20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Verne, Jules Published: 1870 Categorie(s): Fiction, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction Source: http://en.wikisource.org About Verne: Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre He is best known for novels such as Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised He is the third most translated author in the world, according to Index Translationum Some of his books have been made into films Verne, along with Hugo Gernsback and H G Wells, is often popularly referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction" Source: Wikipedia Also available on Feedbooks for Verne: • Around the World in Eighty Days (1872) • In the Year 2889 (1889) • A Journey into the Center of the Earth (1877) • The Mysterious Island (1874) • From the Earth to the Moon (1865) • An Antartic Mystery (1899) • The Master of the World (1904) • Off on a Comet (1911) • The Underground City (1877) • Michael Strogoff, or The Courier of the Czar (1874) Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks http://www.feedbooks.com Strictly for personal use, not use this file for commercial purposes Part Chapter A Runaway Reef THE YEAR 1866 was marked by a bizarre development, an unexplained and downright inexplicable phenomenon that surely no one has forgotten Without getting into those rumors that upset civilians in the seaports and deranged the public mind even far inland, it must be said that professional seamen were especially alarmed Traders, shipowners, captains of vessels, skippers, and master mariners from Europe and America, naval officers from every country, and at their heels the various national governments on these two continents, were all extremely disturbed by the business In essence, over a period of time several ships had encountered "an enormous thing" at sea, a long spindle-shaped object, sometimes giving off a phosphorescent glow, infinitely bigger and faster than any whale The relevant data on this apparition, as recorded in various logbooks, agreed pretty closely as to the structure of the object or creature in question, its unprecedented speed of movement, its startling locomotive power, and the unique vitality with which it seemed to be gifted If it was a cetacean, it exceeded in bulk any whale previously classified by science No naturalist, neither Cuvier nor Lacépède, neither Professor Dumeril nor Professor de Quatrefages, would have accepted the existence of such a monster sight unseen— specifically, unseen by their own scientific eyes Striking an average of observations taken at different times— rejecting those timid estimates that gave the object a length of 200 feet, and ignoring those exaggerated views that saw it as a mile wide and three long—you could still assert that this phenomenal creature greatly exceeded the dimensions of anything then known to ichthyologists, if it existed at all Now then, it did exist, this was an undeniable fact; and since the human mind dotes on objects of wonder, you can understand the worldwide excitement caused by this unearthly apparition As for relegating it to the realm of fiction, that charge had to be dropped In essence, on July 20, 1866, the steamer Governor Higginson, from the Calcutta & Burnach Steam Navigation Co., encountered this moving mass five miles off the eastern shores of Australia Captain Baker at first thought he was in the presence of an unknown reef; he was even about to fix its exact position when two waterspouts shot out of this inexplicable object and sprang hissing into the air some 150 feet So, unless this reef was subject to the intermittent eruptions of a geyser, the Governor Higginson had fair and honest dealings with some aquatic mammal, until then unknown, that could spurt from its blowholes waterspouts mixed with air and steam Similar events were likewise observed in Pacific seas, on July 23 of the same year, by the Christopher Columbus from the West India & Pacific Steam Navigation Co Consequently, this extraordinary cetacean could transfer itself from one locality to another with startling swiftness, since within an interval of just three days, the Governor Higginson and the Christopher Columbus had observed it at two positions on the charts separated by a distance of more than 700 nautical leagues Fifteen days later and 2,000 leagues farther, the Helvetia from the Compagnie Nationale and the Shannon from the Royal Mail line, running on opposite tacks in that part of the Atlantic lying between the United States and Europe, respectively signaled each other that the monster had been sighted in latitude 42 degrees 15' north and longitude 60 degrees 35' west of the meridian of Greenwich From their simultaneous observations, they were able to estimate the mammal's minimum length at more than 350 English feet;1 this was because both the Shannon and the Helvetia were of smaller