CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

We started our return early the next morning. We had to hurry, we were a three days' walk from the entrance to this passage. Our return was difficult. My uncle was angry at losing so much time, Hans was calm, and I complained and worried that we would soon be dead. As I expected, we ran out of water at the end of the first day. The heat was almost unbearable, and I was so tired that I could hardly move.

Finally, on Tuesday, July 7, hardly able to walk, we arrived at the entrance to the passage. It was ten in the morning. Hans and my uncle sat against the wall and tried to eat a few small bites of food. After a short time, my uncle came over to me, holding my head in his arms.

"Poor boy!" he whispered, pitying me. I looked up into his face and saw that tears filled his eyes. Then, I saw him take a bottle hanging at his side. To my shock, he held the bottle to my lips.

"Drink!" he said.

I took only one drink, but that was enough to give me life. I thanked him.

"Yes," he said, "a drink of water. The last one, do you hear? The last one! I kept it, although many times I wanted to take it. Axel—I kept it for you!"

"Uncle ... " I whispered with tears in my eyes.

"Yes, my boy, I knew when you arrived here, you would need it to stay alive."

"Thank you!" I cried. "Thank you!"

I was still quite thirsty, but that drink of water had given me back some of my strength.

"We must go back up to Sneffels," I continued.

"So Axel," my uncle said, after a long silence, "that drink of water didn't give you back your courage and determination?"

"What? Do you mean that you refuse to ... "

"Give up this journey when we can surely succeed? Never!"

"Then, we must realize that we will soon die."

"No, Axel, no! Go back, I don't want you to die. Hans can go with you. Leave me here alone."

"You want me to leave you?"

"Yes, leave me. I began this journey, and I'll either finish it or never come back. Leave me, Axel!"

I didn't want to leave my uncle at the bottom of that hole, but I still wanted to leave. Hans watched us with his usual calm silence, but he understood what was happening. He was ready to leave if he was told to do so, or to stay if my uncle requested. I wished I could speak to him to make him understand. I would explain the terrible dangers for us if we continued on this journey. Perhaps, we could both have persuaded my uncle not to continue.

I walked over to Hans, took his hand, and pointed to the passageway returning to Sneffels. He calmly pointed to my uncle and spoke.

"Master," he said.

"Your master?" I cried. "You're crazy, he's not the master of your life. We must return. He must come with us. Do you hear me? Do you understand?"

Still he said nothing. My uncle then began speaking to me.

"Calm down, Axel," he told me. "Listen to my idea," he began. "Our lack of water is our only problem right now. In the eastern passage, which goes up to the Earth, we found no water, but the western passage should go down towards the Earth. While you were lying there, I went to look at the passage. It goes down, and it will take us through a passageway with walls of rock, which support rivers and lakes. I suggest that we go into the passage for one more day. If, by then, we haven't found water, we'll return to the surface."

Although I still wanted only to return to Sneffels immediately, I agreed to my uncle's suggestion.

(end of section)