I can never tell all the sufferings we endured upon our return. My uncle bore them like a man who has been in the wrong—that is, with concentrated and suppressed anger; Hans, with all the resignation of his pacific character; and I—I confess that I did nothing but complain, and despair. I had no heart for this bad fortune.
But there was one consolation1. Defeat at the outset would probably upset the whole journey!
As I had expected from the first, our supply of water gave completely out on our first day's march. Our provision of liquids was reduced to our supply of Schiedam; but this horrible—nay, I will say it—this infernal liquor burnt the throat, and I could not even bear the sight of it. I found the temperature to be stifling2. I was paralyzed with fatigue3. More than once I was about to fall insensible to the ground. The whole party then halted, and the worthy4 Icelander and my excellent uncle did their best to console and comfort me. I could, however, plainly see that my uncle was contending painfully against the extreme fatigues5 of our journey, and the awful torture generated by the absence of water.
At length a time came when I ceased to recollect6 anything—when all was one awfull hideous7, fantastic dream!
At last, on Tuesday, the seventh of the month of July, after crawling on our hands and knees for many hours, more dead than alive, we reached the point of junction8 between the galleries. I lay like a log, an inert9 mass of human flesh on the arid10 lava11 soil. It was then ten in the morning.
Hans and my uncle, leaning against the wall, tried to nibble12 away at some pieces of biscuit, while deep groans13 and sighs escaped from my scorched14 and swollen15 lips. Then I fell off into a kind of deep lethargy.
Presently I felt my uncle approach, and lift me up tenderly in his arms.
"Poor boy," I heard him say in a tone of deep commiseration16.
I was profoundly touched by these words, being by no means accustomed to signs of womanly weakness in the Professor. I caught his trembling hands in mine and gave them a gentle pressure. He allowed me to do so without resistance, looking at me kindly17 all the time. His eyes were wet with tears.
I then saw him take the gourd18 which he wore at his side. To my surprise, or rather to my stupefaction, he placed it to my lips.
"Drink, my boy," he said.
Was it possible my ears had not deceived me? Was my uncle mad? I looked at him, with, I am sure, quite an idiotic19 expression. I could not believe him. I too much feared the counteraction20 of disappointment.
"Drink," he said again.
Had I heard aright? Before, however, I could ask myself the question a second time, a mouthful of water cooled my parched21 lips and throat—one mouthful, but I do believe it brought me back to life.
I thanked my uncle by clasping my hands. My heart was too full to speak.
"Yes," said he, "one mouthful of water, the very last—do you hear, my boy—the very last! I have taken care of it at the bottom of my bottle as the apple of my eye. Twenty times, a hundred times, I have resisted the fearful desire to drink it. But—no—no, Harry22, I saved it for you."
"Yes, my poor boy, I knew that when you reached this place, this crossroad in the earth, you would fall down half dead, and I saved my last drop of water in order to restore you."
"Thanks," I cried; "thanks from my heart."
As little as my thirst was really quenched24, I had nevertheless partially25 recovered my strength. The contracted muscles of my throat relaxed—and the inflammation of my lips in some measure subsided26. At all events, I was able to speak.
"Well," I said, "there can be no doubt now as to what we have to do. Water has utterly27 failed us; our journey is therefore at an end. Let us return."
While I spoke28 thus, my uncle evidently avoided my face: he held down his head; his eyes were turned in every possible direction but the right one.
"Yes," I continued, getting excited by my own words, "we must go back to Sneffels. May heaven give us strength to enable us once more to revisit the light of day. Would that we now stood on the summit of the crater29."
"Go back," said my uncle, speaking to himself, "and must it be so?"
"Go back—yes, and without losing a single moment," I vehemently30 cried.
"So, my dear Harry," said the Professor in a very singular tone of voice, "those few drops of water have not sufficed to restore your energy and courage."
"Courage!" I cried.
"I see that you are quite as downcast as before—and still give way to discouragement and despair."
What, then, was the man made of, and what other projects were entering his fertile and audacious brain!
"You are not discouraged, sir?"
"What! Give up just as we are on the verge32 of success?" he cried. "Never, never shall it be said that Professor Hardwigg retreated."
