20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Part 1, Chapters 16-20

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CHAPTER XVI

A SUBMARINE FOREST

We had at last arrived on the borders of this forest,

doubtless one of the finest of Captain Nemo's immense domains.

He looked upon it as his own, and considered he had the same right

over it that the first men had in the first days of the world.

And, indeed, who would have disputed with him the possession

of this submarine property?  What other hardier pioneer would come,

hatchet in hand, to cut down the dark copses?

This forest was composed of large tree-plants; and the moment we

penetrated under its vast arcades, I was struck by the singular

position of their branches--a position I had not yet observed.

Not an herb which carpeted the ground, not a branch which clothed

the trees, was either broken or bent, nor did they extend horizontally;

all stretched up to the surface of the ocean.  Not a filament, not a ribbon,

however thin they might be, but kept as straight as a rod of iron.

The fuci and llianas grew in rigid perpendicular lines, due to the density

of the element which had produced them.  Motionless yet, when bent

to one side by the hand, they directly resumed their former position.

Truly it was the region of perpendicularity!

I soon accustomed myself to this fantastic position,

as well as to the comparative darkness which surrounded us.

The soil of the forest seemed covered with sharp blocks,

difficult to avoid.  The submarine flora struck me as being

very perfect, and richer even than it would have been in the arctic

or tropical zones, where these productions are not so plentiful.

But for some minutes I involuntarily confounded the genera,

taking animals for plants; and who would not have been mistaken?

The fauna and the flora are too closely allied in this submarine world.

These plants are self-propagated, and the principle of their

existence is in the water, which upholds and nourishes them.

The greater number, instead of leaves, shoot forth blades

of capricious shapes, comprised within a scale of colours pink,

carmine, green, olive, fawn, and brown.

"Curious anomaly, fantastic element!" said an ingenious naturalist,

"in which the animal kingdom blossoms, and the vegetable does not!"

In about an hour Captain Nemo gave the signal to halt; I, for my part,

was not sorry, and we stretched ourselves under an arbour of alariae,

the long thin blades of which stood up like arrows.

This short rest seemed delicious to me; there was nothing

wanting but the charm of conversation; but, impossible to speak,

impossible to answer, I only put my great copper head to Conseil's.

I saw the worthy fellow's eyes glistening with delight, and, to show

his satisfaction, he shook himself in his breastplate of air,

in the most comical way in the world.

After four hours of this walking, I was surprised not to find

myself dreadfully hungry.  How to account for this state

of the stomach I could not tell.  But instead I felt an

insurmountable desire to sleep, which happens to all divers.

And my eyes soon closed behind the thick glasses, and I fell into

a heavy slumber, which the movement alone had prevented before.

Captain Nemo and his robust companion, stretched in the clear crystal,

set us the example.

How long I remained buried in this drowsiness I cannot judge,

but, when I woke, the sun seemed sinking towards the horizon.

Captain Nemo had already risen, and I was beginning to stretch

my limbs, when an unexpected apparition brought me briskly

to my feet.

A few steps off, a monstrous sea-spider, about thirty-eight inches

high, was watching me with squinting eyes, ready to spring upon me.

Though my diver's dress was thick enough to defend me from

the bite of this animal, I could not help shuddering with horror.

Conseil and the sailor of the Nautilus awoke at this moment.

Captain Nemo pointed out the hideous crustacean, which a blow

from the butt end of the gun knocked over, and I saw the horrible

claws of the monster writhe in terrible convulsions.

This incident reminded me that other animals more to be feared

might haunt these obscure depths, against whose attacks my

diving-dress would not protect me.  I had never thought of it before,

but I now resolved to be upon my guard.  Indeed, I thought

that this halt would mark the termination of our walk;

but I was mistaken, for, instead of returning to the Nautilus,

Captain Nemo continued his bold excursion.  The ground was still

on the incline, its declivity seemed to be getting greater,

and to be leading us to greater depths.  It must have been

about three o'clock when we reached a narrow valley, between high

perpendicular walls, situated about seventy-five fathoms deep.

