deep,  he  went  on his knees and filled his bag with oysters picked up at
random.  Then  he  went up, emptied it, pulled up his stone, and began the
operation once more, which lasted thirty seconds.
   The diver did not see us. The shadow of the rock hid us from sight. And
how  should  this  poor  Indian  ever dream that men, beings like himself,
should  be  there  under  the  water  watching his movements and losing no
detail  of  the  fishing?  Several times he went up in this way, and dived
again.  He  did  not  carry  away more than ten at each plunge, for he was
obliged to pull them from the bank to which they adhered by means of their
strong  byssus. And how many of those oysters for which he risked his life
had  no pearl in them! I watched him closely; his manoeuvres were regular;
and for the space of half an hour no danger appeared to threaten him.
   I  was  beginning  to  accustom myself to the sight of this interesting
fishing,  when suddenly, as the Indian was on the ground, I saw him make a
gesture of terror, rise, and make a spring to return to the surface of the
sea.
   I  understood  his  dread.  A  gigantic  shadow appeared just above the
unfortunate  diver.  It was a shark of enormous size advancing diagonally,
his  eyes on fire, and his jaws open. I was mute with horror and unable to
move.
   The  voracious  creature  shot towards the Indian, who threw himself on
one  side  to  avoid the shark's fins; but not its tail, for it struck his
chest and stretched him on the ground.
   This  scene  lasted but a few seconds: the shark returned, and, turning
on  his  back,  prepared himself for cutting the Indian in two, when I saw
Captain Nemo rise suddenly, and then, dagger in hand, walk straight to the
monster,  ready  to fight face to face with him. The very moment the shark
was  going  to  snap  the  unhappy  fisherman in two, he perceived his new
adversary, and, turning over, made straight towards him.
   I can still see Captain Nemo's position. Holding himself well together,
he  waited  for  the shark with admirable coolness; and, when it rushed at
him,  threw  himself  on  one  side with wonderful quickness, avoiding the
shock, and burying his dagger deep into its side. But it was not all over.
A terrible combat ensued.
   The  shark  had  seemed to roar, if I might say so. The blood rushed in
torrents  from  its  wound.  The  sea was dyed red, and through the opaque
liquid  I  could  distinguish  nothing more. Nothing more until the moment
when, like lightning, I saw the undaunted Captain hanging on to one of the
creature's  fins,  struggling,  as it were, hand to hand with the monster,
and  dealing  successive  blows  at  his enemy, yet still unable to give a
decisive one.
   The  shark's  struggles  agitated  the  water  with  such fury that the
rocking threatened to upset me.
   I  wanted  to  go  to the Captain's assistance, but, nailed to the spot
with horror, I could not stir.
   I  saw  the  haggard  eye; I saw the different phases of the fight. The
Captain  fell  to  the  earth, upset by the enormous mass which leant upon
him.  The  shark's jaws opened wide, like a pair of factory shears, and it
would  have been all over with the Captain; but, quick as thought, harpoon
in  hand,  Ned  Land rushed towards the shark and struck it with its sharp
point.
   The  waves were impregnated with a mass of blood. They rocked under the
shark's  movements,  which beat them with indescribable fury. Ned Land had
not  missed  his  aim.  It  was  the monster's death-rattle. Struck to the
heart,  it struggled in dreadful convulsions, the shock of which overthrew
Conseil.
   But  Ned Land had disentangled the Captain, who, getting up without any
wound, went straight to the Indian, quickly cut the cord which held him to
his  stone,  took  him  in  his  arms, and, with a sharp blow of his heel,
mounted to the surface.
   We all three followed in a few seconds, saved by a miracle, and reached
the fisherman's boat.
   Captain  Nemo's  first  care  was to recall the unfortunate man to life
again.  I  did  not  think  he  could  succeed.  I  hoped so, for the poor
creature's  immersion  was  not  long;  but the blow from the shark's tail
might have been his death-blow.
   Happily,  with  the  Captain's  and  Conseil's  sharp  friction,  I saw
consciousness  return  by  degrees.  He  opened  his  eyes.  What  was his
surprise,  his terror even, at seeing four great copper heads leaning over
him!  And, above all, what must he have thought when Captain Nemo, drawing
from  the pocket of his dress a bag of pearls, placed it in his hand! This
munificent  charity  from  the man of the waters to the poor Cingalese was
accepted with a trembling hand. His wondering eyes showed that he knew not
to what super-human beings he owed both fortune and life.
   At  a  sign  from  the Captain we regained the bank, and, following the
road  already  traversed,  came  in about half an hour to the anchor which
held the canoe of the Nautilus to the earth.
   Once  on  board,  we each, with the help of the sailors, got rid of the
heavy copper helmet.
   Captain Nemo's first word was to the Canadian.
   "Thank you, Master Land," said he.
   "It was in revenge, Captain," replied Ned Land. "I owed you that."
   A ghastly smile passed across the Captain's lips, and that was all.
   "To the Nautilus," said he.
   The  boat  flew  over  the waves. Some minutes after we met the shark's
dead  body  floating. By the black marking of the extremity of its fins, I
recognised the terrible melanopteron of the Indian Seas, of the species of
shark  so  properly  called.  It  was more than twenty-five feet long; its
enormous  mouth  occupied  one-third  of its body. It was an adult, as was
known  by  its  six  rows  of teeth placed in an isosceles triangle in the
upper jaw.
   Whilst  I was contemplating this inert mass, a dozen of these voracious
beasts appeared round the boat; and, without noticing us, threw themselves
upon the dead body and fought with one another for the pieces.
   At  half-past  eight  we  were  again  on  board  the Nautilus. There I
reflected  on  the incidents which had taken place in our excursion to the
Manaar Bank.
   Two  conclusions  I  must  inevitably draw from it-one bearing upon the
unparalleled  courage  of  Captain  Nemo, the other upon his devotion to a
human  being, a representative of that race from which he fled beneath the
sea.  Whatever  he  might  say,  this strange man had not yet succeeded in
entirely crushing his heart.
   When  I  made  this observation to him, he answered in a slightly moved
tone:
   "That  Indian,  sir, is an inhabitant of an oppressed country; and I am
still, and shall be, to my last breath, one of them!"


        Chapter IV. THE RED SEA

   In  the  course of the day of the 29th of January, the island of Ceylon
disappeared  under  the  horizon,  and  the Nautilus, at a speed of twenty
miles  an  hour,  slid  into  the  labyrinth  of canals which separate the
Maldives from the Laccadives. It coasted even the Island of Kiltan, a land
originally  coraline,  discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1499, and one of the
nineteen  principal islands of the Laccadive Archipelago, situated between
10O and 14O 30' N. lat., and 69O 50' 72" E. long.
   We   had  made  16,220  miles,  or  7,500  (French)  leagues  from  our
starting-point in the Japanese Seas.
   The  next  day (30th January), when the Nautilus went to the surface of
the  ocean  there  was  no  land  in  sight. Its course was N.N.E., in the
direction  of  the  Sea  of Oman, between Arabia and the Indian Peninsula,
which  serves  as  an outlet to the Persian Gulf. It was evidently a block
without  any possible egress. Where was Captain Nemo taking us to? I could
not say. This, however, did not satisfy the Canadian, who that day came to
me asking where we were going.
   "We are going where our Captain's fancy takes us, Master Ned."
   "His  fancy  cannot take us far, then," said the Canadian. "The Persian
Gulf has no outlet: and, if we do go in, it will not be long before we are
out again."
   "Very  well,  then,  we will come out again, Master Land; and if, after
the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Nautilus  would  like  to visit the Red Sea, the
Straits of Bab-el-mandeb are there to give us entrance."
   "I need not tell you, sir," said Ned Land, "that the Red Sea is as much
closed as the Gulf, as the Isthmus of Suez is not yet cut; and, if it was,
a  boat  as  mysterious  as ours would not risk itself in a canal cut with
sluices.  And  again,  the  Red  Sea  is  not  the road to take us back to
Europe."
   "But I never said we were going back to Europe."
   "What do you suppose, then?"
   "I suppose that, after visiting the curious coasts of Arabia and Egypt,
the  Nautilus  will  go  down  the  Indian  Ocean again, perhaps cross the
Channel of Mozambique, perhaps off the Mascarenhas, so as to gain the Cape
of Good Hope."
   "And  once at the Cape of Good Hope?" asked the Canadian, with peculiar
emphasis.
   "Well,  we shall penetrate into that Atlantic which we do not yet know.
Ah!  friend  Ned, you are getting tired of this journey under the sea; you
are surfeited with the incessantly varying spectacle of submarine wonders.
For my part, I shall be sorry to see the end of a voyage which it is given
to so few men to make."
   For  four  days, till the 3rd of February, the Nautilus scoured the Sea
of  Oman,  at  various  speeds  and  at various depths. It seemed to go at
random,  as  if hesitating as to which road it should follow, but we never
passed the Tropic of Cancer.
   In  quitting this sea we sighted Muscat for an instant, one of the most
important  towns  of  the  country  of Oman. I admired its strange aspect,
surrounded  by  black rocks upon which its white houses and forts stood in
relief.  I saw the rounded domes of its mosques, the elegant points of its
minarets,  its  fresh  and verdant terraces. But it was only a vision! The
Nautilus soon sank under the waves of that part of the sea.
   We  passed  along  the  Arabian  coast  of  Mahrah and Hadramaut, for a
distance of six miles, its undulating line of mountains being occasionally
relieved  by some ancient ruin. The 5th of February we at last entered the
Gulf  of Aden, a perfect funnel introduced into the neck of Bab-el-mandeb,
through which the Indian waters entered the Red Sea.
   The  6th  of  February,  the Nautilus floated in sight of Aden, perched
upon  a promontory which a narrow isthmus joins to the mainland, a kind of
inaccessible  Gibraltar,  the  fortifications of which were rebuilt by the
English after taking possession in 1839. I caught a glimpse of the octagon
minarets  of  this  town,  which  was  at  one time the richest commercial
magazine on the coast.
   I  certainly  thought  that  Captain Nemo, arrived at this point, would
back  out  again; but I was mistaken, for he did no such thing, much to my
surprise.
   The  next  day,  the  7th  of  February,  we  entered  the  Straits  of
Bab-el-mandeb,  the  name  of which, in the Arab tongue, means The Gate of
Tears.
   To  twenty  miles  in breadth, it is only thirty-two in length. And for
the  Nautilus,  starting at full speed, the crossing was scarcely the work
of  an  hour.  But I saw nothing, not even the Island of Perim, with which
the  British Government has fortified the position of Aden. There were too
many English or French steamers of the line of Suez to Bombay, Calcutta to
Melbourne,  and  from  Bourbon  to  the  Mauritius,  furrowing this narrow
passage,  for  the  Nautilus  to  venture  to  show itself. So it remained
prudently below. At last about noon, we were in the waters of the Red Sea.
   I  would  not  even  seek  to  understand the caprice which had decided
Captain  Nemo upon entering the gulf. But I quite approved of the Nautilus
entering  it.  Its  speed  was lessened: sometimes it kept on the surface,
sometimes  it  dived to avoid a vessel, and thus I was able to observe the
upper and lower parts of this curious sea.
   The  8th  of February, from the first dawn of day, Mocha came in sight,
now a ruined town, whose walls would fall at a gunshot, yet which shelters
here and there some verdant date-trees; once an important city, containing
six  public  markets, and twenty-six mosques, and whose walls, defended by
fourteen forts, formed a girdle of two miles in circumference.
