November 3, 2023 • 23 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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(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. Twenty thousand
Leagues under the Seas by Jules Verne, second part, Chapter sixteen, Shortage
(00:23):
of air. Consequently, above,below, and around the Nautilus, there
were impenetrable frozen walls. We werethe ice Bank's prisoners. The Canadian banged
a table with his fearsome fist.Conseil kept still. I stared at the
captain. His face had resumed itsusual emotionlessness. He crossed his arms.
(00:45):
He pondered. The nautilus did notstir. The captain then broke into speech.
Gentlemen, he said, in acalm voice, there are two ways
of dying under the conditions in whichwe are placed. This inexplicable individual acted
like a mathematics professor working out aproblem for his pupils. The first way,
(01:07):
he went on, is death bycrushing. The second is death by
asphyxiation. I don't mention the possibilityof death by starvation, because the Nautilus's
provisions will certainly last longer than wewill. Therefore, let's concentrate on our
chances of being crushed or asphyxiated.As for asphyxiation, Captain I replied,
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that isn't a cause for alarm,because the air tanks are full. True,
Captain Nemo went on, but they'llsupply air for only two days now.
Then we've been buried beneath the watersfor thirty six hours, and the
Nautilus's heavy atmosphere already needs renewing.In another forty eight hours, our reserve
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air will be used up. Well, then, Captain, let's free ourselves
within forty eight hours. We'll tryto, at least by cutting through one
of these walls surrounding us, whichone I asked borings will tell us that
I'm going to ground the Nautilus onthe lower shelf. Then my men will
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put on their diving suits and attackthe thinnest of these ice walls. Can
the panels in the lounge be leftopen without ill effect? We are no
longer in motion, Captain Nemo wentout, hissing sounds, soon told me
that water was being admitted into theballast tanks. The Nautilus slowly settled and
rested on the icy bottom at adepth of three hundred fifty meters, the
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depth at which the lower shelf ofice lay submerged. My friends, I
said, we are in a seriouspredicament, but I'm counting on your courage
and energy. Sir, the Canadianreplied, this is no time to bore
you with my complaints. I amready to do anything I can for the
common good. Excellent Ned, Isaid, extending my hand to the Canadian,
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I might add, he went onthat I'm as handy with a pick
as a harpoon. If I canbe helpful to the Captain, he can
use me any way he wants.He won't turn down your assistance. Come
along, Ned, I led theCanadian to the room where the Nautilus's men
were putting on their diving suits.I informed the Captain of Ned's proposition,
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which was promptly accepted. The Canadiangot into his underwater costume and was ready
as soon as his fellow workers.Each of them carried on his back a
requaieral device that the air tanks hadsupplied with a generous allowance of fresh oxygen,
a considerable but necessary drain on theNautilus's reserves. As for the rumcoorf
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lamps, they were unnecessary in themidst of these brilliant waters saturated with our
electric rays. After ned was dressed, I re entered the lounge, whose
windows had been uncovered. Stationed nextto conseil, I examined the strata surrounding
and supporting the Nautilus. Some momentslater we saw a dozen crewmen set foot
on the shelf of ice. Amongthem Ned Land, easily recognized by his
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tall figure. Captain Nemo was withthem. Before digging into the ice,
the Captain had to obtain borings toinsure working in the best direction. Long
bores were driven into the side walls, but after fifteen meters the instruments were
still impeded by the thickness of thosewalls. It was futile to attack the
ceilings since that surface was the icebank itself, more than four hundred meters
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high. Captain Nemo then bored intothe lower surface. There we were separated
from the sea by a ten meterbarrier. That's how thick the iceberg was.
