon us, we are lost. Willy go have Peppo tell his people whohave not been baptized that it is high time that they attend to thematter, and then climb the mast to see if you can make out what thecannibals are doing. We will sell our hides as dearly as possible."
Willy delivered the message to Peppo, and climbed the mast, which afterthe destruction of the wreck had been put up on the shore as a placefrom which to keep a lookout for passing vessels rather than to spy onthe neighbors opposite. The sailors were so sick and weak that none ofthem could climb the mast to the crow's nest, so the task alwaysdevolved on the two boys, who though they had eaten of the salt meat,had not as yet been attacked with scurvy. This time instead ofwatching the sea Willy gave his attention to the natives who had builta raft and were manning it to cross the inlet and make an attack.After reporting what he saw his uncle called to him to come down andhelp baptize the Chinamen. Just then the boy glanced seaward and tohis surprise discovered a ship lying at anchor not a mile away. "Holyguardian angel! Blessed Mother of God!" he cried in joy. "A ship! aship! A ship in sight! Ship--ahoy! Wait, wait, they're coming!They're launching a small boat!" Willy was so excited that he did notknow what he was saying, as he slid down the mast and ran for the shorefollowed by all his companions.
It was really true that a ship was at anchor but a short distance awayand that the needed help was at hand, for, "When need is greatest God'shelp is nearest." Just as the first raft loaded with cannibalsattempted to land, a boat with Tommy Green at the helm appeared in theopening of the coral reef and a half dozen shots sufficed to frightenaway the enemy. A moment or two later Willy was in the arms of his oldfriend. It did not take long for the men who had survived the horrorsof life on the coral reef to make their way to "The South Star."
What had been Tommy Green's experiences at sea in an open boat? Hetold of storms, a calm, hunger, and thirst, and how more than once heand his companions were in utter despair, but ever to their minds inthe hour of greatest trial came the thought "Surely the guardian angelsof those two innocent boys will not desert us."
"And they have not," said Tommy, "for they have brought us to you nowwhen you needed us most. Is that not true, my children."
With good care and treatment the most of the sick recovered before "TheSouth Star" put into the harbor of Hongkong. On disembarking atWilly's request the Captain gave each of the Chinamen a sum of gold,which to them seemed a great fortune. Lihoa thanking the Captain forhimself and his people said, "This is not the real treasure which wehave brought home with us; our real treasure is the true religion."Full of joy they went back to their little hamlet where they told oftheir experiences and soon converted many of their people to theChristian faith. Still greater than the rejoicing in the little hamletwas that at the College of the Holy Saviour when the shipwrecked boysput in their appearance. Brother Onufrio shed tears of joy and FatherSomazzo was deeply moved when told of the sufferings endured on thecoral reef. "God has done all things for the best," he said, "and Hisguardian angels watched over you, my children, in your hour of greatestneed."
When the excitement attendant upon the arrival of the sufferers hadsomewhat died down Tommy Green asked to be received as lay brother inthe congregation of missioners, in accordance with a solemn vow he madeon the night of the shipwreck. Captain Brown showed a desire to followhis example, but God in His mercy took the deed for the word, callingthe repentant man to Him within a few months. The two boys continuedtheir studies in the College. Peppo became a missioner, and is perhapsthis very day carrying on his blessed work among his people. Willymade law his life work and had an honorable career in his chosenprofession.
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