   The  Nautilus then approached the African shore, where the depth of the
sea  was  greater. There, between two waters clear as crystal, through the
open  panels  we  were  allowed  to  contemplate  the  beautiful bushes of
brilliant  coral  and  large blocks of rock clothed with a splendid fur of
green  variety of sites and landscapes along these sandbanks and algae and
fuci.  What  an  indescribable  spectacle,  and  what variety of sites and
landscapes  along  these  sandbanks  and  volcanic islands which bound the
Libyan  coast!  But where these shrubs appeared in all their beauty was on
the  eastern coast, which the Nautilus soon gained. It was on the coast of
Tehama,  for there not only did this display of zoophytes flourish beneath
the  level of the sea, but they also formed picturesque interlacings which
unfolded  themselves  about  sixty feet above the surface, more capricious
but  less  highly  coloured  than those whose freshness was kept up by the
vital power of the waters.
   What charming hours I passed thus at the window of the saloon! What new
specimens  of  submarine flora and fauna did I admire under the brightness
of our electric lantern!
   The  9th  of  February the Nautilus floated in the broadest part of the
Red  Sea,  which  is  comprised  between  Souakin,  on the west coast, and
Komfidah, on the east coast, with a diameter of ninety miles.
   That  day  at noon, after the bearings were taken, Captain Nemo mounted
the  platform, where I happened to be, and I was determined not to let him
go  down  again  without  at  least  pressing  him  regarding his ulterior
projects.  As  soon as he saw me he approached and graciously offered me a
cigar.
   "Well,  sir,  does  this  Red  Sea  please  you?  Have you sufficiently
observed  the  wonders it covers, its fishes, its zoophytes, its parterres
of sponges, and its forests of coral? Did you catch a glimpse of the towns
on its borders?"
   "Yes, Captain Nemo," I replied; "and the Nautilus is wonderfully fitted
for such a study. Ah! it is an intelligent boat!"
   "Yes,  sir, intelligent and invulnerable. It fears neither the terrible
tempests of the Red Sea, nor its currents, nor its sandbanks."
   "Certainly,"  said  I,  "this sea is quoted as one of the worst, and in
the  time  of  the  ancients,  if  I  am  not mistaken, its reputation was
detestable."
   "Detestable,  M.  Aronnax.  The Greek and Latin historians do not speak
favourably  of it, and Strabo says it is very dangerous during the Etesian
winds  and  in  the rainy season. The Arabian Edrisi portrays it under the
name  of  the  Gulf of Colzoum, and relates that vessels perished there in
great  numbers  on the sandbanks and that no one would risk sailing in the
night.  It  is,  he  pretends, a sea subject to fearful hurricanes, strewn
with  inhospitable  islands,  and `which offers nothing good either on its
surface or in its depths.'"
   "One  may see," I replied, "that these historians never sailed on board
the Nautilus."
   "Just  so,"  replied the Captain, smiling; "and in that respect moderns
are not more advanced than the ancients. It required many ages to find out
the  mechanical power of steam. Who knows if, in another hundred years, we
may not see a second Nautilus? Progress is slow, M. Aronnax."
   "It  is  true," I answered; "your boat is at least a century before its
time,  perhaps  an  era.  What  a  misfortune  that  the secret of such an
invention should die with its inventor!"
   Captain Nemo did not reply. After some minutes' silence he continued:
   "You  were  speaking  of  the  opinions  of ancient historians upon the
dangerous navigation of the Red Sea."
   "It is true," said I; "but were not their fears exaggerated?"
   "Yes  and no, M. Aronnax," replied Captain Nemo, who seemed to know the
Red  Sea by heart. "That which is no longer dangerous for a modern vessel,
well  rigged,  strongly  built,  and  master  of its own course, thanks to
obedient  steam, offered all sorts of perils to the ships of the ancients.
Picture  to  yourself  those  first  navigators venturing in ships made of
planks  sewn  with the cords of the palmtree, saturated with the grease of
the seadog, and covered with powdered resin! They had not even instruments
wherewith  to take their bearings, and they went by guess amongst currents
of  which  they  scarcely  knew anything. Under such conditions shipwrecks
were,  and  must  have  been,  numerous. But in our time, steamers running
between Suez and the South Seas have nothing more to fear from the fury of
this gulf, in spite of contrary trade-winds. The captain and passengers do
not  prepare for their departure by offering propitiatory sacrifices; and,
on  their  return,  they  no  longer  go  ornamented with wreaths and gilt
fillets to thank the gods in the neighbouring temple."
   "I  agree  with  you,"  said  I;  "and  steam  seems to have killed all
gratitude  in  the hearts of sailors. But, Captain, since you seem to have
especially studied this sea, can you tell me the origin of its name?"
   "There exist several explanations on the subject, M. Aronnax. Would you
like to know the opinion of a chronicler of the fourteenth century?"
   "Willingly."
   "This  fanciful writer pretends that its name was given to it after the
passage of the Israelites, when Pharaoh perished in the waves which closed
at the voice of Moses."
   "A  poet's explanation, Captain Nemo," I replied; "but I cannot content
myself with that. I ask you for your personal opinion."
   "Here  it  is,  M.  Aronnax.  According to my idea, we must see in this
appellation of the Red Sea a translation of the Hebrew word `Edom'; and if
the ancients gave it that name, it was on account of the particular colour
of its waters."
   "But  up  to  this  time  I have seen nothing but transparent waves and
without any particular colour."
   "Very likely; but as we advance to the bottom of the gulf, you will see
this  singular  appearance. I remember seeing the Bay of Tor entirely red,
like a sea of blood."
   "And  you  attribute  this  colour  to  the  presence  of a microscopic
seaweed?"
   "Yes."
   "So,  Captain  Nemo,  it is not the first time you have overrun the Red
Sea on board the Nautilus?"
   "No, sir."
   "As  you  spoke a while ago of the passage of the Israelites and of the
catastrophe  to  the  Egyptians,  I will ask whether you have met with the
traces under the water of this great historical fact?"
   "No, sir; and for a good reason."
   "What is it?"
   "It  is  that  the  spot  where  Moses  and his people passed is now so
blocked  up  with  sand that the camels can barely bathe their legs there.
You  can  well  understand  that  there  would  not be water enough for my
Nautilus."
   "And the spot?" I asked.
   "The  spot  is  situated a little above the Isthmus of Suez, in the arm
which  formerly made a deep estuary, when the Red Sea extended to the Salt
Lakes.  Now,  whether this passage were miraculous or not, the Israelites,
nevertheless, crossed there to reach the Promised Land, and Pharaoh's army
perished  precisely on that spot; and I think that excavations made in the
middle  of  the  sand  would  bring  to  light  a large number of arms and
instruments of Egyptian origin."
   "That  is  evident," I replied; "and for the sake of archaeologists let
us  hope  that  these  excavations  will be made sooner or later, when new
towns  are  established on the isthmus, after the construction of the Suez
Canal; a canal, however, very useless to a vessel like the Nautilus."
   "Very  likely;  but useful to the whole world," said Captain Nemo. "The
ancients  well  understood  the utility of a communication between the Red
Sea  and  the Mediterranean for their commercial affairs: but they did not
think  of  digging  a  canal direct, and took the Nile as an intermediate.
Very  probably the canal which united the Nile to the Red Sea was begun by
Sesostris,  if we may believe tradition. One thing is certain, that in the
year  615  before Jesus Christ, Necos undertook the works of an alimentary
canal to the waters of the Nile across the plain of Egypt, looking towards
Arabia. It took four days to go up this canal, and it was so wide that two
triremes  could  go  abreast.  It  was  carried  on  by Darius, the son of
Hystaspes,  and  probably finished by Ptolemy II. Strabo saw it navigated:
but its decline from the point of departure, near Bubastes, to the Red Sea
was  so  slight  that  it was only navigable for a few months in the year.
This  canal  answered all commercial purposes to the age of Antonius, when
it was abandoned and blocked up with sand. Restored by order of the Caliph
Omar,  it  was definitely destroyed in 761 or 762 by Caliph Al-Mansor, who
wished  to prevent the arrival of provisions to Mohammed-ben-Abdallah, who
had  revolted  against him. During the expedition into Egypt, your General
Bonaparte  discovered  traces  of  the  works  in the Desert of Suez; and,
surprised  by  the tide, he nearly perished before regaining Hadjaroth, at
the very place where Moses had encamped three thousand years before him."
   "Well,  Captain,  what  the ancients dared not undertake, this junction
between  the two seas, which will shorten the road from Cadiz to India, M.
Lesseps  has  succeeded  in  doing;  and  before long he will have changed
Africa into an immense island."
   "Yes,  M.  Aronnax;  you have the right to be proud of your countryman.
Such  a  man brings more honour to a nation than great captains. He began,
like  so  many others, with disgust and rebuffs; but he has triumphed, for
he  has  the genius of will. And it is sad to think that a work like that,
which  ought  to  have  been  an  international  work and which would have
sufficed  to make a reign illustrious, should have succeeded by the energy
of one man. All honour to M. Lesseps!"
   "Yes!  honour to the great citizen," I replied, surprised by the manner
in which Captain Nemo had just spoken.
   "Unfortunately,"  he  continued,  "I  cannot  take you through the Suez
Canal;  but  you  will  be  able  to see the long jetty of Port Said after
to-morrow, when we shall be in the Mediterranean."
   "The Mediterranean!" I exclaimed.
   "Yes, sir; does that astonish you?"
   "What  astonishes  me  is to think that we shall be there the day after
to-morrow."
   "Indeed?"
   "Yes,  Captain, although by this time I ought to have accustomed myself
to be surprised at nothing since I have been on board your boat."
   "But the cause of this surprise?"
   "Well! it is the fearful speed you will have to put on the Nautilus, if
the day after to-morrow she is to be in the Mediterranean, having made the
round of Africa, and doubled the Cape of Good Hope!"
   "Who  told  you  that she would make the round of Africa and double the
Cape of Good Hope, sir?"
   "Well,  unless  the  Nautilus  sails  on dry land, and passes above the
isthmus-"
   "Or beneath it, M. Aronnax."
   "Beneath it?"
   "Certainly," replied Captain Nemo quietly. "A long time ago Nature made
under this tongue of land what man has this day made on its surface."
   "What! such a passage exists?"
   "Yes; a subterranean passage, which I have named the Arabian Tunnel. It
takes us beneath Suez and opens into the Gulf of Pelusium."
   "But this isthmus is composed of nothing but quick sands?"
   "To  a  certain  depth.  But  at fifty-five yards only there is a solid
layer of rock."
   "Did  you  discover  this  passage  by  chance?"  I asked more and more
surprised.
   "Chance  and reasoning, sir; and by reasoning even more than by chance.
Not only does this passage exist, but I have profited by it several times.
Without  that  I should not have ventured this day into the impassable Red
Sea.  I noticed that in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean there existed
a  certain  number of fishes of a kind perfectly identical. Certain of the
fact,  I  asked  myself  was  it  possible that there was no communication
between  the  two  seas?  If  there  was,  the  subterranean  current must
necessarily run from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, from the sole cause
of  difference  of  level.  I  caught  a  large  number  of  fishes in the
neighbourhood  of  Suez.  I  passed a copper ring through their tails, and
threw  them back into the sea. Some months later, on the coast of Syria, I
caught  some  of  my fish ornamented with the ring. Thus the communication
between  the  two  was  proved.  I  then sought for it with my Nautilus; I
discovered  it,  ventured into it, and before long, sir, you too will have
passed through my Arabian tunnel!"


        Chapter V. THE ARABIAN TUNNEL

   That  same  evening,  in  21O  30' N. lat., the Nautilus floated on the
surface of the sea, approaching the Arabian coast. I saw Djeddah, the most
important   counting-house   of   Egypt,   Syria,  Turkey,  and  India.  I
distinguished  clearly  enough  its buildings, the vessels anchored at the
quays,  and  those  whose  draught  of water obliged them to anchor in the
roads.  The  sun,  rather low on the horizon, struck full on the houses of
the  town,  bringing out their whiteness. Outside, some wooden cabins, and
some  made  of  reeds,  showed the quarter inhabited by the Bedouins. Soon
Djeddah  was  shut out from view by the shadows of night, and the Nautilus
found herself under water slightly phosphorescent.
