November 3, 2023 • 18 mins
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a classic science fiction adventure novel written by the French author Jules Verne. First published in 1870, the novel is set in the 19th century and follows the thrilling journey of Captain Nemo and his remarkable submarine, the Nautilus.The story is narrated by Professor Pierre Aronnax, a renowned marine biologist who, along with his loyal servant Conseil and harpoonist Ned Land, is taken aboard the Nautilus after their ship is attacked and sunk by an enigmatic and reclusive captain known as Captain Nemo. Nemo is a mysterious and enigmatic character who shuns contact with the outside world and chooses to live beneath the sea, exploring its depths in his advanced and technologically advanced submarine.As the protagonists join Nemo on his undersea adventures, they discover a breathtaking and fantastical world beneath the waves. They encounter a wide variety of marine life, explore hidden underwater landscapes, and even witness the lost city of Atlantis. The novel explores themes of exploration, the wonders of the natural world, and the consequences of unchecked technology."20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is not only an exciting adventure story but also a reflection on the relationship between humanity and nature, as well as the ethical dilemmas posed by scientific and technological progress. Jules Verne's vivid descriptions of the undersea world and the captivating character of Captain Nemo have made this novel a timeless classic in the genre of science fiction and adventure literature. It continues to captivate readers with its sense of wonder and imagination, as well as its exploration of the mysteries of the deep sea.
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Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
This is a LibriVox recording. AllLibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer,please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by
Kevin Laverne. Twenty thousand Leagues underthe Seas by Jules Verne, second part,
(00:24):
Chapter twenty two, the last wordsof Captain Nemo. The panels closed
over this frightful view, but thelights didn't go on in the lounge.
Inside the nautilus, all was gloomin silence. It left this place of
devastation with prodigious speed, one hundredfeet beneath the waters. Where was it
(00:49):
going north or south? Where wouldthe man flee? After this horrible act
of revenge? I re entered mystateroom, where ned And and Sile were
waiting silently. Captain Nemo filled mewith insurmountable horror. Whatever he had once
suffered at the hands of humanity,he had no right to mete out such
(01:11):
punishment. He had made me,if not an accomplice, at least an
eye witness to his vengeance. Eventhis was intolerable. At eleven o'clock the
electric lights came back on. Iwent into the lounge. It was deserted,
I consulted the various instruments. TheNautilus was fleeing northward at a speed
(01:34):
of twenty five miles per hour,sometimes on the surface of the sea,
sometimes thirty feet beneath it. Afterour position had been marked on the chart,
I saw that we were passing intothe mouth of the English Channel,
that our heading would take us tothe northernmost seas with incomparable speed. I
could barely glimpse the swift passing oflong nose sharks, hammerhead sharks, spotted
(01:59):
dog fish that frequent these waters,big eagle rays, swarms of seahorse looking
like knights on a chessboard, eelsquivering like fireworks, serpents, armies of
crab that fled obliquely by crossing theirpincers over their carapaces. Finally, schools
of porpoise that held contests of speedwith the Nautilus. But by this point
(02:23):
observing, studying, and classifying wereout of the question. By evening,
we had cleared two hundred leagues upthe Atlantic. Shadows gathered in gloom overran
the sea until the moon came up. I repaired to my stateroom. I
couldn't sleep. I was assaulted bynightmares. That horrible scene of destruction kept
(02:46):
repeating in my mind's eye from thatday forward. Who knows where the Nautilus
took us in the North Atlantic basin, always at incalculable speed, always amid
the high Arctic mists. Did itcall at the capes of Spitzbergen or the
shores of Novaya Zemlia. Did itvisit such uncharted seas as the White Sea,
(03:09):
the Kara Sea, the Gulf ofOb, the Lyakhov Islands, or
those unknown beaches on the Siberian coast. I'm unable to say. I lost
track of the passing hours. Timewas in abeyance on the ship's clocks,
