Chapitre 37: Leaving the temple on the way to the forest.
We went down that path to get out of the temple. What a dark path. Nothing could be seen ahead. The dark path is very scary. Light is needed to move forward. So Ripvan took a torch from the wall. Throwing stones on stones, he lit the fire in that torch. The path ahead is visible in the light of the torch. The tunnel was so dark that the light of the torch could illuminate only a short distance. We proceeded with the help of that light. I walked a long way.
When I got out of the tunnel, I saw that it was dark all around. In the light of that torch, I saw a cave ahead.
I said, "Now it is night. Shouldn't we spend the night in this cave? We will leave again tomorrow."
Ripvan answered my words, "No. We must leave today. The red men will come to the temple after worship and examine the treasure. If they find out that anyone has come here, there will be great danger. And even then, they will look for us. We have only this night." There is a way to get out of here. So we should not delay. We must leave this Sun City as soon as possible."
"You're right," said Mr. Philip. "We've got to get out of here tonight."
The colonel said, "Isn't there another way out of Ripvan Sun City? That way we can get out the fastest."
Yes, there is another way. But...!
Why stop?
That path is also very dangerous. There is no fear of being caught by red people or ghost people. Red people are also afraid to go that way. There is danger at every step of that path. Dense forest on that way. I don't think anyone entered there. Because there are no human footprints. The forest is so dense that even during the day it seems like night.''
I said, "Ripvan, have you been to that forest before?"
Yes, one day I went out to that forest for hunting. I went and saw that the forest was very thick and dark. Seeing that, I am back without hunting.
Are there tigers in the forest?
No, there is no tiger. But there are poisonous snakes, scorpions, insects. The forest is so dense that herbivores cannot roam here. So there are no tigers here. Earlier there were tigers in this forest. And this forest was not so dense.
While talking we came near the forest.
The moonlight made the night a little brighter. In that light, I saw that this forest was even more terrifying than what Ripvan had described.
Mr. Philip said, "We can't move forward with this one torch to dispel the darkness of the forest. We need to light a few more torches."
We gathered a few pieces of stick, a couple of hands long. We twisted the cloth we had and made a torch and set it on fire. This time, the light of several torches combined to create a large ring of light. Some distant objects are easily seen through these lights.
We continued walking through the forest with the help of that light. We stepped very carefully. Because little snakes are roaming here and there. I have come a long way. So far I have not faced any danger.
Ripvan said, "There is still a little way to go. Then we will cross this forest and enter a place."
We are very happy. And some way. Then we will be free from the red men.
There was a lot of joy when thinking about the liberation.
And after losing hands, we fell into a great danger.
Moving forward, I saw a huge monster gorilla like a monkey.
Our feet stopped there. We stood there.
I quietly said to Ripvan, "Where did this animal come from. You said there are only snakes and insects in this forest."
I don't know where this creature came from. I told you there are no tigers in this forest. I don't know if there are any other animals.
The colonel said, "Drop those words. Now we have to think about how to survive this?"
The animal has not seen us yet.
The colonel said, "Everyone hide behind the bushes on the other side. If the animal sees us, it will not let us live."
We took cover behind a bush. From where we hid, the animal, the monster gorilla, was clearly visible. We saw him eating the fruit of the tree. When he finished eating, he automatically moved to the other side. Went and started eating bananas from a banana tree. We hid for a long time in fear of him.
Mr. Philip said, "I don't know how to escape from this monster?"
Ripvan said, "You have a gun. Then shoot him."
The colonel said, "No, we cannot kill any animal for no reason. It is a punishable offence."
Ripvan said with some anger, "But you shot at the red men. Even killed Sadir Raj."
No, we didn't shoot Sadi Raj to kill him. And he was shot in such a way that he was unconscious but did not die."
And you know Ripvan we didn't kill the crocodile inside the dark hole of the cave we just blinded him. Although we were afraid of danger from him.
After eating the fruit for a while, the gorilla moved from there to the other side of our destination.
We started walking again.
The sun rose in the eastern sky while we were inside the forest. I did not realise that I was in the forest.
I came out of the forest.
Then it seemed as if we were in a dark world and now we came back to the world of light. I was very happy to see the environment outside. There was a lot of joy in our hearts that we were able to uncover yet another mystery.
Ripvan said, "You have done what no one has ever done before. But I have a request of you foreigners."
What requests?
Do not go to your country and tell anyone about the treasures of our sun city. If we do, our homeland may be attacked by foreigners."
Ok. You don't need to think about these things.
We pushed back all the dangers and entered the locality.
Local people were looking at us in surprise.
I quietly said to the Colonel, "Why are these people looking at us like that?"
"They saw a red man with us," said the colonel. "So maybe—or looking at us that way."
You are right. That will be it.
We kept walking. I did not see any cars around.
I said to Mr. Philip, "And how far do we have to go?"
Ripvan said before Mr. Philip said, "And we have to walk a little way. Then the railway station. We have to take the train to the capital."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone