HAVING stayed that night at an inn, Bunkichi hastened on his way along the Hama-Kaido, or the “shore road.” When he came to a lonely spot in the road, he saw a man in the distance, scantily clad, apparently making preparations for hanging himself. On ran Bunkichi and caught hold of the man, asking him at the same time why he had come to such a pass as to attempt suicide.
“I am a certain Kichidayu, a native of Sakai in Izumi Province, and a sailor,” answered the man, while tears stood in his eyes as he spoke. “I was in charge of a ship of one thousand koku,[[21]] and on my voyage to Yedo with a cargo of sake[[22]] my boat was wrecked off this coast and the crew of eighteen, all told, as well as the whole of the cargo, were lost. Fortunately I was washed up on the coast while I was holding fast to a piece of board, but having been terribly knocked about, I can hardly drag myself along. Besides, the loss of the ship, the cargo as well as the crew, overpowers me with such a sense of disgrace and wretchedness that I thought I would rather die than go back to my native town.”
[21]. Forty thousand gallons.
[22]. A kind of Japanese liquor.
Bunkichi, while he was listening to the sad account of the wreck, surveyed the man from head to foot, and perceived many severe bruises, which—with his honest manner of speaking—seemed to prove the truth of his words.
“Giving him a helping hand, Bunkichi led the man along to the next village”
“I quite sympathize with you in your misfortune,” said he, “but, my man, your dying will not bring back the ship which was wrecked nor the men who were lost; so I think it would be better for you to keep yourself alive and atone for your loss by succeeding with your next venture. But without money you can’t even go to a doctor. So allow me—”
Taking out five pieces of silver and putting them in the hand of the sailor, he continued, kindly and soothingly, “With these get a doctor at once, my man.”
The captain, as he looked into Bunkichi’s face with an expression almost of worship, said: “You are the kindest man I ever came across, in spite of your apparent youthfulness. As long as I live I shall not forget you, and some day, perhaps, I may have an opportunity to repay you for your goodness to me.”