King Solomon's Treasure

Chapter 9 Water!water! (1)
Two hours later, around four o'clock, I woke up.After a short sleep, my tired body recovered, but the extreme thirst began to torment me again.I dreamed that I was bathing in a gurgling brook with trees on both sides.When he woke up, he found that he was in a dry desert.Suddenly I remembered Ambopa's words: If we don't find water today, we will all die here.Yes, at this high temperature, no one can live without water.I sat up and wiped my dirty face with dry, rough hands.My lips and eyelids were stuck together, I rubbed them vigorously with my hands, and finally opened my eyes and mouth.It will be dawn soon, but there is no light in the sky, it is pitch black, and the others are still sleeping.After a while, as it was getting brighter, I took out the pocket book "Ingoldsby Tales" and turned to the chapter "Lance's Jackdaw".It says:

"A lovely little boy holds a large carved gold pitcher,
The jars are filled with pure water,

As pure as the river that flows between Reims and Namur. "

After reading this, I couldn't help but smack my chapped lips, to be precise, I wanted to smack my lips.Thinking of that pure water almost drives me crazy.Even if it was the soapy water the pope used to wash his hands, I would grab it without hesitation and drink it all up.If I did, none of the Catholics would let me go.At that time, I was really thirsty, tired, hungry, and dizzy.I thought, if the cardinal, the sweet little boy, and the jackdaw saw a little brown-eyed, gray-haired elephant hunter barge in and bury his dirty face in the basin , Drank down every drop of the holy water, they would surely be stunned with surprise.I couldn't help laughing out loud at the thought, waking everyone else up.They wiped their dirty faces too, trying to open their glued lips and eyelids.

When we all woke up, we started talking about our predicament.We turned the kettle upside down and licked the spout, but there was no water.Goode took out a bottle of brandy that he carried with him, his eyes full of longing.Sir Henry snatched the bottle away. Drinking strong alcohol at this time would only make him die faster.

"None of us will live without water," said Sir Henry.

"If that map is to be believed, there should be water near here," I said.But obviously everyone has little hope for the map.It was getting brighter, but everyone sat blankly, looking at me, and I looked at you.I noticed that Wittruegl the Hottentot got up and walked up and down, with his eyes fixed on the ground.Suddenly he stopped, pointing to the ground and uttering a cry.

"What's that?" we yelled, all standing up and walking in the direction of his finger.

"These are the footprints of a springbok not so long ago. What does that mean?" I said.

"Springbok generally only live near water sources," he replied in German.

"Yeah," I replied, "how did I forget that. Thank God." This little discovery gave us a new lease on life, and everyone was refreshed.People feel happy when there is even a glimmer of hope in a hopeless situation.Just like in the dark night sky, even one star is better than nothing.

Wittrugger raised his snub nose, sniffing left and right in the hot air, like an impala probing for danger.

"I smell water," he said quickly.

Hearing this, we burst into cheers.We all know that people like him who have lived in the wild for a long time have amazing intuition.

At this moment, the sun rose and shone brightly. It was a magnificent and magnificent scene. We were all stunned and even forgot our thirst.

Under the reflection of the rising sun, less than forty or fifty miles away from us, the Twin Breasts of the Queen of Sheba stand proudly, flanked by the majestic Sulimen Mountains, stretching for hundreds of miles.At this moment, I am sitting at the table, trying to describe this exceptionally beautiful and spectacular scenery carefully, but I can't find the right language.In retrospect, it is vivid, but it is difficult to express it.In front of us rose two great mountains at least fifteen thousand feet high, not twelve miles apart, and joined by a steep rocky cliff.The solemn and solemn white mountain peaks go straight into the sky.There may be such mountains in other parts of the world, but it is unique in Africa.Two big mountains stand like the gateposts of Tianmen.From our vantage point, the lower part of the mountain rose gently from the flat ground, very round and shaped like a woman's breast.On each of the summits there was a large, round mound covered with snow, like a nipple on a breast.The cliff that connects the two mountains is thousands of feet high and extremely steep.As far as we could see, both mountains were surrounded by similar cliffs, interrupted by mesas from time to time.These mesas are much like the famous mountain in Cape Town.By the way, this terrain is very common in Africa.

I really can't describe the majestic and magnificent scene before me.This is a group of huge extinct volcanoes, with an indescribable sense of majesty and awe, we all held our breath.After a while, the morning light shone on the white snow and brown mountain on the top of the mountain, and the two mountains seemed to be covered with a mysterious veil.Strange clouds and mist gathered more and more, covering the mountain, and soon only the outline of the mountain could be vaguely seen.We later learned that these two mountains are usually surrounded by clouds and fog, so few people have seen them.

The last two mountains were completely lost in the fog, and we were thirsty again.The problem of water shortage is imminent.

Wittrugger smelled the water and everyone was happy.But we couldn't see any sign of water.As far as the eye can see, there are only dry and hot sand and low bushes.We searched round the hill, but found not a single drop of water, and found no trace of a puddle, pond, or spring.

"You fool," I yelled angrily at Wittruegel, "there's not even a trace of water."

But he still raised his ugly snub nose and sniffed everywhere.

"I smell it, master," he answered, "the smell of water in the air."

"Yes," I said, "there must be water in the clouds, and it will come down in two months. It will wash our bones by then."

Sir Henry stroked his yellow beard thoughtfully, and said, "Perhaps there is water on the top of the mountain."

"How is that possible?" said Goode. "Who ever heard of water on top of a mountain?"

"Let's go take a look." I interjected.Although they did not hold out hope, everyone still walked towards the top of the mountain.Ambopa was at the forefront.After a while, he stopped suddenly, seemingly petrified.

"Water! Here's water!" he cried.

We rushed over quickly.Sure enough, there was a deep pit at the highest point of the hill, which was full of water.How could there be water in such a strange place?We didn't bother to think about it, and we didn't care how dirty the dark water was, so we plunged into the water.For us who are thirsty, as long as it is water, or something that can be used as water, it is enough.We gulped and gulped, the pool of dirty water was far better than any fine liquid at the moment.Everyone has a drink.After we finished drinking, we took off our clothes and sat in the water, letting the water moisturize and moisturize our chapped skin.Dear readers, all you have to do is turn on the tap, choose hot or cold water, and the water will flow out continuously.You can't imagine how happy it is for us to soak in the black and smelly warm puddle.

After a while, we came out of the pit, all refreshed.We ran out of jerky for a day, so we ate some more, smoked a pipe, and then lay in the shade by the pool and slept till noon.

We rested by the water all day.Although the water is dirty, you are lucky to find water.Thank God!Of course, we didn't forget to thank Darth West.It was because he had marked the exact location on the rag that we were able to escape death by a narrow margin.It has to be said that it is a miracle that the puddle is still there after all this time.The only explanation I can think of is that there is a spring deep in the desert, and the water has been flowing into the pit continuously.

We drank enough water, filled our canteens, and set off refreshed by the moonlight.We walked about twenty-five miles that night and found no more water.Fortunately, we found a small shady spot behind the anthill the next day.The sun rose, and after a while, the mysterious clouds gradually dispersed, and Sulimen Mountain and the majestic Queen of Sheba's Twin Breasts were only about twenty miles away from us, and they seemed to tower above us, looking even more spectacular than before. .When it was almost dark, we set off again.Long story short, by the next morning we reached the lowest slope on the left peak of the Queen of Sheba's Breasts.At this time, we drank all the water again, and we once again experienced the test of thirst. We could only drink water when we climbed to the snow-covered place on the top of the mountain.After resting for an hour or two, driven by thirst, we set off again, scrambling up the lava in the scorching heat.We found that the lower part of the mountain was all formed by volcanic eruptions many years ago.

(End of this chapter)