dimensions, although each measured 100 meters stem to stern Now then, the biggest whales, those rorqual whales that frequent the waterways of the Aleutian Islands, have never exceeded a length of 56 meters—if they reach even that One after another, reports arrived that would profoundly affect public opinion: new observations taken by the transatlantic liner Pereire, the Inman line's Etna running afoul of the monster, an official report drawn up by officers on the French frigate Normandy, dead-earnest reckonings obtained by the general staff of Commodore Fitz-James aboard the Lord Clyde In lighthearted countries, people joked about this phenomenon, but such serious, practical countries as England, America, and Germany were deeply concerned In every big city the monster was the latest rage; they sang 1.Author's Note: About 106 meters An English foot is only 30.4 centimeters about it in the coffee houses, they ridiculed it in the newspapers, they dramatized it in the theaters The tabloids found it a fine opportunity for hatching all sorts of hoaxes In those newspapers short of copy, you saw the reappearance of every gigantic imaginary creature, from "Moby Dick," that dreadful white whale from the High Arctic regions, to the stupendous kraken whose tentacles could entwine a 500-ton craft and drag it into the ocean depths They even reprinted reports from ancient times: the views of Aristotle and Pliny accepting the existence of such monsters, then the Norwegian stories of Bishop Pontoppidan, the narratives of Paul Egede, and finally the reports of Captain Harrington— whose good faith is above suspicion—in which he claims he saw, while aboard the Castilian in 1857, one of those enormous serpents that, until then, had frequented only the seas of France's old extremist newspaper, The Constitutionalist An interminable debate then broke out between believers and skeptics in the scholarly societies and scientific journals The "monster question" inflamed all minds During this memorable campaign, journalists making a profession of science battled with those making a profession of wit, spilling waves of ink and some of them even two or three drops of blood, since they went from sea serpents to the most offensive personal remarks For six months the war seesawed With inexhaustible zest, the popular press took potshots at feature articles from the Geographic Institute of Brazil, the Royal Academy of Science in Berlin, the British Association, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., at discussions in The Indian Archipelago, in Cosmos published by Father Moigno, in Petermann's Mittheilungen,2 and at scientific chronicles in the great French and foreign newspapers When the monster's detractors cited a saying by the botanist Linnaeus that "nature doesn't make leaps," witty writers in the popular periodicals parodied it, maintaining in essence that "nature doesn't make lunatics," and ordering their contemporaries never to give the lie to nature by believing in krakens, sea serpents, "Moby Dicks," and other all-out efforts from drunken seamen Finally, in a much-feared satirical journal, an article by its most popular columnist finished off the monster for good, spurning it in the style of Hippolytus repulsing the amorous advances of his stepmother Phaedra, and giving the creature its quietus amid a universal burst of laughter Wit had defeated science During the first months of the year 1867, the question seemed to be buried, and it didn't seem due for resurrection, when new facts were brought to the public's attention But now it was no longer an issue of a scientific problem to be solved, but a quite 2.German: "Bulletin." Ed real and serious danger to be avoided The question took an entirely new turn The monster again became an islet, rock, or reef, but a runaway reef, unfixed and elusive On March 5, 1867, the Moravian from the Montreal Ocean Co., lying during the night in latitude 27 degrees 30' and longitude 72 degrees 15', ran its starboard quarter afoul of a rock marked on no charts of these waterways Under the combined efforts of wind and 400-horsepower steam, it was traveling at a speed of thirteen knots Without the high quality of its hull, the Moravian would surely have split open from this collision and gone down together with those 237 passengers it was bringing back from Canada This accident happened around five o'clock in the morning, just as day was beginning to break The officers on watch rushed to the craft's stern They examined the ocean with the most scrupulous care They saw nothing except a strong eddy breaking three cable lengths out, as if those sheets of water had been violently churned The site's exact bearings were taken, and the Moravian continued on course apparently undamaged Had it run afoul of an underwater rock or the wreckage of some enormous derelict ship? They were unable to say But when they examined its undersides in the service yard, they discovered that part of its keel had been smashed This occurrence, extremely serious in itself, might perhaps have been forgotten like so many others, if three weeks later it hadn't been reenacted under identical conditions Only, thanks to the nationality of the ship victimized by this new ramming, and thanks to the reputation of the company to which this ship belonged, the event caused an immense uproar No one is unaware of the name of that famous English shipowner, Cunard In 1840 this shrewd industrialist founded a postal service between Liverpool and Halifax, featuring three wooden ships with 400-horsepower paddle wheels and a burden of 1,162 metric tons Eight years later, the company's assets were increased by four 650-horsepower ships at 1,820 metric tons, and in two more years, by two other vessels of still greater power and tonnage In 1853 the Cunard Co., whose mail-carrying charter had just been renewed, successively added to its assets the Arabia, the Persia, the China, the Scotia, the Java, and the Russia, all ships of top speed and, after the Great Eastern, the biggest ever to plow the seas So in 1867 this company owned twelve ships, eight with paddle wheels and four with propellers If I give these highly condensed details, it is so everyone can fully understand the importance of this maritime transportation company, known the world over for its shrewd management No transoceanic navigational undertaking has been conducted with more ability, no business dealings have been crowned with greater success In twenty-six years Cunard ships have made 2,000 Atlantic crossings without so much as a voyage canceled, a delay recorded, a man, a craft, or even a letter lost Accordingly, despite strong competition from France, passengers still choose the Cunard line in preference to all others, as can be seen in a recent survey of official documents Given this, no one will be astonished at the uproar provoked by this accident involving one of its finest steamers On April 13, 1867, with a smooth sea and a moderate breeze, the Scotia lay in longitude 15 degrees 12' and latitude 45 degrees 37' It was traveling at a speed of 13.43 knots under the thrust of its 1,000-horsepower engines Its paddle wheels were churning the sea with perfect steadiness It was then drawing 6.7 meters of water and displacing 6,624 cubic meters At 4:17 in the afternoon, during a high tea for passengers gathered in the main lounge, a collision occurred, scarcely noticeable on the whole, affecting the Scotia's hull in that quarter a little astern of its port paddle wheel The Scotia hadn't run afoul of something, it had been fouled, and by a cutting or perforating instrument rather than a blunt one This encounter seemed so minor that nobody on board would have been disturbed by it, had it not been for the shouts of crewmen in the hold, who climbed on deck yelling: "We're sinking! We're sinking!" At first the passengers were quite frightened, but Captain Anderson hastened to reassure them In fact, there could be no immediate danger Divided into seven compartments by watertight bulkheads, the Scotia could brave any leak with impunity Captain Anderson immediately made his way into the hold He discovered that the fifth compartment had been invaded by the sea, and the speed of this invasion proved that the leak was considerable Fortunately this compartment didn't contain the boilers, because their furnaces would have been abruptly extinguished Captain Anderson called an immediate halt, and one of his sailors dived down to assess the damage Within moments they had located a hole two meters in width on the steamer's underside Such a leak could not be patched, and with its paddle wheels half swamped, the Scotia had no choice but to continue its voyage By then it lay 300 miles from Cape Clear, and after three days of delay that filled Liverpool with acute anxiety, it entered the company docks The engineers then proceeded to inspect the Scotia, which had been put in dry dock They couldn't believe their eyes Two and a half meters below its waterline, there gaped a symmetrical gash in the shape of an isosceles triangle This breach in the sheet iron was so perfectly formed, no punch could have done a cleaner job of it Consequently, it must have been produced by a perforating tool of uncommon toughness— plus, after being launched with prodigious power and then piercing four centimeters of sheet iron, this tool had needed to withdraw itself by a backward motion truly inexplicable This was the last straw, and it resulted in arousing public passions all over again Indeed, from this moment on, any maritime casualty without an established cause was charged to the monster's account This outrageous animal had to shoulder responsibility for all derelict vessels, whose numbers are unfortunately considerable, since out of those 3,000 ships whose losses are recorded annually at the marine insurance bureau, the figure for steam or sailing ships supposedly lost with all hands, in the absence of any news, amounts to at least 200! Now then, justly or unjustly, it was the "monster" who stood accused of their disappearance; and since, thanks to it, travel between the various continents had become more and more dangerous, the public spoke up and demanded straight out that, at all cost, the seas be purged of this fearsome cetacean Chapter The Pros and Cons DURING THE PERIOD in which these developments were occurring, I had returned from a scientific undertaking organized to explore the Nebraska badlands in the United States In my capacity as Assistant Professor at the Paris Museum of Natural History, I had been attached to this expedition by the French government After spending six months in Nebraska, I arrived in New York laden with valuable collections near the end of March My departure for France was set for early May In the meantime, then, I was busy classifying my mineralogical, botanical, and zoological treasures when that incident took place with the Scotia I was perfectly abreast of this question, which was the big news of the day, and how could I not have been? I had read and reread every American and European newspaper without being any farther along This mystery puzzled me Finding it impossible to form any views, I drifted from one extreme to the other Something was out there, that much was certain, and any doubting Thomas was invited to place his finger on the Scotia's wound When I arrived in New York, the question was at the boiling point The hypothesis of a drifting islet or an elusive reef, put forward by people not quite in their right minds, was completely eliminated And indeed, unless this reef had an engine in its belly, how could it move about with such prodigious speed? Also discredited was the idea of a floating hull or some other enormous wreckage, and again because of this speed of movement So only two possible solutions to the question were left, creating two very distinct groups of supporters: on one side, those favoring a monster of colossal strength; on the other, those favoring an "underwater boat" of tremendous motor power Now then, although the latter hypothesis was completely admissible, it couldn't stand up to inquiries conducted in both the New World and the Old That a private individual had such a mechanism at his disposal 10 "That is my opinion too," said Ned Land, coolly "Let us wait for night." Night arrived Deep silence reigned on board The compass showed that the Nautilus had not altered its course It was on the surface, rolling slightly My companions and I resolved to fly when the vessel should be near enough either to hear us or to see us; for the moon, which would be full in two or three days, shone brightly Once on board the ship, if we could not prevent the blow which threatened it, we could, at least we would, all that circumstances would allow Several times I thought the Nautilus was preparing for attack; but Captain Nemo contented himself with allowing his adversary to approach, and then fled once more before it Part of the night passed without any incident We watched the opportunity for action We spoke little, for we were too much moved Ned Land would have thrown himself into the sea, but I forced him to wait According to my idea, the Nautilus would attack the ship at her waterline, and then it would not only be possible, but easy to fly At three in the morning, full of uneasiness, I mounted the platform Captain Nemo had not left it He was standing at the fore part near his flag, which a slight breeze displayed above his head He did not take his eyes from the vessel The intensity of his look seemed to attract, and fascinate, and draw it onward more surely than if he had been towing it The moon was then passing the meridian Jupiter was rising in the east Amid this peaceful scene of nature, sky and ocean rivalled each other in tranquillity, the sea offering to the orbs of night the finest mirror they could ever have in which to reflect their image As I thought of the deep calm of these elements, compared with all those passions brooding imperceptibly within the Nautilus, I shuddered The vessel was within two miles of us It was ever nearing that phosphorescent light which showed the presence of the Nautilus I could see its green and red lights, and its white lantern hanging from the large foremast An indistinct vibration quivered through its rigging, showing that the furnaces were heated to the uttermost Sheaves of sparks and red ashes flew from the funnels, shining in the atmosphere like stars I remained thus until six in the morning, without Captain Nemo noticing me The ship stood about a mile and a half from us, and with the first dawn of day the firing began afresh The moment could not be far off when, the Nautilus attacking its adversary, my companions