Thanks to the perfection of our apparatus, we were forty-five

fathoms below the limit which nature seems to have imposed on man

as to his submarine excursions.

I say seventy-five fathoms, though I had no instrument by which to

judge the distance.  But I knew that even in the clearest waters

the solar rays could not penetrate further.  And accordingly

the darkness deepened.  At ten paces not an object was visible.

I was groping my way, when I suddenly saw a brilliant white light.

Captain Nemo had just put his electric apparatus into use;

his companion did the same, and Conseil and I followed their example.

By turning a screw I established a communication between the wire

and the spiral glass, and the sea, lit by our four lanterns,

was illuminated for a circle of thirty-six yards.

As we walked I thought the light of our Ruhmkorff apparatus

could not fail to draw some inhabitant from its dark couch.

But if they did approach us, they at least kept at

a respectful distance from the hunters.  Several times

I saw Captain Nemo stop, put his gun to his shoulder,

and after some moments drop it and walk on.  At last,

after about four hours, this marvellous excursion came to an end.

A wall of superb rocks, in an imposing mass, rose before us,

a heap of gigantic blocks, an enormous, steep granite shore,

forming dark grottos, but which presented no practicable slope;

it was the prop of the Island of Crespo.  It was the earth!

Captain Nemo stopped suddenly.  A gesture of his brought us all

to a halt; and, however desirous I might be to scale the wall,

I was obliged to stop.  Here ended Captain Nemo's domains.

And he would not go beyond them.  Further on was a portion of the

globe he might not trample upon.

The return began.  Captain Nemo had returned to the head of his little band,

directing their course without hesitation.  I thought we were not following

the same road to return to the Nautilus.  The new road was very steep,

and consequently very painful.  We approached the surface of the sea rapidly.

But this return to the upper strata was not so sudden as to cause relief

from the pressure too rapidly, which might have produced serious disorder

in our organisation, and brought on internal lesions, so fatal to divers.

Very soon light reappeared and grew, and, the sun being low on the horizon,

the refraction edged the different objects with a spectral ring.

At ten yards and a half deep, we walked amidst a shoal of little fishes

of all kinds, more numerous than the birds of the air, and also more agile;

but no aquatic game worthy of a shot had as yet met our gaze, when at

that moment I saw the Captain shoulder his gun quickly, and follow

a moving object into the shrubs.  He fired; I heard a slight hissing,

and a creature fell stunned at some distance from us.  It was a magnificent

sea-otter, an enhydrus, the only exclusively marine quadruped.

This otter was five feet long, and must have been very valuable.

Its skin, chestnut-brown above and silvery underneath, would have made one

of those beautiful furs so sought after in the Russian and Chinese markets:

the fineness and the lustre of its coat would certainly fetch L80.

I admired this curious mammal, with its rounded head ornamented with

short ears, its round eyes, and white whiskers like those of a cat,

with webbed feet and nails, and tufted tail.  This precious animal,

hunted and tracked by fishermen, has now become very rare, and taken refuge

chiefly in the northern parts of the Pacific, or probably its race would

soon become extinct.

Captain Nemo's companion took the beast, threw it over his shoulder, and we

continued our journey.  For one hour a plain of sand lay stretched before us.

Sometimes it rose to within two yards and some inches of the surface of

the water.  I then saw our image clearly reflected, drawn inversely, and above

us appeared an identical group reflecting our movements and our actions;

in a word, like us in every point, except that they walked with their heads

downward and their feet in the air.

Another effect I noticed, which was the passage of thick clouds which formed

and vanished rapidly; but on reflection I understood that these seeming

clouds were due to the varying thickness of the reeds at the bottom,

and I could even see the fleecy foam which their broken tops multiplied

on the water, and the shadows of large birds passing above our heads,

whose rapid flight I could discern on the surface of the sea.

On this occasion I was witness to one of the finest gun

shots which ever made the nerves of a hunter thrill.

A large bird of great breadth of wing, clearly visible, approached,

hovering over us.  Captain Nemo's companion shouldered his gun

and fired, when it was only a few yards above the waves.

The creature fell stunned, and the force of its fall

brought it within the reach of dexterous hunter's grasp.

