displeasure of Master Land, who could not complete his provisions.
This adroit Canadian employed his time in preparing the viands and meat
that he had brought off the island. As for the savages, they returned
to the shore about eleven o'clock in the morning, as soon as the coral
tops began to disappear under the rising tide; but I saw their numbers
had increased considerably on the shore. Probably they came from the
neighbouring islands, or very likely from Papua. However, I had not
seen a single native canoe. Having nothing better to do, I thought of
dragging these beautiful limpid waters, under which I saw a profusion
of shells, zoophytes, and marine plants. Moreover, it was the last day
that the Nautilus would pass in these parts, if it float in open sea
the next day, according to Captain Nemo's promise.
I therefore called Conseil, who brought me a little light drag, very
like those for the oyster fishery. Now to work! For two hours we
fished unceasingly, but without bringing up any rarities.  We also brought up some sea-slugs,
pearl-oysters, and a dozen little turtles that were reserved for the
pantry on board.
But just when I expected it least, I put my hand on a wonder, I might
say a natural deformity, very rarely met with.
"What is the matter, sir?" he asked in surprise. "Has master been
bitten?"
"No, my boy; but I would willingly have given a finger for my
discovery."
"What discovery?"
"This shell," I said, holding up the object of my triumph.
"It is simply an olive porphyry, genus olive, order of the
pectinibranchidae, class of gasteropods, sub-class mollusca."
"Yes, Conseil; but, instead of being rolled from right to left, this
olive turns from left to right."
"Is it possible?"
"Yes, my boy; it is a left shell."
Shells are all right-handed, with rare exceptions; and, when by chance
their spiral is left, amateurs are ready to pay their weight in gold.
Conseil and I were absorbed in the contemplation of our treasure, and I
was promising myself to enrich the museum with it, when a stone
unfortunately thrown by a native struck against, and broke, the
precious object in Conseil's hand. I uttered a cry of despair!
Conseil took up his gun, and aimed at a savage who was poising his
sling at ten yards from him. I would have stopped him, but his blow
took effect and broke the bracelet of amulets which encircled the arm
of the savage.
"Conseil!" cried I. "Conseil!"
"Well, sir! do you not see that the cannibal has commenced the attack?"
"A shell is not worth the life of a man," said I.
"Ah! the scoundrel!" cried Conseil; "I would rather he had broken my
shoulder!"
Conseil was in earnest, but I was not of his opinion. However, the
situation had changed some minutes before, and we had not perceived. A
score of canoes surrounded the Nautilus. These canoes, scooped out of
the trunk of a tree, long, narrow, well adapted for speed, were
balanced by means of a long bamboo pole, which floated on the water.
They were managed by skilful, half-naked paddlers, and I watched their
advance with some uneasiness. It was evident that these Papuans had
already had dealings with the Europeans and knew their ships. But this
long iron cylinder anchored in the bay, without masts or chimneys, what
could they think of it? Nothing good, for at first they kept at a
respectful distance. However, seeing it motionless, by degrees they
took courage, and sought to familiarise themselves with it. Now this
familiarity was precisely what it was necessary to avoid. Our arms,
which were noiseless, could only produce a moderate effect on the
savages, who have little respect for aught but blustering things. The
thunderbolt without the reverberations of thunder would frighten man
but little, though the danger lies in the lightning, not in the noise.
At this moment the canoes approached the Nautilus, and a shower of
arrows alighted on her.
I went down to the saloon, but found no one there. I ventured to knock
at the door that opened into the Captain's room. "Come in," was the
answer.
I entered, and found Captain Nemo deep in algebraical calculations of
_x_ and other quantities.
"I am disturbing you," said I, for courtesy's sake.
"That is true, M. Aronnax," replied the Captain; "but I think you have
serious reasons for wishing to see me?"
"Very grave ones; the natives are surrounding us in their canoes, and
in a few minutes we shall certainly be attacked by many hundreds of
savages."
"Ah!" said Captain Nemo quietly, "they are come with their canoes?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, sir, we must close the hatches."
"Exactly, and I came to say to you----"
"Nothing can be more simple," said Captain Nemo. And, pressing an
electric button, he transmitted an order to the ship's crew.
"It is all done, sir," said he, after some moments. "The pinnace is
ready, and the hatches are closed. You do not fear, I imagine, that
these gentlemen could stave in walls on which the balls of your frigate
have had no effect?"
"No, Captain; but a danger still exists."
"What is that, sir?"
"It is that to-morrow, at about this hour, we must open the hatches to
renew the air of the Nautilus. Now, if, at this moment, the Papuans
should occupy the platform, I do not see how you could prevent them
from entering."
"Then, sir, you suppose that they will board us?"
"I am certain of it."
"Well, sir, let them come. I see no reason for hindering them. After
all, these Papuans are poor creatures, and I am unwilling that my visit
to the island should cost the life of a single one of these wretches."
Upon that I was going away; But Captain Nemo detained me, and asked me
to sit down by him. He questioned me with interest about our
excursions on shore, and our hunting; and seemed not to understand the
craving for meat that possessed the Canadian. Then the conversation
turned on various subjects, and, without being more communicative,
Captain Nemo showed himself more amiable.
Amongst other things, we happened to speak of the situation of the
Nautilus, run aground in exactly the same spot in this strait where
Dumont d'Urville was nearly lost. Apropos of this:
"This D'Urville was one of your great sailors," said the Captain to me,
"one of your most intelligent navigators. He is the Captain Cook of
you Frenchmen. Unfortunate man of science, after having braved the
icebergs of the South Pole, the coral reefs of Oceania, the cannibals
of the Pacific, to perish miserably in a railway train! If this
energetic man could have reflected during the last moments of his life,
what must have been uppermost in his last thoughts, do you suppose?"
So speaking, Captain Nemo seemed moved, and his emotion gave me a
better opinion of him. Then, chart in hand, we reviewed the travels of
the French navigator, his voyages of circumnavigation, his double
detention at the South Pole, which led to the discovery of Adelaide and
Louis Philippe, and fixing the hydrographical bearings of the principal
islands of Oceania.
"That which your D'Urville has done on the surface of the seas," said
Captain Nemo, "that have I done under them, and more easily, more
completely than he. The Astrolabe and the Zelee, incessantly tossed
about by the hurricane, could not be worth the Nautilus, quiet
repository of labour that she is, truly motionless in the midst of the
waters.
"To-morrow," added the Captain, rising, "to-morrow, at twenty minutes
to three p.m., the Nautilus shall float, and leave the Strait of Torres
uninjured."
Having curtly pronounced these words, Captain Nemo bowed slightly.
This was to dismiss me, and I went back to my room.
There I found Conseil, who wished to know the result of my interview
with the Captain.
"My boy," said I, "when I feigned to believe that his Nautilus was
threatened by the natives of Papua, the Captain answered me very
sarcastically. I have but one thing to say to you: Have confidence in
him, and go to sleep in peace."
"Have you no need of my services, sir?"
"No, my friend. What is Ned Land doing?"
"If you will excuse me, sir," answered Conseil, "friend Ned is busy
making a kangaroo-pie which will be a marvel."
I remained alone and went to bed, but slept indifferently. I heard the
noise of the savages, who stamped on the platform, uttering deafening
cries. The night passed thus, without disturbing the ordinary repose
of the crew. The presence of these cannibals affected them no more
than the soldiers of a masked battery care for the ants that crawl over
its front.
At six in the morning I rose. The hatches had not been opened. The
inner air was not renewed, but the reservoirs, filled ready for any
emergency, were now resorted to, and discharged several cubic feet of
oxygen into the exhausted atmosphere of the Nautilus.
I worked in my room till noon, without having seen Captain Nemo, even
for an instant. On board no preparations for departure were visible.
I waited still some time, then went into the large saloon. The clock
marked half-past two. In ten minutes it would be high-tide: and, if
Captain Nemo had not made a rash promise, the Nautilus would be
immediately detached. If not, many months would pass ere she could
leave her bed of coral.
However, some warning vibrations began to be felt in the vessel. I
heard the keel grating against the rough calcareous bottom of the coral
reef.
At five-and-twenty minutes to three, Captain Nemo appeared in the
saloon.
"We are going to start," said he.
"Ah!" replied I.
"I have given the order to open the hatches."
"And the Papuans?"
"The Papuans?" answered Captain Nemo, slightly shrugging his shoulders.
"Will they not come inside the Nautilus?"
"How?"
"Only by leaping over the hatches you have opened."
"M. Aronnax," quietly answered Captain Nemo, "they will not enter the
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hatches of the Nautilus in that way, even if they were open."
I looked at the Captain.
"You do not understand?" said he.
"Hardly."
"Well, come and you will see."
I directed my steps towards the central staircase. There Ned Land and
Conseil were slyly watching some of the ship's crew, who were opening
the hatches, while cries of rage and fearful vociferations resounded
outside.
The port lids were pulled down outside. Twenty horrible faces
appeared. But the first native who placed his hand on the stair-rail,
struck from behind by some invisible force, I know not what, fled,
uttering the most fearful cries and making the wildest contortions.
Ten of his companions followed him. They met with the same fate.
Conseil was in ecstasy. Ned Land, carried away by his violent
instincts, rushed on to the staircase. But the moment he seized the
rail with both hands, he, in his turn, was overthrown.
"I am struck by a thunderbolt," cried he, with an oath.
This explained all. It was no rail; but a metallic cable charged with
electricity from the deck communicating with the platform. Whoever
touched it felt a powerful shock--and this shock would have been mortal
if Captain Nemo had discharged into the conductor the whole force of
the current. It might truly be said that between his assailants and
himself he had stretched a network of electricity which none could pass
with impunity.
Meanwhile, the exasperated Papuans had beaten a retreat paralysed with
terror. As for us, half laughing, we consoled and rubbed the
unfortunate Ned Land, who swore like one possessed.
But at this moment the Nautilus, raised by the last waves of the tide,
quitted her coral bed exactly at the fortieth minute fixed by the
Captain. Her screw swept the waters slowly and majestically. Her
speed increased gradually, and, sailing on the surface of the ocean,
she quitted safe and sound the dangerous passes of the Straits of
Torres.
CHAPTER XXII
"AEGRI SOMNIA"
The following day 10th January, the Nautilus continued her course
between two seas, but with such remarkable speed that I could not
estimate it at less than thirty-five miles an hour. The rapidity of
her screw was such that I could neither follow nor count its
revolutions. When I reflected that this marvellous electric agent,
after having afforded motion, heat, and light to the Nautilus, still
protected her from outward attack, and transformed her into an ark of
safety which no profane hand might touch without being thunderstricken,
my admiration was unbounded, and from the structure it extended to the
engineer who had called it into existence.
Our course was directed to the west, and on the 11th of January we
doubled Cape Wessel, situation in 135° long. and 10° S. lat.,
which forms the east point of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The reefs were
still numerous, but more equalised, and marked on the chart with
extreme precision. The Nautilus easily avoided the breakers of Money