From this point on, it wasan issue of cutting out a piece
equal in surface area to the Nautilus'swater line. This meant detaching about six
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thousand, five hundred cubic meters todig a hole through which the ship could
descend below this tract of ice.Work began immediately and was carried on with
tireless tenacity. Instead of digging allaround the Nautilus, which would have entailed
even greater difficulties, Captain Nemo hadan immense trench outlined on the ice eight
meters from our port quarter. Thenhis men simultaneously staked it off at several
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points around its circumference. Soon theirpicks were vigorously attacking this compact matter,
and huge chunks were loosened from itsmass. These chunks weighed less than the
water, and, by an unusualeffect of specific gravity, each chunk took
wing, as it were, tothe roof of the tunnel, which thickened
above by as much as it wasdiminished below. But this hardly mattered so
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long as the lower surface kept growingthinner. After two hours of energetic work,
ned Land re entered exhausted. Heand his companions were replaced by new
workmen, including Conseil and me.The Nautilus's chief officer supervised us. The
water struck me as unusually cold,but I warmed up promptly while wielding my
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pick. My movements were quite free, although they were executed under a pressure
of thirty atmospheres. After two hoursof work, re entering to snatch some
food and rest, I found anoticeable difference between the clean elastic fluid supplied
me by the roquaial device and thenautilus's atmosphere, which was already charged with
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carbon dioxide. The air hadn't beenrenewed in forty eight hours, and its
life giving qualities were considerably weakened.Meanwhile, after twelve hours had gone by,
we had removed from the outlined surfacearea a slice of ice only one
meter thick, hence about six hundredcubic meters. Assuming the same work would
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be accomplished every twelve hours, itwould still take five nights and four days
to see the undertaking through to completion. Five nights and four days, I
told my companions, and we haveoxygen in the air tanks for only two
days. Without taking into account nedend answered that once we're out of this
damned prison, we'll still be coopedup beneath the ice bank without any possible
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contact with the open air, anapt remark for who could predict the minimum
time we would need to free ourselvesbefore the Nautilus could return to the surface
of the waves. Couldn't we alldie of asphyxiation? Were this ship and
every one on board doomed to perishin this tomb of ice. It was
a dreadful state of affairs, butwe faced it head on, each one
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of us determined to do his dutyto the end. During the night,
in line with my forecasts, anew one meter slice was removed from this
immense socket. But in the morning, wearing my diving suit, I was
crossing through the liquid mass in atemperature of minus six degrees to minus seven
degrees centigrade when I noted that littleby little, the side walls were closing
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in on each other. The liquidstrata farthest from the trench, not warmed
by the movements of workmen and tools, were showing a tendency to slit.
In the face of this imminent newdanger, what would happen to our chances
for salvation? And how could weprevent this liquid medium from solidifying then cracking
the Nautilus's hull like glass. Ididn't tell my two companions about this new
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danger. There was no point indampening the energy they were putting into our
arduous rescue work. But when Ireturned on board, I mentioned this serious
complication to Captain Nemo. I knowhe told me, in that calm tone,
the most dreadful outlook. Couldn't change. It's one more danger, But
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I don't know any way of wardingit off. Our sole chance of salvation
is to work faster than the watersolidifies. We've got to get there first,
that's all, get there first.By then I should have been used
to this type of talk. Forseveral hours that day, I wielded my
pick doggedly. The work kept megoing. Besides working meant leaving the Nautilus,
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which meant breathing the clean oxygen drawnfrom the air tanks and supplied by
our equipment, which meant leaving thethin, foul air behind. Near evening,
one more meter had been dug fromthe trench. When I returned on
board, I was wellnigh asphyxiated bythe carbon dioxide saturating the air. Oh,
if only we had the chemical methodsthat would enable us to drive out
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this noxious gas. There was nolack of oxygen. All this water contained
a considerable amount, and after itwas decomposed by our powerful batteries, this
life giving elastic fluid could have beenrestored to us. I had thought it
all out, but to no avail, because the carbon dioxide produced by our
breathing permeated every part of the ship. To absorb it, we would need
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to fill containers with potassium hydroxide andshake them continually. But this substance was
missing on board, and nothing elsecould replace it. That evening, Captain
Nemo was forced to open the spigotsof his air tanks and shoot a few
spouse of fresh oxygen through the Nautilus'sinterior. Without this precaution, we wouldn't
have awakened the following morning. Thenext day, March twenty sixth, I
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returned to my miner's trade, workingto remove the fifth meter. The ice
bank's side walls and underbelly had visiblythickened. Obviously they would come together before
the Nautilus could break free. Foran instant I was gripped by despair,
my pick nearly slipped from my hands. What was the point of this digging
If I was to die smothered andcrushed by this water turning to stone,
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a torture undreamed of by even thewildest savages. I felt like I was
lying in the jaws of a fearsomemonster, jaws irresistibly closing, supervising our
work, working himself. Captain Nemopassed near me. Just then I touched
him with my hand and pointed tothe walls of our prison. The starboard
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wall had moved forward to a pointless than four meters from the nautilus's hull.
