The mouth of the volcano was one mile wide. We tied
a rope around each other and began to climb down. Hans
went first. The inside of the volcano looked like the inside
of an ice-cream cone. Its opening became smaller as we
went down because of the rocks left there after explosions.
The bottom of the volcano was 2,000 feet down. When
we got there, I looked up and saw the opening at the top.
It was a perfect circle of clear blue sky.
There were three holes in the Oo.or of the volcano.
Each of them was about a hundre ~l feet: wid e. The
explosion of rocks and hot lava once came through these
holes and then out through the top. Now, th ey looked like
dark caves. I looked at the holes and th en turned to my
uncle.
"Which one do we take?"
"I don't know. Arne Saknussemm said the sun touches
one of them at the end of June. Today is June 25th. It is too
late to see the sun today. \Ve must wait until tomorrow."
"What if it's cloudy tomorrow?"
"Then, we will wait again. But we only have five more
clays. In July, the sun is too low. It cannot reach the
bottom of the volcano."
"Then, we can go home?"
"Axel, don't say such things! Tomorrow will be sunny,
and we are going to the centre of the earth."
The next day it was cloudy. The professor could not
believe it.
"Four clays. We only have four days. Please, please,
sun, come out, con1e out!"
The professor looked up at the sky with his arms open.
The only thing he wanted now was to see the sun shine. I
thought of Grauben and the danger waiting for my uncle
and myself inside those holes. I hoped for rain.
Hans built a small house from the large rocks he found
on the floor of the volcano. He never said much, but he
always thought of something u~eful to do. I checked the
rock of the volcano walls to see how old they were. Drops
of water from the ice and the snow outside ran down the
wall, and the sound they made inside was like music.
Suddenly, the professor called out my name.
"Axel! Axe!, come here."
I ran to him curious to see what was there.
"What is it?"
"Look at this!"
There were two words on the wall of the volcano in the
old Icelandic language.
"What does it say?"
"Arne Saknussemm. He was here. We're in the right
place."
The next day, the sun came out, and at l: 13 in the
afternoon, it touched the hole in the centre of the floor.
''That's it. That's the hole to the centre of the earth.
Let's go."
Hans brought our bags, but there was one problem.
We could not carry all of them and climb down the hole
at the same time.
"\Vhat must we do now?"
The professor took off his glasses and cleaned th em while
be tried to think of a solution .
"Well, we'll throw ever ything we don't need down the
hole and we'll find it when we get to the bottom ."
Hans threw the bags down the hole in front of us. vVe
li stened, but we never heard them hit the bottom.
a rope around each other and began to climb down. Hans
went first. The inside of the volcano looked like the inside
of an ice-cream cone. Its opening became smaller as we
went down because of the rocks left there after explosions.
The bottom of the volcano was 2,000 feet down. When
we got there, I looked up and saw the opening at the top.
It was a perfect circle of clear blue sky.
There were three holes in the Oo.or of the volcano.
Each of them was about a hundre ~l feet: wid e. The
explosion of rocks and hot lava once came through these
holes and then out through the top. Now, th ey looked like
dark caves. I looked at the holes and th en turned to my
uncle.
"Which one do we take?"
"I don't know. Arne Saknussemm said the sun touches
one of them at the end of June. Today is June 25th. It is too
late to see the sun today. \Ve must wait until tomorrow."
"What if it's cloudy tomorrow?"
"Then, we will wait again. But we only have five more
clays. In July, the sun is too low. It cannot reach the
bottom of the volcano."
"Then, we can go home?"
"Axel, don't say such things! Tomorrow will be sunny,
and we are going to the centre of the earth."
The next day it was cloudy. The professor could not
believe it.
"Four clays. We only have four days. Please, please,
sun, come out, con1e out!"
The professor looked up at the sky with his arms open.
The only thing he wanted now was to see the sun shine. I
thought of Grauben and the danger waiting for my uncle
and myself inside those holes. I hoped for rain.
Hans built a small house from the large rocks he found
on the floor of the volcano. He never said much, but he
always thought of something u~eful to do. I checked the
rock of the volcano walls to see how old they were. Drops
of water from the ice and the snow outside ran down the
wall, and the sound they made inside was like music.
Suddenly, the professor called out my name.
"Axel! Axe!, come here."
I ran to him curious to see what was there.
"What is it?"
"Look at this!"
There were two words on the wall of the volcano in the
old Icelandic language.
"What does it say?"
"Arne Saknussemm. He was here. We're in the right
place."
The next day, the sun came out, and at l: 13 in the
afternoon, it touched the hole in the centre of the floor.
''That's it. That's the hole to the centre of the earth.
Let's go."
Hans brought our bags, but there was one problem.
We could not carry all of them and climb down the hole
at the same time.
"\Vhat must we do now?"
The professor took off his glasses and cleaned th em while
be tried to think of a solution .
"Well, we'll throw ever ything we don't need down the
hole and we'll find it when we get to the bottom ."
Hans threw the bags down the hole in front of us. vVe
li stened, but we never heard them hit the bottom.
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