to port and the Victoria reefs to starboard, placed at 130° long.
and on the 10th parallel, which we strictly followed.
On the 13th of January, Captain Nemo arrived in the Sea of Timor, and
recognised the island of that name in 122° long.
From this point the direction of the Nautilus inclined towards the
south-west. Her head was set for the Indian Ocean. Where would the
fancy of Captain Nemo carry us next? Would he return to the coast of
Asia or would he approach again the shores of Europe? Improbable
conjectures both, to a man who fled from inhabited continents. Then
would he descend to the south? Was he going to double the Cape of Good
Hope, then Cape Horn, and finally go as far as the Antarctic pole?
Would he come back at last to the Pacific, where his Nautilus could
sail free and independently? Time would show.
After having skirted the sands of Cartier, of Hibernia, Seringapatam,
and Scott, last efforts of the solid against the liquid element, on the
14th of January we lost sight of land altogether. The speed of the
Nautilus was considerably abated, and with irregular course she
sometimes swam in the bosom of the waters, sometimes floated on their
surface.
During this period of the voyage, Captain Nemo made some interesting
experiments on the varied temperature of the sea, in different beds.
Under ordinary conditions these observations are made by means of
rather complicated instruments, and with somewhat doubtful results, by
means of thermometrical sounding-leads, the glasses often breaking
under the pressure of the water, or an apparatus grounded on the
variations of the resistance of metals to the electric currents.
Results so obtained could not be correctly calculated. On the
contrary, Captain Nemo went himself to test the temperature in the
depths of the sea, and his thermometer, placed in communication with
the different sheets of water, gave him the required degree immediately
and accurately.
It was thus that, either by overloading her reservoirs or by descending
obliquely by means of her inclined planes, the Nautilus successively
attained the depth of three, four, five, seven, nine, and ten thousand
yards, and the definite result of this experience was that the sea
preserved an average temperature of four degrees and a half at a depth
of five thousand fathoms under all latitudes.
On the 16th of January, the Nautilus seemed becalmed only a few yards
beneath the surface of the waves. Her electric apparatus remained
inactive and her motionless screw left her to drift at the mercy of the
currents. I supposed that the crew was occupied with interior repairs,
rendered necessary by the violence of the mechanical movements of the
machine.
My companions and I then witnessed a curious spectacle. The hatches of
the saloon were open, and, as the beacon light of the Nautilus was not
in action, a dim obscurity reigned in the midst of the waters. I
observed the state of the sea, under these conditions, and the largest
fish appeared to me no more than scarcely defined shadows, when the
Nautilus found herself suddenly transported into full light. I thought
at first that the beacon had been lighted, and was casting its electric
radiance into the liquid mass. I was mistaken, and after a rapid
survey perceived my error.
The Nautilus floated in the midst of a phosphorescent bed which, in
this obscurity, became quite dazzling. It was produced by myriads of
luminous animalculae, whose brilliancy was increased as they glided
over the metallic hull of the vessel. I was surprised by lightning in
the midst of these luminous sheets, as though they had been rivulets of
lead melted in an ardent furnace or metallic masses brought to a white
heat, so that, by force of contrast, certain portions of light appeared
to cast a shade in the midst of the general ignition, from which all
shade seemed banished. No; this was not the calm irradiation of our
ordinary lightning. There was unusual life and vigour: this was truly
living light!
In reality, it was an infinite agglomeration of coloured infusoria, of
veritable globules of jelly, provided with a threadlike tentacle, and
of which as many as twenty-five thousand have been counted in less than
two cubic half-inches of water.
During several hours the Nautilus floated in these brilliant waves, and
our admiration increased as we watched the marine monsters disporting
themselves like salamanders. I saw there in the midst of this fire
that burns not the swift and elegant porpoise (the indefatigable clown
of the ocean), and some swordfish ten feet long, those prophetic
heralds of the hurricane whose formidable sword would now and then
strike the glass of the saloon. Then appeared the smaller fish, the
balista, the leaping mackerel, wolf-thorn-tails, and a hundred others
which striped the luminous atmosphere as they swam. This dazzling
spectacle was enchanting! Perhaps some atmospheric condition increased
the intensity of this phenomenon. Perhaps some storm agitated the
surface of the waves. But at this depth of some yards, the Nautilus
was unmoved by its fury and reposed peacefully in still water.
So we progressed, incessantly charmed by some new marvel. The days
passed rapidly away, and I took no account of them. Ned, according to
habit, tried to vary the diet on board. Like snails, we were fixed to
our shells, and I declare it is easy to lead a snail's life.
Thus this life seemed easy and natural, and we thought no longer of the
life we led on land; but something happened to recall us to the
strangeness of our situation.
On the 18th of January, the Nautilus was in 105° long. and 15°
S. lat. The weather was threatening, the sea rough and rolling. There
was a strong east wind. The barometer, which had been going down for
some days, foreboded a coming storm. I went up on to the platform just
as the second lieutenant was taking the measure of the horary angles,
and waited, according to habit till the daily phrase was said. But on
this day it was exchanged for another phrase not less incomprehensible.
Almost directly, I saw Captain Nemo appear with a glass, looking
towards the horizon.
For some minutes he was immovable, without taking his eye off the point
of observation. Then he lowered his glass and exchanged a few words
with his lieutenant. The latter seemed to be a victim to some emotion
that he tried in vain to repress. Captain Nemo, having more command
over himself, was cool. He seemed, too, to be making some objections
to which the lieutenant replied by formal assurances. At least I
concluded so by the difference of their tones and gestures. For
myself, I had looked carefully in the direction indicated without
seeing anything. The sky and water were lost in the clear line of the
horizon.
However, Captain Nemo walked from one end of the platform to the other,
without looking at me, perhaps without seeing me. His step was firm,
but less regular than usual. He stopped sometimes, crossed his arms,
and observed the sea. What could he be looking for on that immense
expanse?
The Nautilus was then some hundreds of miles from the nearest coast.
The lieutenant had taken up the glass and examined the horizon
steadfastly, going and coming, stamping his foot and showing more
nervous agitation than his superior officer. Besides, this mystery
must necessarily be solved, and before long; for, upon an order from
Captain Nemo, the engine, increasing its propelling power, made the
screw turn more rapidly.
Just then the lieutenant drew the Captain's attention again. The
latter stopped walking and directed his glass towards the place
indicated. He looked long. I felt very much puzzled, and descended to
the drawing-room, and took out an excellent telescope that I generally
used. Then, leaning on the cage of the watch-light that jutted out
from the front of the platform, set myself to look over all the line of
the sky and sea.
But my eye was no sooner applied to the glass than it was quickly
snatched out of my hands.
I turned round. Captain Nemo was before me, but I did not know him.
His face was transfigured.  He did not move. My glass, fallen from his hands, had rolled
at his feet.
Had I unwittingly provoked this fit of anger? Did this
incomprehensible person imagine that I had discovered some forbidden
secret? No; I was not the object of this hatred, for he was not
looking at me; his eye was steadily fixed upon the impenetrable point
of the horizon. At last Captain Nemo recovered himself. His agitation
subsided. He addressed some words in a foreign language to his
lieutenant, then turned to me. "M. Aronnax," he said, in rather an
imperious tone, "I require you to keep one of the conditions that bind
you to me."
"What is it, Captain?"
"You must be confined, with your companions, until I think fit to
release you."
"You are the master," I replied, looking steadily at him. "But may I
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ask you one question?"
"None, sir."
There was no resisting this imperious command, it would have been
useless. I went down to the cabin occupied by Ned Land and Conseil,
and told them the Captain's determination. You may judge how this
communication was received by the Canadian.
But there was not time for altercation. Four of the crew waited at the
door, and conducted us to that cell where we had passed our first night
on board the Nautilus.
Ned Land would have remonstrated, but the door was shut upon him.
"Will master tell me what this means?" asked Conseil.
I told my companions what had passed. They were as much astonished as
I, and equally at a loss how to account for it.
Meanwhile, I was absorbed in my own reflections, and could think of
nothing but the strange fear depicted in the Captain's countenance. I
was utterly at a loss to account for it, when my cogitations were
disturbed by these words from Ned Land:
"Hallo! breakfast is ready."
And indeed the table was laid. Evidently Captain Nemo had given this
order at the same time that he had hastened the speed of the Nautilus.
"Will master permit me to make a recommendation?" asked Conseil.
"Yes, my boy."
"Well, it is that master breakfasts. It is prudent, for we do not know
what may happen."
"You are right, Conseil."
"Unfortunately," said Ned Land, "they have only given us the ship's
fare."
"Friend Ned," asked Conseil, "what would you have said if the breakfast
had been entirely forgotten?"
This argument cut short the harpooner's recriminations.
We sat down to table. The meal was eaten in silence.
Just then the luminous globe that lighted the cell went out, and left
us in total darkness. Ned Land was soon asleep, and what astonished me
was that Conseil went off into a heavy slumber. I was thinking what
could have caused his irresistible drowsiness, when I felt my brain
becoming stupefied. In spite of my efforts to keep my eyes open, they
would close. A painful suspicion seized me. Evidently soporific
substances had been mixed with the food we had just taken.
Imprisonment was not enough to conceal Captain Nemo's projects from us,
sleep was more necessary. I then heard the panels shut. The
undulations of the sea, which caused a slight rolling motion, ceased.
Had the Nautilus quitted the surface of the ocean? Had it gone back to
the motionless bed of water? I tried to resist sleep. It was
impossible. My breathing grew weak. I felt a mortal cold freeze my
stiffened and half-paralysed limbs. My eye lids, like leaden caps,
fell over my eyes. I could not raise them; a morbid sleep, full of
hallucinations, bereft me of my being. Then the visions disappeared,
and left me in complete insensibility.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE CORAL KINGDOM
The next day I woke with my head singularly clear. To my great
surprise, I was in my own room. My companions, no doubt, had been
reinstated in their cabin, without having perceived it any more than I.
Of what had passed during the night they were as ignorant as I was, and
to penetrate this mystery I only reckoned upon the chances of the
future.
I then thought of quitting my room. Was I free again or a prisoner?
Quite free. I opened the door, went to the half-deck, went up the
central stairs. The panels, shut the evening before, were open. I
went on to the platform.
Ned Land and Conseil waited there for me. I questioned them; they knew
nothing. Lost in a heavy sleep in which they had been totally
unconscious, they had been astonished at finding themselves in their
cabin.
As for the Nautilus, it seemed quiet and mysterious as ever. It
floated on the surface of the waves at a moderate pace. Nothing seemed
changed on board.
The second lieutenant then came on to the platform, and gave the usual
order below.
As for Captain Nemo, he did not appear.