The captain understood and gave me asignal to follow him. We returned
on board, my diving suit removed. I went with him to the lounge
Professor Aronnax. He told me thiscalls for heroic measures, or we'll be
sealed up in this solidified water asif it were cement. Yes, I
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said, but what can we do? Oh? He exclaimed, If only
my Nautilus were strong enough to standthat much pressure without being crushed. Well,
I asked, not catching the Captain'smeaning. Don't you understand? He
went on that the congealing of thiswater could come to our rescue. Don't
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you see that by solidifying, itcould burst these tracts of ice imprisoning us,
just as its freezing can burst thehardest stones. Aren't you aware that
this force could be the instrument ofour salvation rather than our destruction. Yes,
Captain may be so. But whateverresistance the crushing the Nautilus may have,
it still couldn't stand such dreadful pressures, and it would be squashed as
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flat as a piece of sheet iron. I know it, sir. So
we can't rely on nature to rescueus, only our own efforts. We
must counteract this solidification. We musthold it in check. Not only are
the side walls closing in, butthere aren't ten feet of water ahead or
astern of the Nautilus. All aroundus, this freeze is gaining fast.
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How long I asked, will theoxygen in the air tanks enable us to
breathe on board? The captain lookedme straight in the eye. After tomorrow,
he said, the air tanks willbe empty. I broke out in
a cold sweat. But why shouldI have been startled by this reply?
On March twenty second, the Nautilushad dived under the open waters at the
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Pole. It was now the twentysixth. We had lived off the ship's
stores for five days, and allremaining breathable air had to be saved for
the workmen. Even to day,as I write these lines, my sensations
are so intense that an involuntary terrorsweeps over me, and my lungs still
seem short of air. Meanwhile,motionless and silent, Captain Nemo stood lost
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in thought. An idea visibly crossedhis mind, but he seemed to brush
it aside. He told himself.No. At last, these words escaped
his lips. Boiling water, hemuttered, boiling water. I exclaimed,
yes, sir, we're shut upin a relatively confined area. If the
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Nautilus's pumps continually injected streams of boilingwater into this space, wouldn't that raise
its temperature and delay its freezing.It's worth trying, I said, resolutely,
So let's try it, professor.By then the thermometer gave minus seven
degrees centigrade. Outside. Captain Nemoled me to the valley, where a
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huge distilling mechanism was at work,supplying drinking water via evaporation. The mechanism
was loaded with water and the fullelectric heat of our batteries was thrown into
coils a wash in liquid. Ina few minutes, the water reached one
hundred degrees centigrade. It was sentto the pumps while new water replaced it
in the process. The heat generatedby our batteries was so intense that after
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simply going through the mechanism, waterdrawn cold from the sea arrived boiling hot
at the body of the pump.The steaming water was injected into the icy
water outside, and after three hourshad passed, the thermometer gave the exterior
temperature as minus six degrees centigrade.That was one degree gained. Two hours
later, the thermometer gave only minusfour degrees. After I monitored the operation's
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progress, double checking it with manyinspections, I told the captain it's working.
I think so, he answered me. We've escaped being crushed. Now
we have only asphyxiation to fear.During the night, the water temperature rose
to minus one degrees centigrade. Theinjections couldn't get it to go a single
degree higher, but since salt waterfreezes only at minus two degrees, I
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was finally assured that there was nodanger of its solidifying. By the next
day, March twenty seventh, sixmeters of ice had been torn from the
socket, only four meters were leftto be removed. That still meant forty
eight hours of work. The aircouldn't be renewed in the Nautilus's interior.
Accordingly, that day it kept gettingworse. An unbearable heaviness weighed me down
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near three o'clock in the afternoon.This agonizing sensation affected me to an intense
degree. Yawns dislocated my jaws.My lungs were gasping in their quest for
that enkindling elastic fluid required for breathing. Now growing scarcer and scarcer, my
mind was in a day. Ilay outstretched strength, gone nearly unconscious.
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My gallant Conseil felt the same symptoms, suffered the same sufferings, yet never
left my side. He held myhand, he kept encouraging me, and
I even heard him mutter, Oh, if only I didn't have to breathe,
to leave more air for master.It brought tears to my eyes to
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hear him say these words. Sinceconditions inside were universally unbearable, how eagerly,
how happily we put on our divingsuits to take turns. Working picks
rang out on that bed of ice. Arms grew weary, hands were rubbed
raw. But who cared about exhaustion? What difference were wounds? Life's sustaining
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air reached our lungs. We couldbreathe, We could breathe, And yet
nobody prolonged his underwater work beyond thetime allotted him. His shift over.
Each man surrendered to a gasping companionthe air tank that would revive him.
Captain Nemo set the example and wasforemost in submitting to this strict discipline.
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When his time was up, heyielded his equipment to another and re entered
the foul air on board, alwayscalm, unflinching, and uncomplaining. That
day, the usual work was accomplishedwith even greater energy. Over the whole
surface area, only two meters wereleft to be removed. Only two meters
separated us from the open sea,but the ship's air tanks were nearly empty.
