a quiet grave; and I trust that I and my comrades will
find no other."


        Chapter XIX. TORRES STRAITS

   During the night of the 27th or 28th of December, the Nautilus left the
shores of Vanikoro with great speed. Her course was south-westerly, and in
three  days  she  had  gone over the 750 leagues that separated it from La
Perouse's group and the south-east point of Papua.
   Early on the 1st of January, 1863, Conseil joined me on the platform.
   "Master, will you permit me to wish you a happy New Year?"
   "What!  Conseil; exactly as if I was at Paris in my study at the Jardin
des  Plantes?  Well,  I  accept  your good wishes, and thank you for them.
Only,  I  will  ask  you  what  you  mean  by a `Happy New Year' under our
circumstances?  Do  you mean the year that will bring us to the end of our
imprisonment, or the year that sees us continue this strange voyage?"
   "Really,  I  do  not  know  how  to  answer, master. We are sure to see
curious  things,  and  for  the  last  two months we have not had time for
dullness.  The  last  marvel  is  always  the most astonishing; and, if we
continue this progression, I do not know how it will end. It is my opinion
that  we  shall never again see the like. I think then, with no offence to
master, that a happy year would be one in which we could see everything."
   On 2nd January we had made 11,340 miles, or 5,250 French leagues, since
our starting-point in the Japan Seas. Before the ship's head stretched the
dangerous  shores  of the coral sea, on the north-east coast of Australia.
Our  boat  lay  along some miles from the redoubtable bank on which Cook's
vessel  was  lost, 10th June, 1770. The boat in which Cook was struck on a
rock,  and,  if it did not sink, it was owing to a piece of coral that was
broken by the shock, and fixed itself in the broken keel.
   I  had  wished  to  visit the reef, 360 leagues long, against which the
sea,  always  rough, broke with great violence, with a noise like thunder.
But just then the inclined planes drew the Nautilus down to a great depth,
and  I  could see nothing of the high coral walls. I had to content myself
with  the  different specimens of fish brought up by the nets. I remarked,
among  others,  some  germons,  a species of mackerel as large as a tunny,
with  bluish sides, and striped with transverse bands, that disappear with
the animal's life. These fish followed us in shoals, and furnished us with
very  delicate  food.  We took also a large number of giltheads, about one
and  a  half  inches  long,  tasting like dorys; and flying fire-fish like
submarine  swallows,  which, in dark nights, light alternately the air and
water with their phosphorescent light.{2 sentences missing here}
   Two  days  after  crossing  the  coral sea, 4th January, we sighted the
Papuan  coasts.  On  this  occasion,  Captain  Nemo  informed  me that his
intention  was  to  get into the Indian Ocean by the Strait of Torres. His
communication ended there.
   The  Torres  Straits  are nearly thirty-four leagues wide; but they are
obstructed  by  an  innumerable quantity of islands, islets, breakers, and
rocks, that make its navigation almost impracticable; so that Captain Nemo
took all needful precautions to cross them. The Nautilus, floating betwixt
wind  and  water,  went  at  a moderate pace. Her screw, like a cetacean's
tail, beat the waves slowly.
   Profiting  by  this, I and my two companions went up on to the deserted
platform.  Before us was the steersman's cage, and I expected that Captain
Nemo  was  there directing the course of the Nautilus. I had before me the
excellent   charts  of  the  Straits  of  Torres,  and  I  consulted  them
attentively.  Round  the  Nautilus the sea dashed furiously. The course of
the  waves, that went from south-east to north-west at the rate of two and
a half miles, broke on the coral that showed itself here and there.
   "This is a bad sea!" remarked Ned Land.
   "Detestable  indeed,  and  one  that  does  not  suit  a  boat like the
Nautilus."
   "The  Captain must be very sure of his route, for I see there pieces of
coral that would do for its keel if it only touched them slightly."
   Indeed  the  situation  was dangerous, but the Nautilus seemed to slide
like  magic off these rocks. It did not follow the routes of the Astrolabe
and  the Zelee exactly, for they proved fatal to Dumont d'Urville. It bore
more  northwards,  coasted  the  Islands  of  Murray, and came back to the
south-west  towards  Cumberland Passage. I thought it was going to pass it
by,  when,  going  back to north-west, it went through a large quantity of
islands  and  islets  little  known,  towards  the  Island Sound and Canal
Mauvais.
   I wondered if Captain Nemo, foolishly imprudent, would steer his vessel
into  that  pass  where  Dumont  d'Urville's  two corvettes touched; when,
swerving  again,  and cutting straight through to the west, he steered for
the Island of Gilboa.
   It  was  then  three  in the afternoon. The tide began to recede, being
quite full. The Nautilus approached the island, that I still saw, with its
remarkable  border  of  screw-pines.  He  stood  off it at about two miles
distant.  Suddenly a shock overthrew me. The Nautilus just touched a rock,
and stayed immovable, laying lightly to port side.