About two o'clock, I was in the drawing-room, busied in arranging my
notes, when the Captain opened the door and appeared. I bowed. He
made a slight inclination in return, without speaking. I resumed my
work, hoping that he would perhaps give me some explanation of the
events of the preceding night. He made none. I looked at him. He
seemed fatigued; his heavy eyes had not been refreshed by sleep; his
face looked very sorrowful. He walked to and fro, sat down and got up
again, took a chance book, put it down, consulted his instruments
without taking his habitual notes, and seemed restless and uneasy. At
last, he came up to me, and said:
"Are you a doctor, M. Aronnax?"

"Are you a doctor?" he repeated. "Several of your colleagues have
studied medicine."
"Well," said I, "I am a doctor and resident surgeon to the hospital. I
practised several years before entering the museum."
"Very well, sir."
My answer had evidently satisfied the Captain. But, not knowing what
he would say next, I waited for other questions, reserving my answers
according to circumstances.
"M. Aronnax, will you consent to prescribe for one of my men?" he asked.
"Is he ill?"
"Yes."
"I am ready to follow you."
"Come, then."
I own my heart beat, I do not know why. I saw certain connection
between the illness of one of the crew and the events of the day
before; and this mystery interested me at least as much as the sick man.
Captain Nemo conducted me to the poop of the Nautilus, and took me into
a cabin situated near the sailors' quarters.
There, on a bed, lay a man about forty years of age, with a resolute
expression of countenance, a true type of an Anglo-Saxon.
I leant over him. He was not only ill, he was wounded. His head,
swathed in bandages covered with blood, lay on a pillow. I undid the
bandages, and the wounded man looked at me with his large eyes and gave
no sign of pain as I did it. It was a horrible wound. The skull,
shattered by some deadly weapon, left the brain exposed, which was much
injured. Clots of blood had formed in the bruised and broken mass, in
colour like the dregs of wine.
There was both contusion and suffusion of the brain. His breathing was
slow, and some spasmodic movements of the muscles agitated his face. I
felt his pulse. It was intermittent. The extremities of the body were
growing cold already, and I saw death must inevitably ensue. After
dressing the unfortunate man's wounds, I readjusted the bandages on his
head, and turned to Captain Nemo.
"What caused this wound?" I asked.
"What does it signify?" he replied, evasively. "A shock has broken one
of the levers of the engine, which struck myself. But your opinion as
to his state?"
I hesitated before giving it.
"You may speak," said the Captain. "This man does not understand
French."
I gave a last look at the wounded man.
"He will be dead in two hours."
"Can nothing save him?"
"Nothing."
Captain Nemo's hand contracted, and some tears glistened in his eyes,
which I thought incapable of shedding any.
For some moments I still watched the dying man, whose life ebbed
slowly. His pallor increased under the electric light that was shed
over his death-bed. I looked at his intelligent forehead, furrowed with
premature wrinkles, produced probably by misfortune and sorrow. I
tried to learn the secret of his life from the last words that escaped
his lips.
"You can go now, M. Aronnax," said the Captain.
I left him in the dying man's cabin, and returned to my room much
affected by this scene. During the whole day, I was haunted by
uncomfortable suspicions, and at night I slept badly, and between my
broken dreams I fancied I heard distant sighs like the notes of a
funeral psalm. Were they the prayers of the dead, murmured in that
language that I could not understand?
The next morning I went on to the bridge. Captain Nemo was there
before me. As soon as he perceived me he came to me.
"Professor, will it be convenient to you to make a submarine excursion
to-day?"
"With my companions?" I asked.
"If they like."
"We obey your orders, Captain."
"Will you be so good then as to put on your cork jackets?"
It was not a question of dead or dying. I rejoined Ned Land and
Conseil, and told them of Captain Nemo's proposition. Conseil hastened
to accept it, and this time the Canadian seemed quite willing to follow
our example.
It was eight o'clock in the morning. At half-past eight we were
equipped for this new excursion, and provided with two contrivances for
light and breathing. The double door was open; and, accompanied by
Captain Nemo, who was followed by a dozen of the crew, we set foot, at
a depth of about thirty feet, on the solid bottom on which the Nautilus
rested.
A slight declivity ended in an uneven bottom, at fifteen fathoms depth.
This bottom differed entirely from the one I had visited on my first
excursion under the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Here, there was no
fine sand, no submarine prairies, no sea-forest. I immediately
recognised that marvellous region in which, on that day, the Captain
did the honours to us. It was the coral kingdom.
The light produced a thousand charming varieties, playing in the midst
of the branches that were so vividly coloured. I seemed to see the
membraneous and cylindrical tubes tremble beneath the undulation of the
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waters. I was tempted to gather their fresh petals, ornamented with
delicate tentacles, some just blown, the others budding, while a small
fish, swimming swiftly, touched them slightly, like flights of birds.
But if my hand approached these living flowers, these animated,
sensitive plants, the whole colony took alarm. The white petals
re-entered their red cases, the flowers faded as I looked, and the bush
changed into a block of stony knobs.
Chance had thrown me just by the most precious specimens of the
zoophyte. This coral was more valuable than that found in the
Mediterranean, on the coasts of France, Italy and Barbary. Its tints
justified the poetical names of "Flower of Blood," and "Froth of
Blood," that trade has given to its most beautiful productions. Coral
is sold for L20 per ounce; and in this place the watery beds would make
the fortunes of a company of coral-divers. This precious matter, often
confused with other polypi, formed then the inextricable plots called
"macciota," and on which I noticed several beautiful specimens of pink
coral.
But soon the bushes contract, and the arborisations increase. Real
petrified thickets, long joints of fantastic architecture, were
disclosed before us. Captain Nemo placed himself under a dark gallery,
where by a slight declivity we reached a depth of a hundred yards. The
light from our lamps produced sometimes magical effects, following the
rough outlines of the natural arches and pendants disposed like
lustres, that were tipped with points of fire.
At last, after walking two hours, we had attained a depth of about
three hundred yards, that is to say, the extreme limit on which coral
begins to form. But there was no isolated bush, nor modest brushwood,
at the bottom of lofty trees. It was an immense forest of large
mineral vegetations, enormous petrified trees, united by garlands of
elegant sea-bindweed, all adorned with clouds and reflections. We
passed freely under their high branches, lost in the shade of the waves.
Captain Nemo had stopped. I and my companions halted, and, turning
round, I saw his men were forming a semi-circle round their chief.
Watching attentively, I observed that four of them carried on their
shoulders an object of an oblong shape.
We occupied, in this place, the centre of a vast glade surrounded by
the lofty foliage of the submarine forest. Our lamps threw over this
place a sort of clear twilight that singularly elongated the shadows on
the ground. At the end of the glade the darkness increased, and was
only relieved by little sparks reflected by the points of coral.
Ned Land and Conseil were near me. We watched, and I thought I was
going to witness a strange scene. On observing the ground, I saw that
it was raised in certain places by slight excrescences encrusted with
limy deposits, and disposed with a regularity that betrayed the hand of
man.
In the midst of the glade, on a pedestal of rocks roughly piled up,
stood a cross of coral that extended its long arms that one might have
thought were made of petrified blood. Upon a sign from Captain Nemo
one of the men advanced; and at some feet from the cross he began to
dig a hole with a pickaxe that he took from his belt. I understood
all! This glade was a cemetery, this hole a tomb, this oblong object
the body of the man who had died in the night! The Captain and his men
had come to bury their companion in this general resting-place, at the
bottom of this inaccessible ocean!
The grave was being dug slowly; the fish fled on all sides while their
retreat was being thus disturbed; I heard the strokes of the pickaxe,
which sparkled when it hit upon some flint lost at the bottom of the
waters. The hole was soon large and deep enough to receive the body.
Then the bearers approached; the body, enveloped in a tissue of white
linen, was lowered into the damp grave. Captain Nemo, with his arms
crossed on his breast, and all the friends of him who had loved them,
knelt in prayer.
The grave was then filled in with the rubbish taken from the ground,