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The little air that remained had tobe saved for the workmen, not
an atom for the Nautilus. WhenI returned on board, I felt half
suffocated. What a night, I'munable to depict it. Such sufferings are
indescribable. The next day I wasshort winded, headaches and staggering fits of
dizziness made me reel like a drunk. My companions were experiencing the same symptoms.
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Some crewmen were at their last gasp. That day, the sixth of
our imprisonment, Captain Nemo concluded thatpicks and mattocks were too slow to deal
with the ice layer still separating usfrom open water, and he decided to
crush this layer. The man hadkept his energy and composure. He had
subdued physical pain with moral strength.He could still think, plan and act
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at his orders. The craft waseased off. In other words, it
was raised from its icy bed bya change in its specific gravity. When
it was afloat, the crew towedit, leading it right above the immense
trench outlined to match the ship's waterline. Next, the ballast tanks filled
with water. The boat sank andwas fitted into its socket. Just then
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the whole crew returned on board,and the double outside door was closed.
By this point, the Nautilus wasresting on a bed of ice only one
meter thick and drilled by boars ina thousand places. The stopcocks of the
ballast tanks were then opened wide,and one hundred cubic meters of water rushed
in, increasing the Nautilus's weight byone hundred thousand kilograms. We waited.
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We listened. We forgot our sufferings. We hoped once more we had staked
our salvation on this one last gambol. Despite the buzzing in my head,
I soon could hear vibrations under theNautilus's hull. We tilted. The ice
cracked with an odd ripping sound,like paper tearing, and the Nautilus began
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settling downward. We are going through, Conseil muttered in my ear. I
couldn't answer him. I clutched hishand, I squeezed it in an involuntary
convulsion. All at once carried awayby its frightful excess load, the Nautilus
sank into the waters like a cannonball, in other words, words,
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dropping as if in a vacuum.Our full electric power was then put on
the pumps, which instantly began toexpel water from the ballast tanks. After
a few minutes we had checked ourfall. The pressure gage soon indicated an
ascending movement. Brought to full speed, the propeller made the sheet iron hull
tremble down to its rivets, andwe sped northward. But how long would
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it take to navigate under the icebank to the open sea? Another day
I would be dead first half,lying on a couch in the library,
I was suffocating. My face waspurple, my lips blue, my faculties
in abeyance. I could no longersee or hear. I had lost all
sense of time. My muscles hadno power to contract. I'm unable to
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estimate the hours that passed in thisway, but I was aware that my
death throes had begun. I realizedthat I was about to die. Suddenly
I regained consciousness. A few whiffsof air had entered my lungs. Had
we risen to the surface of thewaves, had we cleared the ice bank?
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No Ned and Conseil, my twogallant friends, were sacrificing themselves to
save me. A few atoms ofair were still left in the depths of
one Roquarel device. Instead of breathingit themselves, they had saved it for
me, and while they were suffocating, they poured life into me drop by
drop. I tried to push thedevice away. They held my hands,
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and for a few moments I couldbreathe luxuriously. My eyes flew toward the
clock. It was eleven in themorning. It had to be March twenty
eighth. The Nautilus was traveling atthe frightful speed of forty miles per hour.
It was writhing in the waters.Where was Captain Nemo. Had he
perished, had his companions died withhim? Just then the pressure gage indicated
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that we were no more than twentyfeet from the surface. Separating us from
the open air was a mere tractof ice. Could we break through it?
Perhaps? In any event, theNautilus was going to try. In
fact, I could feel it assumingan oblique position, lowering its stern and
raising its spur. The admission ofadditional water was enough to shift its balance.
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Then, driven by its powerful propeller, it attacked this ice field from
below like a fearsome battering ram.It split the barrier little by little,
backing up, then putting on fullspeed against the punctured tract of ice,
and finally carried away by its suprememomentum, it lunged through and on to
this frozen surface, crushing the icebeneath its weight. The hatches were opened
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or torn off, if you prefer, and waves of clean air were admitted
into every part of the Nautilus.End of Chapter sixteen, recorded by Eric
Denison, April twenty sixth two thousandsix, Gardner Massachusetts,
This is a LibriVox recording. AllLibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer,please visit LibriVox dot org. Twenty thousand
Leagues under the Seas by Jules Verne, second part, Chapter sixteen, Shortage
(00:23):
of air. Consequently, above,below, and around the Nautilus, there
were impenetrable frozen walls. We werethe ice Bank's prisoners. The Canadian banged
a table with his fearsome fist.Conseil kept still. I stared at the
captain. His face had resumed itsusual emotionlessness. He crossed his arms.
