October 26, 2025 • 12 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter eighteen, the wrong road. Next day, our departure took
place at a very early hour. There was no time
for the least delay. According to my account, we had
five days hard work to get back to the place
where the galleries divided. I can never tell all the
(00:21):
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
(00:44):
for this bad fortune. But there was one consolation. 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 proof
of liquids was reduced to our supply of sheedom. But
(01:04):
this horrible, nay, I will say, this infernal liquor burned
the throat, and I could not even bear the sight
of it. I found the temperature to be stifling. I
was paralyzed with fatigue. More than once, I was about
to fall insensible to the ground. The whole party then
(01:25):
halted and the worthy 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 fatigues of our journey and the awful torture generated
by the absence of water. At length, the time came
(01:48):
when I ceased to recollect anything, when all was one awful, hideous,
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 junction between the galleries. I lay like a
(02:11):
log an inert mass of human flesh on the arid
lava soil. It was then ten in the morning. Hans
and my uncle, leaning against the wall, tried to nibble
away at some pieces of biscuit, while deep groans and
sighs escaped from my scorched and swollen lips. Then I
(02:33):
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 commiseration. I was profoundly touched by these words,
being by no means accustomed to signs of womanly weakness
(02:54):
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 kindly all the time.
His eyes were wet with tears. I then saw him
take the gourd, which he wore at his side. To
(03:15):
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
idiotic expression. I could not believe him. I too much
(03:39):
feared the counteraction 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
parched lips and throat one mouthful. But I do believe
it brought me back to life. I thanked my uncle
(04:02):
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 eyes. Twenty times, a hundred times
(04:25):
I have resisted the fearful desire to drink it. But no,
no hurry, I saved it for you, my dear uncle,
I exclaimed, and the big tears rolled down my hot
and feverish cheeks. Yes, my poor boy, I knew that
when you reached this place, this cross road in the earth,
(04:45):
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 quenched, I I had nevertheless partially recovered
my strength. The contracted muscles of my throat relaxed, and
(05:06):
the inflammation of my lips in some measure subsided. At
all events, I was able to speak well. I said,
there can be no doubt as to what we have
to do. Water has utterly failed us our journeys. Therefore,
at an end, let us return. While I spoke. Thus,
(05:28):
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
(05:50):
of day. Would that we now stood on the summit
of the crater? Go back, said my uncle, speaking to himself.
And must it be so? Go back? Yes, and without
losing a single moment, I vehemently cried. For some moment
there was silence under that dark and gloomy vault. So,
(06:13):
my dear, hurry, 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
(06:37):
was the man made of? And what other projects were
entering his fertile and odacious prain? You are not discouraged, sir?
What give up? Just as we are on the verge
of success? He cried. Never never shall it be said
that Professor Hartwick retreated. Then we must make up our
(06:59):
minds to per I cried, with a helpless sigh. No, hurry,
my voice, certainly not go leave me. I am very
far from desiring your death. Take hands with you, I
will go on alone. You ask us to leave you,
leave me, I say, I have undertaken this dangerous and
(07:20):
perilous adventure. I will carry it to the end, or
I will never return to the surface of mother Earth.
Go hurry 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
(07:41):
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 preservation told me to fly. Meanwhile, our guide was
looking on with profound calmness and indifference. He appeared to
(08:02):
be an unconcerned party, and yet he perfectly well knew
what was going on between us. Our gestures sufficiently 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
(08:22):
a question of life and death for us all, but waited,
quite ready to pay 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,
(08:42):
my representations, my size and groans. The earnest accents in
which I should have spoken would have convinced that cold,
hard nature. Those fearful dangers and perils of which the
stolid guide had no idea. I would have pointed them
out to him. I would have, as it were, made
(09:03):
him see and feel. Between us. We might have convinced
the obstinate professor. If the worst had come to the worst,
we could have compelled him to return to the summit
of Sneffelds. I quietly approached Hans. I caught his hand
in mine. He never moved a muscle. I indicated to
(09:24):
him the road to the top of the crater. He
remained motionless. My pounting form, my haggard countenance 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,
(09:48):
I cried beside myself with fury, Madman, no, I tell
you is not the master of our lives. We must fly,
We must drag him with us. Do you hear me?
Do your stand me, I say, I have already explained
that I held hands by the arm. I tried to
make him rise from his seat. I struggled with him
(10:08):
and tried to force him away. My uncle now interposed,
my good Henry b calm. He said, you will obtain
nothing from my devoted follower. Therefore listen to what I
have to say. I folded my arms as well as
I could, and looked at my uncle full in the face.
