Karl looked uncertain as he gazed at me and asked:
"Are you afraid?"
Then I realized that I must be brave; and when there is a "must" you can, you know; and there is no use in whimpering, anyway.
"Are you afraid?" asked little Karl again.
"Oh, no—no, indeed."
So I opened the door of the church and peeped in. Rows upon rows of empty seats showed dimly through the half darkness, but there wasn't the least sign of Mina's great-grandfather.
I pulled Karl along, and we almost ran up the church aisle. The whole time I felt as if something was behind me that I must be on the watch against.
O dear, O dear, how frightened I was!
No, the windows were altogether too high up in the wall even to think of reaching. For an instant I had a desperate idea of piling seats up on top of the pulpit and trying to reach a window in that way, but all the seats were fastened to the floor, and, of course, to move the pulpit was impossible for me.
All at once the thought of the bells struck me—I could ring the bells! I need only climb up to the tower, shove the shutters aside as I had seen Peter do many a time, and then just ring and ring till people came and unlocked the church.