and myself should for ever leave this man I was preparing to go down to remind them, when the second mounted the platform, accompanied by 342 several sailors Captain Nemo either did not or would not see them Some steps were taken which might be called the signal for action They were very simple The iron balustrade around the platform was lowered, and the lantern and pilot cages were pushed within the shell until they were flush with the deck The long surface of the steel cigar no longer offered a single point to check its manoeuvres I returned to the saloon The Nautilus still floated; some streaks of light were filtering through the liquid beds With the undulations of the waves the windows were brightened by the red streaks of the rising sun, and this dreadful day of the 2nd of June had dawned At five o'clock, the log showed that the speed of the Nautilus was slackening, and I knew that it was allowing them to draw nearer Besides, the reports were heard more distinctly, and the projectiles, labouring through the ambient water, were extinguished with a strange hissing noise "My friends," said I, "the moment is come One grasp of the hand, and may God protect us!" Ned Land was resolute, Conseil calm, myself so nervous that I knew not how to contain myself We all passed into the library; but the moment I pushed the door opening on to the central staircase, I heard the upper panel close sharply The Canadian rushed on to the stairs, but I stopped him A well-known hissing noise told me that the water was running into the reservoirs, and in a few minutes the Nautilus was some yards beneath the surface of the waves I understood the manoeuvre It was too late to act The Nautilus did not wish to strike at the impenetrable cuirass, but below the water-line, where the metallic covering no longer protected it We were again imprisoned, unwilling witnesses of the dreadful drama that was preparing We had scarcely time to reflect; taking refuge in my room, we looked at each other without speaking A deep stupor had taken hold of my mind: thought seemed to stand still I was in that painful state of expectation preceding a dreadful report I waited, I listened, every sense was merged in that of hearing! The speed of the Nautilus was accelerated It was preparing to rush The whole ship trembled Suddenly I screamed I felt the shock, but comparatively light I felt the penetrating power of the steel spur I heard rattlings and scrapings But the Nautilus, carried along by its propelling power, passed through the mass of the vessel like a needle through sailcloth! I could stand it no longer Mad, out of my mind, I rushed from my room into the saloon Captain Nemo was there, mute, gloomy, 343 implacable; he was looking through the port panel A large mass cast a shadow on the water; and, that it might lose nothing of her agony, the Nautilus was going down into the abyss with her Ten yards from me I saw the open shell, through which the water was rushing with the noise of thunder, then the double line of guns and the netting The bridge was covered with black, agitated shadows The water was rising The poor creatures were crowding the ratlines, clinging to the masts, struggling under the water It was a human antheap overtaken by the sea Paralysed, stiffened with anguish, my hair standing on end, with eyes wide open, panting, without breath, and without voice, I too was watching! An irresistible attraction glued me to the glass! Suddenly an explosion took place The compressed air blew up her decks, as if the magazines had caught fire Then the unfortunate vessel sank more rapidly Her topmast, laden with victims, now appeared; then her spars, bending under the weight of men; and, last of all, the top of her mainmast Then the dark mass disappeared, and with it the dead crew, drawn down by the strong eddy I turned to Captain Nemo That terrible avenger, a perfect archangel of hatred, was still looking When all was over, he turned to his room, opened the door, and entered I followed him with my eyes On the end wall beneath his heroes, I saw the portrait of a woman, still young, and two little children Captain Nemo looked at them for some moments, stretched his arms towards them, and, kneeling down, burst into deep sobs 344 Chapter 22 The Last Words of Captain Nemo THE panels had closed on this dreadful vision, but light had not returned to the saloon: all was silence and darkness within the Nautilus At wonderful speed, a hundred feet beneath the water, it was leaving this desolate spot Whither was it going? To the north or south? Where was the man flying to after such dreadful retaliation? I had returned to my room, where Ned and Conseil had remained silent enough I felt an insurmountable horror for Captain Nemo Whatever he had suffered at the hands of these men, he had no right to punish thus He had made me, if not an accomplice, at least a witness of his vengeance At eleven the electric light reappeared I passed into the saloon It was deserted I consulted the different instruments The Nautilus was flying northward at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour, now on the surface, and now thirty feet below it On taking the bearings by the chart, I saw that we were passing the mouth of the Manche, and that our course was hurrying us towards the northern seas at a frightful speed That night we had crossed two hundred leagues of the Atlantic The shadows fell, and the sea was covered with darkness until the rising of the moon I went to my room, but could not sleep I was troubled with dreadful nightmare The horrible scene of destruction was continually before my eyes From that day, who could tell into what part of the North Atlantic basin the Nautilus would take us? Still with unaccountable speed Still in the midst of these northern fogs Would it touch at Spitzbergen, or on the shores of Nova Zembla? Should we explore those unknown seas, the White Sea, the Sea of Kara, the Gulf of Obi, the Archipelago of Liarrov, and the unknown coast of Asia? I could not say I could no longer judge of the time that was passing The clocks had been stopped on board It seemed, as in polar countries, that night and day no longer followed their regular course I felt myself being drawn into that strange region where the foundered imagination of Edgar Poe roamed at will Like the fabulous Gordon Pym, at every moment I expected to see "that veiled 345 human figure, of larger proportions than those of any inhabitant of the earth, thrown across the cataract which defends the approach to the pole." I estimated (though, perhaps, I may be mistaken) — I estimated this adventurous course of the Nautilus to have lasted fifteen or twenty days And I know not how much longer it might have lasted, had it not been for the catastrophe which ended this voyage Of Captain Nemo I saw nothing whatever now, nor of his second Not a man of the crew was visible for an instant The Nautilus was almost incessantly under water When we came to the surface to renew the air, the panels opened and shut mechanically There were no more marks on the planisphere I knew not where we were And the Canadian, too, his strength and patience at an end, appeared no more Conseil could not draw a word from him; and, fearing that, in a dreadful fit of madness, he might kill himself, watched him with constant devotion One morning (what date it was I could not say) I had fallen into a heavy sleep towards the early hours, a sleep both painful and unhealthy, when I suddenly awoke Ned Land was leaning over me, saying, in a low voice, "We are going to fly." I sat up "When shall we go?" I asked "To-night All inspection on board the Nautilus seems to have ceased All appear to be stupefied You will be ready, sir?" "Yes; where are we?" "In sight of land I took the reckoning this morning in the fog — twenty miles to the east." "What country is it?" "I not know; but, whatever it is, we will take refuge there." "Yes, Ned, yes We will fly to-night, even if the sea should swallow us up." "The sea is bad, the wind violent, but twenty miles in that light boat of the Nautilus does not frighten me Unknown to the crew, I have been able to procure food and some bottles of water." "I will follow you." "But," continued the Canadian, "if I am surprised, I will defend myself ; I will force them to kill me." "We will die together, friend Ned." I had made up my mind to all The Canadian left me I reached the platform, on which I could with difficulty support myself against the shock of the waves The sky was threatening; but, as land was in those thick brown shadows, we must fly I returned to the saloon, fearing and yet hoping to see Captain Nemo, wishing and yet not wishing to see 346 him What could I have said to him? Could I hide the involuntary horror with which he inspired me? No It was better that I should not meet him face to face; better to forget him And yet — How long seemed that day, the last that I should pass in the Nautilus I remained alone Ned Land and Conseil avoided speaking, for fear of betraying themselves At six I dined, but I was not hungry; I forced myself to eat in spite of my disgust, that I might not weaken myself At half-past six Ned Land came to my room, saying, "We shall not see each other again before our departure At ten the moon will not be risen We will profit by the darkness Come to the boat; Conseil and I will wait for you." The Canadian went out without giving me time to answer Wishing to verify the course of the Nautilus, I went to the saloon We were running N.N.E at frightful speed, and more than fifty yards deep I cast a last look on these wonders of nature, on the riches of art heaped up in this museum, upon the unrivalled collection destined to perish at the bottom of the sea, with him who had formed it I wished to fix an indelible impression of it in my mind I remained an hour thus, bathed in the light of that luminous ceiling, and passing in review those treasures shining under their glasses Then I returned to my room I dressed myself in strong sea clothing I collected my notes, placing them carefully about me My heart beat loudly I could not check its pulsations Certainly my trouble and agitation would have betrayed me to Captain Nemo's eyes What was he doing at this moment? I listened at the door of his room I heard steps Captain Nemo was there He had not gone to rest At every moment I expected to see him appear, and ask me why I wished to fly I was constantly on the alert My imagination magnified everything The impression became at last so poignant that I asked myself if it would not be better to go to the Captain's room, see him face to face, and brave him with look and gesture It was the inspiration of a madman; fortunately I resisted the desire, and stretched myself on my bed to quiet my bodily agitation My nerves were somewhat calmer, but in my excited brain I saw over again all my existence on board the Nautilus; every incident, either happy or unfortunate, which had happened since my disappearance from the Abraham Lincoln — the submarine hunt, the Torres Straits, the savages of Papua, the running ashore, the coral cemetery, the passage of Suez, the Island of Santorin, the Cretan diver, Vigo Bay, Atlantis, the iceberg, the South Pole, the imprisonment in the ice, the fight among the poulps, the storm in the Gulf Stream, the Avenger, and the horrible scene of the vessel sunk with all her crew All these events passed before my eyes like 347 scenes in a drama Then Captain Nemo seemed to grow enormously, his features to assume superhuman proportions He was no longer my equal, but a man of the waters, the genie of the sea It was then half-past nine I held my head between my hands to keep it from bursting I closed my eyes; I would not think any longer There was another half-hour to wait, another half-hour of a nightmare, which might drive me mad At that moment I heard the distant strains of the organ, a sad harmony to an undefinable chant, the wail of a soul longing to break these earthly bonds I listened with every sense, scarcely breathing; plunged, like Captain Nemo, in that musical ecstasy, which was drawing him in spirit to the end of life Then a sudden thought terrified me Captain Nemo had left his room He was in the saloon, which I must cross to fly There I should meet him for the last time He would see me, perhaps speak to me A gesture of his might destroy me, a single word chain me on board But ten was about to strike The moment had come for me to leave my room, and join my companions I must not hesitate, even if Captain Nemo himself should rise before me I opened my door carefully; and even then, as it turned on its hinges, it seemed to me to make a dreadful noise Perhaps it only existed in my own imagination I crept along the dark stairs of the Nautilus, stopping at each step to check the beating of my heart I reached the door of the saloon, and opened it gently It was plunged in profound darkness The strains of the organ sounded faintly Captain Nemo was there He did not see me In the full light I not think he would have noticed me, so entirely was he absorbed in the ecstasy I crept along the carpet, avoiding the slightest sound which might betray my presence I was at least five minutes reaching the door, at the opposite side, opening into the library I was going to open it, when a sigh from Captain Nemo nailed me to the spot I knew that he was rising I could even see him, for the light from the library came through to the saloon He came towards me silently, with his arms crossed, gliding like a spectre rather than walking His breast was swelling with sobs; and I heard him murmur these words (the last which ever struck my ear): "Almighty God! enough! enough!" Was it a confession of remorse which thus escaped from this man's conscience? 348 In desperation, I rushed through the library, mounted the central staircase, and, following the upper flight, reached the boat I crept through the opening, which had already admitted my two companions "Let us go! let us go!" I exclaimed "Directly!" replied the Canadian The orifice in the plates of the Nautilus was first closed, and fastened down by means of a false key, with which Ned Land had provided himself; the opening in the boat was also closed The Canadian began to loosen the bolts which still held us to the submarine boat Suddenly a noise was heard Voices were answering each other loudly What was the matter? Had they discovered our flight? I felt Ned Land slipping a dagger into my hand "Yes," I murmured, "we know how to die!" The Canadian had stopped in his work But one word many times repeated, a dreadful word, revealed the cause of the agitation spreading on board the Nautilus It was not we the crew were looking