Since the rescue from
the shipwreck he had been a different man. Redfox no longer held him
in his power; drinking and gambling had no attractions for him and he
turned away from "his bad angel" in disgust. His sins and frivolity he
repented most sincerely, and with tears in his eyes, he said to the
boys, "If only you and the rest can be saved I will give my life.--O
Lord, Lord, take my life as atonement for the past," he prayed aloud.
Next day Lihoa's prophecy came true. The heavens clouded over and
there came a frightful thunderstorm. The rain poured down. The
thirsty men caught it by spreading out the sails and soon the empty
casks were filled. Its coming gave relief to dire distress but brought
with it a new misery. The water soaked and rotted the sun-dried wood
of the wreck, which the Chinese had made into small huts, until fever
broke out to add to the suffering caused by scurvy. The coming of the
fever more than anything else caused the Chinese to lose their faith in
the God of the Golden Fish.
"Neither by discord, the sea, nor thirst, concerning which our lying
priest warned us, have we lost a single one of our number, but now
disease rages until our men die like flies," said Lihoa.
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