What is the story about flood in the third chapter of the second part of The Wandering Story of Poor Children?

The next morning, we met again in the mine.

"how about it? Old Master Q, "uncle Gaspar asked," can this little guy still satisfy you? "

"Oh, of course. He is a good listener. I hope he will learn to watch early. "

"Before he learns, I hope he can have two arms with a little strength right away." Uncle Gaspar said.

He made room for me to help him break off a big lump of coal, which he dug loose from the bottom with a pickaxe. At this time, coal diggers always need the help of pushers.

When I pushed the coal truck to Zena well in San Alfonso for the third time, I heard a terrible sound coming from the direction of this well. It was a terrible rumble, a terrible sound I had never heard since I went down the well. Is the roof collapse or total collapse? I'm listening. The crackle continued to reverberate in every corner. My first feeling was fear, and I wanted to run to the ladder for my life at once. However, people used to laugh at me for being timid, but now I start running, which makes me feel embarrassed and I stop. Is this an underground explosion or is it just a coal car falling into a well? Maybe it's just some waste rock falling from the chute.

Suddenly, a group of mice ran between my legs. They seem to be afraid, like cavalry running for their lives. Then, I seemed to hear the strange rustling of running water knocking on the ground in the roadway. Where I stand, the ground is dry and the sound of water really can't be explained.

I took a photo on the ground nearby with a miner's lamp to find out.

This is really water. It flows out from the wellhead and rises gradually in the roadway. That terrible rumble was caused by a waterfall of water pouring down from the wellhead.

I threw the coal car on the tracks and ran to the mining area.

"Uncle Gaspar, the mine is flooded!"

"Lying again."

"There is a loophole under the Tivina River! Run for your life! "

"Stop it!"

"Listen!"

My shouts were so exciting that Uncle Gaspar put down his pickaxe and listened carefully. The same sound continues to ring, and it is getting louder and more terrible. The little guy didn't make a mistake. Water rushed in.

"Run!" He shouted to me, "The mine is flooded!"

Uncle Gaspar grabbed the miner's lamp, which is always the miner's first move, shouting "The mine is flooded!" " He runs very quickly on the road.

I haven't walked out of ten paces before I saw Old Master Q coming down from the mining area to the roadway, trying to understand the voice that surprised him.

"The mine is flooded!" Cried Uncle Gaspar.

"There is a leak under the Tivina River!" I said.

"You are such a fool!"

"Run!" Old Master Q shouted.

The water level in the roadway is rising rapidly, and it hasn't reached our knees yet, so we can't run fast.

Old Master Q runs with us, too. When the three of us ran through the mining area, we shouted, "Run for your life! The mine is flooded! "

The water continues to rise rapidly, but fortunately, we are not far from the ladder, otherwise, I think we will never reach it again in this life. Old Master Q ran first, but he stopped.

"You go first." He said, "I am the oldest. Moreover, my soul is safe. "

Now is not the time to talk about humility. Uncle Gaspar goes first, I follow him, and Old Master Q goes last. Quite far behind him, several workers followed him.

We arrived at the second floor. Now we must climb to the first floor quickly.

The distance of 40 meters from the second level to the first level has never been completed so quickly. However, before reaching the last step, a flood rushed down and put out our miner's lamp. This is a waterfall.

"Stand firm!" Cried Uncle Gaspar.

He, Old Master Q and I clung to the steps, but those who walked behind us were washed away. If we have more than ten steps to climb like them, it will definitely be washed away. Because I thought it was a waterfall, but it was not a waterfall. It was a mudslide rushing down from the wellhead, which was more fierce than a waterfall.

It's on the first floor. But we can't be saved now, because we have to cross 50 meters to reach the ground, and the flood has flooded the roadway here. We have no lighting and the miner's lamp is out.

"We are finished." Old Master Q's voice almost calm, "pray! Remy. "

Just then, seven or eight lights moved in our direction. The water didn't reach our knees, so we could touch the surface without bending down. This is not still water, but a torrent, not just a torrent, but a whirlpool, which can take everything away where it passes. I saw the wooden head spinning on the water like a feather.