which formed a slight mound. When this was done, Captain Nemo and his
men rose; then, approaching the grave, they knelt again, and all
extended their hands in sign of a last adieu. Then the funeral
procession returned to the Nautilus, passing under the arches of the
forest, in the midst of thickets, along the coral bushes, and still on
the ascent. At last the light of the ship appeared, and its luminous
track guided us to the Nautilus. At one o'clock we had returned.
As soon as I had changed my clothes I went up on to the platform, and,
a prey to conflicting emotions, I sat down near the binnacle. Captain
Nemo joined me. I rose and said to him:
"So, as I said he would, this man died in the night?"
"Yes, M. Aronnax."
"And he rests now, near his companions, in the coral cemetery?"
"Yes, forgotten by all else, but not by us. We dug the grave, and the
polypi undertake to seal our dead for eternity." And, burying his face
quickly in his hands, he tried in vain to suppress a sob. Then he
added: "Our peaceful cemetery is there, some hundred feet below the
surface of the waves."
"Your dead sleep quietly, at least, Captain, out of the reach of
sharks."
"Yes, sir, of sharks and men," gravely replied the Captain.
PART TWO
CHAPTER I
THE INDIAN OCEAN
We now come to the second part of our journey under the sea. The first
ended with the moving scene in the coral cemetery which left such a
deep impression on my mind. Thus, in the midst of this great sea,
Captain Nemo's life was passing, even to his grave, which he had
prepared in one of its deepest abysses. There, not one of the ocean's
monsters could trouble the last sleep of the crew of the Nautilus, of
those friends riveted to each other in death as in life. "Nor any man,
either," had added the Captain. Still the same fierce, implacable
defiance towards human society!
I could no longer content myself with the theory which satisfied
Conseil.
That worthy fellow persisted in seeing in the Commander of the Nautilus
one of those unknown _savants_ who return mankind contempt for
indifference. For him, he was a misunderstood genius who, tired of
earth's deceptions, had taken refuge in this inaccessible medium, where
he might follow his instincts freely. To my mind, this explains but
one side of Captain Nemo's character. Indeed, the mystery of that last
night during which we had been chained in prison, the sleep, and the
precaution so violently taken by the Captain of snatching from my eyes
the glass I had raised to sweep the horizon, the mortal wound of the
man, due to an unaccountable shock of the Nautilus, all put me on a new
track. No; Captain Nemo was not satisfied with shunning man. His
formidable apparatus not only suited his instinct of freedom, but
perhaps also the design of some terrible retaliation.
At this moment nothing is clear to me; I catch but a glimpse of light
amidst all the darkness, and I must confine myself to writing as events
shall dictate.
That day, the 24th of January, 1868, at noon, the second officer came
to take the altitude of the sun. I mounted the platform, lit a cigar,
and watched the operation. It seemed to me that the man did not
understand French; for several times I made remarks in a loud voice,
which must have drawn from him some involuntary sign of attention, if
he had understood them; but he remained undisturbed and dumb.
As he was taking observations with the sextant, one of the sailors of
the Nautilus (the strong man who had accompanied us on our first
submarine excursion to the Island of Crespo) came to clean the glasses
of the lantern. I examined the fittings of the apparatus, the strength
of which was increased a hundredfold by lenticular rings, placed
similar to those in a lighthouse, and which projected their brilliance
in a horizontal plane. The electric lamp was combined in such a way as
to give its most powerful light. Indeed, it was produced in vacuo,
which insured both its steadiness and its intensity. This vacuum
economised the graphite points between which the luminous arc was
developed--an important point of economy for Captain Nemo, who could
not easily have replaced them; and under these conditions their waste
was imperceptible. When the Nautilus was ready to continue its
submarine journey, I went down to the saloon. The panel was closed,
and the course marked direct west.
We were furrowing the waters of the Indian Ocean, a vast liquid plain,
with a surface of 1,200,000,000 of acres, and whose waters are so clear
and transparent that any one leaning over them would turn giddy. The
Nautilus usually floated between fifty and a hundred fathoms deep. We
went on so for some days. To anyone but myself, who had a great love
for the sea, the hours would have seemed long and monotonous; but the
daily walks on the platform, when I steeped myself in the reviving air
of the ocean, the sight of the rich waters through the windows of the
saloon, the books in the library, the compiling of my memoirs, took up
all my time, and left me not a moment of ennui or weariness.
For some days we saw a great number of aquatic birds, sea-mews or
gulls. Some were cleverly killed and, prepared in a certain way, made
very acceptable water-game. Amongst large-winged birds, carried a long
distance from all lands and resting upon the waves from the fatigue of
their flight, I saw some magnificent albatrosses, uttering discordant
cries like the braying of an ass, and birds belonging to the family of
the long-wings.
As to the fish, they always provoked our admiration when we surprised
the secrets of their aquatic life through the open panels. I saw many
kinds which I never before had a chance of observing.
I shall notice chiefly ostracions peculiar to the Red Sea, the Indian
Ocean, and that part which washes the coast of tropical America. These
fishes, like the tortoise, the armadillo, the sea-hedgehog, and the
Crustacea, are protected by a breastplate which is neither chalky nor
stony, but real bone. In some it takes the form of a solid triangle, in
others of a solid quadrangle. Amongst the triangular I saw some an inch
and a half in length, with wholesome flesh and a delicious flavour;
they are brown at the tail, and yellow at the fins, and I recommend
their introduction into fresh water, to which a certain number of
sea-fish easily accustom themselves. I would also mention quadrangular
ostracions, having on the back four large tubercles; some dotted over
with white spots on the lower part of the body, and which may be tamed
like birds; trigons provided with spikes formed by the lengthening of
their bony shell, and which, from their strange gruntings, are called
"seapigs"; also dromedaries with large humps in the shape of a cone,
whose flesh is very tough and leathery.
I now borrow from the daily notes of Master Conseil. "Certain fish of
the genus petrodon peculiar to those seas, with red backs and white
chests, which are distinguished by three rows of longitudinal
filaments; and some electrical, seven inches long, decked in the
liveliest colours. Then, as specimens of other kinds, some ovoides,
resembling an egg of a dark brown colour, marked with white bands, and
without tails; diodons, real sea-porcupines, furnished with spikes, and
capable of swelling in such a way as to look like cushions bristling
with darts; hippocampi, common to every ocean; some pegasi with
lengthened snouts, which their pectoral fins, being much elongated and
formed in the shape of wings, allow, if not to fly, at least to shoot
into the air; pigeon spatulae, with tails covered with many rings of
shell; macrognathi with long jaws, an excellent fish, nine inches long,
and bright with most agreeable colours; pale-coloured calliomores, with
rugged heads; and plenty of chaetpdons, with long and tubular muzzles,
which kill insects by shooting them, as from an air-gun, with a single
drop of water. These we may call the flycatchers of the seas.
"In the eighty-ninth genus of fishes, classed by Lacepede, belonging to
the second lower class of bony, characterised by opercules and
bronchial membranes, I remarked the scorpaena, the head of which is
furnished with spikes, and which has but one dorsal fin; these
creatures are covered, or not, with little shells, according to the
sub-class to which they belong. The second sub-class gives us specimens
of didactyles fourteen or fifteen inches in length, with yellow rays,
and heads of a most fantastic appearance. As to the first sub-class, it
gives several specimens of that singular looking fish appropriately
called a 'seafrog,' with large head, sometimes pierced with holes,
sometimes swollen with protuberances, bristling with spikes, and
covered with tubercles; it has irregular and hideous horns; its body
and tail are covered with callosities; its sting makes a dangerous
wound; it is both repugnant and horrible to look at."
From the 21st to the 23rd of January the Nautilus went at the rate of
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two hundred and fifty leagues in twenty-four hours, being five hundred
and forty miles, or twenty-two miles an hour. If we recognised so many
different varieties of fish, it was because, attracted by the electric
light, they tried to follow us; the greater part, however, were soon
distanced by our speed, though some kept their place in the waters of
