When I finally came back to my senses, I found myself lying on thick, soft blankets in a dimly lit place.
My uncle was sitting beside me. His eyes were fixed on my face, and he looked unusually serious. There was even a tear in his eye.
The moment I let out a weak sigh, he grabbed my hand.
As soon as he saw my eyes open, he cried out in joy.
“He’s alive! He’s alive!”
“Yes, dear Uncle,” I whispered.
“My dear boy!” the stern Professor exclaimed, pulling me into his arms. “You’re safe!”
I was deeply moved by his voice and by the tenderness he showed me.
My uncle was not a man who easily displayed affection. It usually took something terrible to make him show his feelings. So his concern touched me even more.
Just then, Hans, our guide, came in.
He saw my hand in my uncle’s and, although he was usually a very quiet man, his eyes clearly showed how happy he was.
“God dag,” he said.
“Good day, Hans. Good day,” I replied as warmly as I could. Then I turned to my uncle.
“Now that we’re all together, please tell me where we are. I have completely lost track of our position—and almost everything else.”
“Tomorrow, Harry. Tomorrow,” he said. “You’re much too weak today. Your head is covered with bandages and medicine, and you must not disturb them. Sleep now. Tomorrow I’ll tell you everything.”
“But at least tell me what time it is. And what day?”
“It’s eleven o’clock at night. And it’s Sunday again. Today is August ninth.”
He gave me a stern look.
“And I absolutely forbid you to ask another question until tomorrow, August tenth.”
The truth was that I was extremely weak.
My eyes soon closed by themselves, and I realized that I desperately needed sleep.
As I drifted off, I suddenly remembered something.
My terrifying journey through the darkness inside the earth had lasted four whole days.
The next morning, I woke up and looked around.
My bed was made from all the blankets and bedding we had brought with us. We were inside a beautiful grotto.
Magnificent stalagmites rose from the ground, sparkling in every color of the rainbow. The floor was covered with soft, silvery sand.
Everything around me was dim.
There was no torch burning and no lamp anywhere.
Yet strange rays of light came from outside and entered through the opening of the grotto.
Then I heard something even more surprising.
There was a distant sound like waves moving back and forth along a beach.
Sometimes I could even hear what sounded like the sighing and whistling of the wind.
I began to wonder whether I was really awake.
Perhaps my fall had damaged my brain. Perhaps everything I had experienced during the past day was nothing more than a madman’s dream.
But after carefully testing my senses, I became convinced that I was awake.
Surely both my eyes and ears could not be deceiving me.
“That must be daylight,” I thought. “Some enormous crack in the rocks must be letting sunlight through.”
“But what about those waves?”
“That unmistakable sound of the sea?”
“And I can clearly hear the wind.”
“Could I really be mistaken?”
“Perhaps my uncle carried me back to the surface while I was sick.”
“Maybe he abandoned his incredible expedition because of me.”
“Or perhaps somehow the expedition has come to an end.”
I was still trying to make sense of everything when my uncle came in.
“Good morning, Harry!” he said cheerfully. “You look much better.”
“I feel much better,” I replied, sitting up in bed.
“I knew you would. You slept deeply and peacefully. Hans and I took turns watching over you. Every hour, we could see that you were getting better.”
“You’re right, Uncle. I feel as if I could eat an enormous meal.”
“You certainly shall. Your fever is gone.”
He smiled.
“Our excellent friend Hans has treated your wounds with some kind of ointment. Only the Icelanders know how to make it. Your bruises have healed remarkably quickly.”
He shook his head admiringly.
“Master Hans is a very wise man.”
As he spoke, my uncle placed several kinds of food in front of me.
Despite his warnings to eat slowly, I quickly devoured everything.
Once my hunger had eased, I bombarded him with questions.
This time, he was finally willing to answer.
I learned that my lucky fall had brought me all the way to the bottom of an almost vertical passage.
As I fell, a huge number of rocks came crashing down around me.
Any one of those stones could have killed me instantly.
My uncle and Hans believed that I had somehow carried an entire section of loose rock down with me.
It was almost as if I had been riding on a terrible stone vehicle.
Then I had been thrown headfirst straight into my uncle’s arms.
I had arrived unconscious and covered in blood.
“It truly is a miracle that you weren’t killed a thousand times over,” my uncle said.
Then his expression became serious.
“But from now on, we must never separate again. If we do, we may never find each other.”
“Then let’s never separate again.”
His words suddenly made my heart sink.
The journey wasn’t over.
I stared at my uncle in surprise.
He studied my face for a moment.
“What’s wrong, Harry?”
“I want to ask you something very serious.”
“What is it?”
“You said I’m completely recovered?”
“Certainly.”
“And all my arms and legs are fine? I can use them normally?”
“Without a doubt.”
I hesitated.
“But what about my head?”
My uncle laughed.
“Your head is fine too. Apart from one or two bruises, it’s exactly where it should be—on your shoulders.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think something is wrong with my head. I believe I may still be delirious.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because what I’m seeing and hearing makes no sense!”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“Have we returned to the surface of the earth?”
“Certainly not.”
“Then I must be crazy!”
I pointed toward the entrance.
“Can’t I see daylight? Can’t I hear the wind? And can’t I hear the waves of a huge sea?”
My uncle smiled.
“And that is what’s troubling you?”
“Can you explain it?”
“I won’t even try.”
He shook his head.
“The whole thing is impossible to explain.”
“But you shall see it for yourself. Then you’ll understand that geology still has an enormous amount to discover.”
He smiled proudly.
“And perhaps we are the ones who will reveal these discoveries to the world.”
“Then let’s go!” I cried eagerly.
I could no longer control my curiosity.
“Not so fast, Harry,” my uncle said. “You’ve just recovered from a serious illness. You need to protect yourself before going outside.”
“Outside?”
“Yes. The wind is quite strong. I don’t want you exposed to it without proper protection.”
“But I assure you, Uncle, I’m completely recovered.”
“Be patient. A relapse would cause trouble for everyone.”
He paused.
“Besides, we have no time to waste. Our coming sea journey may last a long time.”
“A sea journey?”
I stared at him in confusion.
“Yes. Rest for one more day. By tomorrow, we’ll be ready to go aboard.”
He gave me a strange smile.
“Go aboard?”
The words left me completely stunned.
Go aboard what?
Had we discovered a river?
A lake?
An underground sea?
Was there actually a ship somewhere deep inside the earth?
My curiosity reached its highest point.
My uncle tried to keep me from getting too excited, but it was useless.
Finally, he realized that my impatience was doing me more harm than anything else. The only way to calm me down was to let me see the truth for myself.
So he gave in.
I quickly got dressed.
Then, just to satisfy my uncle, I wrapped myself tightly in one of the blankets.
And without waiting another second, I rushed out of the grotto.