Ticket No. 9672 by Jules Verne (the best e book reader txt) ๐
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Hulda, the daughter of an innkeeper in the Norwegian countryside, is engaged to Ole, a fisherman. When Ole fails to return, Hulda fears him dead, until she receives a message that he has scribbled on the back of a lottery ticket. Newspapers broadcast the story, fueling excitement and speculation ahead of the lottery drawing.
The novel, based in part on the Verneโs travel through Scandinavia in 1861, belongs to the collection Voyages Extraordinaires which contains some of his best-known works, like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days. Un Billet de Loterie appeared first in installments in the magazine Magasin dโรducation et de Rรฉcrรฉation, followed immediately by a book edition published by Hetzel.
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- Author: Jules Verne
Read book online ยซTicket No. 9672 by Jules Verne (the best e book reader txt) ๐ยป. Author - Jules Verne
However that may be, the Norwegians were certainly fearless seamen; they are today, and so they will ever be. Ole Kamp was not the man to belie his origin; besides, he had served his apprenticeship under his father, who was the master of a Bergen coasting vessel. His childhood had been spent in that port, which is one of the most frequented in Scandinavia. Before he ventured out upon the open sea he had been an untiring fisher in the fjords, and a fearless robber of the seabirdsโ nests, and when he became old enough to serve as cabin-boy he made a voyage across the North Sea and even to the waters of the Polar Ocean.
Soon afterward his father died, and as he had lost his mother several years before, his uncle Harald Hansen invited him to become a member of his family, which he did, though he continued to follow the same calling.
In the intervals between his voyages he invariably spent his time with the friends he loved; but he made regular voyages upon large fishing vessels, and rose to the rank of mate when he was but twenty-one. He was now twenty-three years of age.
When he visited Dal, Joel found him a most congenial companion. He accompanied him on his excursions to the mountains, and across the highest tablelands of the Telemark. The young sailor seemed as much at home in the fields as in the fjords, and never lagged behind unless it was to keep his cousin Hulda company.
A close friendship gradually sprung up between Joel and Ole, and quite naturally the same sentiment assumed a different form in respect to the young girl. Joel, of course, encouraged it. Where would his sister ever find a better fellow, a more sympathetic nature, a warmer and more devoted heart? With Ole for a husband, Huldaโs happiness was assured. So it was with the entire approval of her mother and brother that the young girl followed the natural promptings of her heart. Though these people of the North are undemonstrative, they must not be accused of a want of sensibility. No! It is only their way; and perhaps their way is as good as any other, after all.
So it came to pass that one day, when all four of them were sitting quietly together, Ole remarked, without any preamble whatever:
โAn idea occurs to me, Hulda.โ
โWhat is it?โ
โIt seems to me that we ought to marry.โ
โI think so too.โ
โAnd so do I,โ added Dame Hansen as coolly as if the matter had been under discussion for some time.
โI agree with you,โ remarked Joel, โand in that case I shall naturally become your brother-in-law.โ
โYes,โ said Ole; โbut it is probable that I shall only love you the better for it.โ
โThat is very possible.โ
โWe have your consent, then?โ
โUpon my word! nothing would please me better,โ replied Joel.
โSo it is decided, Hulda?โ inquired Dame Hansen.
โYes, mother,โ replied the girl, quietly.
โYou are really willing?โ asked Ole. โI have loved you a long time, Hulda, without saying so.โ
โAnd I you, Ole.โ
โHow it came about, I really do not know.โ
โNor I.โ
โBut it was doubtless seeing you grow more beautiful and good day by day.โ
โThat is saying a little too much, my dear Ole.โ
โNo; I certainly ought to be able to say that without making you blush, for it is only the truth. Didnโt you see that I was beginning to love Hulda, Dame Hansen?โ
โI suspected as much.โ
โAnd you, Joel?โ
โI was sure of it.โ
โThen I certainly think that you ought to have warned me,โ said Ole, smiling.
โBut how about your voyages, Ole?โ inquired Dame Hansen. โWonโt they seem intolerable to you after you are married?โ
โSo intolerable that I shall not follow the sea any more after my marriage.โ
โYou will not go to sea any more?โ
โNo, Hulda. Do you think it would be possible for me to leave you for months at a time?โ
โSo this is to be your last voyage?โ
โYes, and if we have tolerable luck, this voyage will yield me quite a snug little sum of money, for Help Bros. have promised me a share in the profits.โ
โThey are good men,โ remarked Joel.
โThe best men living,โ replied Ole, โand well known and highly respected by all the sailors of Bergen.โ
โBut what do you expect to do after you cease to follow the sea, my dear Ole?โ inquired Hulda.
โI shall go into partnership with Joel in his business, I have pretty good legs, and if they are not good enough, I will improve them by going into regular training. Besides, I have thought of a plan which will not prove a bad one perhaps. Why canโt we establish a messenger service between Drammen, Kongsberg and a few other towns in the Telemark? Communication now is neither easy nor regular, and there might be money in the scheme. Besides, I have other plans, to say nothing ofโ โโ
โOf what?โ
โNever mind, now. I will tell you on my return. But I warn you that I am firmly resolved to make my Hulda the happiest woman in the country. Yes, I am.โ
โIf you but knew how easy that will be!โ replied Hulda, offering him her hand. โAm I not that already, and is there a home in all Dal as pleasant as ours?โ
Dame Hansen hastily averted her head.
โSo the matter is settled?โ asked Ole, cheerfully.
โYes,โ replied Joel.
โAnd settled beyond recall?โ
โCertainly.โ
โAnd you feel no regret, Hulda?โ
โNone whatever, my dear Ole.โ
โI think, however, that it would be better not to appoint the day for your marriage until after your return,โ remarked Joel.
โVery well, but it will go hard with me if I do not return in less than a year to lead Hulda to the church at Moel, where our
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