as happens in the polar regions.It seemed that night and day no longer
(03:31):
followed their normal sequence. I feltmyself being drawn into that strange domain where
the overwrought imagination of Edgar Allan Poewas at home, like his fabled Arthur
Gordon Pim. I expected any momentto see that shrouded human figure, very
far larger in its proportions than anydweller among men, thrown across the cataract
(03:55):
that protects the outskirts of the Poleestimate, but perhaps I'm mistaken that the
Nautilus's haphazard course continued for fifteen ortwenty days, and I'm not sure how
long this would have gone on withoutthe catastrophe that ended our voyage. As
for Captain Nemo, he was nolonger in the picture. As for his
(04:16):
chief officer, the same applied.Not one crewman was visible for a single
instant. The Nautilus cruised beneath thewaters almost continuously. When it rose briefly
to the surface to renew our air, the hatches opened and closed as if
automated. No more positions were reportedon the world map. I didn't know
(04:39):
where we were. I'll also mentionthat the Canadian, at the end of
his strength and patience, made nofurther appearances. Conseil couldn't coax a single
word out of him, and fearedthat, in a fit of delirium,
while under the sway of a ghastlyhomesickness, ned would kill himself, So
(05:00):
he kept a devoted watch on hisfriend every instant. You can appreciate that
under these conditions our situation had becomeuntenable. One morning, whose date I'm
unable to specify, I was slumberingnear the first hours of daylight, a
painful, sickly slumber. Waking up, I saw ned Land leaning over me,
(05:24):
and I heard him tell me ina low voice, we're going to
escape. I sat up when Iasked to Night. There doesn't seem to
be any supervision left on the Nautilus. You'd think a total daze was reigning
on board. Will you be ready, sir? Yes? Where are we
(05:47):
in? Side of land? Isaw it through the mists just this morning,
twenty miles to the east. Whatland is it? I've no idea,
but whatever it is there will takerefuge. Yes, Ned, we'll
escape tonight, even if the seaswallows us up. The sea's rough,
the wind's blowing hard. But atwenty mile run in the Nautilus's nimble longboat
(06:12):
doesn't scare me. Unknown to thecrew, I've stowed some food and flasks
of water inside. I'm with you. What's more, the Canadian added,
if they catch me, I'll defendmyself. I'll fight to the death.
Then we'll die together, Ned,my friend, My mind was made up.
The Canadian left me. I wentout on the platform, where I
(06:35):
could barely stand upright against the joltsof the billows. The skies were threatening,
but Land lay inside those dense mists, and we had to escape.
Not a single day, or evena single hour could we afford to lose.
I returned to the lounge, dreadingyet desiring an encounter with Captain Nemo,
(06:55):
wanting yet not wanting to see him. What would I say to him?
How could I hide the involuntary horrorhe inspired in me? No,
it was best not to meet himface to face, best to try and
forget him. And yet how longthat day seemed the last I would spend
(07:17):
aboard the Nautilus. I was leftto myself. Ned Land and Conseil avoided
speaking to me, afraid they wouldgive themselves away. At six o'clock I
ate supper, but I had noappetite. Despite my revulsion, I forced
it down, wanting to keep mystrength up. At six thirty ned Land
(07:40):
entered my stateroom. He told mewe won't see each other again before we
go at ten o'clock the moon won'tbe up yet, we'll take advantage of
the darkness. Come to the skiff, Conseil, and I will be inside
waiting for you. The Canadian leftwithout giving me to answer him. I
(08:01):
wanted to verify the Nautilus's heading.I made my way to the lounge.
We were racing north northeast with frightfulspeed. Fifty meters down, I took
one last look at the natural wondersand artistic treasures amassed in the museum.
This unrivaled collection doomed to perish someday in the depths of the seas.
(08:22):
Together with its curator, I wantedto establish one supreme impression in my mind.
I stayed there an hour, baskingin the aura of the ceiling lights,
passing in review the treasures shining intheir glass cases. Then I returned
to my state room. There Idressed in sturdy, seafaring clothes. I
(08:45):
gathered my notes and packed them tenderlyabout my person. My heart was pounding
mightily. I couldn't curb its pulsations. My anxiety and agitation would certainly have
given me away if Captain Nemo hadseen me. What was he doing?
Just then? I listened at thedoor to his stateroom. I heard the
(09:05):
sound of footsteps. Captain Nemo wasinside. He hadn't gone to bed.
With his every movement, I imaginedhe would appear and ask me why I
wanted to escape. I felt ina perpetual state of alarm. My imagination
magnified this sensation. The feeling becameso acute I wondered whether it wouldn't be
(09:28):
better to enter the captain's stateroom,dare him face to face, brave it
out with word and deed. Itwas an insane idea. Fortunately, I
controlled myself and stretched out on thebed to soothe my bodily agitation. My
nerves calmed a little, but withmy brain so aroused, I did a
(09:50):
swift review of my whole existence aboardthe Nautilus, every pleasant or unpleasant incident
that had crossed my path since Iwent overboard from the Abraham Lincoln. The
underwater hunting trip, the Torres Strait, our running aground, the savages of
Papua, the Coral Cemetery, theSuez Passageway, the island of Santorini,
(10:16):
the Cretan Diver, the Bay ofVigo Atlantis, the Ice Bank, the
South Pole, our imprisonment in theice, the battle with the Devilfish,
the storm in the Gulf Stream,the Avenger, and that horrible scene of
the vessel sinking with its crew.All these events passed before my eyes like
(10:41):
backdrops unrolling up stage in a theater. In this strange setting, Captain Nemo
then grew fantastically. His features wereaccentuated, taking on superhuman proportions. He
was no longer my equal. Hewas the man of the waters, the
spirit of the seas. By thenit was nine thirty. I held my
(11:07):
head in both hands to keep itfrom bursting. I closed my eyes.
I no longer wanted to think.A half hour still to wait, a
half hour of nightmares that could driveme insane. Just then I heard indistinct
chords from the organ, melancholy harmoniesfrom some undefinable hymn, actual pleadings from
(11:33):
a soul trying to sever its earthlyties. I listened with all my senses
at once, barely breathing, immersedlike Captain Nemo in this musical trance that
was drawing him beyond the bounds ofthis world. Then a sudden thought terrified
me. Captain Nemo had left hisstateroom. He was in the same lounge
(11:56):
I had to cross in order toescape. There I would counter him one
last time. He would see me, perhaps speak to me. One gesture
from him could obliterate me a singleword, shackle me to his vessel.
Even so ten o'clock was about tostrike. It was time to leave my
stateroom and rejoin my companions. Idared not hesitate, even if Captain Nemo
(12:22):
stood before me. I opened thedoor cautiously, but as it swung on
its hinges, it seemed to makea frightful noise. This noise existed,
perhaps only in my imagination. Icrept forward through the Nautilus's dark gangways,
pausing after each step to curb thepounding of my heart. I arrived at
(12:45):
the corner door of the lounge.I opened it gently. The lounge was
plunged in profound darkness. Chords fromthe organ were reverberating faintly. Captain Nemo
was there. He didn't see me, even in broad daylight. I doubt
that he would have noticed me,so completely was he immerged in his trance.
(13:07):
I inched over the carpet, avoidingthe tiniest bump whose noise might give
me away. It took me fiveminutes to reach the door at the far
end, which led into the library. I was about to open it when
a gasp from Captain Nemo nailed meto the spot. I realized that he
was standing up. I even gota glimpse of him because some rays of
(13:28):
light from the library had filtered intothe lounge. He was coming toward me,
arms crossed, silent, not walking, but gliding like a ghost.
His chest was heaving, swelling withsobs, and I heard him murmur these
words, the last of his toreach my ears. Oh, Almighty God.
(13:52):
Enough enough was it a vow ofrepentance that had just escaped from this
man's conscience. Frantic, I rushedinto the library. I climbed the central
companionway, and going along the uppergangway, I arrived at the skiff.
(14:13):
I went through the opening that hadalready given access to my two companions.
Let's go, Let's go, Iexclaimed right away. The Canadian replied.
First ned Land closed and bolted theopening cut into the Nautilus's sheet iron,
using the monkey wrench he had withhim. After likewise closing the opening in
(14:35):
the skiff, the Canadian began tounscrew the nuts, still bolting us to
the underwater boat. Suddenly, anoise from the ship's interior became audible.
Voices were answering each other hurriedly.What was it? Had they spotted our
escape? I felt ned land slidinga dagger into my hand? Yes,
I muttered, we know how todie. The Canadian paused in his work,
(15:00):
But one word, twenty times repeated, one dreadful word, told me
the reason for the agitation spreading aboardthe Nautilus. We weren't the cause of
the crew's concern. Maelstrom, Maelstrom, they were shouting, the Maelstrom?
Could a more frightening name have rungin our ears? Under more frightening circumstances?
(15:24):
Were we lying in the dangerous waterwaysoff the Norwegian coast? Was the
Nautilus being dragged into this whirlpool?Just as the skiff was about to detach
from its plating. As you know, at the turn of the tide,
the waters confined between the Pharaoh andLow Photon Islands rush out with irresistible violence.
(15:46):
They form a vortex from which noship has ever been able to escape.
Monstrous waves raced together from every pointof the horizon, they form a
whirlpool, aptly called the ocean's navy, whose attracting power extends a distance of
fifteen kilometers. It can suck downnot only ships, but whales and even
(16:07):
polar bears from the northernmost regions.This was where the Nautilus had been sent
accidentally or perhaps deliberately by its captain. It was sweeping around in a spiral
whose radius kept growing smaller and smaller. The skiff, still attached to the
ship's plating, was likewise carried aroundat dizzying speed. I could feel us
(16:34):
whirling. I was experiencing that accompanyingnausea that follows such continuous spinning motions.
We were in dread, in thelast stages of sheer horror. Our blood
frozen in our veins, our nervesnumb, drenched in cold sweat, as
if from the throes of dying.And what a noise around our frail skiff.
(16:56):
What roars echoing from several miles away. What crashes from the water breaking
against sharp rocks on the seafloor,where the hardest objects are smashed, where
tree trunks are worn down and workedinto a shaggy fur, as Norwegians express
it. What a predicament we wererocking frightfully. The Nautilus defended itself like
(17:19):
a human being. Its steel muscleswere cracking. Sometimes it stood on end,
the three of us along with it. We've got to hold on tight,
ned said, and screw the nutsdown again. If we can stay
attached to the nautilus, we canstill make it. He hadn't finished speaking
when a cracking sound occurred. Thenuts gave way and ripped out of its
(17:42):
socket. The skiff was hurled likea stone from a sling into the midst
of the vortex. My head struckagainst an iron timber, and with this
violent shock I lost consciousness. Endof Chapter twenty two. Recording by Kevin Laverne
This is a LibriVox recording. AllLibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer,please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by
Kevin Laverne. Twenty thousand Leagues underthe Seas by Jules Verne, second part,
(00:24):
Chapter twenty two, the last wordsof Captain Nemo. The panels closed
over this frightful view, but thelights didn't go on in the lounge.
Inside the nautilus, all was gloomin silence. It left this place of
devastation with prodigious speed, one hundredfeet beneath the waters. Where was it
(00:49):
going north or south? Where wouldthe man flee? After this horrible act
of revenge? I re entered mystateroom, where ned And and Sile were
waiting silently. Captain Nemo filled mewith insurmountable horror. Whatever he had once
suffered at the hands of humanity,he had no right to mete out such
(01:11):
punishment. He had made me,if not an accomplice, at least an
eye witness to his vengeance. Eventhis was intolerable. At eleven o'clock the
electric lights came back on. Iwent into the lounge. It was deserted,
I consulted the various instruments. TheNautilus was fleeing northward at a speed
(01:34):
of twenty five miles per hour,sometimes on the surface of the sea,
sometimes thirty feet beneath it. Afterour position had been marked on the chart,
I saw that we were passing intothe mouth of the English Channel,
that our heading would take us tothe northernmost seas with incomparable speed. I
could barely glimpse the swift passing oflong nose sharks, hammerhead sharks, spotted
(01:59):
dog fish that frequent these waters,big eagle rays, swarms of seahorse looking
like knights on a chessboard, eelsquivering like fireworks, serpents, armies of
crab that fled obliquely by crossing theirpincers over their carapaces. Finally, schools
of porpoise that held contests of speedwith the Nautilus. But by this point
(02:23):
observing, studying, and classifying wereout of the question. By evening,
we had cleared two hundred leagues upthe Atlantic. Shadows gathered in gloom overran
the sea until the moon came up. I repaired to my stateroom. I
couldn't sleep. I was assaulted bynightmares. That horrible scene of destruction kept
(02:46):
repeating in my mind's eye from thatday forward. Who knows where the Nautilus
took us in the North Atlantic basin, always at incalculable speed, always amid
the high Arctic mists. Did itcall at the capes of Spitzbergen or the
shores of Novaya Zemlia. Did itvisit such uncharted seas as the White Sea,
(03:09):
the Kara Sea, the Gulf ofOb, the Lyakhov Islands, or
those unknown beaches on the Siberian coast. I'm unable to say. I lost
track of the passing hours. Timewas in abeyance on the ship's clocks,
as happens in the polar regions.It seemed that night and day no longer
(03:31):
followed their normal sequence. I feltmyself being drawn into that strange domain where
the overwrought imagination of Edgar Allan Poewas at home, like his fabled Arthur
Gordon Pim. I expected any momentto see that shrouded human figure, very
far larger in its proportions than anydweller among men, thrown across the cataract
(03:55):
that protects the outskirts of the Poleestimate, but perhaps I'm mistaken that the
Nautilus's haphazard course continued for fifteen ortwenty days, and I'm not sure how
long this would have gone on withoutthe catastrophe that ended our voyage. As
for Captain Nemo, he was nolonger in the picture. As for his
(04:16):
chief officer, the same applied.Not one crewman was visible for a single
instant. The Nautilus cruised beneath thewaters almost continuously. When it rose briefly
to the surface to renew our air, the hatches opened and closed as if
automated. No more positions were reportedon the world map. I didn't know
(04:39):
where we were. I'll also mentionthat the Canadian, at the end of
his strength and patience, made nofurther appearances. Conseil couldn't coax a single
word out of him, and fearedthat, in a fit of delirium,
while under the sway of a ghastlyhomesickness, ned would kill himself, So
(05:00):
he kept a devoted watch on hisfriend every instant. You can appreciate that
under these conditions our situation had becomeuntenable. One morning, whose date I'm
unable to specify, I was slumberingnear the first hours of daylight, a
painful, sickly slumber. Waking up, I saw ned Land leaning over me,
(05:24):
and I heard him tell me ina low voice, we're going to
escape. I sat up when Iasked to Night. There doesn't seem to
be any supervision left on the Nautilus. You'd think a total daze was reigning
on board. Will you be ready, sir? Yes? Where are we
(05:47):
in? Side of land? Isaw it through the mists just this morning,
twenty miles to the east. Whatland is it? I've no idea,
but whatever it is there will takerefuge. Yes, Ned, we'll
escape tonight, even if the seaswallows us up. The sea's rough,
the wind's blowing hard. But atwenty mile run in the Nautilus's nimble longboat
(06:12):
doesn't scare me. Unknown to thecrew, I've stowed some food and flasks
of water inside. I'm with you. What's more, the Canadian added,
if they catch me, I'll defendmyself. I'll fight to the death.
Then we'll die together, Ned,my friend, My mind was made up.
The Canadian left me. I wentout on the platform, where I
(06:35):
could barely stand upright against the joltsof the billows. The skies were threatening,
but Land lay inside those dense mists, and we had to escape.
Not a single day, or evena single hour could we afford to lose.
I returned to the lounge, dreadingyet desiring an encounter with Captain Nemo,
(06:55):
wanting yet not wanting to see him. What would I say to him?
How could I hide the involuntary horrorhe inspired in me? No,
it was best not to meet himface to face, best to try and
forget him. And yet how longthat day seemed the last I would spend
(07:17):
aboard the Nautilus. I was leftto myself. Ned Land and Conseil avoided
speaking to me, afraid they wouldgive themselves away. At six o'clock I
ate supper, but I had noappetite. Despite my revulsion, I forced
it down, wanting to keep mystrength up. At six thirty ned Land
(07:40):
entered my stateroom. He told mewe won't see each other again before we
go at ten o'clock the moon won'tbe up yet, we'll take advantage of
the darkness. Come to the skiff, Conseil, and I will be inside
waiting for you. The Canadian leftwithout giving me to answer him. I
(08:01):
wanted to verify the Nautilus's heading.I made my way to the lounge.
We were racing north northeast with frightfulspeed. Fifty meters down, I took
one last look at the natural wondersand artistic treasures amassed in the museum.
This unrivaled collection doomed to perish someday in the depths of the seas.
(08:22):
Together with its curator, I wantedto establish one supreme impression in my mind.
I stayed there an hour, baskingin the aura of the ceiling lights,
passing in review the treasures shining intheir glass cases. Then I returned
to my state room. There Idressed in sturdy, seafaring clothes. I
(08:45):
gathered my notes and packed them tenderlyabout my person. My heart was pounding
mightily. I couldn't curb its pulsations. My anxiety and agitation would certainly have
given me away if Captain Nemo hadseen me. What was he doing?
Just then? I listened at thedoor to his stateroom. I heard the
(09:05):
sound of footsteps. Captain Nemo wasinside. He hadn't gone to bed.
With his every movement, I imaginedhe would appear and ask me why I
wanted to escape. I felt ina perpetual state of alarm. My imagination
magnified this sensation. The feeling becameso acute I wondered whether it wouldn't be
(09:28):
better to enter the captain's stateroom,dare him face to face, brave it
out with word and deed. Itwas an insane idea. Fortunately, I
controlled myself and stretched out on thebed to soothe my bodily agitation. My
nerves calmed a little, but withmy brain so aroused, I did a
(09:50):
swift review of my whole existence aboardthe Nautilus, every pleasant or unpleasant incident
that had crossed my path since Iwent overboard from the Abraham Lincoln. The
underwater hunting trip, the Torres Strait, our running aground, the savages of
Papua, the Coral Cemetery, theSuez Passageway, the island of Santorini,
(10:16):
the Cretan Diver, the Bay ofVigo Atlantis, the Ice Bank, the
South Pole, our imprisonment in theice, the battle with the Devilfish,
the storm in the Gulf Stream,the Avenger, and that horrible scene of
the vessel sinking with its crew.All these events passed before my eyes like
(10:41):
backdrops unrolling up stage in a theater. In this strange setting, Captain Nemo
then grew fantastically. His features wereaccentuated, taking on superhuman proportions. He
was no longer my equal. Hewas the man of the waters, the
spirit of the seas. By thenit was nine thirty. I held my
(11:07):
head in both hands to keep itfrom bursting. I closed my eyes.
I no longer wanted to think.A half hour still to wait, a
half hour of nightmares that could driveme insane. Just then I heard indistinct
chords from the organ, melancholy harmoniesfrom some undefinable hymn, actual pleadings from
(11:33):
a soul trying to sever its earthlyties. I listened with all my senses
at once, barely breathing, immersedlike Captain Nemo in this musical trance that
was drawing him beyond the bounds ofthis world. Then a sudden thought terrified
me. Captain Nemo had left hisstateroom. He was in the same lounge
(11:56):
I had to cross in order toescape. There I would counter him one
last time. He would see me, perhaps speak to me. One gesture
from him could obliterate me a singleword, shackle me to his vessel.
Even so ten o'clock was about tostrike. It was time to leave my
stateroom and rejoin my companions. Idared not hesitate, even if Captain Nemo
(12:22):
stood before me. I opened thedoor cautiously, but as it swung on
its hinges, it seemed to makea frightful noise. This noise existed,
perhaps only in my imagination. Icrept forward through the Nautilus's dark gangways,
pausing after each step to curb thepounding of my heart. I arrived at
(12:45):
the corner door of the lounge.I opened it gently. The lounge was
plunged in profound darkness. Chords fromthe organ were reverberating faintly. Captain Nemo
was there. He didn't see me, even in broad daylight. I doubt
that he would have noticed me,so completely was he immerged in his trance.
(13:07):
I inched over the carpet, avoidingthe tiniest bump whose noise might give
me away. It took me fiveminutes to reach the door at the far
end, which led into the library. I was about to open it when
a gasp from Captain Nemo nailed meto the spot. I realized that he
was standing up. I even gota glimpse of him because some rays of
(13:28):
light from the library had filtered intothe lounge. He was coming toward me,
arms crossed, silent, not walking, but gliding like a ghost.
His chest was heaving, swelling withsobs, and I heard him murmur these
words, the last of his toreach my ears. Oh, Almighty God.
(13:52):
Enough enough was it a vow ofrepentance that had just escaped from this
man's conscience. Frantic, I rushedinto the library. I climbed the central
companionway, and going along the uppergangway, I arrived at the skiff.
(14:13):
I went through the opening that hadalready given access to my two companions.
Let's go, Let's go, Iexclaimed right away. The Canadian replied.
First ned Land closed and bolted theopening cut into the Nautilus's sheet iron,
using the monkey wrench he had withhim. After likewise closing the opening in
(14:35):
the skiff, the Canadian began tounscrew the nuts, still bolting us to
the underwater boat. Suddenly, anoise from the ship's interior became audible.
Voices were answering each other hurriedly.What was it? Had they spotted our
escape? I felt ned land slidinga dagger into my hand? Yes,
I muttered, we know how todie. The Canadian paused in his work,
(15:00):
But one word, twenty times repeated, one dreadful word, told me
the reason for the agitation spreading aboardthe Nautilus. We weren't the cause of
the crew's concern. Maelstrom, Maelstrom, they were shouting, the Maelstrom?
Could a more frightening name have rungin our ears? Under more frightening circumstances?
(15:24):
Were we lying in the dangerous waterwaysoff the Norwegian coast? Was the
Nautilus being dragged into this whirlpool?Just as the skiff was about to detach
from its plating. As you know, at the turn of the tide,
the waters confined between the Pharaoh andLow Photon Islands rush out with irresistible violence.
(15:46):
They form a vortex from which noship has ever been able to escape.
Monstrous waves raced together from every pointof the horizon, they form a
whirlpool, aptly called the ocean's navy, whose attracting power extends a distance of
fifteen kilometers. It can suck downnot only ships, but whales and even
(16:07):
polar bears from the northernmost regions.This was where the Nautilus had been sent
accidentally or perhaps deliberately by its captain. It was sweeping around in a spiral
whose radius kept growing smaller and smaller. The skiff, still attached to the
ship's plating, was likewise carried aroundat dizzying speed. I could feel us
(16:34):
whirling. I was experiencing that accompanyingnausea that follows such continuous spinning motions.
We were in dread, in thelast stages of sheer horror. Our blood
frozen in our veins, our nervesnumb, drenched in cold sweat, as
if from the throes of dying.And what a noise around our frail skiff.
(16:56):
What roars echoing from several miles away. What crashes from the water breaking
against sharp rocks on the seafloor,where the hardest objects are smashed, where
tree trunks are worn down and workedinto a shaggy fur, as Norwegians express
it. What a predicament we wererocking frightfully. The Nautilus defended itself like
(17:19):
a human being. Its steel muscleswere cracking. Sometimes it stood on end,
the three of us along with it. We've got to hold on tight,
ned said, and screw the nutsdown again. If we can stay
attached to the nautilus, we canstill make it. He hadn't finished speaking
when a cracking sound occurred. Thenuts gave way and ripped out of its
(17:42):
socket. The skiff was hurled likea stone from a sling into the midst
of the vortex. My head struckagainst an iron timber, and with this
violent shock I lost consciousness. Endof Chapter twenty two. Recording by Kevin Laverne
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