(00:45):
He pondered. The nautilus did notstir. The captain then broke into speech.
Gentlemen, he said, in acalm voice, there are two ways
of dying under the conditions in whichwe are placed. This inexplicable individual acted
like a mathematics professor working out aproblem for his pupils. The first way,
(01:07):
he went on, is death bycrushing. The second is death by
asphyxiation. I don't mention the possibilityof death by starvation, because the Nautilus's
provisions will certainly last longer than wewill. Therefore, let's concentrate on our
chances of being crushed or asphyxiated.As for asphyxiation, Captain I replied,
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that isn't a cause for alarm,because the air tanks are full. True,
Captain Nemo went on, but they'llsupply air for only two days now.
Then we've been buried beneath the watersfor thirty six hours, and the
Nautilus's heavy atmosphere already needs renewing.In another forty eight hours, our reserve
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air will be used up. Well, then, Captain, let's free ourselves
within forty eight hours. We'll tryto, at least by cutting through one
of these walls surrounding us, whichone I asked borings will tell us that
I'm going to ground the Nautilus onthe lower shelf. Then my men will
(02:12):
put on their diving suits and attackthe thinnest of these ice walls. Can
the panels in the lounge be leftopen without ill effect? We are no
longer in motion, Captain Nemo wentout, hissing sounds, soon told me
that water was being admitted into theballast tanks. The Nautilus slowly settled and
rested on the icy bottom at adepth of three hundred fifty meters, the
(02:36):
depth at which the lower shelf ofice lay submerged. My friends, I
said, we are in a seriouspredicament, but I'm counting on your courage
and energy. Sir, the Canadianreplied, this is no time to bore
you with my complaints. I amready to do anything I can for the
common good. Excellent Ned, Isaid, extending my hand to the Canadian,
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I might add, he went onthat I'm as handy with a pick
as a harpoon. If I canbe helpful to the Captain, he can
use me any way he wants.He won't turn down your assistance. Come
along, Ned, I led theCanadian to the room where the Nautilus's men
were putting on their diving suits.I informed the Captain of Ned's proposition,
(03:23):
which was promptly accepted. The Canadiangot into his underwater costume and was ready
as soon as his fellow workers.Each of them carried on his back a
requaieral device that the air tanks hadsupplied with a generous allowance of fresh oxygen,
a considerable but necessary drain on theNautilus's reserves. As for the rumcoorf
(03:43):
lamps, they were unnecessary in themidst of these brilliant waters saturated with our
electric rays. After ned was dressed, I re entered the lounge, whose
windows had been uncovered. Stationed nextto conseil, I examined the strata surrounding
and supporting the Nautilus. Some momentslater we saw a dozen crewmen set foot
on the shelf of ice. Amongthem Ned Land, easily recognized by his
(04:09):
tall figure. Captain Nemo was withthem. Before digging into the ice,
the Captain had to obtain borings toinsure working in the best direction. Long
bores were driven into the side walls, but after fifteen meters the instruments were
still impeded by the thickness of thosewalls. It was futile to attack the
ceilings since that surface was the icebank itself, more than four hundred meters
(04:33):
high. Captain Nemo then bored intothe lower surface. There we were separated
from the sea by a ten meterbarrier. That's how thick the iceberg was.
