Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Thirst!

We set off early the next day.Speed ​​is what counts - it's been a five-day journey since we set out. I do not wish to trouble you with descriptions of our misery as we retreated.The uncle met these sufferings with the wrath of a erring man, and Hannes resigned calmly; and I myself, I must confess, had been complaining and disappointed, and could not suppress my feelings in such unfortunate circumstances. As I had foreseen, the water ran out by the end of the first day of our march; so we were left with gin, a strong liquid which burns one's throat, so that I did not even bother to look at it.I felt suffocated by the heat, and I was almost collapsed from exhaustion.More than once I actually lost consciousness, so my uncle and the Icelander stopped and tried to comfort me and cheer me up.But I noticed that my uncle was also really suffering from fatigue and thirst.

At last, on Tuesday, July 7th, we crawled on hands and knees, and finally reached, half alive, where the two tunnels diverged.I fell forward on the lava floor like a lifeless thing.It was ten o'clock in the morning. Hannes and his uncle leaned against the rock wall, trying to bite and eat some biscuits bit by bit.There was a constant moan from my swollen lips.I'm already unconscious. After a while my uncle came to me, took me in his arms, and said, with real compassion, "Poor boy!" I was not used to the gentleness of this stern professor, but I was also taken moved by his words.I grabbed his trembling hands and he looked at me with teary eyes.

At this time, he picked up the water bottle hanging by his side, unexpectedly put it near my lips, and said, "Drink." Am I right?Is uncle crazy?I looked at him stupidly, unable to understand. "Drink," he repeated, lifting the jug and pouring the water into my mouth. Oh!Incomparably happy!A sip of water quenched my burning thirst—a sip of water was enough to bring my life back from the gates of hell.I squeezed my hand tightly, thank you uncle. "Yes," said he, "a sip of water—the last, you know, the only last sip! I carefully kept this sip of water at the bottom of the bottle, resisting again and again the terrible temptation to open it and drink! , do you understand, I leave this mouthful to you, Aksai!"

"Dear uncle!" I murmured, with tears in my eyes. "Well, my dear boy, I knew you were going to fall down half dead when you reached the intersection of the two roads last time, so I saved the last few drops of water to save you." "Thank you, uncle, thank you," I called. Though it cannot be said how much my thirst has been quenched, I have regained my strength.The tense muscles in my throat are now relaxed; my lips are no longer hot, and I can speak. "Well," I said, "there's only one thing for us to do now; we have no water, so we must go back."

While I was talking, my uncle kept his head down and didn't look at me, trying to avoid contact with my limited light. "Go back, back to Snaefer. May God give us the strength to go back to the crater!" I said aloud. "Go back!" cried my uncle, as if speaking not to me, but aloud to himself. "Yes, and don't waste a minute." There was a rather long silence. "Then, Aksai, hasn't taking a sip of water restored your courage and strength?" "courage!" "I see you are downcast again, and you are talking discouraged again!"

What kind of person am I dealing with?What bold plans does he have? "Did you say you didn't want to go back?" "I just saw the possibility of success! Never go back!" "Then we must seek death!" "You, Aksai? No. You go back. I don't want you to die. You go back with Hanns, and I'll go down alone." "I can't leave you!" "Quick, quick, leave me. I have already started this journey. I must strive for success and never go back. Go back, Aksai, go back!" Uncle was very excited when he spoke.Although his voice was gentle just now, but now he has returned to a stern and threatening tone. He is acting violently against an impossible thing!I could not bear to leave him in this abyss, though my self-preservation prevailed.

The guide listened calmly to the quarrel as before.He could clearly see from my gestures what we were arguing about, but he wasn't interested in a life-or-death relationship.As long as others make a gesture of moving, he will immediately move forward, but if his master wants to stay a little bit, he will also stop immediately. .If only I could make him understand me now!In this way, I will surely be able to move this indifferent heart with words and sighs.It seems that he must not be aware of the dangerous situation we are in. I will make him understand and make him feel.The two of us combined might be able to convince the stubborn professor.If necessary, we can force him to return to Snaff!I ran to him and put my hands on him; he didn't move.I pointed upwards at the notch, my face and panting showing my pain, but he remained still.Finally, he shook his head slightly, pointed at his uncle secretly and said, "Master."

"'Master'!" I cried, "fool! He has no command over your life! Must run back! Drag him back! Do you understand? Do you understand!" I grabbed Hannes by the arm.I want to force him to stand up.We argue.Then my uncle intervened, saying: "Calm down, Aksai, you won't get anything from this guide who is indifferent to everything. You'd better listen to my idea." I folded my arms and kept looking into my uncle's face. "Our only difficulty," he said, "is the lack of water. We found no water in the tunnel of gneiss, lava, and coal to the east. We may have better luck in the tunnel to the west."

I shook my head in complete disbelief. "Listen," said the uncle, raising his voice, "while you lay there motionless, I was watching the passage of the tunnel. It goes all the way down, and will soon bring us to the interior of the granite , we can find many springs there. Christopher Columbus asked his entourage to hold out for three more days, and they all agreed, though they were sick and scared—at last he found the new world. I am these underground Columbus of the region. And I just ask you to bear with it for one more day. If you still can't find the water we need after one day, I swear to you to go back to the surface."

No matter how irritated I was, I was moved by his few words and promises. "Well," I cried, "I hope so, and may God reward you for your superhuman strength. You have only a few hours left to try your fate, so let's go!"