menu_book Chapter 30

CHAPTER VI. THE GREEK ISLANDS. At sunrise the next morning, February 12th, the Nautilus rose to the surface of the waves. I rushed onto the platform. The hazy silhouette of Pelusium was outlined three miles to the south. A torrent had carried us from one sea to the other, but although the tunnel was easy to descend, going back up must have been impossible. Near seven o'clock, Ned and Conceal joined me.

Those two inseparable companions had slept serenely, utterly aware of the Nautilus's feet. well mr naturalist the canadian asked in a gently mocking tone and how about that mediterranean we're floating on its surface ned my friend what concile put in last night yes last night in a matter of minutes we cleared that insuperable isthmus i don't believe a word of it the canadian replied and you're in the wrong mr land i went on that flat coast line curving southward is the coast of egypt tell it to the marines sir answered the stubborn canadian but if master says so concile told him then so be it what's more ned i said captain nemo himself did the honors in his tunnel and i stood beside him in the pilot-house while he steered the nautilus through that narrow passageway you hear ned concile said and you ned who have such good eyes i added you can spot the jetties of port said stretching out to sea the canadian looked carefully correct he said you're right professor and your captain's a superman we're in the mediterranean fine so now let's have a chat about our little doings if you please but in such a way that nobody overhears

i could easily see what the canadian was driving at in any event i thought it best to let him have his chat and we all three went to sit next to the beacon where we were less exposed to the damp spray from the billows now ned we're all ears i said what have you to tell us what i've got to tell you is very simple the canadian replied we're in europe and before captain nemo's whims take us deep into the polar seas or back to oceania i say we should leave this nautilus i confess that such discussions with the canadian always baffled me i didn't want to restrict my companions freedoms in any way and yet i had no desire to leave captain nemo thanks to him and his submersible i was finishing my undersea research by the day and i was rewriting my book on the great ocean depths in the midst of its very element would i ever again have such an opportunity to observe the ocean's wonders absolutely not so i couldn't entertain this idea of leaving the nautilus before completing our course of inquiry ned my friend i said answer me honestly are you bored with this ship are you sorry that fate has cast you into captain nemo's hands the canadian paused for a short while before replying then crossing his arms

honestly he said i'm not sorry about this voyage under the seas i'll be glad to have done it but in order to have done it it has to finish that's my feeling it will finish ned where and when where i don't know when i can't say or rather i suppose it will be over when these seas have nothing more to teach us everything that begins in this world must inevitably come to an end i think his master does concile replied and it's extremely possible that after crossing every sea on the globe captain nemo will bid the three of us a fond farewell bid us a fond farewell the canadian exclaimed you mean beat us to a fare thee well let's not exaggerate mr land i went on we have nothing to fear from the captain but neither do i share concile's views we're privy to the nautilus's secrets and i don't expect that its commander just to set us free will meekly stand by while we spread those secrets all over the world but in that case what do you expect the canadian asked that we'll encounter advantageous conditions for escaping just as readily in six months as now great scott ned land put in and where if you please will we be in six months mr naturalist

perhaps here perhaps in china you know how quickly the nautilus moves it crosses oceans like swallows cross the air or express trains continents it doesn't fear heavily traveled seas who can say it won't hug the coasts of france england or america where an escape attempt could be carried out just as effectively as here Professor Aranax, the Canadian replied, your arguments are rotten to the core. You talk way off in the future. We'll be here, we'll be there. Me, I'm talking about right now. We are here, and we must take advantage of it. I was hard pressed by Ned Land's common sense, and I felt myself losing ground.

