"It is true."
Ah! women and young girls, how incomprehensible are your feminine hearts!
When you are not the timidest, you are the bravest of creatures.
Reason has nothing to do with your actions. What! did this child encourage me in such an expedition!
Would she not be afraid to join it herself?
And she was driving me to it, one whom she loved!
I was disconcerted, and, if I must tell the whole truth, I was ashamed.
"Grauben, we will see whether you will say the same thing to-morrow."
"To-morrow, dear Axel, I will say what I say to-day."
Grauben and I, hand in hand, but in silence, pursued our way.
The emotions of that day were breaking my heart.
After all, I thought, the kalends of July are a long way off, and between this and then many things may take place which will cure my uncle of his desire to travel underground.
It was night when we arrived at the house in Konigstrasse.
I expected to find all quiet there, my uncle in bed as was his custom, and Martha giving her last touches with the feather brush.
But I had not taken into account the Professor's impatience.
I found him shouting—and working himself up amidst a crowd of porters and messengers who were all depositing various loads in the passage. Our old servant was at her wits' end.
"Come, Axel, come, you miserable wretch," my uncle cried from as far off as he could see me. "Your boxes are not packed, and my papers are not arranged; where's the key of my carpet bag? and what have you done with my gaiters?"
I stood thunderstruck.
My voice failed.
Scarcely could my lips utter the words:
"Are we really going?"
"Of course, you unhappy boy! Could I have dreamed that you would have gone out for a walk instead of hurrying your preparations forward?"
"Are we to go?" I asked again, with sinking hopes.
"Yes; the day after to-morrow, early."
I could hear no more. I fled for refuge into my own little room.
All hope was now at an end.
My uncle had been all the morning making purchases of a part of the tools and apparatus required for this desperate undertaking.
The passage was encumbered with rope ladders, knotted cords, torches, flasks, grappling irons, alpenstocks, pickaxes, iron shod sticks, enough to load ten men.
I spent an awful night.
Next morning I was called early.
I had quite decided I would not open the door.
But how was I to resist the sweet voice which was always music to my ears, saying,
"My dear Axel?"
I came out of my room. I thought my pale countenance and my red and sleepless eyes would work upon Grauben's sympathies and change her mind.
"Ah! my dear Axel," she said. "I see you are better. A night's rest has done you good."
"Done me good!" I exclaimed.
I rushed to the glass.
Well, in fact I did look better than I had expected.
I could hardly believe my own eyes.
"Axel," she said, "I have had a long talk with my guardian.
He is a bold philosopher, a man of immense courage, and you must remember that his blood flows in your veins.
He has confided to me his plans, his hopes, and why and how he hopes to attain his object.
He will no doubt succeed.
My dear Axel, it is a grand thing to devote yourself to science!
What honour will fall upon Herr Liedenbrock, and so be reflected upon his companion!
When you return, Axel, you will be a man, his equal, free to speak and to act independently, and free to —"
The dear girl only finished this sentence by blushing.
Her words revived me. Yet I refused to believe we should start.
I drew Grauben into the Professor's study.
"Uncle, is it true that we are to go?"