From this point on, it wasan issue of cutting out a piece
equal in surface area to the Nautilus'swater line. This meant detaching about six
(04:53):
thousand, five hundred cubic meters todig a hole through which the ship could
descend below this tract of ice.Work began immediately and was carried on with
tireless tenacity. Instead of digging allaround the Nautilus, which would have entailed
even greater difficulties, Captain Nemo hadan immense trench outlined on the ice eight
meters from our port quarter. Thenhis men simultaneously staked it off at several
(05:16):
points around its circumference. Soon theirpicks were vigorously attacking this compact matter,
and huge chunks were loosened from itsmass. These chunks weighed less than the
water, and, by an unusualeffect of specific gravity, each chunk took
wing, as it were, tothe roof of the tunnel, which thickened
above by as much as it wasdiminished below. But this hardly mattered so
(05:41):
long as the lower surface kept growingthinner. After two hours of energetic work,
ned Land re entered exhausted. Heand his companions were replaced by new
workmen, including Conseil and me.The Nautilus's chief officer supervised us. The
water struck me as unusually cold,but I warmed up promptly while wielding my
(06:01):
pick. My movements were quite free, although they were executed under a pressure
of thirty atmospheres. After two hoursof work, re entering to snatch some
food and rest, I found anoticeable difference between the clean elastic fluid supplied
me by the roquaial device and thenautilus's atmosphere, which was already charged with
(06:21):
carbon dioxide. The air hadn't beenrenewed in forty eight hours, and its
life giving qualities were considerably weakened.Meanwhile, after twelve hours had gone by,
we had removed from the outlined surfacearea a slice of ice only one
meter thick, hence about six hundredcubic meters. Assuming the same work would
(06:42):
be accomplished every twelve hours, itwould still take five nights and four days
to see the undertaking through to completion. Five nights and four days, I
told my companions, and we haveoxygen in the air tanks for only two
days. Without taking into account nedend answered that once we're out of this
damned prison, we'll still be coopedup beneath the ice bank without any possible
(07:05):
contact with the open air, anapt remark for who could predict the minimum
time we would need to free ourselvesbefore the Nautilus could return to the surface
of the waves. Couldn't we alldie of asphyxiation? Were this ship and
every one on board doomed to perishin this tomb of ice. It was
a dreadful state of affairs, butwe faced it head on, each one
(07:29):
of us determined to do his dutyto the end. During the night,
in line with my forecasts, anew one meter slice was removed from this
immense socket. But in the morning, wearing my diving suit, I was
crossing through the liquid mass in atemperature of minus six degrees to minus seven
degrees centigrade when I noted that littleby little, the side walls were closing
(07:50):
in on each other. The liquidstrata farthest from the trench, not warmed
by the movements of workmen and tools, were showing a tendency to slit.
In the face of this imminent newdanger, what would happen to our chances
for salvation? And how could weprevent this liquid medium from solidifying then cracking
the Nautilus's hull like glass. Ididn't tell my two companions about this new
(08:15):
danger. There was no point indampening the energy they were putting into our
arduous rescue work. But when Ireturned on board, I mentioned this serious
complication to Captain Nemo. I knowhe told me, in that calm tone,
the most dreadful outlook. Couldn't change. It's one more danger, But
(08:35):
I don't know any way of wardingit off. Our sole chance of salvation
is to work faster than the watersolidifies. We've got to get there first,
that's all, get there first.By then I should have been used
to this type of talk. Forseveral hours that day, I wielded my
pick doggedly. The work kept megoing. Besides working meant leaving the Nautilus,
(09:00):
which meant breathing the clean oxygen drawnfrom the air tanks and supplied by
our equipment, which meant leaving thethin, foul air behind. Near evening,
one more meter had been dug fromthe trench. When I returned on
board, I was wellnigh asphyxiated bythe carbon dioxide saturating the air. Oh,
if only we had the chemical methodsthat would enable us to drive out
(09:22):
this noxious gas. There was nolack of oxygen. All this water contained
a considerable amount, and after itwas decomposed by our powerful batteries, this
life giving elastic fluid could have beenrestored to us. I had thought it
all out, but to no avail, because the carbon dioxide produced by our
breathing permeated every part of the ship. To absorb it, we would need
(09:45):
to fill containers with potassium hydroxide andshake them continually. But this substance was
missing on board, and nothing elsecould replace it. That evening, Captain
Nemo was forced to open the spigotsof his air tanks and shoot a few
spouse of fresh oxygen through the Nautilus'sinterior. Without this precaution, we wouldn't
have awakened the following morning. Thenext day, March twenty sixth, I
(10:09):
returned to my miner's trade, workingto remove the fifth meter. The ice
bank's side walls and underbelly had visiblythickened. Obviously they would come together before
the Nautilus could break free. Foran instant I was gripped by despair,
my pick nearly slipped from my hands. What was the point of this digging
If I was to die smothered andcrushed by this water turning to stone,
(10:33):
a torture undreamed of by even thewildest savages. I felt like I was
lying in the jaws of a fearsomemonster, jaws irresistibly closing, supervising our
work, working himself. Captain Nemopassed near me. Just then I touched
him with my hand and pointed tothe walls of our prison. The starboard
(10:54):
wall had moved forward to a pointless than four meters from the nautilus's hull.