We saw workers carrying miner's lamps running towards us. They want to walk along the driveway to the ladder, because when they get to the ladder, they will go up the steps. But in the face of such a torrent, this is impossible; How can we go against this torrent? How to resist the impact of rapids and oncoming potholes?

These people shouted what Old Master Q had shouted: "We are finished!"

They came to us.

"That's right. From there. " Old Master Q shouted thoughtfully. He seems to be the only one of us with a clear head. "On the other side of the abandoned well, there is a place where we can hide."

This abandoned well is part of a long abandoned mine. No one has been there except Old Master Q, who often goes there to look for collectibles.

"Go back!" He shouted, "Give me a lamp and I'll show you the way."

Usually when he opens his mouth, people either laugh at him to his face or turn around and shrug their shoulders. However, at present, the strongest people have lost their pride. They laughed at the old man five minutes ago. Now when they hear his voice, they just listen. They instinctively handed over the miner's lamp.

He quickly grabbed the lamp in one hand and pulled me in the other, walking in front of our group. When we walk in the direction of the torrent, we are moving at a fairly fast speed.

We walked along the driveway for a while, I don't know whether it was a few minutes or a few seconds, because we have lost the concept of time. He stopped.

"We are too late," he shouted. "The water is rising too fast."

The water will catch up with us soon. It has risen from our knees to our waists and from our waists to our chests.

"We should hide in the working face up the hill."

"What shall we do in the future?"

"At the eye of the mountain, you can't go anywhere."

Going to the mountain face is actually a dead end. But we have no room to wait and choose. Either face the mountain eye, so that we can live for a few minutes, that is to say, there is still hope of escape; Or continue to run along the roadway, doomed to be submerged by water, will be swallowed up in a few seconds.

Old Master Q led the way, and we walked into a working face with eyes on the mountains. But two partners don't want to follow us. They continued along the road and we never saw them again.

As soon as we regained our consciousness of life, we heard a deafening noise, which we had never heard since we started running for our lives: the mine collapsed, the vortex roared, the flood poured, the potholes broke, and the squeezed air exploded. We were swallowed up by this terrible roar in the whole mine.

"This is a' flood' ②!"

"The end of the world is here!"

"God, have pity on us!"

Since we came to this working face, Old Master Q hasn't said a word, and his mind is not on these useless laments and complaints.

"Children," he said, "we shouldn't wear ourselves out. Hands and feet are always so tight that we dare not move. Soon, we will be exhausted. We should dig some holes in the shale of the coal seam. "

Old Master Q's suggestion is undoubtedly correct, but it is difficult to implement, because we all forgot to bring our pickaxe when we ran for our lives. Now each of us has a miner's lamp, but no one has tools to dig holes.

"Everyone digs with the iron hook on the miner's lamp," Old Master Q went on, almost commanding.

So everyone began to dig with the iron hook on the miner's lamp. This work is very difficult, and the working face is steep and slippery. As long as you slide down, you will die. Everyone knows this, and because of this, everyone has wit and strength. In less than a few minutes, each of us dug a small pit to stand on.

After the pit was dug, everyone gasped and got to know each other. There are seven of us: Old Master Q, whom I am closest to. In addition, there are Uncle Gaspar, three coal diggers, Bucky, Gomberu and Beguanwu, and a cart driver named Kaloli. The rest of the miners disappeared into the roadway.

The indescribable terrible and strong sound of pen and ink continued to rumble in the mine. Even the roar of gunfire mixed with thunder and lightning and the sky were to fall, it would never produce a more terrible sound.

We looked at each other in horror, trying to find an unexpected explanation in the eyes of the people next to us.

"This is a flood." One person repeated.

"Great earthquake."

"The mine god is angry, is it retribution?"

"It was the water in the mine that caused the flood."

"There is a crack in the rock above us. This is the water of the Tivina River. "

I put forward the last hypothesis and stuck to my "loophole" theory. Old Master Q didn't say anything. He looked at us one by one and shrugged his shoulders, just like eating onions under a mulberry tree in broad daylight.

"This must be a flood." He finally spoke for the last time.

No sooner had he said this than the others scrambled to repeat what they had said:

"It was caused by the earthquake."

"This is the will of the mine god."

"Water from an abandoned well."

"This is the water from the Tivina River, which is poured in from a hole above us."