It was an albatross of the finest kind.

Our march had not been interrupted by this incident.

For two hours we followed these sandy plains, then fields of algae

very disagreeable to cross.  Candidly, I could do no more when I

saw a glimmer of light, which, for a half mile, broke the

darkness of the waters.  It was the lantern of the Nautilus.

Before twenty minutes were over we should be on board,

and I should be able to breathe with ease, for it seemed

that my reservoir supplied air very deficient in oxygen.

But I did not reckon on an accidental meeting which delayed our

arrival for some time.

I had remained some steps behind, when I presently saw Captain

Nemo coming hurriedly towards me.  With his strong hand he bent

me to the ground, his companion doing the same to Conseil.

At first I knew not what to think of this sudden attack, but I

was soon reassured by seeing the Captain lie down beside me,

and remain immovable.

I was stretched on the ground, just under the shelter of a bush

of algae, when, raising my head, I saw some enormous mass,

casting phosphorescent gleams, pass blusteringly by.

My blood froze in my veins as I recognised two formidable

sharks which threatened us.  It was a couple of tintoreas,

terrible creatures, with enormous tails and a dull glassy stare,

the phosphorescent matter ejected from holes pierced around the muzzle.

Monstrous brutes! which would crush a whole man in their iron jaws.

I did not know whether Conseil stopped to classify them; for my part,

I noticed their silver bellies, and their huge mouths bristling

with teeth, from a very unscientific point of view, and more as a

possible victim than as a naturalist.

Happily the voracious creatures do not see well.  They passed without

seeing us, brushing us with their brownish fins, and we escaped by a miracle

from a danger certainly greater than meeting a tiger full-face in the forest.

Half an hour after, guided by the electric light we reached the Nautilus.

The outside door had been left open, and Captain Nemo closed it

as soon as we had entered the first cell.  He then pressed a knob.

I heard the pumps working in the midst of the vessel, I felt the water

sinking from around me, and in a few moments the cell was entirely empty.

The inside door then opened, and we entered the vestry.

There our diving-dress was taken off, not without some trouble, and,

fairly worn out from want of food and sleep, I returned to my room,

in great wonder at this surprising excursion at the bottom of the sea.

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CHAPTER XVII

FOUR THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE PACIFIC

The next morning, the 18th of November, I had quite recovered from

my fatigues of the day before, and I went up on to the platform,

just as the second lieutenant was uttering his daily phrase.

I was admiring the magnificent aspect of the ocean when Captain

Nemo appeared.  He did not seem to be aware of my presence,

and began a series of astronomical observations.

Then, when he had finished, he went and leant on the cage

of the watch-light, and gazed abstractedly on the ocean.

In the meantime, a number of the sailors of the Nautilus,

all strong and healthy men, had come up onto the platform.

They came to draw up the nets that had been laid all night.

These sailors were evidently of different nations,

although the European type was visible in all of them.

I recognised some unmistakable Irishmen, Frenchmen, some Sclaves,

and a Greek, or a Candiote.  They were civil, and only used that odd

language among themselves, the origin of which I could not guess,

neither could I question them.

The nets were hauled in.  They were a large kind of "chaluts," like those

on the Normandy coasts, great pockets that the waves and a chain fixed

in the smaller meshes kept open.  These pockets, drawn by iron poles,

swept through the water, and gathered in everything in their way.

That day they brought up curious specimens from those productive coasts.

I reckoned that the haul had brought in more than nine hundredweight of fish.

It was a fine haul, but not to be wondered at.  Indeed, the nets are let

down for several hours, and enclose in their meshes an infinite variety.

We had no lack of excellent food, and the rapidity of the Nautilus

and the attraction of the electric light could always renew our supply.

These several productions of the sea were immediately lowered through the

panel to the steward's room, some to be eaten fresh, and others pickled.

The fishing ended, the provision of air renewed, I thought

that the Nautilus was about to continue its submarine excursion,

and was preparing to return to my room, when, without further preamble,

the Captain turned to me, saying:

"Professor, is not this ocean gifted with real life?  It has its

tempers and its gentle moods.  Yesterday it slept as we did, and now it

has woke after a quiet night.  Look!" he continued, "it wakes under

the caresses of the sun.  It is going to renew its diurnal existence.