The captain understood and gave me asignal to follow him. We returned
on board, my diving suit removed. I went with him to the lounge
Professor Aronnax. He told me thiscalls for heroic measures, or we'll be
sealed up in this solidified water asif it were cement. Yes, I
(11:18):
said, but what can we do? Oh? He exclaimed, If only
my Nautilus were strong enough to standthat much pressure without being crushed. Well,
I asked, not catching the Captain'smeaning. Don't you understand? He
went on that the congealing of thiswater could come to our rescue. Don't
(11:41):
you see that by solidifying, itcould burst these tracts of ice imprisoning us,
just as its freezing can burst thehardest stones. Aren't you aware that
this force could be the instrument ofour salvation rather than our destruction. Yes,
Captain may be so. But whateverresistance the crushing the Nautilus may have,
it still couldn't stand such dreadful pressures, and it would be squashed as
(12:05):
flat as a piece of sheet iron. I know it, sir. So
we can't rely on nature to rescueus, only our own efforts. We
must counteract this solidification. We musthold it in check. Not only are
the side walls closing in, butthere aren't ten feet of water ahead or
astern of the Nautilus. All aroundus, this freeze is gaining fast.
(12:30):
How long I asked, will theoxygen in the air tanks enable us to
breathe on board? The captain lookedme straight in the eye. After tomorrow,
he said, the air tanks willbe empty. I broke out in
a cold sweat. But why shouldI have been startled by this reply?
On March twenty second, the Nautilushad dived under the open waters at the
(12:52):
Pole. It was now the twentysixth. We had lived off the ship's
stores for five days, and allremaining breathable air had to be saved for
the workmen. Even to day,as I write these lines, my sensations
are so intense that an involuntary terrorsweeps over me, and my lungs still
seem short of air. Meanwhile,motionless and silent, Captain Nemo stood lost
(13:16):
in thought. An idea visibly crossedhis mind, but he seemed to brush
it aside. He told himself.No. At last, these words escaped
his lips. Boiling water, hemuttered, boiling water. I exclaimed,
yes, sir, we're shut upin a relatively confined area. If the
(13:39):
Nautilus's pumps continually injected streams of boilingwater into this space, wouldn't that raise
its temperature and delay its freezing.It's worth trying, I said, resolutely,
So let's try it, professor.By then the thermometer gave minus seven
degrees centigrade. Outside. Captain Nemoled me to the valley, where a
(14:00):
huge distilling mechanism was at work,supplying drinking water via evaporation. The mechanism
was loaded with water and the fullelectric heat of our batteries was thrown into
coils a wash in liquid. Ina few minutes, the water reached one
hundred degrees centigrade. It was sentto the pumps while new water replaced it
in the process. The heat generatedby our batteries was so intense that after
(14:24):
simply going through the mechanism, waterdrawn cold from the sea arrived boiling hot
at the body of the pump.The steaming water was injected into the icy
water outside, and after three hourshad passed, the thermometer gave the exterior
temperature as minus six degrees centigrade.That was one degree gained. Two hours
later, the thermometer gave only minusfour degrees. After I monitored the operation's
(14:50):
progress, double checking it with manyinspections, I told the captain it's working.
I think so, he answered me. We've escaped being crushed. Now
we have only asphyxiation to fear.During the night, the water temperature rose
to minus one degrees centigrade. Theinjections couldn't get it to go a single
degree higher, but since salt waterfreezes only at minus two degrees, I
(15:16):
was finally assured that there was nodanger of its solidifying. By the next
day, March twenty seventh, sixmeters of ice had been torn from the
socket, only four meters were leftto be removed. That still meant forty
eight hours of work. The aircouldn't be renewed in the Nautilus's interior.
Accordingly, that day it kept gettingworse. An unbearable heaviness weighed me down
(15:41):
near three o'clock in the afternoon.This agonizing sensation affected me to an intense
degree. Yawns dislocated my jaws.My lungs were gasping in their quest for
that enkindling elastic fluid required for breathing. Now growing scarcer and scarcer, my
mind was in a day. Ilay outstretched strength, gone nearly unconscious.
(16:04):
My gallant Conseil felt the same symptoms, suffered the same sufferings, yet never
left my side. He held myhand, he kept encouraging me, and
I even heard him mutter, Oh, if only I didn't have to breathe,
to leave more air for master.It brought tears to my eyes to
(16:26):
hear him say these words. Sinceconditions inside were universally unbearable, how eagerly,
how happily we put on our divingsuits to take turns. Working picks
rang out on that bed of ice. Arms grew weary, hands were rubbed
raw. But who cared about exhaustion? What difference were wounds? Life's sustaining
(16:48):
air reached our lungs. We couldbreathe, We could breathe, And yet
nobody prolonged his underwater work beyond thetime allotted him. His shift over.
Each man surrendered to a gasping companionthe air tank that would revive him.
Captain Nemo set the example and wasforemost in submitting to this strict discipline.
