The hermit went to the pile of firewood and scones near the entrance, chose a smaller scone of dung and put it to David’s ear.
“This help. Keep it here,” said Bhrigu, “soon you will hear everything.”
“Thank you,” David said, smiling and embarrassed, with eyes half-closed from fatigue.
“Good,” laughed Bhrigu, “very good.”
Jean-Pierre caught the hermit’s gaze and asked in French:
“Who are you, tell me, where are we now?”
Bhrigu came almost right up to Jean-Pierre and looked at him very intently. For several seconds he looked up from below, studying and examining the Frenchman’s facial features, eyes and hair.
“I am Bhrigu. We are all here. Tomorrow will be better. Right now, you need to rest.”
Jean-Pierre was not satisfied with this answer, and he wanted to continue, but the hermit took a step back and looked at the Frenchman’s mud-gray boots in surprise. Jean-Pierre involuntarily lowered his gaze and became embarrassed, and then moved his eyes to the old man’s feet. The bare tips of his toes were sticking out from under the recluse of the hermit. Bhrigu tweaked and straightened his toes. There were no shoes on his feet. Jean-Pierre looked up and met the elder’s good-natured glance. He smiled, nodded, and walked toward the stalactites. Jean-Pierre noticed that the doctor, Debby, and Yulia were asleep, lying down by the fire. He turned around, David was also asleep, sitting against the wall near the entrance.
Jean-Pierre turned toward the stalactites, but the hermit was not there. The Frenchman took a few steps and saw that behind the stalactites there was a low passage into another hall of the cave. He went inside and began to peer into the darkness. A few torches were burning, mounted on the walls, but they did not illuminate the cave completely. He saw the light reflect off something on the floor. After a few seconds, when his eyes became accustomed, the outline of the hermit, who was sitting with his back to the shore of the underground lake, became visible. The distant sound of water reached Jean-Pierre. He looked more closely and wanted to call out to Bhrigu, but he felt the fatigue building up again. He could no longer resist: he sat down on the ground, put his back against the wall and switched off.