nce proves to be the best.
The   electricity   produced   passes   forward,   where   it   works,  by
electro-magnets  of  great size, on a system of levers and cog-wheels that
transmit  the movement to the axle of the screw. This one, the diameter of
which  is  nineteen feet, and the thread twenty-three feet, performs about
120 revolutions in a second."
   "And you get then?"
   "A speed of fifty miles an hour."
   "I  have  seen the Nautilus manoeuvre before the Abraham Lincoln, and I
have  my  own  ideas  as to its speed. But this is not enough. We must see
where  we  go.  We  must  be  able to direct it to the right, to the left,
above,  below.  How  do  you  get  to  the great depths, where you find an
increasing  resistance,  which is rated by hundreds of atmospheres? How do
you return to the surface of the ocean? And how do you maintain yourselves
in the requisite medium? Am I asking too much?"
   "Not  at  all,  Professor,"  replied the Captain, with some hesitation;
"since  you  may never leave this submarine boat. Come into the saloon, it
is  our  usual  study, and there you will learn all you want to know about
the Nautilus."


        Chapter XII. SOME FIGURES

   A  moment  after  we  were seated on a divan in the saloon smoking. The
Captain  showed  me a sketch that gave the plan, section, and elevation of
the Nautilus. Then he began his description in these words:
   "Here,  M.  Aronnax, are the several dimensions of the boat you are in.
It  is an elongated cylinder with conical ends. It is very like a cigar in
shape,  a  shape already adopted in London in several constructions of the
same sort. The length of this cylinder, from stem to stern, is exactly 232
feet,  and  its  maximum breadth is twenty-six feet. It is not built quite
like  your  long-voyage steamers, but its lines are sufficiently long, and
its  curves  prolonged enough, to allow the water to slide off easily, and
oppose  no  obstacle  to  its  passage. These two dimensions enable you to
obtain  by  a  simple  calculation  the  surface and cubic contents of the
Nautilus. Its area measures 6,032 feet; and its contents about 1,500 cubic
yards;  that  is to say, when completely immersed it displaces 50,000 feet
of water, or weighs 1,500 tons.
   "When  I  made  the  plans  for  this  submarine  vessel,  I meant that
nine-tenths  should  be  submerged: consequently it ought only to displace
nine-tenths  of  its  bulk,  that  is to say, only to weigh that number of
tons.  I  ought not, therefore, to have exceeded that weight, constructing
it on the aforesaid dimensions.
   "The  Nautilus is composed of two hulls, one inside, the other outside,
joined  by  T-shaped  irons, which render it very strong. Indeed, owing to
this  cellular  arrangement  it resists like a block, as if it were solid.
Its sides cannot yield; it coheres spontaneously, and not by the closeness
of  its  rivets; and its perfect union of the materials enables it to defy
the roughest seas.
   "These two hulls are composed of steel plates, whose density is from .7
to  .8  that  of  water.  The first is not less than two inches and a half
thick  and  weighs  394 tons. The second envelope, the keel, twenty inches
high  and  ten thick, weighs only sixty-two tons. The engine, the ballast,
the  several  accessories  and  apparatus  appendages,  the partitions and
bulkheads, weigh 961.62 tons. Do you follow all this?"
   "I do."
   "Then, when the Nautilus is afloat under these circumstances, one-tenth
is  out  of  the  water. Now, if I have made reservoirs of a size equal to
this tenth, or capable of holding 150 tons, and if I fill them with water,
the  boat,  weighing  then  1,507  tons, will be completely immersed. That
would  happen,  Professor.  These  reservoirs are in the lower part of the
Nautilus. I turn on taps and they fill, and the vessel sinks that had just
been level with the surface."
   "Well,  Captain,  but  now  we  come  to  the  real  difficulty.  I can
understand your rising to the surface; but, diving below the surface, does
not  your  submarine  contrivance  encounter  a pressure, and consequently
undergo an upward thrust of one atmosphere for every thirty feet of water,
just about fifteen pounds per square inch?"
   "Just so, sir."
   "Then,  unless  you  quite  fill the Nautilus, I do not see how you can
draw it down to those depths."
   "Professor,  you must not confound statics with dynamics or you will be
exposed  to  grave  errors. There is very little labour spent in attaining
the  lower  regions  of the ocean, for all bodies have a tendency to sink.
When  I  wanted  to  find out the necessary increase of weight required to
sink  the  Nautilus,  I had only to calculate the reduction of volume that
sea-water acquires according to the depth."
   "That is evident."
   "Now, if water is not absolutely incompressible, it is at least capable
of  very  slight  compression.  Indeed, after the most recent calculations
this  reduction  is  only .000436 of an atmosphere for each thirty feet of
depth.  If  we  want  to  sink  3,000  feet,  I should keep account of the
reduction of bulk under a pressure equal to that of a column of water of a
thousand   feet.   The   calculation  is  easily  verified.  Now,  I  have
supplementary  reservoirs  capable  of holding a hundred tons. Therefore I
can  sink to a considerable depth. When I wish to rise to the level of the
sea,  I only let off the water, and empty all the reservoirs if I want the
Nautilus to emerge from the tenth part of her total capacity."
   I had nothing to object to these reasonings.
   "I  admit your calculations, Captain," I replied; "I should be wrong to
dispute  them  since  daily experience confirms them; but I foresee a real
difficulty in the way."
   "What, sir?"
   "When  you  are about 1,000 feet deep, the walls of the Nautilus bear a
pressure  of  100  atmospheres.  If,  then, just now you were to empty the
supplementary  reservoirs,  to  lighten  the  vessel,  and to go up to the
surface, the pumps must overcome the pressure of 100 atmospheres, which is
1,500 lbs. per square inch. From that a power-"
   "That  electricity  alone  can  give,"  said  the  Captain, hastily. "I
repeat,  sir, that the dynamic power of my engines is almost infinite. The
pumps  of  the  Nautilus have an enormous power, as you must have observed
when  their  jets  of water burst like a torrent upon the Abraham Lincoln.
Besides, I use subsidiary reservoirs only to attain a mean depth of 750 to
1,000  fathoms, and that with a view of managing my machines. Also, when I
have  a  mind to visit the depths of the ocean five or six mlles below the
surface, I make use of slower but not less infallible means."
   "What are they, Captain?"
   "That involves my telling you how the Nautilus is worked."
   "I am impatient to learn."
   "To steer this boat to starboard or port, to turn, in a word, following
a  horizontal  plan,  I  use  an  ordinary rudder fixed on the back of the
stern-post, and with one wheel and some tackle to steer by. But I can also
make the Nautilus rise and sink, and sink and rise, by a vertical movement
by means of two inclined planes fastened to its sides, opposite the centre
of  flotation, planes that move in every direction, and that are worked by
powerful  levers  from  the interior. If the planes are kept parallel with
the  boat,  it  moves horizontally. If slanted, the Nautilus, according to
this  inclination,  and  under  the  influence  of the screw, either sinks
diagonally  or rises diagonally as it suits me. And even if I wish to rise
more  quickly  to  the  surface, I ship the screw, and the pressure of the
water  causes  the  Nautilus to rise vertically like a balloon filled with
hydrogen."
   "Bravo,  Captain!  But  how  can  the steersman follow the route in the
middle of the waters?"
   "The steersman is placed in a glazed box, that is raised about the hull
of the Nautilus, and furnished with lenses."
   "Are these lenses capable of resisting such pressure?"
   "Perfectly. Glass, which breaks at a blow, is, nevertheless, capable of
offering  considerable  resistance.  During some experiments of fishing by
electric  light  in  1864  in the Northern Seas, we saw plates less than a
third  of an inch thick resist a pressure of sixteen atmospheres. Now, the
glass that I use is not less than thirty times thicker."
   "Granted.  But,  after  all, in order to see, the light must exceed the
darkness, and in the midst of the darkness in the water, how can you see?"
   "Behind  the  steersman's cage is placed a powerful electric reflector,
the rays from which light up the sea for half a mile in front."
   "Ah!  bravo, bravo, Captain! Now I can account for this phosphorescence
in  the supposed narwhal that puzzled us so. I now ask you if the boarding
of  the  Nautilus  and of the Scotia, that has made such a noise, has been
the result of a chance rencontre?"
   "Quite accidental, sir. I was sailing only one fathom below the surface
of the water when the shock came. It had no bad result."
   "None, sir. But now, about your rencontre with the Abraham Lincoln?"
   "Professor,  I  am  sorry  for  one of the best vessels in the American
navy;  but they attacked me, and I was bound to defend myself. I contented
myself,  however,  with  putting  the frigate hors de combat; she will not
have any difficulty in getting repaired at the next port."
   "Ah, Commander! your Nautilus is certainly a marvellous boat."
   "Yes,  Professor; and I love it as if it were part of myself. If danger
threatens  one  of  your vessels on the ocean, the first impression is the
feeling  of  an  abyss above and below. On the Nautilus men's hearts never
fail  them. No defects to be afraid of, for the double shell is as firm as
iron;  no  rigging  to  attend to; no sails for the wind to carry away; no
boilers  to burst; no fire to fear, for the vessel is made of iron, not of
wood;  no coal to run short, for electricity is the only mechanical agent;
no  collision  to  fear,  for  it alone swims in deep water; no tempest to
brave, for when it dives below the water it reaches absolute tranquillity.
There,  sir! that is the perfection of vessels! And if it is true that the
engineer  has  more  confidence  in  the  vessel than the builder, and the
builder  than the captain himself, you understand the trust I repose in my
Nautilus; for I am at once captain, builder, and engineer."
   "But how could you construct this wonderful Nautilus in secret?"
   "Each separate portion, M. Aronnax, was brought from different parts of
the globe."
   "But these parts had to be put together and arranged?"
   "Professor,  I  had  set  up  my  workshops upon a desert island in the
ocean.  There  my workmen, that is to say, the brave men that I instructed
and  educated,  and  myself have put together our Nautilus. Then, when the
work  was  finished,  fire  destroyed all trace of our proceedings on this
island, that I could have jumped over if I had liked."
   "Then the cost of this vessel is great?"
   "M.  Aronnax,  an  iron  vessel  costs  L145  per ton. Now the Nautilus
weighed  1,500. It came therefore to L67,500, and L80,000 more for fitting
it  up,  and  about L200,000, with the works of art and the collections it
contains."
   "One last question, Captain Nemo."
   "Ask it, Professor."
   "You are rich?"
   "Immensely rich, sir; and I could, without missing it, pay the national
debt of France."
   I  stared at the singular person who spoke thus. Was he playing upon my
credulity? The future would decide that.


        Chapter XIII. THE BLACK RIVER

   The  portion  of  the  terrestrial  globe  which is covered by water is
estimated  at  upwards  of  eighty  millions  of  acres.  This  fluid mass
comprises  two  billions  two  hundred  and fifty millions of cubic miles,
forming  a  spherical  body  of a diameter of sixty leagues, the weight of
which  would  be  three quintillions of tons. To comprehend the meaning of
these  figures,  it  is  necessary  to  observe that a quintillion is to a
billion  as  a  billion  is  to  unity;  in other words, there are as many
billions  in  a  quintillion as there are units in a billion. This mass of
fluid is equal to about the quantity of water which would be discharged by
all the rivers of the earth in forty thousand years.
   During the geological epochs the ocean originally prevailed everywhere.
Then  by  degrees, in the silurian period, the tops of the mountains began
to  appear,  the  islands  emerged,  then  disappeared in partial deluges,
reappeared,  became  settled,  formed continents, till at length the earth
became  geographically  arranged,  as we see in the present day. The solid
had   wrested  from  the  liquid  thirty-seven  million  six  hundred  and
fifty-seven  square miles, equal to twelve billions nine hundred and sixty
millions of acres.
   The  shape of continents allows us to divide the waters into five great
portions:  the Arctic or Frozen Ocean, the Antarctic, or Frozen Ocean, the
Indian, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans.
   The  Pacific  Ocean  extends  from north to south between the two Polar
Circles, and from east to west between Asia and America, over an extent of
145  degrees  of  longitude.  It is the quietest of seas; its currents are
broad and slow, it has medium tides, and abundant rain. Such was the ocean
that  my  fate  destined  me  first  to  travel  over  under these strange
conditions.
   "Sir,"  said  Captain  Nemo, "we will, if you please, take our bearings
and  fix  the  starting-point of this voyage. It is a quarter to twelve; I
will go up again to the surface."
   The  Captain  pressed an electric clock three times. The pumps began to
drive  the  water  from the tanks; the needle of the manometer marked by a
different pressure the ascent of the Nautilus, then it stopped.
   "We have arrived," said the Captain.
   I  went  to  the  central  staircase  which  opened on to the platform,
clambered  up  the  iron  steps, and found myself on the upper part of the
Nautilus.
   The  platform  was  only three feet out of water. The front and back of
the  Nautilus  was  of  that  spindle-shape  which  caused it justly to be
compared  to  a cigar. I noticed that its iron plates, slightly overlaying
each  other,  resembled  the  shell  which clothes the bodies of our large
terrestrial  reptiles.  It explained to me how natural it was, in spite of
all glasses, that this boat should have been taken for a marine animal.
   Toward the middle of the platform the longboat, half buried in the hull
of the vessel, formed a slight excrescence. Fore and aft rose two cages of
medium  height  with inclined sides, and partly closed by thick lenticular
glasses;  one  destined  for  the steersman who directed the Nautilus, the
other containing a brilliant lantern to give light on the road.
   The  sea  was  beautiful, the sky pure. Scarcely could the long vehicle
feel  the  broad  undulations  of  the ocean. A light breeze from the east
rippled  the  surface  of  the  waters.  The  horizon, free from fog, made
observation  easy. Nothing was in sight. Not a quicksand, not an island. A
vast desert.
   Captain Nemo, by the help of his sextant, took the altitude of the sun,
which ought also to give the latitude. He waited for some moments till its
disc  touched  the horizon. Whilst taking observations not a muscle moved,
the instrument could not have been more motionless in a hand of marble.
   "Twelve o'clock, sir," said he. "When you like-"
   I  cast  a  last  look  upon the sea, slightly yellowed by the Japanese
coast, and descended to the saloon.
   "And  now,  sir,  I leave you to your studies," added the Captain; "our
course  is  E.N.E.,  our  depth  is twenty-six fathoms. Here are maps on a
large  scale  by  which you may follow it. The saloon is at your disposal,
and,  with  your  permission,  I  will  retire." Captain Nemo bowed, and I
remained  alone,  lost  in  thoughts  all  bearing on the commander of the
Nautilus.
   For  a  whole  hour  was I deep in these reflections, seeking to pierce
this  mystery  so  interesting  to  me.  Then  my  eyes fell upon the vast
planisphere spread upon the table, and I placed my finger on the very spot
where the given latitude and longitude crossed.
   The  sea  has  its  large  rivers like the continents. They are special
currents  known by their temperature and their colour. The most remarkable
of  these  is known by the name of the Gulf Stream. Science has decided on
the  globe  the  direction  of  five  principal currents: one in the North
Atlantic, a second in the South, a third in the North Pacific, a fourth in
the  South,  and a fifth in the Southern Indian Ocean. It is even probable
that a sixth current existed at one time or another in the Northern Indian
Ocean, when the Caspian and Aral Seas formed but one vast sheet of water.
   At  this  point  indicated on the planisphere one of these currents was
rolling,  the  Kuro-Scivo of the Japanese, the Black River, which, leaving
the  Gulf  of  Bengal,  where  it is warmed by the perpendicular rays of a
tropical  sun,  crosses  the  Straits  of Malacca along the coast of Asia,
turns  into  the  North  Pacific to the Aleutian Islands, carrying with it
trunks  of  camphor-trees and other indigenous productions, and edging the
waves  of  the  ocean  with the pure indigo of its warm water. It was this
current that the Nautilus was to follow. I followed it with my eye; saw it
lose itself in the vastness of the Pacific, and felt myself drawn with it,
when Ned Land and Conseil appeared at the door of the saloon.
   My  two brave companions remained petrified at the sight of the wonders
spread before them.
   "Where are we, where are we?" exclaimed the Canadian. "In the museum at
Quebec?"
   "My friends," I answered, making a sign for them to enter, "you are not
in  Canada,  but on board the Nautilus, fifty yards below the level of the
sea."
   "But,  M.  Aronnax," said Ned Land, "can you tell me how many men there
are on board? Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred?"
   "I  cannot answer you, Mr. Land; it is better to abandon for a time all
idea  of  seizing  the  Nautilus  or  escaping  from  it.  This  ship is a
masterpiece of modern industry, and I should be sorry not to have seen it.
Many  people  would  accept  the situation forced upon us, if only to move
amongst  such  wonders.  So  be  quiet  and let us try and see what passes
around us."
   "See!"  exclaimed  the  harpooner, "but we can see nothing in this iron
prison! We are walking-we are sailing-blindly."
   Ned  Land  had  scarcely  pronounced  these words when all was suddenly
darkness.  The  luminous  ceiling  was  gone,  and so rapidly that my eyes
received a painful impression.
   We  remained  mute, not stirring, and not knowing what surprise awaited
us,  whether  agreeable  or  disagreeable.  A sliding noise was heard: one
would have said that panels were working at the sides of the Nautilus.
   "It is the end of the end!" said Ned Land.
   Suddenly  light  broke  at  each side of the saloon, through two oblong
openings.  The  liquid mass appeared vividly lit up by the electric gleam.
Two  crystal  plates separated us from the sea. At first I trembled at the
thought  that this frail partition might break, but strong bands of copper
bound them, giving an almost infinite power of resistance.
   The  sea was distinctly visible for a mile all round the Nautilus. What
a  spectacle! What pen can describe it? Who could paint the effects of the
light  through  those transparent sheets of water, and the softness of the
successive gradations from the lower to the superior strata of the ocean?
   We  know  the  transparency  of  the  sea and that its clearness is far
beyond  that  of  rock-water.  The mineral and organic substances which it
holds  in  suspension  heightens its transparency. In certain parts of the
ocean  at  the  Antilles, under seventy-five fathoms of water, can be seen
with  surprising  clearness  a  bed  of sand. The penetrating power of the
solar  rays  does  not  seem to cease for a depth of one hundred and fifty
fathoms.  But  in  this  middle  fluid travelled over by the Nautilus, the
electric brightness was produced even in the bosom of the waves. It was no
longer luminous water, but liquid light.
   On  each side a window opened into this unexplored abyss. The obscurity
of  the  saloon  showed to advantage the brightness outside, and we looked
out as if this pure crystal had been the glass of an immense aquarium.
   "You wished to see, friend Ned; well, you see now."
   "Curious!   curious!"   muttered  the  Canadian,  who,  forgetting  his
ill-temper,  seemed  to  submit  to some irresistible attraction; "and one
would come further than this to admire such a sight!"
   "Ah!"  thought  I to myself, "I understand the life of this man; he has
made  a  world  apart  for himself, in which he treasures all his greatest
wonders."
   For two whole hours an aquatic army escorted the Nautilus. During their
games, their bounds, while rivalling each other in beauty, brightness, and
velocity,  I distinguished the green labre; the banded mullet, marked by a
double  line  of  black;  the  round-tailed  goby, of a white colour, with
violet  spots  on the back; the Japanese scombrus, a beautiful mackerel of
these  seas,  with  a  blue  body and silvery head; the brilliant azurors,
whose  name  alone defies description; some banded spares, with variegated
fins  of  blue  and  yellow;  the woodcocks of the seas, some specimens of
which  attain  a  yard  in  length; Japanese salamanders, spider lampreys,
serpents  six  feet  long,  with  eyes  small and lively, and a huge mouth
bristling with teeth; with many other species.
   Our  imagination was kept at its height, interjections followed quickly
on  each  other.  Ned  named  the fish, and Conseil classed them. I was in
ecstasies  with  the  vivacity  of their movements and the beauty of their
forms.  Never had it been given to me to surprise these animals, alive and
at liberty, in their natural element. I will not mention all the varieties
which  passed  before  my  dazzled eyes, all the collection of the seas of
China  and  Japan.  These  fish,  more numerous than the birds of the air,
came, attracted, no doubt, by the brilliant focus of the electric light.
   Suddenly  there  was  daylight  in  the  saloon, the iron panels closed
again, and the enchanting vision disappeared. But for a long time I dreamt
on,  till  my  eyes  fell on the instruments hanging on the partition. The
compass  still  showed  the course to be E.N.E., the manometer indicated a
pressure  of  five  atmospheres,  equivalent  to  a  depth  of twenty five
fathoms,  and  the  electric  log gave a speed of fifteen miles an hour. I
expected Captain Nemo, but he did not appear. The clock marked the hour of
five.
   Ned  Land  and  Conseil  returned  to  their cabin, and I retired to my
chamber.  My  dinner was ready. It was composed of turtle soup made of the
most  delicate  hawks  bills,  of  a surmullet served with puff paste (the
liver  of  which,  prepared by itself, was most delicious), and fillets of
the emperor-holocanthus, the savour of which seemed to me superior even to
salmon.
   I  passed  the  evening  reading,  writing,  and  thinking.  Then sleep
overpowered  me,  and I stretched myself on my couch of zostera, and slept
profoundly, whilst the Nautilus was gliding rapidly through the current of
the Black River.


        Chapter XIV. A NOTE OF INVITATION

   The  next  day  was  the 9th of November. I awoke after a long sleep of
twelve hours. Conseil came, according to custom, to know "how I passed the
night,"  and  to  offer  his services. He had left his friend the Canadian
sleeping  like  a man who had never done anything else all his life. I let
the  worthy  fellow chatter as he pleased, without caring to answer him. I
was  preoccupied  by  the absence of the Captain during our sitting of the
day before, and hoping to see him to-day.
   As  soon  as  I  was dressed I went into the saloon. It was deserted. I
plunged into the study of the shell treasures hidden behind the glasses.
   The  whole day passed without my being honoured by a visit from Captain
Nemo.  The panels of the saloon did not open. Perhaps they did not wish us
to tire of these beautiful things.
   The  course  of  the  Nautilus  was E.N.E., her speed twelve knots, the
depth below the surface between twenty-five and thirty fathoms.
   The  next day, 10th of November, the same desertion, the same solitude.
I  did  not  see one of the ship's crew: Ned and Conseil spent the greater
part  of  the day with me. They were astonished at the puzzling absence of
the Captain. Was this singular man ill?-had he altered his intentions with
regard to us?
   After  all,  as  Conseil  said,  we  enjoyed  perfect  liberty, we were
delicately  and  abundantly fed. Our host kept to his terms of the treaty.
We  could  not complain, and, indeed, the singularity of our fate reserved
such  wonderful  compensation  for us that we had no right to accuse it as
yet.
   That  day I commenced the journal of these adventures which has enabled
me to relate them with more scrupulous exactitude and minute detail.
   11th  November,  early in the morning. The fresh air spreading over the
interior  of  the  Nautilus told me that we had come to the surface of the
ocean  to  renew  our supply of oxygen. I directed my steps to the central
staircase, and mounted the platform.
   It  was  six  o'clock,  the weather was cloudy, the sea grey, but calm.
Scarcely  a billow. Captain Nemo, whom I hoped to meet, would he be there?
I  saw  no one but the steersman imprisoned in his glass cage. Seated upon
the  projection  formed  by  the  hull  of the pinnace, I inhaled the salt
breeze with delight.
   By  degrees the fog disappeared under the action of the sun's rays, the
radiant orb rose from behind the eastern horizon. The sea flamed under its
glance like a train of gunpowder. The clouds scattered in the heights were
coloured  with  lively  tints  of  beautiful  shades, and numerous "mare's
tails,"  which  betokened  wind  for  that  day. But what was wind to this
Nautilus, which tempests could not frighten!
   I  was  admiring  this  joyous  rising  of  the  sun,  so  gay,  and so
life-giving,  when  I heard steps approaching the platform. I was prepared
to  salute Captain Nemo, but it was his second (whom I had already seen on
the  Captain's first visit) who appeared. He advanced on the platform, not
seeming  to  see  me. With his powerful glass to his eye, he scanned every
point  of  the  horizon  with  great  attention. This examination over, he
approached  the  panel and pronounced a sentence in exactly these terms. I
have  remembered  it,  for every morning it was repeated under exactly the
same conditions. It was thus worded:
   "Nautron respoc lorni virch."
   What it meant I could not say.
   These  words  pronounced,  the  second  descended.  I  thought that the
Nautilus  was  about to return to its submarine navigation. I regained the
panel and returned to my chamber.
   Five days sped thus, without any change in our situation. Every morning
I  mounted  the  platform.  The  same  phrase  was  pronounced by the same
individual. But Captain Nemo did not appear.
   I  had  made up my mind that I should never see him again, when, on the
16th  November, on returning to my room with Ned and Conseil, I found upon
my  table  a note addressed to me. I opened it impatiently. It was written
in a bold, clear hand, the characters rather pointed, recalling the German
type. The note was worded as follows:
   TO PROFESSOR ARONNAX, On board the Nautilus. 16th of November, 1867.
   Captain  Nemo  invites Professor Aronnax to a hunting-party, which will
take  place  to-morrow  morning in the forests of the Island of Crespo. He
hopes  that  nothing will prevent the Professor from being present, and he
will with pleasure see him joined by his companions.
   CAPTAIN NEMO, Commander of the Nautilus.
   "A hunt!" exclaimed Ned.
   "And in the forests of the Island of Crespo!" added Conseil.
   "Oh! then the gentleman is going on terra firma?" replied Ned Land.
   "That  seems to me to be clearly indicated," said I, reading the letter
once more.
   "Well,  we  must  accept,"  said  the  Canadian.  "But once more on dry
ground,  we  shall  know what to do. Indeed, I shall not be sorry to eat a
piece of fresh venison."
   Without  seeking  to  reconcile  what was contradictory between Captain
Nemo's  manifest aversion to islands and continents, and his invitation to
hunt in a forest, I contented myself with replying:
   "Let us first see where the Island of Crespo is."
   I  consulted  the  planisphere,  and in 32O 40' N. lat. and 157O 50' W.
long.,  I  found a small island, recognised in 1801 by Captain Crespo, and
marked  in  the  ancient Spanish maps as Rocca de la Plata, the meaning of
which  is  The Silver Rock. We were then about eighteen hundred miles from
our  starting-point, and the course of the Nautilus, a little changed, was
bringing it back towards the southeast.
   I  showed  this little rock, lost in the midst of the North Pacific, to
my companions.
   "If Captain Nemo does sometimes go on dry ground," said I, "he at least
chooses desert islands."
   Ned  Land  shrugged  his shoulders without speaking, and Conseil and he
left me.
   After  supper,  which  was served by the steward, mute and impassive, I
went to bed, not without some anxiety.
   The  next  morning, the 17th of November, on awakening, I felt that the
Nautilus was perfectly still. I dressed quickly and entered the saloon.
   Captain Nemo was there, waiting for me. He rose, bowed, and asked me if
it  was  convenient for me to accompany him. As he made no allusion to his
absence  during  the  last  eight  days,  I did not mention it, and simply
answered that my companions and myself were ready to follow him.
   We entered the dining-room, where breakfast was served.
   "M.  Aronnax,"  said  the  Captain,  "pray,  share my breakfast without
ceremony; we will chat as we eat. For, though I promised you a walk in the
forest,  I  did  not undertake to find hotels there. So breakfast as a man
who will most likely not have his dinner till very late."
   I  did  honour to the repast. It was composed of several kinds of fish,
and  slices  of  sea-cucumber,  and  different sorts of seaweed. Our drink
consisted  of  pure  water,  to  which  the  Captain added some drops of a
fermented liquor, extracted by the Kamschatcha method from a seaweed known
under  the  name  of Rhodomenia palmata. Captain Nemo ate at first without
saying a word. Then he began:
   "Sir,  when I proposed to you to hunt in my submarine forest of Crespo,
you  evidently  thought me mad. Sir, you should never judge lightly of any
man."
   "But Captain, believe me-"
   "Be  kind  enough to listen, and you will then see whether you have any
cause to accuse me of folly and contradiction."
   "I listen."
   "You  know  as  well as I do, Professor, that man can live under water,
providing  he  carries  with him a sufficient supply of breathable air. In
submarine  works,  the workman, clad in an impervious dress, with his head
in  a  metal helmet, receives air from above by means of forcing pumps and
regulators."
   "That is a diving apparatus," said I.
   "Just  so,  but under these conditions the man is not at liberty; he is
attached to the pump which sends him air through an india-rubber tube, and
if we were obliged to be thus held to the Nautilus, we could not go far."
   "And the means of getting free?" I asked.
   "It  is  to  use  the Rouquayrol apparatus, invented by two of your own
countrymen,  which  I have brought to perfection for my own use, and which
will  allow  you to risk yourself under these new physiological conditions
without  any organ whatever suffering. It consists of a reservoir of thick
iron  plates,  in  which  I  store  the  air  under  a  pressure  of fifty
atmospheres.  This reservoir is fixed on the back by means of braces, like
a  soldier's knapsack. Its upper part forms a box in which the air is kept
by  means  of  a bellows, and therefore cannot escape unless at its normal
tension.  In  the  Rouquayrol  apparatus  such as we use, two india rubber
pipes  leave  this  box  and  join a sort of tent which holds the nose and
mouth;  one  is to introduce fresh air, the other to let out the foul, and
the  tongue  closes  one  or  the  other  according  to  the  wants of the
respirator.  But  I,  in encountering great pressures at the bottom of the
sea,  was  obliged  to  shut  my  head,  like that of a diver in a ball of
copper;  and  it  is  to  this  ball  of  copper  that  the two pipes, the
inspirator and the expirator, open."
   "Perfectly, Captain Nemo; but the air that you carry with you must soon
be used; when it only contains fifteen per cent. of oxygen it is no longer
fit to breathe."
   "Right!  But  I  told  you,  M. Aronnax, that the pumps of the Nautilus
allow  me  to  store  the  air  under  considerable pressure, and on those
conditions  the  reservoir of the apparatus can furnish breathable air for
nine or ten hours."
   "I  have  no  further objections to make," I answered. "I will only ask
you  one  thing,  Captain-how can you light your road at the bottom of the
sea?"
   "With  the Ruhmkorff apparatus, M. Aronnax; one is carried on the back,
the other is fastened to the waist. It is composed of a Bunsen pile, which
I  do  not  work  with  bichromate  of  potash, but with sodium. A wire is
introduced which collects the electricity produced, and directs it towards
a  particularly  made  lantern.  In  this  lantern is a spiral glass which
contains  a  small quantity of carbonic gas. When the apparatus is at work
this  gas  becomes luminous, giving out a white and continuous light. Thus
provided, I can breathe and I can see."
   "Captain Nemo, to all my objections you make such crushing answers that
I  dare  no  longer doubt. But, if I am forced to admit the Rouquayrol and
Ruhmkorff  apparatus,  I  must be allowed some reservations with regard to
the gun I am to carry."
   "But it is not a gun for powder," answered the Captain.
   "Then it is an air-gun."
   "Doubtless!  How  would  you  have  me manufacture gun powder on board,
without either saltpetre, sulphur, or charcoal?"
   "Besides,"  I added, "to fire under water in a medium eight hundred and
fifty-five  times  denser  than the air, we must conquer very considerable
resistance."
   "That  would  be  no difficulty. There exist guns, according to Fulton,
perfected  in  England by Philip Coles and Burley, in France by Furcy, and
in  Italy by Landi, which are furnished with a peculiar system of closing,
which  can  fire under these conditions. But I repeat, having no powder, I
use  air  under  great  pressure,  which the pumps of the Nautilus furnish
abundantly."
   "But this air must be rapidly used?"
   "Well,  have  I  not  my  Rouquayrol reservoir, which can furnish it at
need?  A  tap  is  all  that is required. Besides M. Aronnax, you must see
yourself  that, during our submarine hunt, we can spend but little air and
but few balls."
   "But  it  seems  to  me that in this twilight, and in the midst of this
fluid,  which  is very dense compared with the atmosphere, shots could not
go far, nor easily prove mortal."
   "Sir, on the contrary, with this gun every blow is mortal; and, however
lightly the animal is touched, it falls as if struck by a thunderbolt."
   "Why?"
   "Because  the balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little
cases  of  glass.  These glass cases are covered with a case of steel, and
weighted  with  a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles, into which
the electricity is forced to a very high tension. With the slightest shock
they are discharged, and the animal, however strong it may be, falls dead.
I must tell you that these cases are size number four, and that the charge
for an ordinary gun would be ten."
   "I  will  argue  no  longer," I replied, rising from the table. "I have
nothing  left  me  but  to take my gun. At all events, I will go where you
go."
   Captain Nemo then led me aft; and in passing before Ned's and Conseil's
cabin,  I called my two companions, who followed promptly. We then came to
a cell near the machinery-room, in which we put on our walking-dress.


        Chapter XV. A WALK ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA

   This  cell  was,  to  speak  correctly, the arsenal and wardrobe of the
Nautilus.  A  dozen diving apparatuses hung from the partition waiting our
use.
   Ned Land, on seeing them, showed evident repugnance to dress himself in
one.
   "But,  my  worthy  Ned, the forests of the Island of Crespo are nothing
but submarine forests."
   "Good!"  said  the  disappointed harpooner, who saw his dreams of fresh
meat  fade  away. "And you, M. Aronnax, are you going to dress yourself in
those clothes?"
   "There is no alternative, Master Ned."
   "As  you  please, sir," replied the harpooner, shrugging his shoulders;
"but, as for me, unless I am forced, I will never get into one."
   "No one will force you, Master Ned," said Captain Nemo.
   "Is Conseil going to risk it?" asked Ned.
   "I follow my master wherever he goes," replied Conseil.
   At  the  Captain's call two of the ship's crew came to help us dress in
these heavy and impervious clothes, made of india-rubber without seam, and
constructed  expressly  to  resist  considerable  pressure. One would have
thought  it  a suit of armour, both supple and resisting. This suit formed
trousers  and  waistcoat. The trousers were finished off with thick boots,
weighted  with  heavy  leaden soles. The texture of the waistcoat was held
together  by  bands of copper, which crossed the chest, protecting it from
the  great  pressure  of the water, and leaving the lungs free to act; the
sleeves  ended  in  gloves, which in no way restrained the movement of the
hands.  There  was  a  vast difference noticeable between these consummate
apparatuses and the old cork breastplates, jackets, and other contrivances
in vogue during the eighteenth century.
   Captain  Nemo  and  one of his companions (a sort of Hercules, who must
have  possessed great strength), Conseil and myself were soon enveloped in
the  dresses.  There  remained  nothing more to be done but to enclose our
heads  in the metal box. But, before proceeding to this operation, I asked
the Captain's permission to examine the guns.
   One  of  the  Nautilus men gave me a simple gun, the butt end of which,
made  of  steel,  hollow  in  the centre, was rather large. It served as a
reservoir  for  compressed air, which a valve, worked by a spring, allowed
to  escape  into  a  metal  tube.  A box of projectiles in a groove in the
thickness  of the butt end contained about twenty of these electric balls,
which,  by  means  of a spring, were forced into the barrel of the gun. As
soon as one shot was fired, another was ready.
   "Captain  Nemo,"  said  I,  "this arm is perfect, and easily handled: I
only  ask to be allowed to try it. But how shall we gain the bottom of the
sea?"
   "At  this  moment, Professor, the Nautilus is stranded in five fathoms,
and we have nothing to do but to start."
   "But how shall we get off?"
   "You shall see."
   Captain  Nemo  thrust  his  head into the helmet, Conseil and I did the
same, not without hearing an ironical "Good sport!" from the Canadian. The
upper  part  of  our  dress  terminated  in a copper collar upon which was
screwed  the  metal helmet. Three holes, protected by thick glass, allowed
us to see in all directions, by simply turning our head in the interior of
the head-dress. As soon as it was in position, the Rouquayrol apparatus on
our backs began to act; and, for my part, I could breathe with ease.
   With the Ruhmkorff lamp hanging from my belt, and the gun in my hand, I
was  ready  to  set out. But to speak the truth, imprisoned in these heavy
garments,  and glued to the deck by my leaden soles, it was impossible for
me to take a step.
   But  this  state of things was provided for. I felt myself being pushed
into  a  little  room  contiguous  to  the  wardrobe  room.  My companions
followed,  towed  along  in  the  same  way.  I  heard a water-tight door,
furnished  with  stopper  plates,  close  upon  us, and we were wrapped in
profound darkness.
   After  some  minutes,  a  loud hissing was heard. I felt the cold mount
from my feet to my chest. Evidently from some part of the vessel they had,
by means of a tap, given entrance to the water, which was invading us, and
with  which the room was soon filled. A second door cut in the side of the
Nautilus  then  opened.  We saw a faint light. In another instant our feet
trod