"This is a flood." Old Master Q, like everyone else, repeated what he said.

"Then go on, where did the water come from?" Several voices asked him at the same time.

I don't know. Speaking of my god, this is stupid; It is said that the water in the abandoned well can only flood the third floor, and now even the second and first floors are flooded. You know very well that the water didn't come from below, but spilled from above at the beginning. "

"There is a hole in the upper rock."

"A loophole won't cause such a big flood."

"It's an earthquake."

"I don't know."

"That's good. As the saying goes,' Don't ask if you don't know' "

"I know this is a flood, a flood from above. You know, this can explain a little. "

"Nonsense! You don't have to say that, you are flowing with us! "

Since we came to this arid place, we have a sense of security, the water has stopped rising, and people don't want to listen to Old Master Q Q.

"Don't pretend to be knowledgeable, you know no more than us."

The authority given to him by his decisiveness in an emergency has disappeared, and he is silent.

In order to suppress the noise, we talked at the top of our voices, but strangely, our voices didn't sound clear to each other.

"Say something." Old Master Q said to me.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever. Go ahead, say what you think now. "

I said a few words.

"okay. Now, let's talk a little gently. That's right. That's it, very good. "

"You lost your soul? Well, Old Master Q! " Bache said.

"Are you crazy?"

"Do you think you are dead?"

"I believe that the water will not drown us again. If we will die, at least we won't drown. "

"You mean ... Old Master Q?"

"Look at your miner's lamp."

"Well, it's burning!"

"As usual?"

"No, the flame is bright, but it is short-lived."

"Is there gas in it?" A man interjected.

"No," said Old Master Q, "don't worry about the lack of gas or the threat of water. Now the water will never rise a foot. "

"Stop playing tricks."

"I'm not D. We are in a bell-shaped space filled with air, and it is compressed air that prevents the water level from rising. We are in the middle of a closed working face, just like in a diving bell; The air squeezed by water is now accumulating on this working face, resisting the rise of water and pushing it away. "

After listening to Old Master Q's explanation, he said that we seemed to be in a diving bell, because the air stopped the water from rising to our position. Someone mumbled their doubts.

"Listen to this stupid thing! Isn't water more powerful than anything? "

"By the way, if the water outside overflows at will, it's true; However, when you throw a glass upside down into a bucket full of water, can water rise to the bottom of the glass? You can't, can you? There is still a gap at the bottom of the cup. Well, this gap is occupied by air, and it is the same here. We are now at the bottom of the cup, and flooding can't kill us. "

"I understand this truth." Uncle Gaspar said, "Now I think you are all wrong. You people often laugh at Old Master Q, but he knows what we don't. "

"Then we are saved." Caroli said.

"Saved? I didn't say that. I can assure you that we won't drown. What saved us is this closed working face, because the air can't escape. But it can save us or kill us. It's closed, we are locked in and can't get out. "

"When the water recedes, you can go out."

"Water will go back? I don't know. To know this, we must first know how the water comes from. Who can answer this question? "

"Isn't this a flood?"

"Yes, but so what? This is indeed a flood, but where did the water come from? Did the Tivina River overflow into the mine? Is it a rainstorm? Is the spring cracked or is it an earthquake? We can't figure this out until we look outside. Unfortunately, we are locked in. "

"Maybe Liancheng City was swept away?"

"Maybe ..."

Then there was a moment of silence and fear.

The sound of water stopped, but occasionally we could hear the dull roar from the ground, and we felt shocked.

"The mine is probably full of water," Old Master Q said, "because water no longer flows into it."

"Alas, Marius!" Bucky cried in despair.

Marius is his son. Like him, he is a coal digger and works in the third floor underground. Until now, he has not had time to think about his son because of his own difficulties. But Old Master Q's statement that "the mine may be full" woke him up.

"Marius! Marius! Marius! " His voice tore his heart out.

There was no answer, not even an echo. In this diving bell, the sound is attenuated, and it is impossible for the depressed sound to come out of the water.

