CHAPTER XXVI

A Eapid Recovery THEN I returned to the conaeiouaness of ex- ' istence, I found myself surrounded by a Idnd of semi-obacurity, lying on thick and soft coverlids. My uncle was watching- — lus eyes fixed intently on my countenance, a grave expj'ession on his face; a tear in his eye. At the first sigh which struggled from my bosom he took hold of my hand. When he saw ray eyea open and fix themselves upon his, he uttered a loud ery of joy. "He lives! he lives!" "Yes, my good uncle," I whispered. "My dear boj'," continued the giim Professor, ■clasping mc to his heart, "you are. saved!" I was deeply and unaffectedly touched by the tone in which these words were uttered, and even more by the kindly care which accompanied them. The Professor was one of those men who must be severely tried in order to induce any display of af- fection or gentle emotion. At this moment our friend Hans, the guide, joined us. He saw my hand in that of my uncle, and I venture to say, that, taci- turn as he was, bis eyes beamed with lively satis- faction. "God dag," he said. "Good day, Hans, good day," I ^replied, in as hearty a tone as I couid assume, "arid now, uncle, that we are together, tell me where we are. I have lost all idea of our position, as of everything else." "To-morrow, Harry, to-morrow," he replied. "To- day you are far too weak. Your head is surrounded with bandages and poultices that must not be touched. Sleep, my hoy, sleep, and to-morrow you will know all that you require," "But," I cried, 'let me know what o'clock it is — what day it is?" "It is now eleven o'clock at night, and this is once more Sunday. It is now the ninth of the month of August. And I distinctly prohibit you from ask- ing any more questions until the tenth of the same." I was, if the truth were told, very weak indeed, and my eyes soon closed involuntarily. I did require a good night's rest, and I went off reflecting at the last moment that my perilous adventure in the in- terior of the earth, in total darkness,' had lasted four days ! On the morning of the next day, at my awaken- ing, I began to look around me. My sleeping-place, made of all our traveling bedding, was in a charm- ing grotto, adorned with magnificent stalagmites, glittering in all the colors of the rainbow, the floor of soft and silvery sand. A dim obscurity pre- vailed. No torch, no lamp was lighted, and yet cer- tain unexplained beams of light penetrated from without, and made their way through the opening of the beautiful grotto, i Moreover, I heard a vague and indefinite munnur, like the ebb and flow of waves upon a strand, and sometimes I verily believed I could hear the sighiiig of the wind. I began to believe that, instead of be- ing awake, I must be dreaming. Surely my brain had not been affected by my fall, and all that oc- curred during the last twenty-four hours was not the frenzied vision.? of madness? And yet after some reflection, a trial of my faculties, I came to the conclusion that I could not be mistaken. Surely, eyes and ears could not both deceive me. "It is a ray of the blessed daylight," I said to my- self, "ivhich has penetrated through some mighty fissure in the rocks. But what is the meaning of this murmur of waves, this unmistakable moaning of the salt sea billows? I can hear, plainly enough, the whistling of the wind. But can 1 be altogether mis- taken? If my uncle, during my illness, has but car- ried me back to the surface of the earth ! Has he, on my account, given up his wondrous expedition, or in some strange manner has it come to an end?" I was puzzling Joy brain over these and other questions, when the Professor joined me. "Good- day, Harry," he cried in a joyous tone, "I fancy you are quite well." "I am very much better," I replied, actually sit- ting up in my bed. "I knew that would be the result, as you slept both soundly and tranquilly. Hans and I have each taken turn to watch, and every hour we have seen visible signs of amelioration." "You must be right, uncle," was my reply, "for I feel as if I could do justice to any meal you could put before me. I am really hungry." "You shall eat, ray boy, you shall eat. The fever has left you. Our excellent friend Hans has rubbed your wounds and bruises, with I know not what ointment, of which the Icelanders alone possess the secret. And they have healed your bruises in the most marvelous manner. Ah, he's a wise fellow, is Master Hana." While he was speaking, my uncle was placing be- fore me some articles of food, which following his earnest injunctions, I readily devoured. As soon as the first rage of hunger was appeased, I over- whelmed him with questions, to which he now no longer hesitated to give answers. I then learned, for the first time, that my providential fall had brought me to the bottom of an almost pei-pendic- ular gallery. As I came down, amidst a perfect shower of atones, the last of which falling on mo fijtlld have crushed me to death, they came to the conclusion that I had carried with me an entire dislocated rock. Biding as it were on this terrible chariot, I was cast headlong into my uncle's arms. And into them I fell, insensible and covered with blood. "It is indeed a miracle," was the Professor's final remark, "that you were not killed a thousand times over. But let us take eare never to separate ; for surely we should risk never meeting again." "Let us take care never again to separate." These words fell with a sort of chill upon my heart. The journey, then, was not over. I looked at my uncle with surprise and astonishment. My uncle, after an instant's examination of my countenance, said— "What is the matter, Harry?" "I want to ask you a very serious question. You say that I am all right in health?" "Certainly you are." "And all my limbs are sound and capable of new exertions?" I asked, "Most undoubtedly." "But what about my head?" was my next an^Tftis question. "Well, your head, except that you have one or two contusions, is exactly where it ought to be — on your shoulder," said my uncle, laughing.