It is an interesting study to watch the play of its organisation.

It has a pulse, arteries, spasms; and I agree with the learned Maury,

who discovered in it a circulation as real as the circulation of

blood in animals.

"Yes, the ocean has indeed circulation, and to promote it, the Creator

has caused things to multiply in it--caloric, salt, and animalculae."

When Captain Nemo spoke thus, he seemed altogether changed,

and aroused an extraordinary emotion in me.

"Also," he added, "true existence is there; and I can imagine

the foundations of nautical towns, clusters of submarine houses,

which, like the Nautilus, would ascend every morning to breathe

at the surface of the water, free towns, independent cities.

Yet who knows whether some despot----"

Captain Nemo finished his sentence with a violent gesture.

Then, addressing me as if to chase away some sorrowful thought:

"M. Aronnax," he asked.  "do you know the depth of the ocean?"

"I only know, Captain, what the principal soundings have taught us."

"Could you tell me them, so that I can suit them to my purpose?"

"These are some," I replied, "that I remember.  If I am not mistaken,

a depth of 8,000 yards has been found in the North Atlantic,

and 2,500 yards in the Mediterranean.  The most remarkable soundings

have been made in the South Atlantic, near the thirty-fifth parallel,

and they gave 12,000 yards, 14,000 yards, and 15,000 yards.

To sum up all, it is reckoned that if the bottom of the sea were levelled,

its mean depth would be about one and three-quarter leagues."

"Well, Professor," replied the Captain, "we shall show you better

than that I hope.  As to the mean depth of this part of the Pacific,

I tell you it is only 4,000 yards."

Having said this, Captain Nemo went towards the panel,

and disappeared down the ladder.  I followed him, and went into

the large drawing-room. The screw was immediately put in motion,

and the log gave twenty miles an hour.

During the days and weeks that passed, Captain Nemo

was very sparing of his visits.  I seldom saw him.

The lieutenant pricked the ship's course regularly on the chart,

so I could always tell exactly the route of the Nautilus.

Nearly every day, for some time, the panels of the drawing-room were opened,

and we were never tired of penetrating the mysteries of the submarine world.

The general direction of the Nautilus was south-east, and it kept between 100

and 150 yards of depth.  One day, however, I do not know why, being drawn

diagonally by means of the inclined planes, it touched the bed of the sea.

The thermometer indicated a temperature of 4.25 (cent.): a temperature that at

this depth seemed common to all latitudes.

At three o'clock in the morning of the 26th of November the Nautilus

crossed the tropic of Cancer at 172@ long.  On 27th instant it

sighted the Sandwich Islands, where Cook died, February 14, 1779.

We had then gone 4,860 leagues from our starting-point. In the morning,

when I went on the platform, I saw two miles to windward,

Hawaii, the largest of the seven islands that form the group.

I saw clearly the cultivated ranges, and the several mountain-chains

that run parallel with the side, and the volcanoes that overtop

Mouna-Rea, which rise 5,000 yards above the level of the sea.

Besides other things the nets brought up, were several flabellariae

and graceful polypi, that are peculiar to that part of the ocean.

The direction of the Nautilus was still to the south-east. It crossed

the equator December 1, in 142@ long.; and on the 4th of the same month,

after crossing rapidly and without anything in particular occurring,

we sighted the Marquesas group.  I saw, three miles off, Martin's peak

in Nouka-Hiva, the largest of the group that belongs to France.

I only saw the woody mountains against the horizon, because Captain Nemo

did not wish to bring the ship to the wind.  There the nets brought up

beautiful specimens of fish:  some with azure fins and tails like gold,

the flesh of which is unrivalled; some nearly destitute of scales,

but of exquisite flavour; others, with bony jaws, and yellow-tinged

gills, as good as bonitos; all fish that would be of use to us.

After leaving these charming islands protected by the French flag,

from the 4th to the 11th of December the Nautilus sailed over about

2,000 miles.

