Chapter 12 The Search for Water Continues We set off again.
Hans led the way as usual.
We finally arrived back where we had started before my uncle chose the wrong tunnel.
This time we went left.
The new tunnel began with a steep slope.
We used the rope to get down the first part safely.
After that, it was slow climbing downward.
We moved along at a steady pace.
Again, we were silent.
None of us wanted to waste any energy on conversation.
Even though no one, not even I, mentioned it, we were all worried about having no water.
The rest of the day passed in the same way.
Walking, no talking, and no water.
I was in a great deal of pain.
It was getting harder and harder to walk upright.
I was dizzy and had a terrible headache.
Eventually I could take it no more.
I dropped to my knees and cried out, Help!
I'm dying!
I held my head in my hands.
My uncle stopped and turned toward me.
He looked truly angry.
It is over, he cried.
Our great journey is over before it even began.
I could not face my uncle and his anger.
He seemed to be talking to himself.
Whom was he angry with?
I did not know and I did not want to ask, so I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
My uncle's words would not leave me, though.
It is over.
His outburst was about much more than our journey.
We were already in a weakened state.
Even if we turned back now, would we make it back to the surface of the earth?
My uncle was right.
We would not make it out alive.
I slowly became aware of a sound.
I opened my eyes and sat up.
The tunnel was very dark, but I could hear Hans get up.
He moved toward the sound.
I tried to call out, but I could not speak.
My throat was too dry.
I was going mad.
I was certain that Hans was leaving us.
I was relieved when I heard him walking back toward us.
He touched my uncle on the shoulder and said vat.
Even though I did not speak a word of Icelandic, I knew exactly what he had said.
Water.
He found water.
Where, I said.
I jumped up.
Suddenly I felt no pain.
I had new strength.
We all grabbed our packs.
We moved quickly through the tunnel.
Hans led the way.
We walked for more than an hour and traveled about 2,000 feet.
The sound was getting louder.
It was definitely water.
I could hear it flowing behind the wall of rock.
It's an underground river, Uncle Leidenbrock said.
I knew we would find one.
The sound of flowing water alone refreshed me.
I pushed onward and downward.
I expected to see and feel water at any moment.
Two hours later, though, we were still walking.
We hadn't found any water yet.
Then Hans stopped.
He turned and walked back a few feet.
He put his ear up to the rock wall and listened.
When he turned to look at us, he smiled.
I watched as our guide grabbed a pickaxe and swung with all his might.
The axe hit the hard rock.
What an excellent idea, my uncle cried.
I never would have thought of it.
I was so eager for the water that I forgot many things I had learned about geology.
For instance, it's very dangerous to disturb rocks underground.
I ignored this thought, though.
It was more important for Hans to keep swinging.
It took more than an hour for Hans to break through the rock wall.
At first, only a trickle of water came out.
I worried that might be all.
Suddenly, the rocks burst away as the river of water broke free.
Hans was nearly knocked to the ground with the blast.
The water was boiling.
It will cool down, Uncle Lidenbrock said.
He was right once again.
As soon as we were able, we drank and filled our flasks.
The water tasted sweet and delicious.
We decided that our waterway needed a name.
We named it Hansa's Brook, after our exceptional guide.
We were about to rebuild the wall of rocks to block off the water flow, but my uncle had a better idea.
Let us leave it, he said.
It will travel downward and we can follow its natural course.
We picked up our gear and started off again.
A small stream of water flowed along the tunnel by our feet.
We continued for several days in the same way.
The tunnel was very steep, so it was slow walking for much of the time.
Occasionally it became so narrow that we had to crawl on our bellies.
Then, at last, we came to a new paradise.