   The next day, the 10th of February, we sighted several ships running to
windward.  The Nautilus returned to its submarine navigation; but at noon,
when  her  bearings  were taken, the sea being deserted, she rose again to
her waterline.
   Accompanied  by  Ned  and Conseil, I seated myself on the platform. The
coast  on  the eastern side looked like a mass faintly printed upon a damp
fog.
   We  were  leaning on the sides of the pinnace, talking of one thing and
another, when Ned Land, stretching out his hand towards a spot on the sea,
said:
   "Do you see anything there, sir?"
   "No, Ned," I replied; "but I have not your eyes, you know."
   "Look  well," said Ned, "there, on the starboard beam, about the height
of the lantern! Do you not see a mass which seems to move?"
   "Certainly,"  said  I,  after  close attention; "I see something like a
long black body on the top of the water."
   And  certainly  before  long  the black object was not more than a mile
from us. It looked like a great sandbank deposited in the open sea. It was
a gigantic dugong!
   Ned  Land looked eagerly. His eyes shone with covetousness at the sight
of the animal. His hand seemed ready to harpoon it. One would have thought
he  was awaiting the moment to throw himself into the sea and attack it in
its element.
   At  this  instant  Captain  Nemo  appeared  on the platform. He saw the
dugong, understood the Canadian's attitude, and, addressing him, said:
   "If  you  held  a harpoon just now, Master Land, would it not burn your
hand?"
   "Just so, sir."
   "And you would not be sorry to go back, for one day, to your trade of a
fisherman  and  to add this cetacean to the list of those you have already
killed?"
   "I should not, sir."
   "Well, you can try."
   "Thank you, sir," said Ned Land, his eyes flaming.
   "Only,"  continued  the Captain, "I advise you for your own sake not to
miss the creature."
   "Is  the  dugong  dangerous  to  attack?"  I  asked,  in  spite  of the
Canadian's shrug of the shoulders.
   "Yes,"  replied  the  Captain;  "sometimes  the  animal  turns upon its
assailants  and  overturns  their boat. But for Master Land this danger is
not to be feared. His eye is prompt, his arm sure."
   At  this  moment  seven  men  of  the crew, mute and immovable as ever,
mounted  the  platform.  One carried a harpoon and a line similar to those
employed  in  catching  whales.  The  pinnace  was lifted from the bridge,
pulled  from its socket, and let down into the sea. Six oarsmen took their
seats,  and  the  coxswain went to the tiller. Ned, Conseil, and I went to
the back of the boat.
   "You are not coming, Captain?" I asked.
   "No, sir; but I wish you good sport."
   The  boat  put off, and, lifted by the six rowers, drew rapidly towards
the dugong, which floated about two miles from the Nautilus.
   Arrived  some cables-length from the cetacean, the speed slackened, and
the  oars  dipped  noiselessly into the quiet waters. Ned Land, harpoon in
hand,  stood  in  the fore part of the boat. The harpoon used for striking
the whale is generally attached to a very long cord which runs out rapidly
as the wounded creature draws it after him. But here the cord was not more
than  ten  fathoms  long, and the extremity was attached to a small barrel
which,  by  floating,  was  to  show  the course the dugong took under the
water.
   I  stood  and  carefully watched the Canadian's adversary. This dugong,
which  also bears the name of the halicore, closely resembles the manatee;
its  oblong  body terminated in a lengthened tail, and its lateral fins in
perfect  fingers.  Its  difference from the manatee consisted in its upper
jaw,  which was armed with two long and pointed teeth which formed on each
side diverging tusks.
   This  dugong  which  Ned  Land  was preparing to attack was of colossal
dimensions; it was more than seven yards long. It did not move, and seemed
to be sleeping on the waves, which circumstance made it easier to capture.
   The  boat approached within six yards of the animal. The oars rested on
the  rowlocks.  I  half  rose.  Ned  Land,  his body thrown a little back,
brandished the harpoon in his experienced hand.
   Suddenly  a  hissing  noise  was heard, and the dugong disappeared. The
harpoon,  although thrown with great force; had apparently only struck the
water.
   "Curse it!" exclaimed the Canadian furiously; "I have missed it!"
   "No,"  said  I;  "the  creature  is wounded-look at the blood; but your
weapon has not stuck in his body."
   "My harpoon! my harpoon!" cried Ned Land.
   The  sailors  rowed  on, and the coxswain made for the floating barrel.
The harpoon regained, we followed in pursuit of the animal.
   The  latter  came now and then to the surface to breathe. Its wound had
not weakened it, for it shot onwards with great rapidity.
   The  boat,  rowed  by  strong arms, flew on its track. Several times it
approached  within  some  few yards, and the Canadian was ready to strike,
but  the  dugong  made  off with a sudden plunge, and it was impossible to
reach it.
   Imagine  the passion which excited impatient Ned Land! He hurled at the
unfortunate  creature the most energetic expletives in the English tongue.
For my part, I was only vexed to see the dugong escape all our attacks.
   We  pursued  it without relaxation for an hour, and I began to think it
would  prove  difficult  to  capture,  when the animal, possessed with the
perverse  idea  of  vengeance of which he had cause to repent, turned upon
the pinnace and assailed us in its turn.
   This manoeuvre did not escape the Canadian.
   "Look out!" he cried.
   The  coxswain  said  some  words  in  his  outlandish tongue, doubtless
warning the men to keep on their guard.
   The  dugong  came  within twenty feet of the boat, stopped, sniffed the
air  briskly with its large nostrils (not pierced at the extremity, but in
the  upper  part  of  its muzzle). Then, taking a spring, he threw himself
upon us.
   The pinnace could not avoid the shock, and half upset, shipped at least
two  tons  of water, which had to be emptied; but, thanks to the coxswain,
we  caught  it  sideways, not full front, so we were not quite overturned.
While  Ned Land, clinging to the bows, belaboured the gigantic animal with
blows  from  his harpoon, the creature's teeth were buried in the gunwale,
and  it lifted the whole thing out of the water, as a lion does a roebuck.
We  were  upset  over  one another, and I know not how the adventure would
have  ended, if the Canadian, still enraged with the beast, had not struck
it to the heart.
   I  heard its teeth grind on the iron plate, and the dugong disappeared,
carrying  the  harpoon  with  him.  But  the  barrel  soon returned to the
surface, and shortly after the body of the animal, turned on its back. The
boat came up with it, took it in tow, and made straight for the Nautilus.
   It  required  tackle of enormous strength to hoist the dugong on to the
platform. It weighed 10,000 lb.
   The next day, 11th February, the larder of the Nautilus was enriched by
some  more delicate game. A flight of sea-swallows rested on the Nautilus.
It  was  a  species of the Sterna nilotica, peculiar to Egypt; its beak is
black, head grey and pointed, the eye surrounded by white spots, the back,
wings, and tail of a greyish colour, the belly and throat white, and claws
red. They also took some dozen of Nile ducks, a wild bird of high flavour,
its throat and upper part of the head white with black spots.
   About  five  o'clock in the evening we sighted to the north the Cape of
Ras-Mohammed.  This  cape forms the extremity of Arabia Petraea, comprised
between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Acabah.
   The  Nautilus  penetrated into the Straits of Jubal, which leads to the
Gulf  of  Suez. I distinctly saw a high mountain, towering between the two
gulfs  of Ras-Mohammed. It was Mount Horeb, that Sinai at the top of which
Moses saw God face to face.
   At  six  o'clock  the Nautilus, sometimes floating, sometimes immersed,
passed  some distance from Tor, situated at the end of the bay, the waters
of  which  seemed  tinted with red, an observation already made by Captain
Nemo. Then night fell in the midst of a heavy silence, sometimes broken by
the cries of the pelican and other night-birds, and the noise of the waves
breaking upon the shore, chafing against the rocks, or the panting of some
far-off steamer beating the waters of the Gulf with its noisy paddles.
   From eight to nine o'clock the Nautilus remained some fathoms under the
water.  According  to  my  calculation  we  must have been very near Suez.
Through  the panel of the saloon I saw the bottom of the rocks brilliantly
lit up by our electric lamp. We seemed to be leaving the Straits behind us
more and more.
   At  a  quarter-past  nine, the vessel having returned to the surface, I
mounted  the  platform.  Most  impatient  to  pass  through Captain Nemo's
tunnel,  I could not stay in one place, so came to breathe the fresh night
air.
   Soon  in  the  shadow  I saw a pale light, half discoloured by the fog,
shining about a mile from us.
   "A floating lighthouse!" said someone near me.
   I turned, and saw the Captain.
   "It  is the floating light of Suez," he continued. "It will not be long
before we gain the entrance of the tunnel."
   "The entrance cannot be easy?"
   "No,  sir;  for  that reason I am accustomed to go into the steersman's
cage  and  myself  direct  our  course.  And  now, if you will go down, M.
Aronnax, the Nautilus is going under the waves, and will not return to the
surface until we have passed through the Arabian Tunnel."
   Captain  Nemo  led  me  towards the central staircase; half way down he
opened  a  door, traversed the upper deck, and landed in the pilot's cage,
which it may be remembered rose at the extremity of the platform. It was a
cabin measuring six feet square, very much like that occupied by the pilot
on  the  steamboats  of  the  Mississippi or Hudson. In the midst worked a
wheel,  placed vertically, and caught to the tiller-rope, which ran to the
back  of  the Nautilus. Four light-ports with lenticular glasses, let in a
groove  in the partition of the cabin, allowed the man at the wheel to see
in all directions.
   This  cabin  was  dark;  but  soon my eyes accustomed themselves to the
obscurity, and I perceived the pilot, a strong man, with his hands resting
on  the  spokes  of the wheel. Outside, the sea appeared vividly lit up by
the  lantern,  which shed its rays from the back of the cabin to the other
extremity of the platform.
   "Now," said Captain Nemo, "let us try to make our passage."
   Electric  wires connected the pilot's cage with the machinery room, and
from  there  the  Captain could communicate simultaneously to his Nautilus
the  direction  and  the  speed.  He pressed a metal knob, and at once the
speed of the screw diminished.
   I  looked  in  silence  at the high straight wall we were running by at
this  moment,  the immovable base of a massive sandy coast. We followed it
thus for an hour only some few yards off.
   Captain  Nemo  did not take his eye from the knob, suspended by its two
concentric  circles  in the cabin. At a simple gesture, the pilot modified
the course of the Nautilus every instant.
   I  had  placed  myself  at  the  port-scuttle, and saw some magnificent
substructures  of  coral,  zoophytes,  seaweed, and fucus, agitating their
enormous claws, which stretched out from the fissures of the rock.
   At  a  quarter-past  ten,  the  Captain  himself took the helm. A large
gallery,  black  and deep, opened before us. The Nautilus went boldly into
it.  A strange roaring was heard round its sides. It was the waters of the
Red  Sea,  which  the incline of the tunnel precipitated violently towards
the  Mediterranean. The Nautilus went with the torrent, rapid as an arrow,
in  spite  of  the efforts of the machinery, which, in order to offer more
effective resistance, beat the waves with reversed screw.
   On  the  walls  of the narrow passage I could see nothing but brilliant
rays,  straight  lines,  furrows of fire, traced by the great speed, under
the brilliant electric light. My heart beat fast.
   At  thirty-five  minutes  past ten, Captain Nemo quitted the helm, and,
turning to me, said:
   "The Mediterranean!"