During the daytime of the 11th of December I was busy reading

in the large drawing-room. Ned Land and Conseil watched the luminous

water through the half-open panels.  The Nautilus was immovable.

While its reservoirs were filled, it kept at a depth of 1,000 yards,

a region rarely visited in the ocean, and in which large fish

were seldom seen.

I was then reading a charming book by Jean Mace, The Slaves of the Stomach,

and I was learning some valuable lessons from it, when Conseil interrupted me.

"Will master come here a moment?" he said, in a curious voice.

"What is the matter, Conseil?"

"I want master to look."

I rose, went, and leaned on my elbows before the panes and watched.

In a full electric light, an enormous black mass, quite immovable,

was suspended in the midst of the waters.  I watched it attentively,

seeking to find out the nature of this gigantic cetacean.

But a sudden thought crossed my mind.  "A vessel!"

I said, half aloud.

"Yes," replied the Canadian, "a disabled ship that has sunk perpendicularly."

Ned Land was right; we were close to a vessel of which the tattered

shrouds still hung from their chains.  The keel seemed to be

in good order, and it had been wrecked at most some few hours.

Three stumps of masts, broken off about two feet above the bridge,

showed that the vessel had had to sacrifice its masts.  But, lying on

its side, it had filled, and it was heeling over to port.

This skeleton of what it had once been was a sad spectacle as it lay

lost under the waves, but sadder still was the sight of the bridge,

where some corpses, bound with ropes, were still lying.

I counted five--four men, one of whom was standing at the helm,

and a woman standing by the poop, holding an infant in her arms.

She was quite young.  I could distinguish her features, which the water

had not decomposed, by the brilliant light from the Nautilus.

In one despairing effort, she had raised her infant above her head--

poor little thing!--whose arms encircled its mother's neck.

The attitude of the four sailors was frightful, distorted as they

were by their convulsive movements, whilst making a last effort

to free themselves from the cords that bound them to the vessel.

The steersman alone, calm, with a grave, clear face, his grey hair

glued to his forehead, and his hand clutching the wheel of the helm,

seemed even then to be guiding the three broken masts through the depths

of the ocean.

What a scene!  We were dumb; our hearts beat fast before this shipwreck,

taken as it were from life and photographed in its last moments.

And I saw already, coming towards it with hungry eyes, enormous sharks,

attracted by the human flesh.

However, the Nautilus, turning, went round the submerged vessel,

and in one instant I read on the stern--"The Florida, Sunderland."

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CHAPTER XVIII

VANIKORO

This terrible spectacle was the forerunner of the series of maritime

catastrophes that the Nautilus was destined to meet with in its route.

As long as it went through more frequented waters, we often saw

the hulls of shipwrecked vessels that were rotting in the depths,

and deeper down cannons, bullets, anchors, chains, and a thousand

other iron materials eaten up by rust.  However, on the 11th of

December we sighted the Pomotou Islands, the old "dangerous group"

of Bougainville, that extend over a space of 500 leagues at

E.S.E. to W.N.W., from the Island Ducie to that of Lazareff.

This group covers an area of 370 square leagues, and it is formed

of sixty groups of islands, among which the Gambier group is remarkable,

over which France exercises sway.  These are coral islands,

slowly raised, but continuous, created by the daily work of polypi.

Then this new island will be joined later on to the neighboring groups,

and a fifth continent will stretch from New Zealand and New Caledonia,

and from thence to the Marquesas.

One day, when I was suggesting this theory to Captain Nemo,

he replied coldly:

"The earth does not want new continents, but new men."

{5 paragraphs have been stripped from this edition}

On 15th of December, we left to the east the bewitching group

of the Societies and the graceful Tahiti, queen of the Pacific.

I saw in the morning, some miles to the windward, the elevated

summits of the island.  These waters furnished our table

with excellent fish, mackerel, bonitos, and some varieties

of a sea-serpent.

On the 25th of December the Nautilus sailed into the midst of the

New Hebrides, discovered by Quiros in 1606, and that Bougainville

explored in 1768, and to which Cook gave its present name in 1773.