   When  I  rose,  I  perceived  Captain  Nemo  and  his lieutenant on the
platform.  They were examining the situation of the vessel, and exchanging
words in their incomprehensible dialect.
   She  was  situated  thus:  Two  miles,  on the starboard side, appeared
Gilboa,  stretching  from  north  to west like an immense arm. Towards the
south  and  east  some  coral  showed  itself, left by the ebb. We had run
aground,  and  in  one  of those seas where the tides are middling-a sorry
matter  for  the  floating  of  the  Nautilus. However, the vessel had not
suffered, for her keel was solidly joined. But, if she could neither glide
off  nor move, she ran the risk of being for ever fastened to these rocks,
and then Captain Nemo's submarine vessel would be done for.
   I  was  reflecting thus, when the Captain, cool and calm, always master
of himself, approached me.
   "An accident?" I asked.
   "No; an incident."
   "But  an  incident that will oblige you perhaps to become an inhabitant
of this land from which you flee?"
   Captain  Nemo  looked  at me curiously, and made a negative gesture, as
much  as  to  say  that nothing would force him to set foot on terra firma
again. Then he said:
   "Besides,  M.  Aronnax, the Nautilus is not lost; it will carry you yet
into  the midst of the marvels of the ocean. Our voyage is only begun, and
I do not wish to be deprived so soon of the honour of your company."
   "However,  Captain Nemo," I replied, without noticing the ironical turn
of  his  phrase,  "the Nautilus ran aground in open sea. Now the tides are
not  strong  in the Pacific; and, if you cannot lighten the Nautilus, I do
not see how it will be reinflated."
   "The  tides  are  not  strong  in  the  Pacific:  you  are right there,
Professor;  but  in  Torres Straits one finds still a difference of a yard
and  a half between the level of high and low seas. To-day is 4th January,
and  in  five  days  the  moon  will  be  full.  Now, I shall be very much
astonished  if  that  satellite  does  not  raise  these  masses  of water
sufficiently,  and  render  me  a service that I should be indebted to her
for."
   Having said this, Captain Nemo, followed by his lieutenant, redescended
to  the  interior of the Nautilus. As to the vessel, it moved not, and was
immovable,  as if the coralline polypi had already walled it up with their
in destructible cement.
   "Well,  sir?"  said  Ned Land, who came up to me after the departure of
the Captain.
   "Well,  friend  Ned,  we  will  wait  patiently for the tide on the 9th
instant; for it appears that the moon will have the goodness to put it off
again."
   "Really?"
   "Really."
   "And  this  Captain  is  not going to cast anchor at all since the tide
will suffice?" said Conseil, simply.
   The Canadian looked at Conseil, then shrugged his shoulders.
   "Sir,  you  may believe me when I tell you that this piece of iron will
navigate neither on nor under the sea again; it is only fit to be sold for
its  weight.  I  think,  therefore, that the time has come to part company
with Captain Nemo."
   "Friend Ned, I do not despair of this stout Nautilus, as you do; and in
four  days  we  shall  know what to hold to on the Pacific tides. Besides,
flight  might  be possible if we were in sight of the English or Provencal
coast;  but on the Papuan shores, it is another thing; and it will be time
enough  to  come to that extremity if the Nautilus does not recover itself
again, which I look upon as a grave event."
   "But  do  they  know,  at  least, how to act circumspectly? There is an
island;  on  that  island  there are trees; under those trees, terrestrial
animals,  bearers  of  cutlets  and roast beef, to which I would willingly
give a trial."
   "In  this,  friend  Ned is right," said Conseil, "and I agree with him.
Could  not master obtain permission from his friend Captain Nemo to put us
on  land,  if  only  so  as not to lose the habit of treading on the solid
parts of our planet?"
   "I can ask him, but he will refuse."
   "Will  master  risk  it?" asked Conseil, "and we shall know how to rely
upon the Captain's amiability."
   To  my great surprise, Captain Nemo gave me the permission I asked for,
and  he gave it very agreeably, without even exacting from me a promise to
return to the vessel; but flight across New Guinea might be very perilous,
and  I  should  not have counselled Ned Land to attempt it. Better to be a
prisoner on board the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of the natives.
   At  eight  o'clock,  armed  with  guns  and  hatchets,  we  got off the
Nautilus.  The  sea was pretty calm; a slight breeze blew on land. Conseil
and  I  rowing,  we  sped  along  quickly, and Ned steered in the straight
passage  that  the  breakers left between them. The boat was well handled,
and moved rapidly.
   Ned  Land  could  not restrain his joy. He was like a prisoner that had
escaped from prison, and knew not that it was necessary to re-enter it.