   In  less  than  twenty  minutes,  the  Nautilus,  carried  along by the
torrent, had passed through the Isthmus of Suez.


        Chapter VI. THE GRECIAN ARCHIPELAGO

   The  next  day,  the 12th of February, at the dawn of day, the Nautilus
rose  to  the  surface.  I hastened on to the platform. Three miles to the
south the dim outline of Pelusium was to be seen. A torrent had carried us
from one sea to another. About seven o'clock Ned and Conseil joined me.
   "Well,  Sir  Naturalist," said the Canadian, in a slightly jovial tone,
"and the Mediterranean?"
   "We are floating on its surface, friend Ned."
   "What!" said Conseil, "this very night."
   "Yes,  this very night; in a few minutes we have passed this impassable
isthmus."
   "I do not believe it," replied the Canadian.
   "Then  you  are wrong, Master Land," I continued; "this low coast which
rounds  off to the south is the Egyptian coast. And you who have such good
eyes, Ned, you can see the jetty of Port Said stretching into the sea."
   The Canadian looked attentively.
   "Certainly you are right, sir, and your Captain is a first-rate man. We
are in the Mediterranean. Good! Now, if you please, let us talk of our own
little affair, but so that no one hears us."
   I  saw  what the Canadian wanted, and, in any case, I thought it better
to  let  him talk, as he wished it; so we all three went and sat down near
the lantern, where we were less exposed to the spray of the blades.
   "Now, Ned, we listen; what have you to tell us?"
   "What  I  have to tell you is very simple. We are in Europe; and before
Captain Nemo's caprices drag us once more to the bottom of the Polar Seas,
or lead us into Oceania, I ask to leave the Nautilus."
   I  wished  in  no  way  to  shackle the liberty of my companions, but I
certainly felt no desire to leave Captain Nemo.
   Thanks  to  him, and thanks to his apparatus, I was each day nearer the
completion  of  my  submarine  studies;  and  I  was  rewriting my book of
submarine  depths  in  its  very element. Should I ever again have such an
opportunity  of observing the wonders of the ocean? No, certainly not! And
I could not bring myself to the idea of abandoning the Nautilus before the
cycle of investigation was accomplished.
   "Friend  Ned,  answer  me frankly, are you tired of being on board? Are
you sorry that destiny has thrown us into Captain Nemo's hands?"
   The  Canadian  remained  some moments without answering. Then, crossing
his arms, he said:
   "Frankly,  I do not regret this journey under the seas. I shall be glad
to  have made it; but, now that it is made, let us have done with it. That
is my idea."
   "It will come to an end, Ned."
   "Where and when?"
   "Where  I  do not know-when I cannot say; or, rather, I suppose it will
end when these seas have nothing more to teach us."
   "Then what do you hope for?" demanded the Canadian.
   "That  circumstances may occur as well six months hence as now by which
we may and ought to profit."
   "Oh!"  said  Ned  Land,  "and  where  shall we be in six months, if you
please, Sir Naturalist?"
   "Perhaps  in China; you know the Nautilus is a rapid traveller. It goes
through  water  as swallows through the air, or as an express on the land.
It  does  not  fear  frequented seas; who can say that it may not beat the
coasts of France, England, or America, on which flight may be attempted as
advantageously as here."
   "M.  Aronnax,"  replied the Canadian, "your arguments are rotten at the
foundation.  You  speak  in  the  future,  `We shall be there! we shall be
here!' I speak in the present, `We are here, and we must profit by it.'"
   Ned  Land's  logic  pressed  me  hard, and I felt myself beaten on that
ground. I knew not what argument would now tell in my favour.
   "Sir," continued Ned, "let us suppose an impossibility: if Captain Nemo
should this day offer you your liberty; would you accept it?"
   "I do not know," I answered.
   "And  if,"  he  added,  "the  offer  made  you this day was never to be
renewed, would you accept it?"
   "Friend  Ned,  this is my answer. Your reasoning is against me. We must
not  rely  on Captain Nemo's good-will. Common prudence forbids him to set
us  at  liberty.  On  the other side, prudence bids us profit by the first
opportunity to leave the Nautilus."
   "Well, M. Aronnax, that is wisely said."
   "Only  one  observation-just one. The occasion must be serious, and our
first  attempt must succeed; if it fails, we shall never find another, and
Captain Nemo will never forgive us."
   "All that is true," replied the Canadian. "But your observation applies
equally  to  all attempts at flight, whether in two years' time, or in two
days'.  But  the  question  is  still  this:  If  a favourable opportunity
presents itself, it must be seized."
   "Agreed!  And  now, Ned, will you tell me what you mean by a favourable
opportunity?"
   "It  will  be  that  which,  on a dark night, will bring the Nautilus a
short distance from some European coast."
   "And you will try and save yourself by swimming?"
   "Yes,  if  we  were  near  enough  to  the  bank, and if the vessel was
floating at the time. Not if the bank was far away, and the boat was under
the water."
   "And in that case?"
   "In  that  case,  I should seek to make myself master of the pinnace. I
know  how  it  is worked. We must get inside, and the bolts once drawn, we
shall  come to the surface of the water, without even the pilot, who is in
the bows, perceiving our flight."
   "Well,  Ned,  watch for the opportunity; but do not forget that a hitch
will ruin us."
   "I will not forget, sir."
   "And now, Ned, would you like to know what I think of your project?"
   "Certainly, M. Aronnax."
   "Well,  I  think-I  do  not  say  I  hope-I  think that this favourable
opportunity will never present itself."
   "Why not?"
   "Because  Captain  Nemo cannot hide from himself that we have not given
up  all  hope of regaining our liberty, and he will be on his guard, above
all, in the seas and in the sight of European coasts."
   "We shall see," replied Ned Land, shaking his head determinedly.
   "And  now,  Ned  Land," I added, "let us stop here. Not another word on
the subject. The day that you are ready, come and let us know, and we will
follow you. I rely entirely upon you."
   Thus  ended  a conversation which, at no very distant time, led to such
grave  results. I must say here that facts seemed to confirm my foresight,
to  the  Canadian's  great  despair. Did Captain Nemo distrust us in these
frequented  seas?  or  did  he only wish to hide himself from the numerous
vessels,  of  all  nations,  which ploughed the Mediterranean? I could not
tell;  but  we  were oftener between waters and far from the coast. Or, if
the  Nautilus did emerge, nothing was to be seen but the pilot's cage; and
sometimes  it  went  to great depths, for, between the Grecian Archipelago
and  Asia  Minor  we  could  not  touch the bottom by more than a thousand
fathoms.
   Thus  I  only  knew  we  were  near the Island of Carpathos, one of the
Sporades, by Captain Nemo reciting these lines from Virgil:
   "Est Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates, Caeruleus Proteus,"
   as he pointed to a spot on the planisphere.
   It  was  indeed  the  ancient  abode  of  Proteus,  the old shepherd of
Neptune's flocks, now the Island of Scarpanto, situated between Rhodes and
Crete.  I saw nothing but the granite base through the glass panels of the
saloon.
   The  next day, the 14th of February, I resolved to employ some hours in
studying  the  fishes of the Archipelago; but for some reason or other the
panels  remained  hermetically  sealed.  Upon  taking  the  course  of the
Nautilus,  I  found that we were going towards Candia, the ancient Isle of
Crete.  At  the  time I embarked on the Abraham Lincoln, the whole of this
island  had  risen in insurrection against the despotism of the Turks. But
how  the  insurgents  had fared since that time I was absolutely ignorant,
and  it  was  not  Captain  Nemo, deprived of all land communications, who
could tell me.
   I  made  no allusion to this event when that night I found myself alone
with him in the saloon. Besides, he seemed to be taciturn and preoccupied.
Then,  contrary  to  his custom, he ordered both panels to be opened, and,
going  from  one to the other, observed the mass of waters attentively. To
what end I could not guess; so, on my side, I employed my time in studying
the fish passing before my eyes.
   In  the  midst  of  the waters a man appeared, a diver, carrying at his
belt  a leathern purse. It was not a body abandoned to the waves; it was a
living man, swimming with a strong hand, disappearing occasionally to take
breath at the surface.
   I turned towards Captain Nemo, and in an agitated voice exclaimed:
   "A man shipwrecked! He must be saved at any price!"
   The Captain did not answer me, but came and leaned against the panel.
   The man had approached, and, with his face flattened against the glass,
was looking at us.
   To  my  great amazement, Captain Nemo signed to him. The diver answered
with  his  hand,  mounted immediately to the surface of the water, and did
not appear again.
   "Do  not  be uncomfortable," said Captain Nemo. "It is Nicholas of Cape
Matapan,  surnamed  Pesca.  He  is  well known in all the Cyclades. A bold
diver!  water  is his element, and he lives more in it than on land, going
continually from one island to another, even as far as Crete."
   "You know him, Captain?"
   "Why not, M. Aronnax?"
   Saying  which,  Captain Nemo went towards a piece of furniture standing
near  the  left panel of the saloon. Near this piece of furniture, I saw a
chest  bound  with iron, on the cover of which was a copper plate, bearing
the cypher of the Nautilus with its device.
   At  that  moment, the Captain, without noticing my presence, opened the
piece of furniture, a sort of strong box, which held a great many ingots.
   They  were  ingots of gold. From whence came this precious metal, which
represented  an enormous sum? Where did the Captain gather this gold from?
and what was he going to do with it?
   I  did  not say one word. I looked. Captain Nemo took the ingots one by
one,  and  arranged  them  methodically  in  the  chest,  which  he filled
entirely.  I estimated the contents at more than 4,000 lb. weight of gold,
that is to say, nearly L200,000.
   The  chest  was  securely fastened, and the Captain wrote an address on
the lid, in characters which must have belonged to Modern Greece.
   This  done, Captain Nemo pressed a knob, the wire of which communicated
with  the  quarters  of the crew. Four men appeared, and, not without some
trouble, pushed the chest out of the saloon. Then I heard them hoisting it
up the iron staircase by means of pulleys.
   At that moment, Captain Nemo turned to me.
   "And you were saying, sir?" said he.
   "I was saying nothing, Captain."
   "Then, sir, if you will allow me, I will wish you good night."
   Whereupon he turned and left the saloon.
   I returned to my room much troubled, as one may believe. I vainly tried
to  sleep-I sought the connecting link between the apparition of the diver
and  the  chest  filled  with  gold.  Soon, I felt by certain movements of
pitching  and  tossing  that  the  Nautilus  was  leaving  the  depths and
returning to the surface.
   Then  I heard steps upon the platform; and I knew they were unfastening
the pinnace and launching it upon the waves. For one instant it struck the
side of the Nautilus, then all noise ceased.
   Two hours after, the same noise, the same going and coming was renewed;
the  boat  was  hoisted on board, replaced in its socket, and the Nautilus
again plunged under the waves.
   So  these millions had been transported to their address. To what point
of the continent? Who was Captain Nemo's correspondent?
   The  next  day  I related to Conseil and the Canadian the events of the
night, which had excited my curiosity to the highest degree. My companions
were not less surprised than myself.
   "But where does he take his millions to?" asked Ned Land.
   To  that  there  was no possible answer. I returned to the saloon after
having  breakfast  and  set  to  work.  Till five o'clock in the evening I
employed  myself  in  arranging  my  notes.  At  that  moment-(ought  I to
attribute it to some peculiar idiosyncrasy)- I felt so great a heat that I
was  obliged  to  take  off my coat. It was strange, for we were under low
latitudes;  and  even  then  the  Nautilus,  submerged as it was, ought to
experience  no change of temperature. I looked at the manometer; it showed
a depth of sixty feet, to which atmospheric heat could never attain.
   I  continued my work, but the temperature rose to such a pitch as to be
intolerable.
   "Could there be fire on board?" I asked myself.
