Five Weeks in a Balloon Chapter 23

In which a solemn night witnesses the peaceful departure of a devoted missionary, whose burial takes place beneath the African sun among a surprisingly rich deposit of gleaming quartz and gold. The travellers, weighed down by both sorrow and the allure of untold wealth, must confront the harsh realities of their desert voyage as they struggle with the burdens of their precious ballast and the scarcity of water.