"He will also find a working face in the eye of the mountain," Old Master Q said. "One hundred and fifty people drowned. This is simply terrible. No, the merciful God won't! "

I feel that his voice is not so confident. At least 150 people went down the mine in the morning, so how many people can come out of the wellhead, or at least find a hiding place like us? All our partners, are they missing or are they all flooded? Are they all dead? No one dares to answer even a word.

However, in our situation, it is not sympathy and pity that dominate our hearts and minds.

"What about us?" After a moment of silence, Beguma asked, "What shall we do?"

"What do you think we should do?" Others ask the same question.

"Only wait." Old Master Q replied.

"Wait for what?"

"Let's wait. Do you want to use the iron hook on your miner's lamp to penetrate these forty or fifty meters so that we can't see the soil of the sun? "

"We will starve to death."

"Hunger is not the biggest threat."

"You see, Old Master Q, you say ah, you want to scare us. Where is the threat? What is the biggest threat? "

"Hunger can be controlled. I read in the book that some workers, like us, were accidentally blocked by water in the mine. They stayed there for 24 days without eating a bite. It was many years ago, probably during the religious war. However, if this happened yesterday, it would be the same. What scares me is not hunger. "

"Then what are you worried about? Didn't you say the water wouldn't rise again? "

"Do you feel heavy and tinnitus? Are you breathing smoothly? Anyway, I feel uncomfortable. "

"I have a headache."

"I have chest tightness."

"My temples are jumping badly."

"My head is like a pot of paste, and I don't care."

"That's right. This is the danger now. How long can we live in this air? I don't know. If I were a scholar instead of an ignorant person, I could tell you, but I don't know. We are 40 meters underground, and there is about 35 to 40 meters of water above. That is to say, air is subjected to four to five atmospheres. How can people live in such compressed air and how long can they live? This should be known, maybe we can learn this knowledge from our own experience. "

I know nothing about compressed air, perhaps because of this, I am very afraid of Old Master Q's words; My companions don't know these words better than I do, and ignorance has the same effect on them. They felt very scared.

And Old Master Q, in our desperate situation, he didn't lose his mind. Although he has seen all the dangers involved, all he wants is to do something to save us together.

"Now," he said, "the most important thing is how we can stay here safely without rolling into the water."

"We already have a place to step on."

"So you don't think you will be tired if you stand still like this?"

"Do you think we will stay here for a long time?"

"How should I know!"

"People will come to save us."

"Of course. However, it will take some time to figure out how to save us first before people come to save us. How long will it take? Only people on the ground can make it clear. We are underground, so we should make good arrangements to minimize the danger. Anyone who slides down will only die. "

"We should be tied together."

"That needs a rope."

"We should hold hands with each other."

"I think it is best to dig a platform like two steps. There are seven of us. If we dig such a platform, everyone can stand on it. There are four people in the first-class station and three people in the second-class station. "

"Dig with what?"

"We don't have picks."

"Use the iron hook on the lamp to dig soft places, and use a knife for hard places."

"I don't think it will ever be dug."

"Bucky, don't say that. In our case, we should do anything to survive. The current situation is: whoever takes a nap will fall down and never live again. "

Because of his calmness and decisiveness, Old Master Q gradually won the prestige among us, and he became very prestigious. His courage makes him look tall and perfect, which makes people respect him. We all instinctively feel that his spiritual strength is fighting against the disaster, and we are indeed destroyed by this disaster, so we need his strength to save us.

Now that everyone's point of view is consistent, the first thing we have to do is to dig a platform. Although this platform is uncomfortable in two steps, it can at least ensure that it will not fall into the deep water in front of us. We lit four miner's lamps, and when the brightness was enough, we began to work.

"Find a place that is not too difficult to dig." Old Master Q said.

"Listen," said Uncle Gaspar, "I have a suggestion for you. Now, Old Master Q is the only one among us who still keeps a clear head; When we are all in a mess, he always keeps a cool head; This is just the person we need. He has a kind heart. Like us, he also digs coal, but he knows much more than us. I asked him to be our leader and lead us. "

"Old Master Q? He! " Cried Caroli. "He's just an animal, a cart-pulling animal. What can he do besides pushing a coal car? Am I not a coachman like him? Choosing a cart driver as the leader, he can do it, why can't I? "

"Listen! Beast! We didn't choose a coachman, we chose the most amazing person. Of all of us, he is the most capable. "

"That's not what you said yesterday."