the Nautilus for a time. The morning of the 24th, in 12° 5' S.
lat., and 94° 33' long., we observed Keeling Island, a coral
formation, planted with magnificent cocos, and which had been visited
by Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy. The Nautilus skirted the shores of
this desert island for a little distance. Its nets brought up numerous
specimens of polypi and curious shells of mollusca. Some precious
productions of the species of delphinulae enriched the treasures of
Captain Nemo, to which I added an astraea punctifera, a kind of
parasite polypus often found fixed to a shell.
Soon Keeling Island disappeared from the horizon, and our course was
directed to the north-west in the direction of the Indian Peninsula.
From Keeling Island our course was slower and more variable, often
taking us into great depths. Several times they made use of the
inclined planes, which certain internal levers placed obliquely to the
waterline. In that way we went about two miles, but without ever
obtaining the greatest depths of the Indian Sea, which soundings of
seven thousand fathoms have never reached. As to the temperature of
the lower strata, the thermometer invariably indicated 4° above
zero. I only observed that in the upper regions the water was always
colder in the high levels than at the surface of the sea.
On the 25th of January the ocean was entirely deserted; the Nautilus
passed the day on the surface, beating the waves with its powerful
screw and making them rebound to a great height. Who under such
circumstances would not have taken it for a gigantic cetacean? Three
parts of this day I spent on the platform. I watched the sea. Nothing
on the horizon, till about four o'clock a steamer running west on our
counter. Her masts were visible for an instant, but she could not see
the Nautilus, being too low in the water. I fancied this steamboat
belonged to the P.O. Company, which runs from Ceylon to Sydney,
touching at King George's Point and Melbourne.
At five o'clock in the evening, before that fleeting twilight which
binds night to day in tropical zones, Conseil and I were astonished by
a curious spectacle.
It was a shoal of argonauts travelling along on the surface of the
ocean. We could count several hundreds. They belonged to the tubercle
kind which are peculiar to the Indian seas.
These graceful molluscs moved backwards by means of their locomotive
tube, through which they propelled the water already drawn in. Of
their eight tentacles, six were elongated, and stretched out floating
on the water, whilst the other two, rolled up flat, were spread to the
wing like a light sail. I saw their spiral-shaped and fluted shells,
which Cuvier justly compares to an elegant skiff. A boat indeed! It
bears the creature which secretes it without its adhering to it.
For nearly an hour the Nautilus floated in the midst of this shoal of
molluscs. Then I know not what sudden fright they took. But as if at
a signal every sail was furled, the arms folded, the body drawn in, the
shells turned over, changing their centre of gravity, and the whole
fleet disappeared under the waves. Never did the ships of a squadron
manoeuvre with more unity.
At that moment night fell suddenly, and the reeds, scarcely raised by
the breeze, lay peaceably under the sides of the Nautilus.
The next day, 26th of January, we cut the equator at the eighty-second
meridian and entered the northern hemisphere. During the day a
formidable troop of sharks accompanied us, terrible creatures, which
multiply in these seas and make them very dangerous.  There were
also some Isabella sharks, with rounded snouts marked with dark spots.
These powerful creatures often hurled themselves at the windows of the
saloon with such violence as to make us feel very insecure. At such
times Ned Land was no longer master of himself. He wanted to go to the
surface and harpoon the monsters, particularly certain smooth-hound
sharks, whose mouth is studded with teeth like a mosaic; and large
tiger-sharks nearly six yards long, the last named of which seemed to
excite him more particularly. But the Nautilus, accelerating her
speed, easily left the most rapid of them behind.
The 27th of January, at the entrance of the vast Bay of Bengal, we met
repeatedly a forbidding spectacle, dead bodies floating on the surface
of the water. They were the dead of the Indian villages, carried by
the Ganges to the level of the sea, and which the vultures, the only
undertakers of the country, had not been able to devour. But the
sharks did not fail to help them at their funeral work.
About seven o'clock in the evening, the Nautilus, half-immersed, was
sailing in a sea of milk. At first sight the ocean seemed lactified.
Was it the effect of the lunar rays? No; for the moon, scarcely two
days old, was still lying hidden under the horizon in the rays of the
sun. The whole sky, though lit by the sidereal rays, seemed black by
contrast with the whiteness of the waters.
Conseil could not believe his eyes, and questioned me as to the cause
of this strange phenomenon. Happily I was able to answer him.
"It is called a milk sea," I explained. "A large extent of white
wavelets often to be seen on the coasts of Amboyna, and in these parts
of the sea."
"But, sir," said Conseil, "can you tell me what causes such an effect?
for I suppose the water is not really turned into milk."
"No, my boy; and the whiteness which surprises you is caused only by
the presence of myriads of infusoria, a sort of luminous little worm,
gelatinous and without colour, of the thickness of a hair, and whose
length is not more than seven-thousandths of an inch. These insects
adhere to one another sometimes for several leagues."
"Several leagues!" exclaimed Conseil.
"Yes, my boy; and you need not try to compute the number of these
infusoria. You will not be able, for, if I am not mistaken, ships have
floated on these milk seas for more than forty miles."
Towards midnight the sea suddenly resumed its usual colour; but behind
us, even to the limits of the horizon, the sky reflected the whitened
waves, and for a long time seemed impregnated with the vague
glimmerings of an aurora borealis.
CHAPTER II
A NOVEL PROPOSAL OF CAPTAIN NEMO'S
On the 28th of February, when at noon the Nautilus came to the surface
of the sea, in 9° 4' N. lat., there was land in sight about eight
miles to westward. The first thing I noticed was a range of mountains
about two thousand feet high, the shapes of which were most capricious.
On taking the bearings, I knew that we were nearing the island of
Ceylon, the pearl which hangs from the lobe of the Indian Peninsula.
Captain Nemo and his second appeared at this moment. The Captain
glanced at the map. Then turning to me, said:
"The Island of Ceylon, noted for its pearl-fisheries. Would you like to
visit one of them, M. Aronnax?"
"Certainly, Captain."
"Well, the thing is easy. Though, if we see the fisheries, we shall
not see the fishermen. The annual exportation has not yet begun.
Never mind, I will give orders to make for the Gulf of Manaar, where we
shall arrive in the night."
The Captain said something to his second, who immediately went out.
Soon the Nautilus returned to her native element, and the manometer
showed that she was about thirty feet deep.
"Well, sir," said Captain Nemo, "you and your companions shall visit
the Bank of Manaar, and if by chance some fisherman should be there, we
shall see him at work."
"Agreed, Captain!"
"By the bye, M. Aronnax you are not afraid of sharks?"
"Sharks!" exclaimed I.
This question seemed a very hard one.
"Well?" continued Captain Nemo.
"I admit, Captain, that I am not yet very familiar with that kind of
fish."
"We are accustomed to them," replied Captain Nemo, "and in time you
will be too. However, we shall be armed, and on the road we may be
able to hunt some of the tribe. It is interesting. So, till
to-morrow, sir, and early."
This said in a careless tone, Captain Nemo left the saloon. Now, if
you were invited to hunt the bear in the mountains of Switzerland, what
would you say?
"Very well! to-morrow we will go and hunt the bear." If you were asked
to hunt the lion in the plains of Atlas, or the tiger in the Indian
jungles, what would you say?
"Ha! ha! it seems we are going to hunt the tiger or the lion!" But when
you are invited to hunt the shark in its natural element, you would
perhaps reflect before accepting the invitation. As for myself, I
passed my hand over my forehead, on which stood large drops of cold
perspiration. "Let us reflect," said I, "and take our time. Hunting
otters in submarine forests, as we did in the Island of Crespo, will
pass; but going up and down at the bottom of the sea, where one is
almost certain to meet sharks, is quite another thing! I know well
that in certain countries, particularly in the Andaman Islands, the
negroes never hesitate to attack them with a dagger in one hand and a
running noose in the other; but I also know that few who affront those
creatures ever return alive. However, I am not a negro, and if I were
I think a little hesitation in this case would not be ill-timed."
At this moment Conseil and the Canadian entered, quite composed, and
even joyous. They knew not what awaited them.
"Faith, sir," said Ned Land, "your Captain Nemo--the devil take
him!--has just made us a very pleasant offer."
"Ah!" said I, "you know?"

