This chapter opens with a description of the river of strength, which is hanging high above the village. The narrator compares this river to the puddle he saw earlier, but notes that this one is much harder to reach if he can't get out of the way. He's seen spring water before, but this is the first time he's heard anyone talk about it. He decides to drink the spring water first and then explore the tunnel. He realizes that the tunnel is too deep for him to see the bottom. He wonders if there's some sort of mechanism that can reverse the gravity of the tunnel and make it open again. He also realizes that this place has been carved like a man-made path, but he doesn't know how to get out.