   "Meat! We are going to eat some meat; and what meat!" he replied. "Real
game! no, bread, indeed."
   "I  do not say that fish is not good; we must not abuse it; but a piece
of  fresh venison, grilled on live coals, will agreeably vary our ordinary
course."
   "Glutton!" said Conseil, "he makes my mouth water."
   "It  remains  to  be seen," I said, "if these forests are full of game,
and if the game is not such as will hunt the hunter himself."
   "Well  said,  M.  Aronnax,"  replied  the  Canadian, whose teeth seemed
sharpened  like  the  edge  of  a  hatchet; "but I will eat tiger- loin of
tiger-if there is no other quadruped on this island."
   "Friend Ned is uneasy about it," said Conseil.
   "Whatever  it may be," continued Ned Land, "every animal with four paws
without feathers, or with two paws without feathers, will be saluted by my
first shot."
   "Very well! Master Land's imprudences are beginning."
   "Never  fear,  M.  Aronnax,"  replied  the  Canadian;  "I  do  not want
twenty-five minutes to offer you a dish, of my sort."
   At  half-past  eight  the  Nautilus  boat ran softly aground on a heavy
sand, after having happily passed the coral reef that surrounds the Island
of Gilboa.


        Chapter XX. A FEW DAYS ON LAND

   I was much impressed on touching land. Ned Land tried the soil with his
feet,  as  if  to  take  possession of it. However, it was only two months
before that we had become, according to Captain Nemo, "passengers on board
the Nautilus," but, in reality, prisoners of its commander.
   In  a  few  minutes  we were within musket-shot of the coast. The whole
horizon  was hidden behind a beautiful curtain of forests. Enormous trees,
the trunks of which attained a height of 200 feet, were tied to each other
by  garlands  of  bindweed,  real  natural  hammocks, which a light breeze
rocked. They were mimosas, figs, hibisci, and palm trees, mingled together
in  profusion;  and under the shelter of their verdant vault grew orchids,
leguminous plants, and ferns.
   But,  without  noticing  all these beautiful specimens of Papuan flora,
the  Canadian  abandoned  the  agreeable  for  the useful. He discovered a
coco-tree,  beat down some of the fruit, broke them, and we drunk the milk
and  ate  the  nut with a satisfaction that protested against the ordinary
food on the Nautilus.
   "Excellent!" said Ned Land.
   "Exquisite!" replied Conseil.
   "And  I  do not think," said the Canadian, "that he would object to our
introducing a cargo of coco-nuts on board."
   "I do not think he would, but he would not taste them."
   "So much the worse for him," said Conseil.
   "And  so much the better for us," replied Ned Land. "There will be more
for us."
   "One  word  only,  Master  Land,"  I  said  to  the  harpooner, who was
beginning to ravage another coco-nut tree. "Coco-nuts are good things, but
before filling the canoe with them it would be wise to reconnoitre and see
if  the  island  does  not  produce  some substance not less useful. Fresh
vegetables would be welcome on board the Nautilus."
   "Master  is  right,"  replied  Conseil; "and I propose to reserve three
places  in  our  vessel, one for fruits, the other for vegetables, and the
third  for  the  venison,  of  which  I  have  not  yet  seen the smallest
specimen."
   "Conseil, we must not despair," said the Canadian.
   "Let  us  continue,"  I returned, "and lie in wait. Although the island
seems  uninhabited,  it might still contain some individuals that would be
less hard than we on the nature of game."
   "Ho! ho!" said Ned Land, moving his jaws significantly.
   "Well, Ned!" said Conseil.
   "My  word!" returned the Canadian, "I begin to understand the charms of
anthropophagy."
   "Ned!  Ned!  what  are  you saying? You, a man-eater? I should not feel
safe  with you, especially as I share your cabin. I might perhaps wake one
day to find myself half devoured."
   "Friend   Conseil,  I  like  you  much,  but  not  enough  to  eat  you
unnecessarily."
   "I  would  not  trust  you,"  replied  Conseil.  "But  enough.  We must
absolutely  bring  down some game to satisfy this cannibal, or else one of
these  fine mornings, master will find only pieces of his servant to serve
him."
   While  we  were  talking thus, we were penetrating the sombre arches of
the forest, and for two hours we surveyed it in all directions.
   Chance  rewarded our search for eatable vegetables, and one of the most
useful products of the tropical zones furnished us with precious food that
we  missed  on board. I would speak of the bread-fruit tree, very abundant
in  the  island of Gilboa; and I remarked chiefly the variety destitute of
seeds, which bears in Malaya the name of "rima."
   Ned  Land  knew these fruits well. He had already eaten many during his
numerous  voyages,  and  he  knew  how  to  prepare the eatable substance.
Moreover,  the  sight of them excited him, and he could contain himself no
longer.
   "Master,"  he  said,  "I  shall  die if I do not taste a little of this
bread-fruit pie."