"Yesterday I was like you, a fool. Like everyone else, I laughed at Old Master Q and denied that he knew more than us. I asked him to lead us today. Warm, Old Master Q, what do you want me to do? You know, my arms are very strong. What about all of you? "

"Look, Old Master Q, everyone listens to you."

"Everyone will listen to you in the future."

"Listen, everyone!" Old Master Q said, "Since you want me to take the lead, I am willing to do so, but on one condition, you must do as I say. We will stay here for a long time, even many days, and we don't know what will happen. We are like the victims on a raft, and the situation is worse than this, because on a raft, people have at least air, can see the sun, breathe and watch. If you want me to be your leader, you must listen to me no matter what happens. "

"We will listen to you in the future." Everyone said with one voice.

"In the future, when you believe my words are correct, then of course you will listen to me; What if you don't believe it? "

"People will believe it."

"Everyone knows that you are a decent man, Old Master Q Q."

"A brave man."

"A man who knows everything."

"Old Master Q, don't take your ridicule to heart!"

I am far from having any subsequent experience, so I was surprised to see that those who humiliated him with various jokes suddenly admitted his noble qualities a few hours ago. I really didn't know that the environment could change some people's views and feelings so quickly.

"Are you sure?" Old Master Q asked.

"We swear!" Everyone answered in unison.

So everyone worked harder. Each of us has a knife in his pocket. This is a good knife with a strong handle and a sharp blade.

"Three people, the strongest three people dig the working face." Old Master Q said, "The weak, Remy, Caroli and I, we clean the ground."

"No, you don't have to do that." The giant Gomberu interrupted him, "Old Master Q, you are not strong enough to work; You are an engineer, and engineers don't work hard. "

Everyone supports Gomberu's point of view, because Old Master Q is our engineer and he shouldn't work. Everyone is very aware of Old Master Q's leading role, so everyone is willing to take care of him to avoid danger and accidents; He is our helmsman!

If you have tools at hand, it's easy to do our work. But digging with a knife is difficult and time-consuming. In fact, we must dig a platform with two steps on the shale in the coal seam so that we can not roll down the slope of the working face. That requires a fairly wide platform. The first floor should accommodate four of us and three others. What we are doing now is to achieve this goal.

Two men dug the shale at the bottom of the working face in their respective positions, and the third man threw the broken rock. Old Master Q was busy walking from head to head with a lamp in one hand.

During the excavation, someone found some potholes buried in the broken coal cinder. These potholes are very useful, which can block the fill at the outer edge of our working face and prevent them from rolling into the water.

After three hours of non-stop excavation, we finally dug a stepped platform on this high and low inclined working face, where everyone can sit.

"That's enough now." Old Master Q ordered: "Let's widen the platform a little more, so that we can lie down, but don't consume too much physical strength at one time, we need it later. "

Everyone is settled; Old Master Q, Uncle Gaspar, Caroli and I are at the bottom of this platform; Three coal diggers are at the high end of the platform.

"Our lamp oil should be used sparingly." Old Master Q said, "Everyone put out all the lamps except one."

As soon as the order was given, it was carried out immediately. When everyone wanted to put out all the extra lights, Old Master Q signaled to stop.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Airflow is unlikely to blow out our lights, but just in case. Who has a match with a lamp? "

Although lighting is forbidden in the mine, almost all the workers have matches in their pockets; Besides, no engineer was present to check the violation, so when they heard the question "Who has matches", four people answered "I have matches" at the same time.

"Me too," said Old Master Q, "but I got wet."

The same is true for others, because everyone's matches are in their trouser pockets, and the water has flooded our chests and even our shoulders.

Caroli is slower than others in understanding; He always speaks the slowest. He finally said, "I have matches."

"Is it wet?"

I don't know. I put it in my hat. "

"Then pass your hat."

He was asked to pass the hat. He didn't hand over his hat, which was as fat as an otter fur bonnet worn by Turks in the market, but handed over a box of matches. When we were flooded, his matchbox was fortunately overhead, so it was not soaked.

"Now put out the light." Old Master Q said.

There is only one lighted lamp left, just enough to light up our water dungeon.