This group is composed principally of nine large islands, that form

a band of 120 leagues N.N.S. to S.S.W., between 15@ and 2@ S. lat.,

and 164@ and 168@ long.  We passed tolerably near to the Island of Aurou,

that at noon looked like a mass of green woods, surmounted by a peak

of great height.

That day being Christmas Day, Ned Land seemed to regret sorely

the non-celebration of "Christmas," the family fete of which

Protestants are so fond.  I had not seen Captain Nemo for a week,

when, on the morning of the 27th, he came into the large drawing-room,

always seeming as if he had seen you five minutes before.

I was busily tracing the route of the Nautilus on the planisphere.

The Captain came up to me, put his finger on one spot on the chart,

and said this single word.

"Vanikoro."

The effect was magical!  It was the name of the islands on which La

Perouse had been lost!  I rose suddenly.

"The Nautilus has brought us to Vanikoro?"  I asked.

"Yes, Professor," said the Captain.

"And I can visit the celebrated islands where the Boussole

and the Astrolabe struck?"

"If you like, Professor."

"When shall we be there?"

"We are there now."

Followed by Captain Nemo, I went up on to the platform,

and greedily scanned the horizon.

To the N.E. two volcanic islands emerged of unequal size,

surrounded by a coral reef that measured forty miles in circumference.

We were close to Vanikoro, really the one to which Dumont d'Urville

gave the name of Isle de la Recherche, and exactly facing the little

harbour of Vanou, situated in 16@ 4' S. lat., and 164@ 32' E. long.

The earth seemed covered with verdure from the shore to the summits

in the interior, that were crowned by Mount Kapogo, 476 feet high.

The Nautilus, having passed the outer belt of rocks by a narrow strait,

found itself among breakers where the sea was from thirty to forty

fathoms deep.  Under the verdant shade of some mangroves I perceived

some savages, who appeared greatly surprised at our approach.

In the long black body, moving between wind and water, did they not see

some formidable cetacean that they regarded with suspicion?

Just then Captain Nemo asked me what I knew about the wreck of La Perouse.

"Only what everyone knows, Captain," I replied.

"And could you tell me what everyone knows about it?"

he inquired, ironically.

"Easily."

I related to him all that the last works of Dumont d'Urville had made known--

works from which the following is a brief account.

La Perouse, and his second, Captain de Langle, were sent

by Louis XVI, in 1785, on a voyage of circumnavigation.

They embarked in the corvettes Boussole and the Astrolabe,

neither of which were again heard of.  In 1791, the French

Government, justly uneasy as to the fate of these two sloops,

manned two large merchantmen, the Recherche and the Esperance,

which left Brest the 28th of September under the command

of Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.

Two months after, they learned from Bowen, commander of the Albemarle,

that the debris of shipwrecked vessels had been seen on the coasts

of New Georgia.  But D'Entrecasteaux, ignoring this communication--

rather uncertain, besides--directed his course towards the Admiralty Islands,

mentioned in a report of Captain Hunter's as being the place where La

Perouse was wrecked.

They sought in vain.  The Esperance and the Recherche passed before Vanikoro

without stopping there, and, in fact, this voyage was most disastrous,

as it cost D'Entrecasteaux his life, and those of two of his lieutenants,

besides several of his crew.

Captain Dillon, a shrewd old Pacific sailor, was the first to find

unmistakable traces of the wrecks.  On the 15th of May, 1824, his vessel,

the St. Patrick, passed close to Tikopia, one of the New Hebrides.

There a Lascar came alongside in a canoe, sold him the handle of a sword

in silver that bore the print of characters engraved on the hilt.

The Lascar pretended that six years before, during a stay at Vanikoro,

he had seen two Europeans that belonged to some vessels that had run

aground on the reefs some years ago.

Dillon guessed that he meant La Perouse, whose disappearance had

troubled the whole world.  He tried to get on to Vanikoro, where,

according to the Lascar, he would find numerous debris of the wreck,

but winds and tides prevented him.