"He said nothing more?"

"Sir," said Conseil, "would you give us some details of the pearl
fishery?"
"As to the fishing itself," I asked, "or the incidents, which?"
"On the fishing," replied the Canadian; "before entering upon the
ground, it is as well to know something about it."

Ned and Conseil seated themselves on an ottoman, and the first thing
the Canadian asked was:
"Sir, what is a pearl?"
"My worthy Ned," I answered, "to the poet, a pearl is a tear of the
sea; to the Orientals, it is a drop of dew solidified; to the ladies,
it is a jewel of an oblong shape, of a brilliancy of mother-of-pearl
substance, which they wear on their fingers, their necks, or their
ears; for the chemist it is a mixture of phosphate and carbonate of
lime, with a little gelatine; and lastly, for naturalists, it is simply
a morbid secretion of the organ that produces the mother-of-pearl
amongst certain bivalves."
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"Branch of molluscs," said Conseil.
"Precisely so, my learned Conseil; and, amongst these testacea the
earshell, the tridacnae, the turbots, in a word, all those which
secrete mother-of-pearl, that is, the blue, bluish, violet, or white
substance which lines the interior of their shells, are capable of
producing pearls."
"Mussels too?" asked the Canadian.
"Yes, mussels of certain waters in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Saxony,
Bohemia, and France."
"Good! For the future I shall pay attention," replied the Canadian.
"But," I continued, "the particular mollusc which secretes the pearl is
the pearl-oyster, the meleagrina margaritiferct, that precious
pintadine. The pearl is nothing but a nacreous formation, deposited in
a globular form, either adhering to the oyster shell, or buried in the
folds of the creature. On the shell it is fast; in the flesh it is
loose; but always has for a kernel a small hard substance, may be a
barren egg, may be a grain of sand, around which the pearly matter
deposits itself year after year successively, and by thin concentric
layers."
"Are many pearls found in the same oyster?" asked Conseil.
"Yes, my boy.  One oyster has been
mentioned, though I allow myself to doubt it, as having contained no
less than a hundred and fifty sharks."
"A hundred and fifty sharks!" exclaimed Ned Land.
"Did I say sharks?" said I hurriedly. "I meant to say a hundred and
fifty pearls. Sharks would not be sense."
"Certainly not," said Conseil; "but will you tell us now by what means
they extract these pearls?"
"They proceed in various ways. When they adhere to the shell, the
fishermen often pull them off with pincers; but the most common way is
to lay the oysters on mats of the seaweed which covers the banks. Thus
they die in the open air; and at the end of ten days they are in a
forward state of decomposition. They are then plunged into large
reservoirs of sea-water; then they are opened and washed."
"The price of these pearls varies according to their size?" asked
Conseil.
"Not only according to their size," I answered, "but also according to
their shape, their water (that is, their colour), and their lustre:
that is, that bright and diapered sparkle which makes them so charming
to the eye. The most beautiful are called virgin pearls, or paragons.
They are formed alone in the tissue of the mollusc, are white, often
opaque, and sometimes have the transparency of an opal; they are
generally round or oval. The round are made into bracelets, the oval
into pendants, and, being more precious, are sold singly. Those
adhering to the shell of the oyster are more irregular in shape, and
are sold by weight. Lastly, in a lower order are classed those small
pearls known under the name of seed-pearls; they are sold by measure,
and are especially used in embroidery for church ornaments."
"But," said Conseil, "is this pearl-fishery dangerous?"
"No," I answered, quickly; "particularly if certain precautions are
taken."
"What does one risk in such a calling?" said Ned Land, "the swallowing
of some mouthfuls of sea-water?"
"As you say, Ned. By the bye," said I, trying to take Captain Nemo's
careless tone, "are you afraid of sharks, brave Ned?"
"I!" replied the Canadian; "a harpooner by profession? It is my trade
to make light of them."
"But," said I, "it is not a question of fishing for them with an
iron-swivel, hoisting them into the vessel, cutting off their tails
with a blow of a chopper, ripping them up, and throwing their heart
into the sea!"
"Then, it is a question of----"
"Precisely."
"In the water?"
"In the water."
"Faith, with a good harpoon! You know, sir, these sharks are
ill-fashioned beasts. They turn on their bellies to seize you, and in
that time----"
Ned Land had a way of saying "seize" which made my blood run cold.
"Well, and you, Conseil, what do you think of sharks?"
"Me!" said Conseil. "I will be frank, sir."
"So much the better," thought I.
"If you, sir, mean to face the sharks, I do not see why your faithful
servant should not face them with you."
CHAPTER III
A PEARL OF TEN MILLIONS
The next morning at four o'clock I was awakened by the steward whom
Captain Nemo had placed at my service. I rose hurriedly, dressed, and
went into the saloon.
Captain Nemo was awaiting me.
"M. Aronnax," said he, "are you ready to start?"
"I am ready."
"Then please to follow me."
"And my companions, Captain?"
"They have been told and are waiting."
"Are we not to put on our diver's dresses?" asked I.
"Not yet. I have not allowed the Nautilus to come too near this coast,
and we are some distance from the Manaar Bank; but the boat is ready,
and will take us to the exact point of disembarking, which will save us
a long way. It carries our diving apparatus, which we will put on when
we begin our submarine journey."
Captain Nemo conducted me to the central staircase, which led on the
platform. Ned and Conseil were already there, delighted at the idea of
the "pleasure party" which was preparing. Five sailors from the
Nautilus, with their oars, waited in the boat, which had been made fast
against the side.
The night was still dark. Layers of clouds covered the sky, allowing
but few stars to be seen. I looked on the side where the land lay, and
saw nothing but a dark line enclosing three parts of the horizon, from
south-west to north west. The Nautilus, having returned during the
night up the western coast of Ceylon, was now west of the bay, or
rather gulf, formed by the mainland and the Island of Manaar. There,
under the dark waters, stretched the pintadine bank, an inexhaustible
field of pearls, the length of which is more than twenty miles.
Captain Nemo, Ned Land, Conseil, and I took our places in the stern of
the boat. The master went to the tiller; his four companions leaned on
their oars, the painter was cast off, and we sheered off.
The boat went towards the south; the oarsmen did not hurry. I noticed
that their strokes, strong in the water, only followed each other every
ten seconds, according to the method generally adopted in the navy.
Whilst the craft was running by its own velocity, the liquid drops
struck the dark depths of the waves crisply like spats of melted lead.
A little billow, spreading wide, gave a slight roll to the boat, and
some samphire reeds flapped before it.
We were silent. What was Captain Nemo thinking of? Perhaps of the
land he was approaching, and which he found too near to him, contrary
to the Canadian's opinion, who thought it too far off. As to Conseil,
he was merely there from curiosity.
About half-past five the first tints on the horizon showed the upper
line of coast more distinctly. Flat enough in the east, it rose a
little to the south. Five miles still lay between us, and it was
indistinct owing to the mist on the water. At six o'clock it became
suddenly daylight, with that rapidity peculiar to tropical regions,
which know neither dawn nor twilight. The solar rays pierced the
curtain of clouds, piled up on the eastern horizon, and the radiant orb
rose rapidly. I saw land distinctly, with a few trees scattered here
and there. The boat neared Manaar Island, which was rounded to the
south. Captain Nemo rose from his seat and watched the sea.
At a sign from him the anchor was dropped, but the chain scarcely ran,
for it was little more than a yard deep, and this spot was one of the
highest points of the bank of pintadines.
"Here we are, M. Aronnax," said Captain Nemo. "You see that enclosed
bay? Here, in a month will be assembled the numerous fishing boats of
the exporters, and these are the waters their divers will ransack so
boldly. Happily, this bay is well situated for that kind of fishing.
It is sheltered from the strongest winds; the sea is never very rough
here, which makes it favourable for the diver's work. We will now put
on our dresses, and begin our walk."
I did not answer, and, while watching the suspected waves, began with
the help of the sailors to put on my heavy sea-dress. Captain Nemo and
my companions were also dressing. None of the Nautilus men were to
accompany us on this new excursion.
Soon we were enveloped to the throat in india-rubber clothing; the air
apparatus fixed to our backs by braces. As to the Ruhmkorff apparatus,
there was no necessity for it. Before putting my head into the copper
cap, I had asked the question of the Captain.
"They would be useless," he replied. "We are going to no great depth,
and the solar rays will be enough to light our walk. Besides, it would
not be prudent to carry the electric light in these waters; its
brilliancy might attract some of the dangerous inhabitants of the coast
most inopportunely."
As Captain Nemo pronounced these words, I turned to Conseil and Ned
Land. But my two friends had already encased their heads in the metal
cap, and they could neither hear nor answer.
One last question remained to ask of Captain Nemo.
"And our arms?" asked I; "our guns?"
"Guns! What for? Do not mountaineers attack the bear with a dagger in
their hand, and is not steel surer than lead? Here is a strong blade;
put it in your belt, and we start."
I looked at my companions; they were armed like us, and, more than
that, Ned Land was brandishing an enormous harpoon, which he had placed
in the boat before leaving the Nautilus.
Then, following the Captain's example, I allowed myself to be dressed
in the heavy copper helmet, and our reservoirs of air were at once in
activity. An instant after we were landed, one after the other, in
about two yards of water upon an even sand. Captain Nemo made a sign
with his hand, and we followed him by a gentle declivity till we
disappeared under the waves.
Over our feet, like coveys of snipe in a bog, rose shoals of fish, of
the genus monoptera, which have no other fins but their tail. I
recognized the Javanese, a real serpent two and a half feet long, of a
livid colour underneath, and which might easily be mistaken for a
conger eel if it were not for the golden stripes on its side. In the
genus stromateus, whose bodies are very flat and oval, I saw some of
the most brilliant colours, carrying their dorsal fin like a scythe; an
excellent eating fish, which, dried and pickled, is known by the name
of Karawade; then some tranquebars, belonging to the genus
apsiphoroides, whose body is covered with a shell cuirass of eight
longitudinal plates.
external_link5_text