   I  was leaving the saloon, when Captain Nemo entered; he approached the
thermometer, consulted it, and, turning to me, said:
   "Forty-two degrees."
   "I have noticed it, Captain," I replied; "and if it gets much hotter we
cannot bear it."
   "Oh, sir, it will not get better if we do not wish it."
   "You can reduce it as you please, then?"
   "No; but I can go farther from the stove which produces it."
   "It is outward, then!"
   "Certainly; we are floating in a current of boiling water."
   "Is it possible!" I exclaimed.
   "Look."
   The  panels  opened,  and  I  saw  the  sea entirely white all round. A
sulphurous  smoke was curling amid the waves, which boiled like water in a
copper. I placed my hand on one of the panes of glass, but the heat was so
great that I quickly took it off again.
   "Where are we?" I asked.
   "Near  the  Island of Santorin, sir," replied the Captain. "I wished to
give you a sight of the curious spectacle of a submarine eruption."
   "I  thought,"  said  I,  "that  the formation of these new islands  was
ended."
   "Nothing  is  ever  ended  in  the  volcanic parts of the sea," replied
Captain Nemo; "and the globe is always being worked by subterranean fires.
Already,  in  the nineteenth year of our era, according to Cassiodorus and
Pliny,  a new island, Theia (the divine), appeared in the very place where
these islets have recently been formed. Then they sank under the waves, to
rise  again  in  the year 69, when they again subsided. Since that time to
our  days  the  Plutonian  work  has  been  suspended.  But  on the 3rd of
February, 1866, a new island, which they named George Island, emerged from
the midst of the sulphurous vapour near Nea Kamenni, and settled again the
6th  of the same month. Seven days after, the 13th of February, the Island
of  Aphroessa appeared, leaving between Nea Kamenni and itself a canal ten
yards  broad.  I was in these seas when the phenomenon occurred, and I was
able  therefore  to  observe  all  the  different  phases.  The  Island of
Aphroessa,  of  round  form, measured 300 feet in diameter, and 30 feet in
height.  It  was composed of black and vitreous lava, mixed with fragments
of  felspar.  And  lastly,  on the 10th of March, a smaller island, called
Reka,  showed  itself  near  Nea  Kamenni, and since then these three have
joined together, forming but one and the same island."
   "And the canal in which we are at this moment?" I asked.
   "Here   it  is,"  replied  Captain  Nemo,  showing  me  a  map  of  the
Archipelago. "You see, I have marked the new islands."
   I  returned  to  the glass. The Nautilus was no longer moving, the heat
was  becoming unbearable. The sea, which till now had been white, was red,
owing  to  the  presence  of  salts  of iron. In spite of the ship's being
hermetically  sealed, an insupportable smell of sulphur filled the saloon,
and  the brilliancy of the electricity was entirely extinguished by bright
scarlet flames. I was in a bath, I was choking, I was broiled.
   "We can remain no longer in this boiling water," said I to the Captain.
   "It would not be prudent," replied the impassive Captain Nemo.
   An  order  was given; the Nautilus tacked about and left the furnace it
could  not  brave  with  impunity.  A  quarter  of  an  hour after we were
breathing  fresh  air  on the surface. The thought then struck me that, if
Ned  Land  had chosen this part of the sea for our flight, we should never
have come alive out of this sea of fire.
   The  next  day,  the 16th of February, we left the basin which, between
Rhodes  and  Alexandria, is reckoned about 1,500 fathoms in depth, and the
Nautilus,   passing   some  distance  from  Cerigo,  quitted  the  Grecian
Archipelago after having doubled Cape Matapan.


        Chapter VII. THE MEDITERRANEAN IN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS

   The  Mediterranean, the blue sea par excellence, "the great sea" of the
Hebrews,  "the  sea"  of  the  Greeks,  the  "mare nostrum" of the Romans,
bordered  by  orange-trees, aloes, cacti, and sea-pines; embalmed with the
perfume  of  the myrtle, surrounded by rude mountains, saturated with pure
and  transparent  air,  but  incessantly  worked  by  underground fires; a
perfect battlefield in which Neptune and Pluto still dispute the empire of
the world!
   It is upon these banks, and on these waters, says Michelet, that man is
renewed  in one of the most powerful climates of the globe. But, beautiful
as it was, I could only take a rapid glance at the basin whose superficial
area  is  two  million  of square yards. Even Captain Nemo's knowledge was
lost  to  me,  for  this  puzzling  person  did not appear once during our
passage  at  full  speed.  I  estimated the course which the Nautilus took
under  the  waves  of  the  sea  at  about six hundred leagues, and it was
accomplished  in forty-eight hours. Starting on the morning of the 16th of
February  from  the  shores  of  Greece,  we  had  crossed  the Straits of
Gibraltar by sunrise on the 18th.
   It  was  plain  to me that this Mediterranean, enclosed in the midst of
those countries which he wished to avoid, was distasteful to Captain Nemo.
Those  waves  and those breezes brought back too many remembrances, if not
too many regrets. Here he had no longer that independence and that liberty
of  gait  which he had when in the open seas, and his Nautilus felt itself
cramped between the close shores of Africa and Europe.
   Our  speed was now twenty-five miles an hour. It may be well understood
that  Ned Land, to his great disgust, was obliged to renounce his intended
flight.  He  could  not launch the pinnace, going at the rate of twelve or
thirteen  yards  every  second. To quit the Nautilus under such conditions
would  be  as bad as jumping from a train going at full speed-an imprudent
thing,  to  say  the  least of it. Besides, our vessel only mounted to the
surface  of  the  waves at night to renew its stock of air; it was steered
entirely by the compass and the log.
   I saw no more of the interior of this Mediterranean than a traveller by
express train perceives of the landscape which flies before his eyes; that
is to say, the distant horizon, and not the nearer objects which pass like
a flash of lightning.
   We  were  then  passing  between  Sicily and the coast of Tunis. In the
narrow space between Cape Bon and the Straits of Messina the bottom of the
sea rose almost suddenly. There was a perfect bank, on which there was not
more  than  nine  fathoms  of  water,  whilst on either side the depth was
ninety fathoms.
   The  Nautilus  had  to  manoeuvre  very  carefully  so as not to strike
against this submarine barrier.
   I showed Conseil, on the map of the Mediterranean, the spot occupied by
this reef.
   "But  if you please, sir," observed Conseil, "it is like a real isthmus
joining Europe to Africa."
   "Yes,  my  boy, it forms a perfect bar to the Straits of Lybia, and the
soundings of Smith have proved that in former times the continents between
Cape Boco and Cape Furina were joined."
   "I can well believe it," said Conseil.
   "I  will  add,"  I  continued,  "that  a similar barrier exists between
Gibraltar   and  Ceuta,  which  in  geological  times  formed  the  entire
Mediterranean."
   "What  if  some  volcanic burst should one day raise these two barriers
above the waves?"
   "It is not probable, Conseil."
   "Well,  but  allow me to finish, please, sir; if this phenomenon should
take  place,  it will be troublesome for M. Lesseps, who has taken so much
pains to pierce the isthmus."
   "I  agree  with  you; but I repeat, Conseil, this phenomenon will never
happen. The violence of subterranean force is ever diminishing. Volcanoes,
so  plentiful  in  the  first days of the world, are being extinguished by
degrees;  the  internal  heat  is  weakened,  the temperature of the lower
strata  of the globe is lowered by a perceptible quantity every century to
the detriment of our globe, for its heat is its life."
   "But the sun?"
   "The sun is not sufficient, Conseil. Can it give heat to a dead body?"
   "Not that I know of."
   "Well,  my friend, this earth will one day be that cold corpse; it will
become  uninhabitable  and uninhabited like the moon, which has long since
lost all its vital heat."
   "In how many centuries?"
   "In some hundreds of thousands of years, my boy."
   "Then,"  said  Conseil, "we shall have time to finish our journey- that
is, if Ned Land does not interfere with it."
   And  Conseil,  reassured,  returned to the study of the bank, which the
Nautilus was skirting at a moderate speed.
   During  the  night  of  the  16th  and 17th February we had entered the
second Mediterranean basin, the greatest depth of which was 1,450 fathoms.
The Nautilus, by the action of its crew, slid down the inclined planes and
buried itself in the lowest depths of the sea.
   On the 18th of February, about three o'clock in the morning, we were at
the entrance of the Straits of Gibraltar. There once existed two currents:
an upper one, long since recognised, which conveys the waters of the ocean
into  the  basin  of the Mediterranean; and a lower counter-current, which
reasoning  has  now  shown  to  exist.  Indeed, the volume of water in the
Mediterranean,  incessantly  added  to by the waves of the Atlantic and by
rivers  falling  into it, would each year raise the level of this sea, for
its evaporation is not sufficient to restore the equilibrium. As it is not
so,  we  must  necessarily  admit the existence of an under-current, which
empties  into  the  basin of the Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar
the  surplus  waters  of the Mediterranean. A fact indeed; and it was this
counter-current by which the Nautilus profited. It advanced rapidly by the
narrow  pass. For one instant I caught a glimpse of the beautiful ruins of
the temple of Hercules, buried in the ground, according to Pliny, and with
the low island which supports it; and a few minutes later we were floating
on the Atlantic.


        Chapter VIII. VIGO BAY

   The  Atlantic!  a  vast  sheet  of  water whose superficial area covers
twenty-five millions of square miles, the length of which is nine thousand
miles,  with  a mean breadth of two thousand seven hundred- an ocean whose
parallel  winding  shores embrace an immense circumference, watered by the
largest  rivers  of  the  world,  the  St.  Lawrence, the Mississippi, the
Amazon,  the  Plata,  the  Orinoco,  the Niger, the Senegal, the Elbe, the
Loire,  and  the Rhine, which carry water from the most civilised, as well
as   from   the  most  savage,  countries!  Magnificent  field  of  water,
incessantly ploughed by vessels of every nation, sheltered by the flags of
every nation, and which terminates in those two terrible points so dreaded
by mariners, Cape Horn and the Cape of Tempests.
   The  Nautilus  was piercing the water with its sharp spur, after having
accomplished  nearly  ten  thousand  leagues in three months and a half, a
distance  greater  than the great circle of the earth. Where were we going
now,  and  what  was  reserved  for  the future? The Nautilus, leaving the
Straits  of Gibraltar, had gone far out. It returned to the surface of the
waves, and our daily walks on the platform were restored to us.
   I  mounted  at once, accompanied by Ned Land and Conseil. At a distance
of  about twelve miles, Cape St. Vincent was dimly to be seen, forming the
south-western  point of the Spanish peninsula. A strong southerly gale was
blowing.  The  sea  was  swollen  and  billowy;  it made the Nautilus rock
violently.  It  was  almost impossible to keep one's foot on the platform,
which  the heavy rolls of the sea beat over every instant. So we descended
after inhaling some mouthfuls of fresh air.
   I  returned  to my room, Conseil to his cabin; but the Canadian, with a
preoccupied  air,  followed me. Our rapid passage across the Mediterranean
had  not  allowed  him to put his project into execution, and he could not
help showing his disappointment. When the door of my room was shut, he sat
down and looked at me silently.
   "Friend  Ned,"  said  I,  "I  understand  you;  but you cannot reproach
yourself.  To have attempted to leave the Nautilus under the circumstances
would have been folly."
   Ned  Land  did not answer; his compressed lips and frowning brow showed
with him the violent possession this fixed idea had taken of his mind.
   "Let  us  see,"  I continued; "we need not despair yet. We are going up
the  coast of Portugal again; France and England are not far off, where we
can  easily  find  refuge.  Now if the Nautilus, on leaving the Straits of
Gibraltar,  had  gone  to  the south, if it had carried us towards regions
where  there  were  no  continents, I should share your uneasiness. But we
know  now  that Captain Nemo does not fly from civilised seas, and in some
days I think you can act with security."
   Ned  Land  still looked at me fixedly; at length his fixed lips parted,
and he said, "It is for to-night."
   I  drew  myself  up  suddenly. I was, I admit, little prepared for this
communication. I wanted to answer the Canadian, but words would not come.
   "We  agreed  to  wait for an opportunity," continued Ned Land, "and the
opportunity  has  arrived. This night we shall be but a few miles from the
Spanish  coast.  It is cloudy. The wind blows freely. I have your word, M.
Aronnax, and I rely upon you."
   As I was silent, the Canadian approached me.
   "To-night,  at  nine o'clock," said he. "I have warned Conseil. At that
moment  Captain Nemo will be shut up in his room, probably in bed. Neither
the  engineers nor the ship's crew can see us. Conseil and I will gain the
central  staircase,  and  you, M. Aronnax, will remain in the library, two
steps  from us, waiting my signal. The oars, the mast, and the sail are in
the  canoe.  I  have  even  succeeded  in  getting some provisions. I have
procured  an  English wrench, to unfasten the bolts which attach it to the
shell of the Nautilus. So all is ready, till to-night."
   "The sea is bad."
   "That  I  allow," replied the Canadian; "but we must risk that. Liberty
is  worth  paying for; besides, the boat is strong, and a few miles with a
fair wind to carry us is no great thing. Who knows but by to-morrow we may
be a hundred leagues away? Let circumstances only favour us, and by ten or
eleven  o'clock we shall have landed on some spot of terra firma, alive or
dead. But adieu now till to-night."
   With  these  words the Canadian withdrew, leaving me almost dumb. I had
imagined  that, the chance gone, I should have time to reflect and discuss
the  matter.  My obstinate companion had given me no time; and, after all,
what  could  I  have  said to him? Ned Land was perfectly right. There was
almost  the  opportunity  to  profit by. Could I retract my word, and take
upon   myself   the  responsibility  of  compromising  the  future  of  my
companions? To-morrow Captain Nemo might take us far from all land.
   At  that moment a rather loud hissing noise told me that the reservoirs
were  filling,  and  that  the Nautilus was sinking under the waves of the
Atlantic.
   A  sad  day  I  passed,  between  the desire of regaining my liberty of
action  and of abandoning the wonderful Nautilus, and leaving my submarine
studies incomplete.
   What  dreadful  hours  I  passed  thus!  Sometimes  seeing  myself  and
companions  safely  landed, sometimes wishing, in spite of my reason, that
some  unforeseen circumstance, would prevent the realisation of Ned Land's
project.
   Twice  I  went to the saloon. I wished to consult the compass. I wished
to  see if the direction the Nautilus was taking was bringing us nearer or
taking  us farther from the coast. But no; the Nautilus kept in Portuguese
waters.
   I  must  therefore  take my part and prepare for flight. My luggage was
not heavy; my notes, nothing more.
   As  to  Captain Nemo, I asked myself what he would think of our escape;
what  trouble,  what wrong it might cause him and what he might do in case
of  its discovery or failure. Certainly I had no cause to complain of him;
on  the  contrary,  never was hospitality freer than his. In leaving him I
could  not  be  taxed with ingratitude. No oath bound us to him. It was on
the  strength of circumstances he relied, and not upon our word, to fix us
for ever.
   I  had  not seen the Captain since our visit to the Island of Santorin.
Would  chance  bring me to his presence before our departure? I wished it,
and  I  feared it at the same time. I listened if I could hear him walking
the room contiguous to mine. No sound reached my ear. I felt an unbearable
uneasiness. This day of waiting seemed eternal. Hours struck too slowly to
keep pace with my impatience.
   My  dinner  was served in my room as usual. I ate but little; I was too
preoccupied.  I  left  the  table  at  seven o'clock. A hundred and twenty
minutes (I counted them) still separated me from the moment in which I was
to join Ned Land. My agitation redoubled. My pulse beat violently. I could
not  remain  quiet.  I went and came, hoping to calm my troubled spirit by
constant  movement.  The  idea  of  failure in our bold enterprise was the
least  painful  of  my  anxieties;  but  the thought of seeing our project
discovered  before  leaving  the Nautilus, of being brought before Captain
Nemo,  irritated,  or  (what was worse) saddened, at my desertion, made my
heart beat.
   I  wanted  to  see the saloon for the last time. I descended the stairs
and arrived in the museum, where I had passed so many useful and agreeable
hours.  I  looked  at all its riches, all its treasures, like a man on the
eve of an eternal exile, who was leaving never to return.
   These  wonders  of Nature, these masterpieces of art, amongst which for
so  many  days  my life had been concentrated, I was going to abandon them
for  ever!  I should like to have taken a last look through the windows of
the  saloon  into  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic:  but  the  panels  were
hermetically  closed,  and  a  cloak of steel separated me from that ocean
which I had not yet explored.
   In  passing through the saloon, I came near the door let into the angle
which  opened into the Captain's room. To my great surprise, this door was
ajar. I drew back involuntarily. If Captain Nemo should be in his room, he
could see me. But, hearing no sound, I drew nearer. The room was deserted.
I  pushed  open  the  door  and  took  some  steps forward. Still the same
monklike severity of aspect.
   Suddenly  the  clock  struck eight. The first beat of the hammer on the
bell  awoke  me  from  my  dreams.  I  trembled as if an invisible eye had
plunged into my most secret thoughts, and I hurried from the room.
   There my eye fell upon the compass. Our course was still north. The log
indicated moderate speed, the manometer a depth of about sixty feet.
   I  returned  to  my room, clothed myself warmly-sea boots, an otterskin
cap,  a  great  coat  of  byssus,  lined with sealskin; I was ready, I was
waiting.  The  vibration  of  the screw alone broke the deep silence which
reigned  on  board.  I  listened attentively. Would no loud voice suddenly
inform  me  that  Ned  Land  had been surprised in his projected flight. A
mortal  dread  hung  over  me,  and I vainly tried to regain my accustomed
coolness.
   At a few minutes to nine, I put my ear to the Captain's door. No noise.
I  left  my  room and returned to the saloon, which was half in obscurity,
but deserted.
   I opened the door communicating with the library. The same insufficient
light,  the  same  solitude.  I placed myself near the door leading to the
central staircase, and there waited for Ned Land's signal.
   At  that moment the trembling of the screw sensibly diminished, then it
stopped entirely. The silence was now only disturbed by the beatings of my
own  heart. Suddenly a slight shock was felt; and I knew that the Nautilus
had  stopped  at  the  bottom  of  the ocean. My uneasiness increased. The
Canadian's  signal  did not come. I felt inclined to join Ned Land and beg
of  him  to put off his attempt. I felt that we were not sailing under our
usual conditions.
   At  this  moment  the door of the large saloon opened, and Captain Nemo
appeared. He saw me, and without further preamble began in an amiable tone
of voice:
   "Ah,  sir!  I  have  been  looking  for you. Do you know the history of
Spain?"
   Now,  one  might know the history of one's own country by heart; but in
the condition I was at the time, with troubled mind and head quite lost, I
could not have said a word of it.
   "Well," continued Captain Nemo, "you heard my question! Do you know the
history of Spain?"
   "Very slightly," I answered.
   "Well,  here are learned men having to learn," said the Captain. "Come,
sit  down,  and  I  will  tell you a curious episode in this history. Sir,
listen well," said he; "this history will interest you on one side, for it
will answer a question which doubtless you have not been able to solve."
   "I  listen,  Captain,"  said  I,  not  knowing what my interlocutor was
driving  at,  and  asking  myself  if  this  incident  was  bearing on our
projected flight.
   "Sir,  if you have no objection, we will go back to 1702. You cannot be
ignorant  that  your  king,  Louis  XIV,  thinking  that  the gesture of a
potentate was sufficient to bring the Pyrenees under his yoke, had imposed
the  Duke  of  Anjou,  his grandson, on the Spaniards. This prince reigned
more  or  less  badly  under  the name of Philip V, and had a strong party
against  him  abroad.  Indeed,  the  preceding  year,  the royal houses of
Holland,  Austria,  and  England had concluded a treaty of alliance at the
Hague,  with the intention of plucking the crown of Spain from the head of
Philip  V,  and placing it on that of an archduke to whom they prematurely
gave the title of Charles III.
   "Spain  must  resist  this  coalition;  but  she  was  almost  entirely
unprovided  with either soldiers or sailors. However, money would not fail
them,  provided  that  their  galleons,  laden  with  gold and silver from
America, once entered their ports. And about the end of 1702 they expected
a  rich  convoy  which  France  was escorting with a fleet of twenty-three
vessels,  commanded  by  Admiral  Chateau-Renaud,  for  the  ships  of the
coalition  were  already  beating  the  Atlantic. This convoy was to go to
Cadiz,  but  the  Admiral,  hearing  that an English fleet was cruising in
those waters, resolved to make for a French port.
   "The  Spanish  commanders of the convoy objected to this decision. They
wanted to be taken to a Spanish port, and, if not to Cadiz, into Vigo Bay,
situated on the northwest coast of Spain, and which was not blocked.
   "Admiral  Chateau-Renaud  had the rashness to obey this injunction, and
the galleons entered Vigo Bay.
   "Unfortunately,  it  formed an open road which could not be defended in
any  way.  They  must  therefore  hasten to unload the galleons before the
arrival of the combined fleet; and time would not have failed them had not
a miserable question of rivalry suddenly arisen.
   "You are following the chain of events?" asked Captain Nemo.
   "Perfectly,"  said  I,  not knowing the end proposed by this historical
lesson.
   "I  will  continue.  This  is what passed. The merchants of Cadiz had a
privilege  by which they had the right of receiving all merchandise coming
from  the  West Indies. Now, to disembark these ingots at the port of Vigo
was  depriving  them  of  their  rights.  They  complained  at Madrid, and
obtained  the  consent  of the weak-minded Philip that the convoy, without
discharging  its  cargo,  should  remain  sequestered in the roads of Vigo
until the enemy had disappeared.
   "But  whilst coming to this decision, on the 22nd of October, 1702, the
English vessels arrived in Vigo Bay, when Admiral Chateau-Renaud, in spite
of  inferior  forces,  fought  bravely. But, seeing that the treasure must
fall  into  the  enemy's hands, he burnt and scuttled every galleon, which
went to the bottom with their immense riches."
   Captain  Nemo  stopped.  I  admit  I could not see yet why this history
should interest me.
   "Well?" I asked.
   "Well, M. Aronnax," replied Captain Nemo, "we are in that Vigo Bay; and
it rests with yourself whether you will penetrate its mysteries."
   The  Captain rose, telling me to follow him. I had had time to recover.
I obeyed. The saloon was dark, but through the transparent glass the waves
were sparkling. I looked.
   For  half  a  mile  around  the  Nautilus,  the waters seemed bathed in
electric  light. The sandy bottom was clean and bright. Some of the ship's
crew  in  their  diving-dresses were clearing away half-rotten barrels and
empty  cases  from the midst of the blackened wrecks. From these cases and
from these barrels escaped ingots of gold and silver, cascades of piastres
and  jewels.  The  sand was heaped up with them. Laden with their precious
booty,  the  men  returned  to the Nautilus, disposed of their burden, and
went back to this inexhaustible fishery of gold and silver.
   I  understood  now.  This  was  the  scene of the battle of the 22nd of
October,  1702.  Here on this very spot the galleons laden for the Spanish
Government  had  sunk.  Here Captain Nemo came, according to his wants, to
pack up those millions with which he burdened the Nautilus. It was for him
and  him  alone  America  had  given  up  her precious metals. He was heir
direct,  without  anyone  to share, in those treasures torn from the Incas
and from the conquered of Ferdinand Cortez.