"Then we must make up our minds to perish," I cried with a helpless sigh.
"No, Harry, my boy, certainly not. Go, leave me, I am very far from desiring your death. Take Hans with you. I will go on alone."
"You ask us to leave you?"
"Leave me, I say. I have undertaken this dangerous and perilous33 adventure. I will carry it to the end—or I will never return to the surface of Mother Earth. Go, Harry—once more I say to you—go!"
My uncle as he spoke was terribly excited. His voice, which before had been tender, almost womanly, became harsh and menacing. He appeared to be struggling with desperate energy against the impossible. I did not wish to abandon him at the bottom of that abyss, while, on the other hand, the instinct of preservation34 told me to fly.
Meanwhile, our guide was looking on with profound calmness and indifference35. He appeared to be an unconcerned party, and yet he perfectly36 well knew what was going on between us. Our gestures sufficiently37 indicated the different roads each wished to follow—and which each tried to influence the other to undertake. But Hans appeared not to take the slightest interest in what was really a question of life and death for us all, but waited quite ready to obey the signal which should say go aloft, or to resume his desperate journey into the interior of the earth.
How then I wished with all my heart and soul that I could make him understand my words. My representations, my sighs and groans, the earnest accents in which I should have spoken would have convinced that cold, hard nature. Those fearful dangers and perils38 of which the stolid39 guide had no idea, I would have pointed40 them out to him—I would have, as it were, made him see and feel. Between us, we might have convinced the obstinate41 Professor. If the worst had come to the worst, we could have compelled him to return to the summit of Sneffels.
I quietly approached Hans. I caught his hand in mine. He never moved a muscle. I indicated to him the road to the top of the crater. He remained motionless. My panting form, my haggard countenance42, must have indicated the extent of my sufferings. The Icelander gently shook his head and pointed to my uncle.
"Master," he said.
The word is Icelandic as well as English.
"The master!" I cried, beside myself with fury—"madman! no—I tell you he is not the master of our lives; we must fly! we must drag him with us! do you hear me? Do you understand me, I say?"
I have already explained that I held Hans by the arm. I tried to make him rise from his seat. I struggled with him and tried to force him away. My uncle now interposed.
"My good Henry, be calm," he said. "You will obtain nothing from my devoted43 follower44; therefore, listen to what I have to say."
I folded my arms, as well as I could, and looked my uncle full in the face.
"This wretched want of water," he said, "is the sole obstacle to the success of my project. In the entire gallery, made of lava, schist, and coal, it is true we found not one liquid molecule45. It is quite possible that we may be more fortunate in the western tunnel."
My sole reply was to shake my head with an air of deep incredulity.
"Listen to me to the end," said the Professor in his well-known lecturing voice. "While you lay yonder without life or motion, I undertook a reconnoitering journey into the conformation of this other gallery. I have discovered that it goes directly downwards46 into the bowels47 of the earth, and in a few hours will take us to the old granitic48 formation. In this we shall undoubtedly49 find innumerable springs. The nature of the rock makes this a mathematical certainty, and instinct agrees with logic50 to say that it is so. Now, this is the serious proposition which I have to make to you. When Christopher Columbus asked of his men three days to discover the land of promise, his men ill, terrified, and hopeless, yet gave him three days—and the New World was discovered. Now I, the Christopher Columbus of this subterranean51 region, only ask of you one more day. If, when that time is expired, I have not found the water of which we are in search, I swear to you, I will give up my mighty52 enterprise and return to the earth's surface."
Despite my irritation53 and despair, I knew how much it cost my uncle to make this proposition, and to hold such conciliatory language. Under the circumstances, what could I do but yield?
"Well," I cried, "let it be as you wish, and may heaven reward your superhuman energy. But as, unless we discover water, our hours are numbered, let us lose no time, but go ahead."
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1
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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8
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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14
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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gourd
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| n.葫芦 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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counteraction
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| 反对的行动，抵抗，反动 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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45
molecule
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| n.分子，克分子 | |
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46
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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47
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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48
granitic
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| 花岗石的，由花岗岩形成的 | |
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49
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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50
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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51
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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52
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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53
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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