We did most of the heavy lifting ofr you to provide a default styings that incorporate our custom components.Additionally, We refined amimations and transitions to provide a smoother experience for developers.
By utilzing elements and principles of Material Design, We were able to createa framework that Design, We were able to create a framework that imcorporates components and animations that provide more feedback to users. Additionally, a single underlying responsive system across all platforms allow for a more unified user experience.
We have provided detailed documentation as well as specific code examples to help new users get started. We are also always open to feedback and can answer any questions a user may have about Materuakuze.


Opens an Android dialog and allows the user to select one of his registered Google/Gmail accounts or add one.
The selected email address is returned as the first argument in the callback function.
Example - Choose Account
function OnStart()
{
lay = app.CreateLayout( "linear", "VCenter,FillXY" );
btnChoose = app.CreateButton( "Choose Account", 0.5, 0.1 );
btnChoose.SetOnTouch( btnChoose_OnTouch );
lay.AddChild( btnChoose );
app.AddLayout( lay );
}
function btnChoose_OnTouch()
{
app.ChooseAccount( OnChoose );
}
function OnChoose( account )
{
alert( "selected account: " + account );
}


WITNESS LIST Appropriations-S/C on Criminal Justice Committee (Subcommittee on Criminal Justice) February 15, 2001-1:00P Budget On: Fabelo, Tony (Criminal Justice Policy Council) Faulkner, Charles (Windham School Districe) Lawson, Cheryl (Windham School District) Morrow, Mike (Windham School District) Stringfellow, Mac (Windham School District)


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{{ partial "nav.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-slide-avion.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-3-main-pages.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-notre-expertise.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-free-analyse.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-fun-facts.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-flow.html" .}}
{{ partial "home-recent.html" .}}
{{ partial "footer.html" .}}


26 March 2021
Instantiating a Maven archetype is a convenient way to start a Java development project without any headache of the setup. Unfortunately, I haven't found any Maven archetype for Wildfly Bootable JAR projects. Instead of creating an archetype myself, I found another efficient way to get the setup of a Wildfly Bootable JAR project done.
The Microprofile Starter Page lists Wildfly as supported runtime:
After extracting the downloaded project package, you’ll happily notice that a Wildfly Bootable JAR project is setup. The configured Galleon layers are configured according to the selected MP specifications.
The setup project can already be build by mvn package
and the application
executed. Although, you’re ready to add the business logic to your application,
I recommend to upgrade the Wildfly Bootable JAR plugin and the Wildfly
application server, both are not up to date in the MicroProfile Starter setup.
The Maven plugin is defined in the <build>
section of the project’s POM,
apparently. You’ll find the latest plugin on
Maven Central. At the time of writing the latest released version is
4.0.1.Final
.
The version of the Wildfly application server is also defined in the project’s
POM. In this case the <properties>
section contains the configuration:
<properties>
<maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target>
<version.wildfly>22.0.1.Final</version.wildfly> (1)
<failOnMissingWebXml>false</failOnMissingWebXml>
<maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source>
<final.name>wildfly-starter</final.name>
</properties>
| 1 | The version of the Wildfly application server. |
The available versions are listed on the Wildfly Download Page.
The command mvn clean package
builds the application. By submitting the
command java -jar target/wildfly-starter-bootable.jar
the application
can be started from the command line. The application server logs to the
console. In order to test the application, cURL
can be used in another
shell:
$ curl localhost:8080/data/hello -v
* Trying <IP_ADDRESS>:8080...
* TCP_NODELAY set
* Connected to localhost (<IP_ADDRESS>) port 8080 (#0)
> GET /data/hello HTTP/1.1
> Host: localhost:8080
> User-Agent: curl/7.68.0
> Accept: */*
>
* Mark bundle as not supporting multiuse
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< Connection: keep-alive
< Content-Type: application/octet-stream
< Content-Length: 11
< Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2021 15:57:06 GMT
<
* Connection #0 to host localhost left intact
Hello World
That’s it, very easy and straight forward. Happy MicroProfiling with Wildfly Bootable JAR…


