Such were the glowing words of panegyric which fell upon my attentive ear, and I could not resist the sentiment of enthusiasm with which I too was infected. The fire of zeal kindled afresh in me. I forgot everything. I dismissed from my mind the past perils of the journey, the future danger of our return. That which another had done I supposed we might also do, and nothing that was not superhuman appeared impossible to me. "Forward! forward!" I cried. I was already darting down the gloomy tunnel when the Professor stopped me; he, the man of impulse, counselled patience and coolness. "Let us first return to Hans," he said, "and bring the raft to this spot." I obeyed, not without dissatisfaction, and passed out rapidly among the rocks on the shore. I said: "Uncle, do you know it seems to me that circumstances have wonderfully befriended us hitherto?" "You think so, Axel?" "No doubt; even the tempest has put us on the right way. Blessings on that storm! It has brought us back to this coast from which fine weather would have carried us far away. Suppose we had touched with our prow (the prow of a rudder!) the southern shore of the Liedenbrock sea, what would have become of us? We should never have seen the name of Saknussemm, and we should at this moment be imprisoned on a rockbound, impassable coast." "Yes, Axel, it is providential that whilst supposing we were steering south we should have just got back north at Cape Saknussemm. I must say that this is astonishing, and that I feel I have no way to explain it." "What does that signify, uncle? Our business is not to explain facts, but to use them!" "Certainly; but--" "Well, uncle, we are going to resume the northern route, and to pass under the north countries of Europe--under Sweden, Russia, Siberia: who knows where?--instead of burrowing under the deserts of Africa, or perhaps the waves of the Atlantic; and that is all I want to know." "Yes, Axel, you are right. It is all for the best, since we have left that weary, horizontal sea, which led us nowhere. Now we shall go down, down, down! Do you know that it is now only 1,500 leagues to the centre of the globe?" "Is that all?" I cried. "Why, that's nothing. Let us start: march!" All this crazy talk was going on still when we met the hunter. Everything was made ready for our instant departure. Every bit of cordage was put on board. We took our places, and with our sail set, Hans steered us along the coast to Cape Saknussemm.