Chapter 45
CHAPTER XXI. A MASS EXECUTION. The way he said this, the unexpectedness of this scene, first the biography of this patriotic ship, then the excitement with which this eccentric individual pronounced these last words, the name Avenger, whose significance could not escape me, all this, taken together, had a profound impact on my mind. My eyes never left the captain. Hands outstretched toward the sea, he contemplated the proud wreck with blazing eyes. Perhaps I would never learn who he was, where he came from, or where he was heading.
But more and more I could see a distinction between the man and the scientist. It was no ordinary misanthropy that kept Captain Nemo and his companions sequestered inside the Nautilus's plating, but a hate, so monstrous, or so sublime, that the passing years could never weaken it. Did this hate also hunger for vengeance? Time would soon tell. Meanwhile, the Nautilus rose slowly to the surface of the sea,
and I watched the Avengers' murky shape disappearing little by little. Soon a gentle rolling told me that we were afloat in the open air. Just then a hollow explosion was audible. I looked at the captain. The captain did not stir.
Captain, I said. He didn't reply. I left him and climbed onto the platform. Conseil and the Canadian were already there. What caused that explosion, I asked.
A cannon going off, Ned Land replied. I stared in the direction of the ship I had spotted. It was heading toward the Nautilus, and you could tell it had put on steam. Six miles separated it from us. What sort of craft is it, Ned?
From its rigging and its low masts, the Canadian replied, I bet it's a warship. Here's hoping it pulls up and sinks this damned Nautilus. Ned, my friend, Kensei replied, what harm could it do, the Nautilus? Will it attack us under the waves? Will it cannonade us at the bottom of the sea?
Tell me, Ned, I asked, can you make out the nationality of that craft? Creasing his brow, lowering his lids, and puckering the corners of his eyes, the Canadian focused the full power of his gaze on the ship for a short while. No, sir, he replied. I can't make out what nation it's from. It's flying no flag.
But I'll swear it's a warship, because there's a long pennant streaming from the peak of its mainmast. For a quarter of an hour we continued to watch the craft bearing down on us, but it was inconceivable to me that it had discovered the Nautilus at such a distance, still less that it knew what this underwater machine really was. Soon the Canadian announced that the craft was a big battleship, a double-decker iron-clad complete with ram. Dark, dense smoke burst from its two funnels.
Its furled sails merged with the lines of its yardarms. The gaff of its fore- and aft sail flew no flag. Its distance still kept us from distinguishing the colors of its pennant, which was fluttering like a thin ribbon. It was coming on fast. If Captain Nemo let it approach, a chance for salvation might be available to us.
Sir, Nedland told me, if that boat gets within a mile of us, I'm jumping overboard and I suggest you follow suit. I didn't reply to the Canadian's proposition, but kept watching the ship, which was looming larger on the horizon. Whether it was English, French, American, or Russian, it would surely welcome us aboard if we could just get to it. Master may recall, Konsei then said, that we have some experience with swimming. He can rely on me to tow him to that vessel if he's agreeable to going with our friend Ned.
Before I could reply, white smoke streamed from the battleship's bow. Then, a few seconds later, the water splashed astern of the Nautilus, disturbed by the fall of a heavy object. Soon after, an explosion struck my ears. "'What's this? They're firing at us!' I exclaimed. "'Good lads!' the Canadian muttered.
"'That means they don't see us as castaways clinging to some wreckage.' "'With all due respect to Master—' "'Gracious!' Cansei put in, shaking off the water that had sprayed over him from another shell. with all due respect to master they've discovered the narwhal and they're cannonading the same but it must be clear to them i exclaimed that they're dealing with human beings maybe that's why ned land replied staring hard at me the full truth dawned on me undoubtedly people now knew where they stood on the existence of this so-called monster undoubtedly the latter's encounter with the abraham lincoln when the canadian hit it with his harpoon
had led commander farragut to recognize the narwhal as actually an under-water boat more dangerous than any unearthly cetacean yes this had to be the case and undoubtedly they were now chasing this dreadful engine of destruction on every sea dreadful indeed if as we could assume captain nemo had been using the nautilus in works of vengeance that night in the middle of the indian ocean when he imprisoned us in the cell hadn't he attacked some ship that man now buried in the carl cemetery wasn't he the victim of some collision caused by the nautilus yes i repeat this had to be the case one part of captain nemo's secret life had been unveiled and now even though his identity was still unknown at least the nations allied against him knew they were no longer hunting some fairy-tale monster but a man who had sworn an implacable hate toward them this whole fearsome sequence of events appeared in my mind's eye instead of encountering friends on this approaching ship we would find only pitiless enemies meanwhile shells fell around us in increasing numbers some meeting the liquid surface would ricochet and vanish into the sea at considerable distances
but none of them reached the nautilus by then the ironclad was no more than three miles off despite its violent cannonade captain nemo hadn't appeared on the platform and yet if one of those conical shells had scored a routine hit on the nautilus's hull it could have been fatal to him the canadian then told me sir we've got to do everything we can to get out of this jam let's signal them damnation maybe they'll realize we're decent people ned land pulled out his handkerchief to wave it in the air but he had barely unfolded it when he was felled by an iron fist and despite his great strength he tumbled to the deck scum the captain shouted do you want to be nailed to the nautilus's spur before it charges that ship dreadful to hear captain nemo was even more dreadful to see his face was pale from some spasm of his heart which must have stopped beating for an instant his pupils were hideously contracted his voice was no longer speaking it was bellowing bending from the waist he shook the canadian by the shoulders then dropping ned and turning to the battleship whose shells were showering around him
oh ship of an accursed nation you know who i am he shouted in his powerful voice and i don't need your colors to recognize you look i'll show you mine and in the bow of the platform captain nemo unfurled a black flag like the one he had left planted at the south pole just then a shell hit the nautilus's hull obliquely failed to breach it ricocheted near the captain and vanished into the sea captain nemo shrugged his shoulders then addressing me go below he told me in a curt tone you and your companions go below sir i exclaimed are you going to attack this ship sir i'm going to sink it you wouldn't i will captain nemo replied icily you are ill-advised to pass judgment on me sir fate has shown you what you weren't meant to see the attack has come our reply will be dreadful get back inside from what country is that ship you don't know fine so much the better at least its nationality will remain a secret to you go below
the canadian can say and i could only obey some fifteen of the nautilus's seamen surrounded their captain and stared with a feeling of implacable hate at the ship bearing down on them you could feel the same spirit of vengeance in kindling their every soul i went below just as another projectile scraped the nautilus's hull and i heard the captain exclaim shoot you demented vessel shower your feudal shells you won't escape the nautilus's spur but this isn't the place where you'll perish i don't want your wreckage mingling with that of the avenger i repaired to my state-room the captain and his chief officer stayed on the platform the propeller was set in motion the nautilus swiftly retreated putting us outside the range of the vessel's shells but the chase continued and captain nemo was content to keep his distance near four o'clock in the afternoon unable to control the impatience and uneasiness devouring me i went back to the central companionway the hatch was open i ventured on to the platform the captain was still strolling there his steps agitated
he stared at the ship which stayed to his lured five or six miles off he was circling it like a wild beast drawing it eastward letting it chase after him yet he didn't attack was he perhaps still undecided i tried to intervene one last time but i had barely queried captain nemo when the latter silenced me i'm the law i'm the tribunal i'm the oppressed and there are my oppressors thanks to them i've witnessed the destruction of everything i loved cherished and venerated homeland wife children father and mother there lies everything i hate not another word out of you i took a last look at the battleship which was putting on steam then i rejoined ned and can say we'll escape i exclaimed good ned put in where's that ship from i've no idea but wherever it's from it will sink before nightfall in any event it's better to perish with it than be accomplices in some act of revenge whose merits we can't gauge that's my feeling ned land replied coolly let's wait for nightfall
night fell a profound silence reigned on board the compass indicated that the nautilus hadn't changed direction i could hear the beat of its propeller churning the waves with steady speed staying on the surface of the water it rolled gently sometimes to one side sometimes to the other my companions and i had decided to escape as soon as the vessel came close enough for us to be heard or seen because the moon would wax full in three days and was shining brightly once we were aboard that ship if we couldn't ward off the blow that threatened it at least we could do everything that circumstances permitted several times i thought the nautilus was about to attack but it was content to let its adversary approach and that it would quickly resume its retreating ways part of the night passed without incident we kept watch for an opportunity to take action we talked little being too keyed up ned land was all for jumping overboard i forced him to wait as i saw it the nautilus would attack the double-decker on the surface of the waves and then it would be not only possible but easy to escape at three o'clock in the morning full of uneasiness i climbed on to the platform
captain nemo hadn't left it he stood in the bow next to his flag which a mild breeze was unfurling above his head his eyes never left that vessel the extraordinary intensity of his gaze seemed to attract it beguile it and draw it more surely than if he had it in tow the moon then passed its zenith jupiter was rising in the east in the midst of this placid natural setting sky and ocean competed with each other in tranquillity and the sea offered the orb of night the loveliest mirror ever to reflect its image and when i compared this deep calm of the elements with all the fury seething inside the plating of this barely perceptible nautilus i shivered all over the vessel was two miles off it drew nearer always moving toward the phosphorescent glow that signaled the nautilus's presence i saw its green and red running lights plus the white lantern hanging from the large stay of its foremast hazy flickerings were reflected on its rigging and indicated that its furnaces were pushed to the limit showers of sparks and cinders of flaming coal escaped from its funnels spangling the air with stars
i stood there until six o'clock in the morning captain nemo never seeming to notice me the vessel lay a mile and a half off and with the first glimmers of daylight it resumed its cannonade the time couldn't be far away when the nautilus would attack its adversary my companions and i would leave forever this man i dared not judge i was about to go below to alert them when the chief officer climbed on to the platform several seamen were with him captain nemo didn't see them or didn't want to see them they carried out certain procedures that on the nautilus you could call clearing the decks for action they were quite simple the man ropes that formed a hand-rail around the platform were lowered likewise the pilot-house and the beacon housing were withdrawn into the hall until they lay exactly flush with it the surface of this long sheet-iron cigar no longer offered a single protrusion that could hamper its maneuvers i returned to the lounge the nautilus still emerged above the surface a few morning gleams infiltrated the liquid strata
beneath the undulations of the billows the windows were enlivened by the blushing of the rising sun that dreadful day of june second had dawned at seven o'clock the log told me that the nautilus had reduced speed i realized that it was letting the warship approach moreover the explosions grew more intensely audible shells furrowed the water around us drilling through it with an odd hissing sound my friends i said it's time let's shake hands and may god be with us ned land was determined conse calm i myself nervous and barely in control we went into the library just as i pushed open the door leading to the well of the central companionway i heard the hatch close sharply overhead the canadian leaped up the steps but i stopped him a well-known hissing told me that water was entering the ship's ballast tanks indeed in a few moments the nautilus had submerged some meters below the surface of the waves i understood this maneuver it was too late to take action
the nautilus wasn't going to strike the double-decker where it was clad in impenetrable iron armor but below its water-line where the metal carapace no longer protected its planking we were prisoners once more unwilling spectators at the performance of this gruesome drama but we barely had time to think taking refuge in my stateroom we stared at each other without pronouncing a word my mind was in a total daze my mental processes came to a dead stop i hovered in that painful state that predominates during the period of anticipation before some frightful explosion i waited i listened i lived only through my sense of hearing meanwhile the nautilus's speed had increased appreciably so it was gathering momentum its entire hall was vibrating suddenly i let out a yell there had been a collision but it was comparatively mild i could feel the penetrating force of the steel spur i could hear scratchings and scrapings
carried away with its driving power the nautilus had passed through the vessel's mass like a sailmaker's needle through canvas i couldn't hold still frantic going insane i leaped out of my stateroom and rushed into the lounge captain nemo was there mute gloomy implacable he was staring through the port panel an enormous mass was sinking beneath the waters and the nautilus missing none of its death-throes was descending into the depths with it ten meters away i could see its gaping hull into which water was rushing with the sound of thunder then its double rows of cannons and railings its deck was covered with dark quivering shadows the water was rising those poor men leaped up into the shrouds clung to the masts writhed beneath the waters it was a human ant-hill that an invading sea had caught by surprise paralyzed rigid with anguish my hair standing on end my eyes popping out of my head short of breath suffocating speechless i stared i too i was glued to the window by an irresistible allure
the enormous vessel settled slowly following it down the nautilus kept watch on its every movement suddenly there was an eruption the air compressed inside the craft sent its decks flying as if the powder stores had been ignited the thrust of the waters was so great the nautilus swerved away the poor ship then sank more swiftly its mastheads appeared laden with victims then its cross-trees bending under clusters of men finally the peak of its mainmast then the dark mass disappeared and with it a crew of corpses dragged under by fearsome eddies i turned to captain nemo this dreadful executioner this true archangel of hate was still staring when it was all over captain nemo headed to the door of his stateroom opened it and entered i followed him with my eyes on the rear paneling beneath the portraits of his heroes i saw the portrait of a still youthful woman with two little children captain nemo stared at them for a few moments stretched out his arms to them sank to his knees and melted into sobs chapter twenty one recording by sherry gardner