after! "The maelstrom! the maelstrom! Could a more dreadful word in a more dreadful situation have sounded in our ears! We were then upon the dangerous coast of Norway Was the Nautilus being drawn into this gulf at the moment our boat was going to leave its sides? We knew that at the tide the pent-up waters between the islands of Ferroe and Loffoden rush with irresistible violence, forming a whirlpool from which no vessel ever escapes From every point of the horizon enormous waves were meeting, forming a gulf justly called the "Navel of the Ocean," whose power of attraction extends to a distance of twelve miles There, not only vessels, but whales are sacrificed, as well as white bears from the northern regions It is thither that the Nautilus, voluntarily or involuntarily, had been run by the Captain It was describing a spiral, the circumference of which was lessening by degrees, and the boat, which was still fastened to its side, was carried along with giddy speed I felt that sickly giddiness which arises from long-continued whirling round We were in dread Our horror was at its height, circulation had stopped, all nervous influence was annihilated, and we were covered with cold sweat, like a sweat of agony! And what noise around our frail bark! What roarings repeated by the echo miles away! What an uproar was that of the waters broken on the sharp rocks at the bottom, where the hardest bodies are crushed, and trees worn away, "with all the fur rubbed off," according to the Norwegian phrase! 349 What a situation to be in! We rocked frightfully The Nautilus defended itself like a human being Its steel muscles cracked Sometimes it seemed to stand upright, and we with it! "We must hold on," said Ned, "and look after the bolts We may still be saved if we stick to the Nautilus." He had not finished the words, when we heard a crashing noise, the bolts gave way, and the boat, torn from its groove, was hurled like a stone from a sling into the midst of the whirlpool My head struck on a piece of iron, and with the violent shock I lost all consciousness 350 Chapter 23 Conclusion THUS ends the voyage under the seas What passed during that night — how the boat escaped from the eddies of the maelstrom — how Ned Land, Conseil, and myself ever came out of the gulf, I cannot tell But when I returned to consciousness, I was lying in a fisherman's hut, on the Loffoden Isles My two companions, safe and sound, were near me holding my hands We embraced each other heartily At that moment we could not think of returning to France The means of communication between the north of Norway and the south are rare And I am therefore obliged to wait for the steamboat running monthly from Cape North And, among the worthy people who have so kindly received us, I revise my record of these adventures once more Not a fact has been omitted, not a detail exaggerated It is a faithful narrative of this incredible expedition in an element inaccessible to man, but to which Progress will one day open a road Shall I be believed? I not know And it matters little, after all What I now affirm is, that I have a right to speak of these seas, under which, in less than ten months, I have crossed 20,000 leagues in that submarine tour of the world, which has revealed so many wonders But what has become of the Nautilus? Did it resist the pressure of the maelstrom? Does Captain Nemo still live? And does he still follow under the ocean those frightful retaliations? Or, did he stop after the last hecatomb? Will the waves one day carry to him this manuscript containing the history of his life? Shall I ever know the name of this man? Will the missing vessel tell us by its nationality that of Captain Nemo? I hope so And I also hope that his powerful vessel has conquered the sea at its most terrible gulf, and that the Nautilus has survived where so many other vessels have been lost! If it be so — if Captain Nemo still inhabits the ocean, his adopted country, may hatred be appeased in that 351 savage heart! May the contemplation of so many wonders extinguish for ever the spirit of vengeance! May the judge disappear, and the philosopher continue the peaceful exploration of the sea! If his destiny be strange, it is also sublime Have I not understood it myself? Have I not lived ten months of this unnatural life? And to the question asked by Ecclesiastes three thousand years ago, "That which is far off and exceeding deep, who can find it out?" two men alone of all now living have the right to give an answer — CAPTAIN NEMO AND MYSELF 352 Loved this book ? 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However, the weather held good Our voyage was proceeding under the most favorable conditions By then it was the bad season in these southernmost regions, because July in... who pioneered the science-fiction genre He is best known for novels such as Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty