Ticket No. 9672

Ticket No. 9672

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ticket No. "9672", by Jules Verne,
Translated by Laura E. Kendall
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Title: Ticket No. "9672"
Author: Jules Verne
Release Date: September 26, 2004 [eBook #13527]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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"9672"***
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TICKET NO. "9672"
by

JULES VERNE
Translated from the French by Laura E. Kendall
CHAPTER I.
"What time is it?" inquired Dame Hansen, shaking the ashes from her
pipe, the last curling rings from which were slowly disappearing
between the stained rafters overhead.
"Eight o'clock, mother," replied Hulda.
"It isn't likely that any travelers will come to-night. The weather is too
stormy."
"I agree with you. At all events, the rooms are in readiness, and if any
one comes, I shall be sure to hear them."
"Has your brother returned?"
"Not yet."
"Didn't he say he would be back to-night?"
"No, mother. Joel went to take a traveler to Lake Tinn, and as he didn't
start until very late, I do not think he can get back to Dal before
to-morrow."
"Then he will spend the night at Moel, probably."
"Yes; unless he should take it into his head to go on to Bamble to see
Farmer Helmboe."
"And his daughter Siegfrid."
"Yes. Siegfrid, my best friend, whom I love like a sister!" replied the
young girl, smiling.
"All, well, Hulda, shut up the house, and let's go to bed."

"You are not ill, are you, mother?"
"No; but I want to be up bright and early to-morrow morning. I must go
to Moel."
"What for?"
"Why, we must be laying in our stock of provisions for the coming
summer, and--"
"And I suppose the agent from Christiania has come down with his
wagon of wines and provisions."
"Yes; Lengling, the foreman at the saw-mill, met him this afternoon,
and informed me of the fact as he passed. We have very little left in the
way of ham and smoked salmon, and I don't want to run any risk of
being caught with an empty larder. Tourists are likely to begin their
excursions to the Telemark almost any day now; especially, if the
weather should become settled, and our establishment must be in a
condition to receive them. Do you realize that this is the fifteenth of
April?"
"The fifteenth of April!" repeated the young girl, thoughtfully.
"Yes, so to-morrow I must attend to these matters," continued Dame
Hansen. "I can make all my purchases in two hours, and I will return
with Joel in the kariol."
"In case you should meet the postman, don't forget to ask him if there is
a letter for us--"
"And especially for you. That is quite likely, for it is a month since you
heard from Ole."
"Yes, a month--a whole month."
"Still, you should not worry, child. The delay is not at all surprising.
Besides, if the Moel postman has nothing for you, that which didn't
come by the way of Christiania may come by the way of Bergen, may

it not?"
"Yes, mother," replied Hulda. "But how can I help worrying, when I
think how far it is from here to the Newfoundland fishing banks. The
whole broad Atlantic to cross, while the weather continues so bad. It is
almost a year since my poor Ole left me, and who can say when we
shall see him again in Dal?"
"And whether we shall be here when he returns," sighed Dame Hansen,
but so softly that her daughter did not hear the words.
Hulda went to close the front door of the inn which stood on the
Vesfjorddal road; but she did not take the trouble to turn the key in the
lock. In hospitable Norway, such precautions are unnecessary. It is
customary for travelers to enter these country inns either by night or by
day without calling any one to open the door; and even the loneliest
habitations are safe from the depredations of thieves or assassins, for no
criminal attempts against life or property ever disturb the peace of this
primitive land.
The mother and daughter occupied two front rooms on the second story
of the inn--two neat and airy, though plainly furnished rooms. Above
them, directly under the sloping roof, was Joel's chamber, lighted by a
window incased in a tastefully carved frame-work of pine.
From this window, the eye, after roaming over the grand mountain
horizon, returned with delight to the