Man arrested, accused of killing Tampa couple days after they welcomed new baby
by WFTS StaffTAMPA, Fla. — A man arrested on Friday is accused of shooting and killing a Florida couple on Halloween, just days after they welcomed a new baby.
Tampa police say Tyrail Kendrick, 26, is facing two first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Stanley Peck and Tia Pittman.
Police responded to the 1700 block of West Walnut Street shortly after 7 a.m. on Oct. 31 after receiving a report of shots heard in the area.
After arriving, they found Peck and Pittman suffering from gunshot wounds. Peck was pronounced dead at the scene and Pittman was taken to a local hospital where she died from her injuries.
Family members say the couple just welcomed their second child, a baby girl. Both of the couple's children were home at the time of the shooting.
According to the family, the couple just moved back to Tampa because Peck’s father had cancer. He died in June.
Detectives say their investigation led them to Kendrick. He was arrested on Friday without incident.
Police have not provided information on what exactly led them to Kendrick or a possible motive for the crime.
In addition to the two first-degree murder charges, Kendrick is charged with robbery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by felon.
This story was originally published by staff at WFTS.


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New
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botanical
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1972
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INSTITUTION
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UNITED
STATES
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HERBARIUM
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nontane
forest.
Alt.
I,c00
ft.
Mountain
National
Park
Anširaiaermis
(W.
Wright)
U.S.
DEPARTMENT
OF
AGRICULTURE
FOREST
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Legend -
Level of confidence that token is an accurately-transcribed word
extremely low
very low
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undetermined
medium
high
very high


NHS Login Test
This is an implementation of NHS login using the NHS login sandbox.
Use the following credentials to sign into the sandbox (note them before clicking login):
Email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Password: Passw0rd$1
OTP Code: 190696


Name:
Place:
What do you like?
vegetarian
meat, hot and spicy
you
%(para2)s
do 1
do 2
Pens, i own
1
2
many


Main Page
Modules
Data Structures
Files
Related Pages
Modules
Here is a list of all modules:
ADC
ASysCtl
CAN
CLA
CMPSS
CPUTimer
DAC
DCSM
DMA
eCAP
EMIF
ePWM
eQEP
Flash
GPIO
HRPWM
I2C
Interrupt
McBSP
MemCfg
SCI
SDFM
SPI
SysCtl
UPP
Version
XBAR
Copyright 2018, Texas Instruments Incorporated


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BANGALORE, KARNATAKA | REMOTE WITHIN INDIA
As an Architect, you will be expected to ideate, execute and deliver even large and complex projects end-to-end, with or without the involvement of other team members.
Be the go-to person for the team for designing any part of the system, guidance and troubleshooting.
Proactively participate in code reviews and lead the architecture and design discussions, across the engineering organization.
Work with the product team in helping define the scope of solutions, and limitations to build around.
Ensuring timely delivery of all product deliverables.
Mentoring engineers and setting best practices for architecting, coding, code reviews, etc.
Ensuring performance and scalability in all new product features being developed.
Overall of 9+ years expertise in software engineering and architecture.
Proven experience with building scalable, fault-tolerant and highly-available systems.
Experience in building out large/key projects and products from scratch.
Expertise in Database modelling, preferably relational DB, spotting DB bottlenecks and writing optimized DB queries.
Expertise in all common AWS Cloud technologies, Knowledge of CI/CD tools and workflows.
Knowledge of containerization and orchestration systems (k8s) is a highly-preferred.


Continuous Delivery
Continuous delivery is a DevOps software development practice where code changes are automatically built,
tested, and prepared for a release to production. It expands upon continuous integration by deploying all
code changes to a testing environment and/or a production environment after the build stage.
When continuous delivery is implemented properly, developers will always have a deployment-ready
build artifact that has passed through a standardized test process.
Continuous delivery (CD) is an extension of the concept of continuous integration (CI). Whereas CI deals with the build/test part of the development cycle for each version, CD focuses on what happens with a committed change after that point. With continuous delivery,
any commit that passes the automated tests can be considered a valid candidate for release.
An important goal of continuous delivery is to make feedback loops as short as possible.
Because code is delivered in a steady stream to user acceptance testing (UAT) or the staging environment,
cause and effect can be observed early and code can be tested for all aspects of functionality,
including business rule logic (something unit tests can't do reliably).
If an iterative process is becoming unwieldy due to increasing project complexity, CD offers developers a way to get back to doing smaller, more frequent releases that are more reliable, predictable and manageable. When CD is ongoing and testing occurs early, a concept sometimes referred to as "shift left," developers can start working on fixes before they have moved on to another aspect of the development project. This can help increase productivity
because it minimizes the effort that's required for developers to refocus on the initial task.
|


--- title: Grimentz and Zinal, Switzerland date: '2010-03-19 00:17:29 +0100' date_gmt: '2010-03-18 22:17:29 +0100' categories: - Traveling - Photography ---
Just came back from skiing holiday in beautiful val d'Anniviers in Switzerland. Lots of sun and good skiing. Check out these photo sets from Grimentz and Zinal!


Change Settings
API / TOKEN :
SERVICE :
2Captcha ($2.99/1000)
Anti-Captcha ($2.00/1000)
DeathByCaptcha ($2.89/1000)
ImageTyperz ($2.50/1000)
ruCaptcha (₽160/1000)
BestCaptchaSolver ($2.50/1000)
EndCaptcha($3.99/1000)
VISIT SELECTED SERVICE
AUTO SUBMIT FORM:
Disable for invisible ReCaptcha!
AUTO CLICK CHECKBOX:
DELAY
(SECONDS)
:
checked


Pharos is the user interface to the Knowledge Management Center (KMC) for the Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund. (Grant No. 1U24CA224370-01). The goal of KMC is to develop a comprehensive, integrated knowledge-base for the Druggable Genome (DG) to illuminate the uncharacterized and/or poorly annotated portion of the DG, focusing on three of the most commonly drug-targeted protein families:
- G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)
- Ion channels (ICs)
- Kinases
The Pharos interface provides facile access to most data types collected by the KMC. Given the complexity of the data surrounding any target, efficient and intuitive visualization has been a high priority, to enable users to quickly navigate & summarize search results and rapidly identify patterns. A critical feature of the interface is the ability to perform flexible search and subsequent drill down of search results. Underlying the interface is a GraphQL API that provides programmatic access to all KMC data, allowing for easy consumption in user applications.


{% extends "base_template.html" %} {% block content %}
Here's will information on the Species will go


TABLE OF INTERACTIONS WITH
PROBENECID
From the French ANSM drug interactions document of September 2016, p. 182
PROBENECID RxNorm: 8698 ATC: M04AB01 |
ACETYLSALICYLIC ACID RxNorm: 1191 ATC: A01AD05 B01AC06 N02BA01 |
Decrease of the uricosuric effect due to competition of the elimination of the uric acid at the level of the renal tubules |
Not recommended |
PROBENECID RxNorm: 8698 ATC: M04AB01 |
DIPROPHYLLINE RxNorm: 3714 ATC: R03DA01 R03DB01 R03DA51 |
Risk of overdose due to increase of the plasma concentrations of diprophylline (inhibition of its renal tubular secretion) |
Precaution for use Reduce the dosage of diprophylline during the treatment with the probenicid |
PROBENECID RxNorm: 8698 ATC: M04AB01 |
METHOTREXATE RxNorm: 6851 ATC: L01BA01 L04AX03 |
Increase of the toxicity of the methotrexate: inhibition of the renal tubular secretion of the methotrexate by the probenecid |
CONTRAINDICATION |