   "Taste  it,  friend  Ned-taste  it  as  you  want.  We are here to make
experiments-make them."
   "It won't take long," said the Canadian.
   And,  provided  with  a  lentil,  he  lighted  a fire of dead wood that
crackled  joyously.  During this time, Conseil and I chose the best fruits
of  the  bread-fruit.  Some  had  not then attained a sufficient degree of
maturity;  and  their  thick skin covered a white but rather fibrous pulp.
Others,  the  greater  number  yellow  and  gelatinous,  waited only to be
picked.
   These  fruits  enclosed no kernel. Conseil brought a dozen to Ned Land,
who placed them on a coal fire, after having cut them in thick slices, and
while doing this repeating:
   "You  will  see,  master,  how good this bread is. More so when one has
been  deprived  of  it  so  long.  It is not even bread," added he, "but a
delicate pastry. You have eaten none, master?"
   "No, Ned."
   "Very  well, prepare yourself for a juicy thing. If you do not come for
more, I am no longer the king of harpooners."
   After some minutes, the part of the fruits that was exposed to the fire
was  completely roasted. The interior looked like a white pasty, a sort of
soft crumb, the flavour of which was like that of an artichoke.
   It  must  be  confessed  this bread was excellent, and I ate of it with
great relish.
   "What time is it now?" asked the Canadian.
   "Two o'clock at least," replied Conseil.
   "How time flies on firm ground!" sighed Ned Land.
   "Let us be off," replied Conseil.
   We  returned through the forest, and completed our collection by a raid
upon  the  cabbage-palms,  that  we  gathered  from the tops of the trees,
little beans that I recognised as the "abrou" of the Malays, and yams of a
superior quality.
   We  were loaded when we reached the boat. But Ned Land did not find his
provisions sufficient. Fate, however, favoured us. Just as we were pushing
off,  he  perceived several trees, from twenty-five to thirty feet high, a
species of palm-tree.
   At  last,  at  five  o'clock in the evening, loaded with our riches, we
quitted  the  shore, and half an hour after we hailed the Nautilus. No one
appeared   on  our  arrival.  The  enormous  iron-plated  cylinder  seemed
deserted.  The  provisions  embarked, I descended to my chamber, and after
supper slept soundly.
   The  next  day,  6th January, nothing new on board. Not a sound inside,
not  a  sign of life. The boat rested along the edge, in the same place in
which  we had left it. We resolved to return to the island. Ned Land hoped
to  be  more fortunate than on the day before with regard to the hunt, and
wished to visit another part of the forest.
   At  dawn  we  set off. The boat, carried on by the waves that flowed to
shore, reached the island in a few minutes.
   We landed, and, thinking that it was better to give in to the Canadian,
we followed Ned Land, whose long limbs threatened to distance us. He wound
up  the coast towards the west: then, fording some torrents, he gained the
high plain that was bordered with admirable forests. Some kingfishers were
rambling  along  the  water-courses,  but they would not let themselves be
approached.  Their  circumspection proved to me that these birds knew what
to  expect from bipeds of our species, and I concluded that, if the island
was not inhabited, at least human beings occasionally frequented it.
   After  crossing  a  rather large prairie, we arrived at the skirts of a
little  wood  that was enlivened by the songs and flight of a large number
of birds.
   "There are only birds," said Conseil.
   "But they are eatable," replied the harpooner.
   "I do not agree with you, friend Ned, for I see only parrots there."
   "Friend  Conseil,"  said  Ned, gravely, "the parrot is like pheasant to
those who have nothing else."
   "And," I added, "this bird, suitably prepared, is worth knife and fork."
   Indeed,  under  the thick foliage of this wood, a world of parrots were
flying  from  branch  to branch, only needing a careful education to speak
the  human  language. For the moment, they were chattering with parrots of
all  colours,  and  grave  cockatoos,  who  seemed  to  meditate upon some
philosophical  problem, whilst brilliant red lories passed like a piece of
bunting  carried  away  by  the  breeze,  papuans,  with  the finest azure
colours,  and  in  all a variety of winged things most charming to behold,
but few eatable.
   However, a bird peculiar to these lands, and which has never passed the
limits  of  the  Arrow and Papuan islands, was wanting in this collection.
But fortune reserved it for me before long.
   After  passing  through  a  moderately  thick  copse,  we found a plain
obstructed   with   bushes.  I  saw  then  those  magnificent  birds,  the
disposition  of  whose long feathers obliges them to fly against the wind.
Their  undulating flight, graceful aerial curves, and the shading of their
colours,   attracted  and  charmed  one's  looks.  I  had  no  trouble  in
recognising them.
   "Birds of paradise!" I exclaimed.
   The Malays, who carry on a great trade in these birds with the Chinese,
have  several  means  that  we could not employ for taking them. Sometimes
they put snares on the top of high trees that the birds of paradise prefer
to  frequent.  Sometimes  they  catch  them  with  a viscous birdlime that
paralyses  their movements. They even go so far as to poison the fountains
that  the  birds generally drink from. But we were obliged to fire at them
during  flight, which gave us few chances to bring them down; and, indeed,
we vainly exhausted one half our ammunition.
   About  eleven o'clock in the morning, the first range of mountains that
form  the  centre  of the island was traversed, and we had killed nothing.
Hunger  drove  us on. The hunters had relied on the products of the chase,
and they were wrong. Happily Conseil, to his great surprise, made a double
shot  and  secured  breakfast.  He  brought  down  a  white  pigeon  and a
wood-pigeon,  which,  cleverly  plucked  and  suspended from a skewer, was
roasted before a red fire of dead wood. While these interesting birds were
cooking,  Ned  prepared the fruit of the bread-tree. Then the wood-pigeons
were devoured to the bones, and declared excellent. The nutmeg, with which
they  are  in  the habit of stuffing their crops, flavours their flesh and
renders it delicious eating.
   "Now, Ned, what do you miss now?"
   "Some  four-footed  game,  M.  Aronnax.  All  these  pigeons  are  only
side-dishes  and trifles; and until I have killed an animal with cutlets I
shall not be content."
   "Nor I, Ned, if I do not catch a bird of paradise."
   "Let us continue hunting," replied Conseil. "Let us go towards the sea.
We  have arrived at the first declivities of the mountains, and I think we
had better regain the region of forests."
   That  was  sensible advice, and was followed out. After walking for one
hour  we  had  attained  a forest of sago-trees. Some inoffensive serpents
glided away from us. The birds of paradise fled at our approach, and truly
I  despaired  of  getting near one when Conseil, who was walking in front,
suddenly  bent down, uttered a triumphal cry, and came back to me bringing
a magnificent specimen.
   "Ah! bravo, Conseil!"
   "Master is very good."
   "No,  my  boy;  you  have  made  an excellent stroke. Take one of these
living birds, and carry it in your hand."
   "If  master will examine it, he will see that I have not deserved great
merit."
   "Why, Conseil?"
   "Because this bird is as drunk as a quail."
   "Drunk!"
   "Yes,   sir;  drunk  with  the  nutmegs  that  it  devoured  under  the
nutmeg-tree,  under  which  I found it. See, friend Ned, see the monstrous
effects of intemperance!"
   "By  Jove!"  exclaimed  the Canadian, "because I have drunk gin for two
months, you must needs reproach me!"
   However,  I  examined  the  curious  bird. Conseil was right. The bird,
drunk  with  the  juice,  was  quite powerless. It could not fly; it could
hardly walk.
   This  bird belonged to the most beautiful of the eight species that are
found  in Papua and in the neighbouring islands. It was the "large emerald
bird,  the most rare kind." It measured three feet in length. Its head was
comparatively  small,  its  eyes  placed near the opening of the beak, and
also small. But the shades of colour were beautiful, having a yellow beak,
brown  feet and claws, nut-coloured wings with purple tips, pale yellow at
the  back of the neck and head, and emerald colour at the throat, chestnut
on  the breast and belly. Two horned, downy nets rose from below the tail,
that  prolonged  the  long  light feathers of admirable fineness, and they
completed  the  whole  of  this  marvellous  bird,  that  the natives have
poetically named the "bird of the sun."
   But  if  my  wishes  were  satisfied  by  the possession of the bird of
paradise,  the  Canadian's  were  not yet. Happily, about two o'clock, Ned
Land  brought  down a magnificent hog; from the brood of those the natives
call  "bari-outang."  The  animal  came  in  time  for  us to procure real
quadruped  meat,  and he was well received. Ned Land was very proud of his
shot.  The  hog,  hit  by the electric ball, fell stone dead. The Canadian
skinned  and cleaned it properly, after having taken half a dozen cutlets,
destined to furnish us with a grilled repast in the evening. Then the hunt
was resumed, which was still more marked by Ned and Conseil's exploits.
   Indeed, the two friends, beating the bushes, roused a herd of kangaroos
that  fled  and bounded along on their elastic paws. But these animals did
not  take  to  flight  so rapidly but what the electric capsule could stop
their course.
   "Ah,  Professor!"  cried Ned Land, who was carried away by the delights
of the chase, "what excellent game, and stewed, too! What a supply for the
Nautilus!  Two!  three!  five  down!  And  to think that we shall eat that
flesh, and that the idiots on board shall not have a crumb!"
   I  think  that,  in  the excess of his joy, the Canadian, if he had not
talked  so much, would have killed them all. But he contented himself with
a  single dozen of these interesting marsupians. These animals were small.
They  were  a  species of those "kangaroo rabbits" that live habitually in
the  hollows of trees, and whose speed is extreme; but they are moderately
fat,  and  furnish,  at least, estimable food. We were very satisfied with
the  results  of the hunt. Happy Ned proposed to return to this enchanting
island  the  next  day,  for he wished to depopulate it of all the eatable
quadrupeds. But he had reckoned without his host.
   At  six  o'clock in the evening we had regained the shore; our boat was
moored  to  the  usual place. The Nautilus, like a long rock, emerged from
the  waves  two  miles from the beach. Ned Land, without waiting, occupied
himself  about  the  important  dinner  business.  He understood all about
cooking  well.  The  "bari-outang," grilled on the coals, soon scented the
air with a delicious odour.
   Indeed,  the  dinner  was  excellent.  Two  wood-pigeons completed this
extraordinary  menu.  The  sago pasty, the artocarpus bread, some mangoes,
half  a  dozen  pineapples,  and the liquor fermented from some coco-nuts,
overjoyed  us.  I  even think that my worthy companions' ideas had not all
the plainness desirable.
   "Suppose we do not return to the Nautilus this evening?" said Conseil.
   "Suppose we never return?" added Ned Land.
   Just  then  a  stone  fell  at  our  feet and cut short the harpooner's
proposition.


        Chapter XXI. CAPTAIN NEMO'S THUNDERBOLT

   We looked at the edge of the forest without rising, my hand stopping in
the action of putting it to my mouth, Ned Land's completing its office.
   "Stones  do  not  fall  from the sky," remarked Conseil, "or they would
merit the name aerolites."
   A  second stone, carefully aimed, that made a savoury pigeon's leg fall
from  Conseil's  hand,  gave  still more weight to his observation. We all
three arose, shouldered our guns, and were ready to reply to any attack.
   "Are they apes?" cried Ned Land.
   "Very nearly-they are savages."
   "To the boat!" I said, hurrying to the sea.
   It  was  indeed  necessary  to beat a retreat, for about twenty natives
armed  with  bows and slings appeared on the skirts of a copse that masked
the horizon to the right, hardly a hundred steps from us.
   Our  boat  was  moored about sixty feet from us. The savages approached
us, not running, but making hostile demonstrations. Stones and arrows fell
thickly.
   Ned  Land  had not wished to leave his provisions; and, in spite of his
imminent  danger,  his pig on one side and kangaroos on the other, he went
tolerably fast. In two minutes we were on the shore. To load the boat with
provisions  and  arms,  to  push it out to sea, and ship the oars, was the
work  of  an  instant.  We  had not gone two cable-lengths, when a hundred
savages,  howling and gesticulating, entered the water up to their waists.
I  watched  to  see  if  their  apparition would attract some men from the
Nautilus  on to the platform. But no. The enormous machine, lying off, was
absolutely deserted.
   Twenty  minutes  later  we  were  on board. The panels were open. After
making the boat fast, we entered into the interior of the Nautilus.
   I  descended  to  the  drawing-room,  from  whence I heard some chords.
Captain  Nemo  was there, bending over his organ, and plunged in a musical
ecstasy.
   "Captain!"
   He did not hear me.
   "Captain!" I said, touching his hand.
   He  shuddered,  and,  turning  round,  said, "Ah! it is you, Professor?
Well, have you had a good hunt, have you botanised successfully?"
   "Yes  Captain;  but  we  have  unfortunately brought a troop of bipeds,
whose vicinity troubles me."
   "What bipeds?"
   "Savages."
   "Savages!" he echoed, ironically. "So you are astonished, Professor, at
having  set foot on a strange land and finding savages? Savages! where are
there  not  any?  Besides, are they worse than others, these whom you call
savages?"
   "But Captain-"
   "How many have you counted?"
   "A hundred at least."
   "M.  Aronnax,"  replied  Captain Nemo, placing his fingers on the organ
stops,  "when  all  the  natives of Papua are assembled on this shore, the
Nautilus will have nothing to fear from their attacks."
   The   Captain's  fingers  were  then  running  over  the  keys  of  the
instrument, and I remarked that he touched only the black keys, which gave
his  melodies  an  essentially  Scotch character. Soon he had forgotten my
presence, and had plunged into a reverie that I did not disturb. I went up
again  on  to  the  platform:  night  had already fallen; for, in this low
latitude,  the sun sets rapidly and without twilight. I could only see the
island  indistinctly; but the numerous fires, lighted on the beach, showed
that  the  natives  did  not  think of leaving it. I was alone for several
hours,  sometimes  thinking of the natives- but without any dread of them,
for  the  imperturbable  confidence  of the Captain was catching-sometimes
forgetting  them  to admire the splendours of the night in the tropics. My
remembrances  went  to  France  in  the train of those zodiacal stars that
would  shine  in  some  hours'  time.  The  moon shone in the midst of the
constellations of the zenith.
   The  night slipped away without any mischance, the islanders frightened
no  doubt  at  the  sight of a monster aground in the bay. The panels were
open,  and  would  have  offered  an  easy  access  to the interior of the
Nautilus.
   At  six  o'clock  in the morning of the 8th January I went up on to the
platform. The dawn was breaking. The island soon showed itself through the
dissipating fogs, first the shore, then the summits.
   The  natives  were there, more numerous than on the day before- five or
six  hundred perhaps-some of them, profiting by the low water, had come on
to  the  coral,  at  less  than  two  cable-lengths  from  the Nautilus. I
distinguished  them easily; they were true Papuans, with athletic figures,
men of good race, large high foreheads, large, but not broad and flat, and
white  teeth. Their woolly hair, with a reddish tinge, showed off on their
black  shining  bodies  like those of the Nubians. From the lobes of their
ears,  cut  and  distended,  hung chaplets of bones. Most of these savages
were  naked. Amongst them, I remarked some women, dressed from the hips to
knees in quite a crinoline of herbs, that sustained a vegetable waistband.
Some  chiefs  had  ornamented  their  necks with a crescent and collars of
glass  beads,  red and white; nearly all were armed with bows, arrows, and
shields  and  carried  on  their  shoulders a sort of net containing those
round  stones  which  they cast from their slings with great skill. One of
these  chiefs,  rather  near  to the Nautilus, examined it attentively. He
was,  perhaps,  a  "mado"  of  high  rank,  for  he was draped in a mat of
banana-leaves,  notched  round  the  edges,  and  set  off  with brilliant
colours.
   I  could  easily  have knocked down this native, who was within a short
length;  but  I  thought  that  it  was  better  to  wait for real hostile
demonstrations.  Between  Europeans  and  savages,  it  is  proper for the
Europeans to parry sharply, not to attack.
   During  low  water the natives roamed about near the Nautilus, but were
not  troublesome;  I heard them frequently repeat the word "Assai," and by
their  gestures  I  understood  that  they  invited  me  to go on land, an
invitation that I declined.
   So  that,  on  that  day,  the  boat  did  not  push  off, to the great
displeasure of Master Land, who could not complete his provisions.
   This adroit Canadian employed his time in preparing the viands and meat
that  he  had brought off the island. As for the savages, they returned to
the  shore  about eleven o'clock in the morning, as soon as the coral tops
began  to  disappear  under  the  rising tide; but I saw their numbers had
increased   considerably  on  the  shore.  Probably  they  came  from  the
neighbouring islands, or very likely from Papua. However, I had not seen a
single  native  canoe.  Having nothing better to do, I thought of dragging
these  beautiful  limpid  waters, under which I saw a profusion of shells,
zoophytes,  and  marine  plants.  Moreover,  it  was the last day that the
Nautilus  would pass in these parts, if it float in open sea the next day,
according to Captain Nemo's promise.
   I  therefore  called  Conseil, who brought me a little light drag, very
like  those  for  the oyster fishery. Now to work! For two hours we fished
unceasingly,  but  without  bringing  up any rarities. The drag was filled
with  midas-ears,  harps,  melames,  and  particularly  the most beautiful
hammers   I   have   ever   seen.  We  also  brought  up  some  sea-slugs,
pearl-oysters,  and  a  dozen  little  turtles  that were reserved for the
pantry on board.
   But  just  when I expected it least, I put my hand on a wonder, I might
say  a natural deformity, very rarely met with. Conseil was just dragging,
and his net came up filled with divers ordinary shells, when, all at once,
he  saw  me  plunge  my arm quickly into the net, to draw out a shell, and
heard me utter a cry.
   "What  is  the  matter,  sir?"  he  asked in surprise. "Has master been
bitten?"
   "No, my boy; but I would willingly have given a finger for my discovery."
   "What discovery?"
   "This shell," I said, holding up the object of my triumph.
   "It is simply an olive porphyry." {genus species missing}
   "Yes,  Conseil;  but,  instead of being rolled from right to left, this
olive turns from left to right."
   "Is it possible?"
   "Yes, my boy; it is a left shell."
   Shells  are all right-handed, with rare exceptions; and, when by chance
their spiral is left, amateurs are ready to pay their weight in gold.
   Conseil and I were absorbed in the contemplation of our treasure, and I
was  promising  myself  to  enrich  the  museum  with  it,  when  a  stone
unfortunately  thrown  by a native struck against, and broke, the precious
object  in Conseil's hand. I uttered a cry of despair! Conseil took up his
gun,  and  aimed  at  a savage who was poising his sling at ten yards from
him.  I  would  have  stopped  him, but his blow took effect and broke the
bracelet of amulets which encircled the arm of the savage.
   "Conseil!" cried I. "Conseil!"
   "Well, sir! do you not see that the cannibal has commenced the attack?"
   "A shell is not worth the life of a man," said I.
   "Ah!  the  scoundrel!"  cried Conseil; "I would rather he had broken my
shoulder!"
   Conseil  was  in  earnest,  but  I was not of his opinion. However, the
situation  had  changed  some  minutes before, and we had not perceived. A
score  of canoes surrounded the Nautilus. These canoes, scooped out of the
trunk  of  a  tree, long, narrow, well adapted for speed, were balanced by
means of a long bamboo pole, which floated on the water. They were managed
by  skilful,  half-naked  paddlers,  and I watched their advance with some
uneasiness.  It  was  evident  that these Papuans had already had dealings
with  the  Europeans  and  knew  their  ships. But this long iron cylinder
anchored  in  the bay, without masts or chimneys, what could they think of
it?  Nothing  good,  for  at  first  they  kept  at a respectful distance.
However, seeing it motionless, by degrees they took courage, and sought to
familiarise themselves with it. Now this familiarity was precisely what it
was necessary to avoid. Our arms, which were noiseless, could only produce
a  moderate  effect  on the savages, who have little respect for aught but
blustering  things.  The thunderbolt without the reverberations of thunder
would  frighten  man  but little, though the danger lies in the lightning,
not in the noise.
   At  this  moment  the  canoes  approached the Nautilus, and a shower of
arrows alighted on her.
   I  went down to the saloon, but found no one there. I ventured to knock
at  the  door  that  opened  into  the  Captain's room. "Come in," was the
answer.
   I entered, and found Captain Nemo deep in algebraical calculations of x
and other quantities.
   "I am disturbing you," said I, for courtesy's sake.
   "That  is true, M. Aronnax," replied the Captain; "but I think you have
serious reasons for wishing to see me?"
   "Very  grave  ones; the natives are surrounding us in their canoes, and
in  a  few  minutes  we  shall  certainly  be attacked by many hundreds of
savages."
   "Ah!," said Captain Nemo quietly, "they are come with their canoes?"
   "Yes, sir."
   "Well, sir, we must close the hatches."
   "Exactly, and I came to say to you-"
   "Nothing  can  be  more  simple,"  said  Captain Nemo. And, pressing an
electric button, he transmitted an order to the ship's crew.
   "It  is  all  done,  sir," said he, after some moments. "The pinnace is
ready,  and the hatches are closed. You do not fear, I imagine, that these
gentlemen could stave in walls on which the balls of your frigate have had
no effect?"
   "No, Captain; but a danger still exists."
   "What is that, sir?"
   "It  is that to-morrow, at about this hour, we must open the hatches to
renew the air of the Nautilus. Now, if, at this moment, the Papuans should
occupy  the  platform,  I  do  not  see  how  you  could prevent them from
entering."
   "Then, sir, you suppose that they will board us?"
   "I am certain of it."
   "Well,  sir,  let  them come. I see no reason for hindering them. After
all, these Papuans are poor creatures, and I am unwilling that my visit to
the island should cost the life of a single one of these wretches."
   Upon  that I was going away; But Captain Nemo detained me, and asked me
to sit down by him. He questioned me with interest about our excursions on
shore,  and our hunting; and seemed not to understand the craving for meat
that  possessed  the  Canadian.  Then  the  conversation turned on various
subjects,  and,  without  being  more  communicative,  Captain Nemo showed
himself more amiable.
   Amongst  other  things,  we  happened  to speak of the situation of the
Nautilus, run aground in exactly the same spot in this strait where Dumont
d'Urville was nearly lost. Apropos of this:
   "This D'Urville was one of your great sailors," said the Captain to me,
"one  of  your  most intelligent navigators. He is the Captain Cook of you
Frenchmen. Unfortunate man of science, after having braved the icebergs of
the  South Pole, the coral reefs of Oceania, the cannibals of the Pacific,
to  perish  miserably in a railway train! If this energetic man could have
reflected  during  the  last  moments  of  his  life,  what must have been
uppermost in his last thoughts, do you suppose?"
   So  speaking,  Captain  Nemo  seemed  moved,  and his emotion gave me a
better opinion of him. Then, chart in hand, we reviewed the travels of the
French navigator, his voyages of circumnavigation, his double detention at
the South Pole, which led to the discovery of Adelaide and Louis Philippe,
and  fixing  the  hydrographical  bearings  of  the  principal  islands of
Oceania.
   "That  which  your D'Urville has done on the surface of the seas," said
Captain  Nemo,  "that  have  I  done  under  them,  and  more easily, more
completely  than he. The Astrolabe and the Zelee, incessantly tossed about
by  the  hurricane,  could  not be worth the Nautilus, quiet repository of
labour that she is, truly