I no longer knew what arguments to put forward on my behalf. Sir, Ned went on, let's suppose that by some impossibility Captain Nemo offered your freedom to you this very day. Would you accept? I don't know, I replied. and suppose he adds that this offer he's making you to-day won't ever be repeated then would you accept i did not reply and what thinks our friend concile ned land asked

your friend concile the fine lad replied serenely has nothing to say for himself he's a completely disinterested party on this question like his master like his comrade ned he's a bachelor neither wife parents nor children are waiting for him back home he's in master's employ he thinks like master he speaks like master and much to his regret he can't be counted on to form a majority only two persons face each other here master on one side ned land on the other that said your friend concile is listening and he's ready to keep score i couldn't help smiling as concile wiped himself out of existence deep down the canadian must have been overjoyed at not having to contend with him then sir ned land said since concile is no more we'll have this discussion between just the two of us i've talked and you've listened what's your reply It was obvious that the matter had to be settled, and evasions were distasteful to me. Ned, my friend, I said, here's my reply.

You have right on your side, and my arguments can't stand up to yours. It will never do to count on Captain Nemo's benevolence. The most ordinary good sense would forbid him to set us free. On the other hand, good sense decrees that we take advantage of our first opportunity to leave the Nautilus. Fine, Professor Aranax, that's wisely said.

But one proviso, I said. Just one. The opportunity must be the real thing. Our first attempt to escape must succeed, because if it misfires, we won't get a second chance,

and Captain Nemo will never forgive us. That's also well put, the Canadian replied. But your proviso applies to any escape attempt, whether it happens in two years or two days. So this is still the question.

If a promising opportunity comes up, we have to grab it. Agreed. And now, Ned, will you tell me what you mean by a promising opportunity? One that leads the Nautilus on a cloudy night within a short distance of some European coast. And you'll try to get away by swimming? Yes, if we're close enough to the shore and the ships afloat on the surface.

No, if we're well out and the ships navigating under the waters. And in that event? In that event, I'll try to get hold of the skiff. I know how to handle it. We'll stick ourselves inside, undo the bolts, and rise to the surface without the helmsman in the bow seeing a thing.

Fine, Ned. Ned, stay on the lookout for such an opportunity, but don't forget, one slip-up will finish us. I won't forget, sir. And now, Ned, would you like to know my overall thinking on your plan? Gladly, Professor Aranax.

Well then, I think, and I don't mean I hope, that your promising opportunity won't ever arise. Why not? Because Captain Nemo recognizes that we haven't given up all hope of recovering our freedom, and he'll keep on his guard, above all, in seas within sight of the coasts of Europe. i'm of master's opinion concile said we'll soon see ned land replied shaking his head with a determined expression and now ned land i asked let's leave it at that not another word on any of this the day you're ready alert us and we're with you i turn it all over to you

that's how we ended this conversation which later was to have such serious consequences at first i must say events seemed to confirm my forecasts much to the canadian's despair did captain nemo view us with distrust in these heavily traveled seas or did he simply want to hide from the sight of those ships of every nation that plowed the mediterranean i have no idea but usually he stayed in mid-water and well out from any coast either the nautilus surfaced only enough to let its pilot-house emerge or it slipped away to the lower depths although between the greek islands and asia minor we didn't find bottom even at two thousand metres down accordingly i became aware of the isle of carpathos one of the sporades islands only when captain nemo placed his finger over a spot on the world map and quoted me this verse from virgil est in carpathio neptuni gargite vates carilius proteus latin there in king neptune's domain by carpathos his spokesman is azure hued proteus editor it was indeed that bygone abode of proteus the old shepherd of king neptune's flocks an island located between rhodes and crete which greeks now call carpathos italians scarpanto through the lounge window i could see only its granite bedrock

the next day february fourteenth i decided to spend a few hours studying the fish of this island group but for whatever reason the panels remained hermetically sealed after determining the nautilus's heading i noted that it was proceeding toward the ancient island of crete also called candia at the time i had shipped aboard the abraham lincoln this whole island was in rebellion against its tyrannical rulers the ottoman empire of turkey but since then i had absolutely no idea what happened to this revolution and captain nemo deprived of all contact with the shore was hardly the man to keep me informed so i didn't allude to this event when that evening i chanced to be alone with the captain in the lounge besides he seemed silent and preoccupied then contrary to custom he ordered that both panels in the lounge be opened and going from one to the other he carefully observed the watery mass for what purpose i hadn't a guess and for my part i spent my time studying the fish that passed before my eyes among others i noticed that sand goby mentioned by aristotle and commonly known by the name of sea-loach which is encountered exclusively in the salty waters next to the nile delta near them some semi phosphorescent red porgy rolled by a variety of gilt head that the egyptians ranked among their sacred animals lauding them in religious ceremonies when their arrival in the river's waters announced the fertile flood season

i also noticed some wrasse known as the tapiro three decimetres long bony fish with transparent scales whose bluish-gray colour is mixed with red spots they're enthusiastic eaters of marine vegetables which gives them an exquisite flavour hence these tapiro were much in demand by the epicures of ancient rome and their entrails were dressed with brains of peacock tongue of flamingo and testes of mor to make that divine platter that so enraptured the roman emperor another resident of these seas caught my attention and revived my memories of antiquity this was the remora which travels attached to the bellies of sharks as the ancients tell it when these little fish cling to the undersides of a ship they can bring it to a halt and by so impeding mark antony's vessel during the battle of actium one of them facilitated the victory of augustus caesar from such slender threads hang the destinies of nations i also observed some wonderful snappers belonging to the order lucianita sacred fish for the greeks who claimed they could drive off sea monsters from the waters they frequent their greek name anthius means flower and they live up to it in the play of their colors and in those fleeting reflections that turn their dorsal fins into watered silk their hues are confined to a gamut of reds from the pallor of pink to the glow of ruby

i couldn't take my eyes off these marine wonders when i was suddenly jolted by an unexpected apparition in the midst of the waters a man appeared a diver carrying a leather bag at his belt it was no corpse lost in the waves it was a living man swimming vigorously sometimes disappearing to breathe at the surface then instantly diving again i turned to captain nemo and in an agitated voice a man a castaway i exclaimed we must rescue him at all cost the captain didn't reply but went to lean against the window the man drew near and gluing his face to the panel he stared at us to my deep astonishment captain nemo gave him a signal the diver answered with his hand immediately swam up to the surface of the sea and didn't reappear don't be alarmed the captain told me that's nicholas from cape mattapan nicknamed italian the fish editor he is well known throughout the siclides islands a bold diver water is his true element and he lives in the sea more than on the shore going constantly from one island to another even to crete you know him captain why not professor aranax this said captain nemo went to a cabinet standing near the lounge's left panel next to this cabinet i saw a chest bound with hoops of iron its lid bearing a copper plaque that displayed the nautilus's monogram with its motto mobilis immobili

just then ignoring my presence the captain opened this cabinet a sort of safe that contained a large number of ingots they were gold ingots and they represented an enormous sum of money where had this precious metal come from how had the captain amassed this gold and what was he about to do with it i didn't pronounce a word i gaped captain nemo took out the ingots one by one and arranged them methodically inside the chest filling it to the top at which point i estimate that it held more than one thousand kilograms of gold in other words close to five million francs after securely fastening the chest captain nemo wrote an address on its lid in characters that must have been modern greek this done the captain pressed a button whose wiring was in communication with the crew's quarters four men appeared and not without difficulty pushed the chest out of the lounge then i heard them hoisted up the iron companionway by means of pulleys just then captain nemo turned to me you were saying professor he asked me i wasn't saying a thing captain then sir with your permission i'll bid you good evening and with that captain nemo left the lounge i re-entered my stateroom very puzzled as you can imagine i tried in vain to fall asleep i kept searching for a relationship between the appearance of the diver and that chest filled with gold

soon from certain rolling and pitching movements i sensed that the nautilus had left the lower strata and was back on the surface of the water then i heard the sound of footsteps on the platform i realized that the skiff was being detached and launched to sea for an instant it bumped the nautilus aside then all sounds ceased two hours later the same noises the same comings and goings were repeated hoisted on board the long boat was readjusted into its socket and the nautilus plunged back beneath the waves so those millions had been delivered to their address at what spot on the continent who was the recipient of captain nemo's gold the next day i related the night's events to concile and the canadian events that had aroused my curiosity to a fever pitch my companions were as startled as i was but where does he get those millions ned land asked to this no reply was possible after breakfast i made my way to the lounge and went back to my work i wrote up my notes until five o'clock in the afternoon just then was it due to some personal indisposition i felt extremely hot and had to take off my jacket made of fan-muscle fabric a perplexing circumstance because we weren't in the low latitudes and besides once the nautilus was submerged it shouldn't be subject to any rise in temperature i looked at the pressure gauge it marked a depth of sixty feet a depth beyond the reach of atmospheric heat

i kept on working but the temperature rose to the point of becoming unbearable could there be a fire on board i wondered i was about to leave the lounge when captain nemo entered he approached the thermometer consulted it and turned to me forty two degrees centigrade he said i've detected as much captain i replied and if it gets even slightly hotter we won't be able to stand it oh professor it won't get any hotter unless we want it to you mean you can control this heat no but i can back away from the fireplace producing it so it's outside surely we're cruising in a current of boiling water it can't be i exclaimed look the panels had opened and i could see a completely white sea around the nautilus steaming sulphurous fumes uncoiled in the midst of waves bubbling like water in a boiler I leaned my hand against one of the windows, but the heat was so great I had to snatch it back. Where are we? I asked.

Near the island of Santorini, professor, the captain answered me, and right in the channel that separates the volcanic islets of Neokamini and Palaeokamini. I wanted to offer you the unusual sight of an underwater eruption. I thought, I said, that the formation of such new islands had come to an end. Nothing ever comes to an end in these volcanic waterways, Captain Nima replied,

and thanks to its underground fires, our globe is continuously under construction in these regions. According to the Latin historians Cassiodorus and Pliny, by the year 19 of the Christian era, a new island, the divine Thera, had already appeared in the very place these islets have more recently formed. Then, Thera sank under the waves, only to rise and sink once more in the year 69 AD.

From that day to this, such plutonic construction work has been in abeyance. But on February 3, 1866, a new islet named George Island emerged in the midst of the sulfurous steam near Neocamini, and was fused to it by the sixth of the same month. Seven days later, on February 13, the islet of Afroesa appeared, leaving a 10-meter channel between itself and Neocamini. I was in these seas when that phenomenon occurred, and I was able to observe its every phase. The islet of Afruesa was circular in shape, measuring 300 feet in diameter and 30 feet in height.

It was made of black, glassy lava mixed with bits of feldspar. Finally, on March 10th, a smaller islet called Reka appeared next to Neokamani, and since then, these three islets have fused to form one single self-same island. What about this channel we're in now, I asked? Here it is, Captain Nemo replied, showing me a chart of the Greek islands.

You observe that I've entered the new islets in their place. but will this channel fill up one day very likely professor aranax because since eighteen sixty six eight little lava islets have surged up in front of the port of st nicholas on pelea comany so it's obvious that nea and pelea will join in days to come in the middle of the pacific tiny infusoria build continents but here they're built by volcanic phenomena look sir look at the construction work going on under these waves i returned to the window the nautilus was no longer moving the heat had become unbearable from the white it had recently been the sea was turning red a coloration caused by the presence of iron salts although the lounge was hermetically sealed it was filling with an intolerable stink of sulphur and i could see scarlet flames of such brightness they overpowered our electric light i was swimming in perspiration i was stifling i was about to be cooked yes i felt myself cooking in actual fact we can't stay any longer in this boiling water i told the captain no it wouldn't be advisable replied captain nemo the emotionless

he gave an order the nautilus tacked about and retreated from this furnace it couldn't brave with impunity a quarter of an hour later we were breathing fresh air on the surface of the waves it then occurred to me that if ned land had chosen these waterways for our escape attempt we wouldn't have come out alive from this sea of fire the next day february sixteenth we left this basin which tallies steps of three thousand metres between rhodes and alexandria and passing well out from cerigo island after doubling cape mattapan the nautilus left the greek islands behind chapter six