(17:10):
When his time was up, heyielded his equipment to another and re entered
the foul air on board, alwayscalm, unflinching, and uncomplaining. That
day, the usual work was accomplishedwith even greater energy. Over the whole
surface area, only two meters wereleft to be removed. Only two meters
separated us from the open sea,but the ship's air tanks were nearly empty.
(17:36):
The little air that remained had tobe saved for the workmen, not
an atom for the Nautilus. WhenI returned on board, I felt half
suffocated. What a night, I'munable to depict it. Such sufferings are
indescribable. The next day I wasshort winded, headaches and staggering fits of
dizziness made me reel like a drunk. My companions were experiencing the same symptoms.
(18:03):
Some crewmen were at their last gasp. That day, the sixth of
our imprisonment, Captain Nemo concluded thatpicks and mattocks were too slow to deal
with the ice layer still separating usfrom open water, and he decided to
crush this layer. The man hadkept his energy and composure. He had
subdued physical pain with moral strength.He could still think, plan and act
(18:29):
at his orders. The craft waseased off. In other words, it
was raised from its icy bed bya change in its specific gravity. When
it was afloat, the crew towedit, leading it right above the immense
trench outlined to match the ship's waterline. Next, the ballast tanks filled
with water. The boat sank andwas fitted into its socket. Just then
(18:52):
the whole crew returned on board,and the double outside door was closed.
By this point, the Nautilus wasresting on a bed of ice only one
meter thick and drilled by boars ina thousand places. The stopcocks of the
ballast tanks were then opened wide,and one hundred cubic meters of water rushed
in, increasing the Nautilus's weight byone hundred thousand kilograms. We waited.
(19:17):
We listened. We forgot our sufferings. We hoped once more we had staked
our salvation on this one last gambol. Despite the buzzing in my head,
I soon could hear vibrations under theNautilus's hull. We tilted. The ice
cracked with an odd ripping sound,like paper tearing, and the Nautilus began
(19:37):
settling downward. We are going through, Conseil muttered in my ear. I
couldn't answer him. I clutched hishand, I squeezed it in an involuntary
convulsion. All at once carried awayby its frightful excess load, the Nautilus
sank into the waters like a cannonball, in other words, words,
(20:00):
dropping as if in a vacuum.Our full electric power was then put on
the pumps, which instantly began toexpel water from the ballast tanks. After
a few minutes we had checked ourfall. The pressure gage soon indicated an
ascending movement. Brought to full speed, the propeller made the sheet iron hull
tremble down to its rivets, andwe sped northward. But how long would
(20:25):
it take to navigate under the icebank to the open sea? Another day
I would be dead first half,lying on a couch in the library,
I was suffocating. My face waspurple, my lips blue, my faculties
in abeyance. I could no longersee or hear. I had lost all
sense of time. My muscles hadno power to contract. I'm unable to
(20:49):
estimate the hours that passed in thisway, but I was aware that my
death throes had begun. I realizedthat I was about to die. Suddenly
I regained consciousness. A few whiffsof air had entered my lungs. Had
we risen to the surface of thewaves, had we cleared the ice bank?
(21:10):
No Ned and Conseil, my twogallant friends, were sacrificing themselves to
save me. A few atoms ofair were still left in the depths of
one Roquarel device. Instead of breathingit themselves, they had saved it for
me, and while they were suffocating, they poured life into me drop by
drop. I tried to push thedevice away. They held my hands,
(21:33):
and for a few moments I couldbreathe luxuriously. My eyes flew toward the
clock. It was eleven in themorning. It had to be March twenty
eighth. The Nautilus was traveling atthe frightful speed of forty miles per hour.
It was writhing in the waters.Where was Captain Nemo. Had he
perished, had his companions died withhim? Just then the pressure gage indicated
(21:57):
that we were no more than twentyfeet from the surface. Separating us from
the open air was a mere tractof ice. Could we break through it?
Perhaps? In any event, theNautilus was going to try. In
fact, I could feel it assumingan oblique position, lowering its stern and
raising its spur. The admission ofadditional water was enough to shift its balance.
(22:21):
Then, driven by its powerful propeller, it attacked this ice field from
below like a fearsome battering ram.It split the barrier little by little,
backing up, then putting on fullspeed against the punctured tract of ice,
and finally carried away by its suprememomentum, it lunged through and on to
this frozen surface, crushing the icebeneath its weight. The hatches were opened
(22:45):
or torn off, if you prefer, and waves of clean air were admitted
into every part of the Nautilus.End of Chapter sixteen, recorded by Eric
Denison, April twenty sixth two thousandsix, Gardner Massachusetts,
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