   "Did  you  know,  sir," he asked, smiling, "that the sea contained such
riches?"
   "I  knew,"  I  answered,  "that  they value money held in suspension in
these waters at two millions."
   "Doubtless; but to extract this money the expense would be greater than
the  profit.  Here,  on  the  contrary, I have but to pick up what man has
lost-and  not  only  in  Vigo  Bay,  but  in  a thousand other ports where
shipwrecks  have  happened,  and which are marked on my submarine map. Can
you understand now the source of the millions I am worth?"
   "I understand, Captain. But allow me to tell you that in exploring Vigo
Bay you have only been beforehand with a rival society."
   "And which?"
   "A society which has received from the Spanish Government the privilege
of  seeking  those  buried  galleons.  The  shareholders are led on by the
allurement  of an enormous bounty, for they value these rich shipwrecks at
five hundred millions."
   "Five hundred millions they were," answered Captain Nemo, "but they are
so no longer."
   "Just so," said I; "and a warning to those shareholders would be an act
of  charity.  But  who  knows  if it would be well received? What gamblers
usually  regret  above  all  is less the loss of their money than of their
foolish  hopes.  After  all,  I  pity  them  less  than  the  thousands of
unfortunates  to  whom  so  much  riches  well-distributed would have been
profitable, whilst for them they will be for ever barren."
   I  had  no  sooner  expressed this regret than I felt that it must have
wounded Captain Nemo.
   "Barren!"  he  exclaimed, with animation. "Do you think then, sir, that
these  riches  are  lost  because  I  gather them? Is it for myself alone,
according  to  your  idea,  that  I  take  the  trouble  to  collect these
treasures? Who told you that I did not make a good use of it? Do you think
I  am ignorant that there are suffering beings and oppressed races on this
earth,  miserable  creatures  to  console,  victims  to avenge? Do you not
understand?"
   Captain  Nemo  stopped  at these last words, regretting perhaps that he
had  spoken so much. But I had guessed that, whatever the motive which had
forced  him  to  seek  independence under the sea, it had left him still a
man,  that  his  heart still beat for the sufferings of humanity, and that
his  immense charity was for oppressed races as well as individuals. And I
then understood for whom those millions were destined which were forwarded
by Captain Nemo when the Nautilus was cruising in the waters of Crete.


        Chapter IX. A VANISHED CONTINENT

   The  next  morning,  the  19th of February, I saw the Canadian enter my
room. I expected this visit. He looked very disappointed.
   "Well, sir?" said he.
   "Well, Ned, fortune was against us yesterday."
   "Yes;  that  Captain  must  needs  stop exactly at the hour we intended
leaving his vessel."
   "Yes, Ned, he had business at his bankers."
   "His bankers!"
   "Or  rather  his  banking-house;  by  that  I mean the ocean, where his
riches are safer than in the chests of the State."
   I  then  related  to the Canadian the incidents of the preceding night,
hoping to bring him back to the idea of not abandoning the Captain; but my
recital  had  no  other result than an energetically expressed regret from
Ned that he had not been able to take a walk on the battlefield of Vigo on
his own account.
   "However," said he, "all is not ended. It is only a blow of the harpoon
lost. Another time we must succeed; and to-night, if necessary-"
   "In what direction is the Nautilus going?" I asked.
   "I do not know," replied Ned.
   "Well, at noon we shall see the point."
   The Canadian returned to Conseil. As soon as I was dressed, I went into
the saloon. The compass was not reassuring. The course of the Nautilus was
S.S.W. We were turning our backs on Europe.
   I  waited with some impatience till the ship's place was pricked on the
chart.  At  about  half-past  eleven  the reservoirs were emptied, and our
vessel  rose  to  the surface of the ocean. I rushed towards the platform.
Ned  Land  had  preceded me. No more land in sight. Nothing but an immense
sea.  Some  sails  on  the  horizon, doubtless those going to San Roque in
search of favourable winds for doubling the Cape of Good Hope. The weather
was  cloudy.  A gale of wind was preparing. Ned raved, and tried to pierce
the  cloudy horizon. He still hoped that behind all that fog stretched the
land he so longed for.
   At  noon  the  sun showed itself for an instant. The second profited by
this  brightness  to take its height. Then, the sea becoming more billowy,
we descended, and the panel closed.
   An  hour  after,  upon  consulting the chart, I saw the position of the
Nautilus  was  marked  at  16O 17' long., and 33O 22' lat., at 150 leagues
from  the  nearest coast. There was no means of flight, and I leave you to
imagine the rage of the Canadian when I informed him of our situation.
   For  myself, I was not particularly sorry. I felt lightened of the load
which  had  oppressed  me,  and  was  able  to  return with some degree of
calmness to my accustomed work.
   That  night,  about  eleven o'clock, I received a most unexpected visit
from  Captain Nemo. He asked me very graciously if I felt fatigued from my
watch of the preceding night. I answered in the negative.
   "Then, M. Aronnax, I propose a curious excursion."
   "Propose, Captain?"
   "You have hitherto only visited the submarine depths by daylight, under
the  brightness  of the sun. Would it suit you to see them in the darkness
of the night?"
   "Most willingly."
   "I  warn  you,  the  way will be tiring. We shall have far to walk, and
must climb a mountain. The roads are not well kept."
   "What  you  say,  Captain,  only  heightens my curiosity; I am ready to
follow you."
   "Come then, sir, we will put on our diving-dresses."
   Arrived at the robing-room, I saw that neither of my companions nor any
of  the  ship's crew were to follow us on this excursion. Captain Nemo had
not even proposed my taking with me either Ned or Conseil.
   In  a  few moments we had put on our diving-dresses; they placed on our
backs  the  reservoirs,  abundantly filled with air, but no electric lamps
were prepared. I called the Captain's attention to the fact.
   "They will be useless," he replied.
   I  thought  I  had  not  heard  aright,  but  I  could  not  repeat  my
observation,  for  the Captain's head had already disappeared in its metal
case.  I finished harnessing myself. I felt them put an iron-pointed stick
into  my hand, and some minutes later, after going through the usual form,
we  set  foot  on  the  bottom  of the Atlantic at a depth of 150 fathoms.
Midnight  was  near.  The  waters  were  profoundly dark, but Captain Nemo
pointed  out in the distance a reddish spot, a sort of large light shining
brilliantly  about  two  miles from the Nautilus. What this fire might be,
what  could  feed  it,  why and how it lit up the liquid mass, I could not
say.  In  any  case, it did light our way, vaguely, it is true, but I soon
accustomed  myself  to the peculiar darkness, and I understood, under such
circumstances, the uselessness of the Ruhmkorff apparatus.
   As  we  advanced,  I heard a kind of pattering above my head. The noise
redoubling,  sometimes producing a continual shower, I soon understood the
cause.  It  was  rain  falling  violently, and crisping the surface of the
waves.  Instinctively  the thought flashed across my mind that I should be
wet  through!  By  the  water! in the midst of the water! I could not help
laughing  at  the  odd  idea.  But, indeed, in the thick diving-dress, the
liquid  element  is  no  longer  felt,  and  one  only  seems  to be in an
atmosphere somewhat denser than the terrestrial atmosphere. Nothing more.
   After  half  an hour's walk the soil became stony. Medusae, microscopic
crustacea, and pennatules lit it slightly with their phosphorescent gleam.
I  caught  a glimpse of pieces of stone covered with millions of zoophytes
and  masses  of sea weed. My feet often slipped upon this sticky carpet of
sea  weed, and without my iron-tipped stick I should have fallen more than
once.  In  turning  round,  I  could  still see the whitish lantern of the
Nautilus beginning to pale in the distance.
   But  the  rosy  light which guided us increased and lit up the horizon.
The  presence  of  this fire under water puzzled me in the highest degree.
Was  I going towards a natural phenomenon as yet unknown to the savants of
the earth? Or even (for this thought crossed my brain) had the hand of man
aught  to  do  with this conflagration? Had he fanned this flame? Was I to
meet  in  these  depths companions and friends of Captain Nemo whom he was
going  to  visit,  and who, like him, led this strange existence? Should I
find  down  there  a  whole colony of exiles who, weary of the miseries of
this earth, had sought and found independence in the deep ocean? All these
foolish  and unreasonable ideas pursued me. And in this condition of mind,
over-excited  by  the  succession of wonders continually passing before my
eyes,  I  should  not have been surprised to meet at the bottom of the sea
one of those submarine towns of which Captain Nemo dreamed.
   Our  road grew lighter and lighter. The white glimmer came in rays from
the  summit of a mountain about 800 feet high. But what I saw was simply a
reflection,  developed  by the clearness of the waters. The source of this
inexplicable light was a fire on the opposite side of the mountain.
   In  the  midst of this stony maze furrowing the bottom of the Atlantic,
Captain  Nemo  advanced  without  hesitation.  He  knew  this dreary road.
Doubtless  he  had  often travelled over it, and could not lose himself. I
followed him with unshaken confidence. He seemed to me like a genie of the
sea;  and,  as he walked before me, I could not help admiring his stature,
which was outlined in black on the luminous horizon.
   It  was  one  in the morning when we arrived at the first slopes of the
mountain; but to gain access to them we must venture through the difficult
paths of a vast copse.
   Yes;  a  copse  of  dead  trees,  without  leaves,  without  sap, trees
petrified  by  the  action  of  the water and here and there overtopped by
gigantic  pines.  It  was  like  a coal-pit still standing, holding by the
roots  to  the  broken  soil,  and  whose  branches, like fine black paper
cuttings,  showed  distinctly on the watery ceiling. Picture to yourself a
forest  in the Hartz hanging on to the sides of the mountain, but a forest
swallowed  up.  The  paths were encumbered with seaweed and fucus, between
which  grovelled  a  whole  world of crustacea. I went along, climbing the
rocks,  striding  over  extended  trunks, breaking the sea bind-weed which
hung  from  one  tree to the other; and frightening the fishes, which flew
from  branch  to branch. Pressing onward, I felt no fatigue. I followed my
guide,  who  was  never tired. What a spectacle! How can I express it? how
paint the aspect of those woods and rocks in this medium-their under parts
dark  and wild, the upper coloured with red tints, by that light which the
reflecting  powers  of  the  waters  doubled?  We climbed rocks which fell
directly  after with gigantic bounds and the low growling of an avalanche.
To  right  and  left  ran long, dark galleries, where sight was lost. Here
opened  vast  glades  which  the  hand of man seemed to have worked; and I
sometimes asked myself if some inhabitant of these submarine regions would
not suddenly appear to me.
   But  Captain  Nemo  was  still  mounting.  I  could  not stay behind. I
followed  boldly. My stick gave me good help. A false step would have been
dangerous on the narrow passes sloping down to the sides of the gulfs; but
I  walked  with  firm  step, without feeling any giddiness. Now I jumped a
crevice,  the depth of which would have made me hesitate had it been among
the  glaciers  on the land; now I ventured on the unsteady trunk of a tree
thrown  across from one abyss to the other, without looking under my feet,
having only eyes to admire the wild sites of this region.
   There,  monumental  rocks, leaning on their regularly-cut bases, seemed
to  defy  all  laws  of  equilibrium. From between their stony knees trees
sprang,  like  a  jet under heavy pressure, and upheld others which upheld
them. Natural towers, large scarps, cut perpendicularly, like a "curtain,"
inclined  at  an  angle  which  the  laws  of gravitation could never have
tolerated in terrestrial regions.