(10:29):
This wretched want of water, he said, is the sole
obstacle to the success of my project. In the entire
gallery made of lavaskist and coal, it is true we
found not one liquid molecule. It is quite possible that
we may be more fortunate in the Western tunnel. My
(10:49):
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 for motion. I undertook a conottering
journey into the conformation of this other gallery. I have
discovered that it goes directly downwards into the bowels of
(11:12):
the earth, and in a few hours will take us
to the old Granitik formation. In this we shall undoubtedly
find innumerable springs. The nature of the rock makes this
a mathematical certainty, and instinct agreece with logic to say
that it is so. Now, this is the serious proposition
(11:32):
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 subterranean region, only ask of
(11:52):
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 mighty enterprise and return to the Earth's surface. Despite
my irritation and despair. I knew how much it cost
my uncle to make this proposition, and to hold such
(12:15):
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
(12:37):
go ahead. End of Chapter eighteen
Chapter eighteen, the wrong road. Next day, our departure took
place at a very early hour. There was no time
for the least delay. According to my account, we had
five days hard work to get back to the place
where the galleries divided. I can never tell all the
(00:21):
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
(00:44):
for this bad fortune. But there was one consolation. 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 proof
of liquids was reduced to our supply of sheedom. But
(01:04):
this horrible, nay, I will say, this infernal liquor burned
the throat, and I could not even bear the sight
of it. I found the temperature to be stifling. I
was paralyzed with fatigue. More than once, I was about
to fall insensible to the ground. The whole party then
(01:25):
halted and the worthy 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 fatigues of our journey and the awful torture generated
by the absence of water. At length, the time came
(01:48):
when I ceased to recollect anything, when all was one awful, hideous,
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 junction between the galleries. I lay like a
(02:11):
log an inert mass of human flesh on the arid
lava soil. It was then ten in the morning. Hans
and my uncle, leaning against the wall, tried to nibble
away at some pieces of biscuit, while deep groans and
sighs escaped from my scorched and swollen lips. Then I
(02:33):
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 commiseration. I was profoundly touched by these words,
being by no means accustomed to signs of womanly weakness
(02:54):
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 kindly all the time.
His eyes were wet with tears. I then saw him
take the gourd, which he wore at his side. To
(03:15):
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
idiotic expression. I could not believe him. I too much
(03:39):
feared the counteraction 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
parched lips and throat one mouthful. But I do believe
it brought me back to life. I thanked my uncle
(04:02):
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 eyes. Twenty times, a hundred times
(04:25):
I have resisted the fearful desire to drink it. But no,
no hurry, I saved it for you, my dear uncle,
I exclaimed, and the big tears rolled down my hot
and feverish cheeks. Yes, my poor boy, I knew that
when you reached this place, this cross road in the earth,
(04:45):
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 quenched, I I had nevertheless partially recovered
my strength. The contracted muscles of my throat relaxed, and
(05:06):
the inflammation of my lips in some measure subsided. At
all events, I was able to speak well. I said,
there can be no doubt as to what we have
to do. Water has utterly failed us our journeys. Therefore,
at an end, let us return. While I spoke. Thus,
(05:28):
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
(05:50):
of day. Would that we now stood on the summit
of the crater? Go back, said my uncle, speaking to himself.
And must it be so? Go back? Yes, and without
losing a single moment, I vehemently cried. For some moment
there was silence under that dark and gloomy vault. So,
(06:13):
my dear, hurry, 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
(06:37):
was the man made of? And what other projects were
entering his fertile and odacious prain? You are not discouraged, sir?
What give up? Just as we are on the verge
of success? He cried. Never never shall it be said
that Professor Hartwick retreated. Then we must make up our
(06:59):
minds to per I cried, with a helpless sigh. No, hurry,
my voice, certainly not go leave me. I am very
far from desiring your death. Take hands with you, I
will go on alone. You ask us to leave you,
leave me, I say, I have undertaken this dangerous and
(07:20):
perilous adventure. I will carry it to the end, or
I will never return to the surface of mother Earth.
Go hurry 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
(07:41):
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 preservation told me to fly. Meanwhile, our guide was
looking on with profound calmness and indifference. He appeared to
(08:02):
be an unconcerned party, and yet he perfectly well knew
what was going on between us. Our gestures sufficiently 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
(08:22):
a question of life and death for us all, but waited,
quite ready to pay 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,
(08:42):
my representations, my size and groans. The earnest accents in
which I should have spoken would have convinced that cold,
hard nature. Those fearful dangers and perils of which the
stolid guide had no idea. I would have pointed them
out to him. I would have, as it were, made
(09:03):
him see and feel. Between us. We might have convinced
the obstinate professor. If the worst had come to the worst,
we could have compelled him to return to the summit
of Sneffelds. I quietly approached Hans. I caught his hand
in mine. He never moved a muscle. I indicated to
(09:24):
him the road to the top of the crater. He
remained motionless. My pounting form, my haggard countenance 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,
(09:48):
I cried beside myself with fury, Madman, no, I tell
you is not the master of our lives. We must fly,
We must drag him with us. Do you hear me?
Do your stand me, I say, I have already explained
that I held hands by the arm. I tried to
make him rise from his seat. I struggled with him
(10:08):
and tried to force him away. My uncle now interposed,
my good Henry b calm. He said, you will obtain
nothing from my devoted follower. Therefore listen to what I
have to say. I folded my arms as well as
I could, and looked at my uncle full in the face.
(10:29):
This wretched want of water, he said, is the sole
obstacle to the success of my project. In the entire
gallery made of lavaskist and coal, it is true we
found not one liquid molecule. It is quite possible that
we may be more fortunate in the Western tunnel. My
(10:49):
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 for motion. I undertook a conottering
journey into the conformation of this other gallery. I have
discovered that it goes directly downwards into the bowels of
(11:12):
the earth, and in a few hours will take us
to the old Granitik formation. In this we shall undoubtedly
find innumerable springs. The nature of the rock makes this
a mathematical certainty, and instinct agreece with logic to say
that it is so. Now, this is the serious proposition
(11:32):
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 subterranean region, only ask of
(11:52):
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 mighty enterprise and return to the Earth's surface. Despite
my irritation and despair. I knew how much it cost
my uncle to make this proposition, and to hold such
(12:15):
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
(12:37):
go ahead. End of Chapter eighteen
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