   Two hours after quitting the Nautilus we had crossed the line of trees,
and  a  hundred  feet  above our heads rose the top of the mountain, which
cast  a  shadow  on  the brilliant irradiation of the opposite slope. Some
petrified shrubs ran fantastically here and there. Fishes got up under our
feet  like  birds  in  the  long  grass.  The massive rocks were rent with
impenetrable  fractures,  deep  grottos,  and  unfathomable  holes, at the
bottom  of  which  formidable  creatures  might  be heard moving. My blood
curdled  when  I saw enormous antennae blocking my road, or some frightful
claw  closing  with  a  noise  in  the  shadow of some cavity. Millions of
luminous  spots shone brightly in the midst of the darkness. They were the
eyes  of  giant  crustacea crouched in their holes; giant lobsters setting
themselves  up  like halberdiers, and moving their claws with the clicking
sound  of  pincers; titanic crabs, pointed like a gun on its carriage; and
frightful-looking  poulps, interweaving their tentacles like a living nest
of serpents.
   We had now arrived on the first platform, where other surprises awaited
me.  Before  us lay some picturesque ruins, which betrayed the hand of man
and not that of the Creator. There were vast heaps of stone, amongst which
might  be  traced  the  vague  and  shadowy  forms of castles and temples,
clothed  with  a world of blossoming zoophytes, and over which, instead of
ivy,  sea-weed and fucus threw a thick vegetable mantle. But what was this
portion  of  the  globe  which  had  been swallowed by cataclysms? Who had
placed  those  rocks and stones like cromlechs of prehistoric times? Where
was I? Whither had Captain Nemo's fancy hurried me?
   I would fain have asked him; not being able to, I stopped him- I seized
his  arm.  But, shaking his head, and pointing to the highest point of the
mountain, he seemed to say:
   "Come, come along; come higher!"
   I  followed, and in a few minutes I had climbed to the top, which for a
circle of ten yards commanded the whole mass of rock.
   I  looked  down the side we had just climbed. The mountain did not rise
more than seven or eight hundred feet above the level of the plain; but on
the  opposite  side it commanded from twice that height the depths of this
part  of  the  Atlantic.  My  eyes  ranged far over a large space lit by a
violent fulguration. In fact, the mountain was a volcano.
   At  fifty  feet  above  the  peak, in the midst of a rain of stones and
scoriae,  a large crater was vomiting forth torrents of lava which fell in
a  cascade  of fire into the bosom of the liquid mass. Thus situated, this
volcano  lit  the  lower  plain like an immense torch, even to the extreme
limits of the horizon. I said that the submarine crater threw up lava, but
no flames. Flames require the oxygen of the air to feed upon and cannot be
developed  under  water;  but  streams  of  lava, having in themselves the
principles  of  their  incandescence,  can  attain  a  white  heat,  fight
vigorously against the liquid element, and turn it to vapour by contact.
   Rapid  currents  bearing  all  these gases in diffusion and torrents of
lava  slid  to  the bottom of the mountain like an eruption of Vesuvius on
another Terra del Greco.
   There  indeed  under  my eyes, ruined, destroyed, lay a town- its roofs
open  to  the  sky, its temples fallen, its arches dislocated, its columns
lying  on  the  ground,  from  which one would still recognise the massive
character  of  Tuscan architecture. Further on, some remains of a gigantic
aqueduct; here the high base of an Acropolis, with the floating outline of
a  Parthenon;  there  traces of a quay, as if an ancient port had formerly
abutted  on  the  borders  of the ocean, and disappeared with its merchant
vessels  and its war-galleys. Farther on again, long lines of sunken walls
and broad, deserted streets- a perfect Pompeii escaped beneath the waters.
Such was the sight that Captain Nemo brought before my eyes!
   Where  was  I?  Where was I? I must know at any cost. I tried to speak,
but  Captain  Nemo  stopped  me  by  a gesture, and, picking up a piece of
chalk-stone, advanced to a rock of black basalt, and traced the one word:
   ATLANTIS
   What  a  light  shot  through my mind! Atlantis! the Atlantis of Plato,
that  continent denied by Origen and Humbolt, who placed its disappearance
amongst  the  legendary  tales. I had it there now before my eyes, bearing
upon  it the unexceptionable testimony of its catastrophe. The region thus
engulfed  was  beyond  Europe,  Asia,  and  Lybia,  beyond  the columns of
Hercules, where those powerful people, the Atlantides, lived, against whom
the first wars of ancient Greeks were waged.
   Thus,  led  by  the  strangest  destiny,  I was treading under foot the
mountains  of this continent, touching with my hand those ruins a thousand
generations old and contemporary with the geological epochs. I was walking
on the very spot where the contemporaries of the first man had walked.
   Whilst  I  was  trying  to  fix  in  my mind every detail of this grand
landscape,  Captain  Nemo  remained  motionless,  as  if petrified in mute
ecstasy,  leaning  on  a mossy stone. Was he dreaming of those generations
long  since  disappeared?  Was he asking them the secret of human destiny?
Was  it  here  this  strange  man  came  to  steep  himself  in historical
recollections,  and  live  again this ancient life-he who wanted no modern
one?  What  would I not have given to know his thoughts, to share them, to
understand  them! We remained for an hour at this place, contemplating the
vast  plains  under  the  brightness  of  the  lava,  which was some times
wonderfully  intense.  Rapid  tremblings  ran along the mountain caused by
internal  bubblings, deep noise, distinctly transmitted through the liquid
medium  were  echoed  with  majestic  grandeur.  At  this  moment the moon
appeared  through the mass of waters and threw her pale rays on the buried
continent.  It  was  but  a  gleam,  but what an indescribable effect! The
Captain  rose,  cast  one last look on the immense plain, and then bade me
follow him.
   We descended the mountain rapidly, and, the mineral forest once passed,
I  saw the lantern of the Nautilus shining like a star. The Captain walked
straight  to  it,  and we got on board as the first rays of light whitened
the surface of the ocean.


        Chapter X. THE SUBMARINE COAL-MINES

   The  next day, the 20th of February, I awoke very late: the fatigues of
the  previous night had prolonged my sleep until eleven o'clock. I dressed
quickly,  and  hastened  to  find  the course the Nautilus was taking. The
instruments showed it to be still toward the south, with a speed of twenty
miles an hour and a depth of fifty fathoms.
   The  species  of  fishes  here  did  not differ much from those already
noticed.  There were rays of giant size, five yards long, and endowed with
great  muscular  strength,  which  enabled  them to shoot above the waves;
sharks  of  many  kinds;  amongst  others,  one  fifteen  feet  long, with
triangular   sharp  teeth,  and  whose  transparency  rendered  it  almost
invisible in the water.
   Amongst bony fish Conseil noticed some about three yards long, armed at
the  upper  jaw  with  a  piercing sword; other bright-coloured creatures,
known  in  the  time of Aristotle by the name of the sea-dragon, which are
dangerous to capture on account of the spikes on their back.
   About  four  o'clock, the soil, generally composed of a thick mud mixed
with  petrified  wood,  changed  by degrees, and it became more stony, and
seemed strewn with conglomerate and pieces of basalt, with a sprinkling of
lava.  I thought that a mountainous region was succeeding the long plains;
and  accordingly,  after  a  few  evolutions  of  the  Nautilus, I saw the
southerly  horizon  blocked by a high wall which seemed to close all exit.
Its  summit  evidently  passed  the  level  of  the  ocean.  It  must be a
continent, or at least an island-one of the Canaries, or of the Cape Verde
Islands.  The  bearings  not  being  yet  taken, perhaps designedly, I was
ignorant  of  our exact position. In any case, such a wall seemed to me to
mark  the  limits of that Atlantis, of which we had in reality passed over
only the smallest part.
   Much  longer should I have remained at the window admiring the beauties
of sea and sky, but the panels closed. At this moment the Nautilus arrived
at  the  side  of this high, perpendicular wall. What it would do, I could
not  guess.  I returned to my room; it no longer moved. I laid myself down
with  the  full  intention  of waking after a few hours' sleep; but it was
eight  o'clock  the  next  day  when I entered the saloon. I looked at the
manometer. It told me that the Nautilus was floating on the surface of the
ocean. Besides, I heard steps on the platform. I went to the panel. It was
open;  but,  instead of broad daylight, as I expected, I was surrounded by
profound  darkness. Where were we? Was I mistaken? Was it still night? No;
not a star was shining and night has not that utter darkness.
   I knew not what to think, when a voice near me said:
   "Is that you, Professor?"
   "Ah! Captain," I answered, "where are we?"
   "Underground, sir."
   "Underground!" I exclaimed. "And the Nautilus floating still?"
   "It always floats."
   "But I do not understand."
   "Wait  a  few  minutes, our lantern will be lit, and, if you like light
places, you will be satisfied."
   I stood on the platform and waited. The darkness was so complete that I
could not even see Captain Nemo; but, looking to the zenith, exactly above
my  head, I seemed to catch an undecided gleam, a kind of twilight filling
a  circular  hole.  At this instant the lantern was lit, and its vividness
dispelled  the  faint  light. I closed my dazzled eyes for an instant, and
then  looked  again. The Nautilus was stationary, floating near a mountain
which  formed  a  sort  of  quay. The lake, then, supporting it was a lake
imprisoned  by  a circle of walls, measuring two miles in diameter and six
in  circumference. Its level (the manometer showed) could only be the same
as  the  outside  level,  for  there  must  necessarily be a communication
between  the  lake  and  the  sea. The high partitions, leaning forward on
their  base,  grew  into  a  vaulted  roof bearing the shape of an immense
funnel  turned  upside  down,  the  height being about five or six hundred
yards.  At  the  summit  was a circular orifice, by which I had caught the
slight gleam of light, evidently daylight.
   "Where are we?" I asked.
   "In  the  very  heart  of an extinct volcano, the interior of which has
been  invaded by the sea, after some great convulsion of the earth. Whilst
you  were sleeping, Professor, the Nautilus penetrated to this lagoon by a
natural  canal,  which  opens  about  ten yards beneath the surface of the
ocean.  This  is its harbour of refuge, a sure, commodious, and mysterious
one,  sheltered  from all gales. Show me, if you can, on the coasts of any
of  your  continents or islands, a road which can give such perfect refuge
from all storms."
   "Certainly,"  I  replied,  "you  are  in safety here, Captain Nemo. Who
could reach you in the heart of a volcano? But did I not see an opening at
its summit?"
   "Yes;  its  crater,  formerly filled with lava, vapour, and flames, and
which now gives entrance to the life-giving air we breathe."
   "But what is this volcanic mountain?"
   "It  belongs  to  one  of  the  numerous islands with which this sea is
strewn-to vessels a simple sandbank-to us an immense cavern. Chance led me
to discover it, and chance served me well."
   "But of what use is this refuge, Captain? The Nautilus wants no port."
   "No, sir; but it wants electricity to make it move, and the wherewithal
to  make  the  electricity-sodium to feed the elements, coal from which to
get  the  sodium,  and a coal-mine to supply the coal. And exactly on this
spot the sea covers entire forests embedded during the geological periods,
now   mineralised   and   transformed  into  coal;  for  me  they  are  an
inexhaustible mine."
   "Your men follow the trade of miners here, then, Captain?"
   "Exactly  so.  These  mines  extend  under  the waves like the mines of
Newcastle.  Here, in their diving-dresses, pick axe and shovel in hand, my
men extract the coal, which I do not even ask from the mines of the earth.
When  I  burn  this  combustible for the manufacture of sodium, the smoke,
escaping  from  the  crater  of the mountain, gives it the appearance of a
still-active volcano."
   "And we shall see your companions at work?"
   "No;  not  this  time  at  least;  for  I am in a hurry to continue our
submarine  tour  of the earth. So I shall content myself with drawing from
the  reserve  of sodium I already possess. The time for loading is one day
only,  and  we  continue our voyage. So, if you wish to go over the