Dillon returned to Calcutta.  There he interested the Asiatic Society

and the Indian Company in his discovery.  A vessel, to which was given

the name of the Recherche, was put at his disposal, and he set out,

23rd January, 1827, accompanied by a French agent.

The Recherche, after touching at several points in the Pacific,

cast anchor before Vanikoro, 7th July, 1827, in that same harbour

of Vanou where the Nautilus was at this time.

There it collected numerous relics of the wreck--

iron utensils, anchors, pulley-strops, swivel-guns, an 18 lb.

shot, fragments of astronomical instruments, a piece of crown work,

and a bronze clock, bearing this inscription--"Bazin m'a fait,"

the mark of the foundry of the arsenal at Brest about 1785.

There could be no further doubt.

Dillon, having made all inquiries, stayed in the unlucky place till October.

Then he quitted Vanikoro, and directed his course towards New Zealand;

put into Calcutta, 7th April, 1828, and returned to France, where he was

warmly welcomed by Charles X.

But at the same time, without knowing Dillon's movements,

Dumont d'Urville had already set out to find the scene of the wreck.

And they had learned from a whaler that some medals and a cross of St. Louis

had been found in the hands of some savages of Louisiade and New Caledonia.

Dumont d'Urville, commander of the Astrolabe, had then sailed,

and two months after Dillon had left Vanikoro he put into Hobart Town.

There he learned the results of Dillon's inquiries, and found that a certain

James Hobbs, second lieutenant of the Union of Calcutta, after landing

on an island situated 8@ 18' S. lat., and 156@ 30' E. long., had seen

some iron bars and red stuffs used by the natives of these parts.

Dumont d'Urville, much perplexed, and not knowing how to credit the reports

of low-class journals, decided to follow Dillon's track.

On the 10th of February, 1828, the Astrolabe appeared off Tikopia,

and took as guide and interpreter a deserter found on the island;

made his way to Vanikoro, sighted it on the 12th inst., lay among

the reefs until the 14th, and not until the 20th did he cast anchor

within the barrier in the harbour of Vanou.

On the 23rd, several officers went round the island and brought

back some unimportant trifles.  The natives, adopting a system

of denials and evasions, refused to take them to the unlucky place.

This ambiguous conduct led them to believe that the natives had

ill-treated the castaways, and indeed they seemed to fear that Dumont

d'Urville had come to avenge La Perouse and his unfortunate crew.

However, on the 26th, appeased by some presents, and understanding that they

had no reprisals to fear, they led M. Jacquireot to the scene of the wreck.

There, in three or four fathoms of water, between the reefs

of Pacou and Vanou, lay anchors, cannons, pigs of lead and iron,

embedded in the limy concretions.  The large boat and the whaler

belonging to the Astrolabe were sent to this place, and, not without

some difficulty, their crews hauled up an anchor weighing 1,800

lbs., a brass gun, some pigs of iron, and two copper swivel-guns.

Dumont d'Urville, questioning the natives, learned too that La Perouse,

after losing both his vessels on the reefs of this island,

had constructed a smaller boat, only to be lost a second time.

Where, no one knew.

But the French Government, fearing that Dumont d'Urville was

not acquainted with Dillon's movements, had sent the sloop

Bayonnaise, commanded by Legoarant de Tromelin, to Vanikoro,

which had been stationed on the west coast of America.

The Bayonnaise cast her anchor before Vanikoro some months

after the departure of the Astrolabe, but found no new document;

but stated that the savages had respected the monument to La Perouse.

That is the substance of what I told Captain Nemo.

"So," he said, "no one knows now where the third vessel perished

that was constructed by the castaways on the island of Vanikoro?"

"No one knows."

Captain Nemo said nothing, but signed to me to follow him into

the large saloon.  The Nautilus sank several yards below the waves,

and the panels were opened.

I hastened to the aperture, and under the crustations of coral,

covered with fungi, I recognised certain debris that the drags had

not been able to tear up--iron stirrups, anchors, cannons, bullets,

capstan fittings, the stem of a ship, all objects clearly proving

the wreck of some vessel, and now carpeted with living flowers.

While I was looking on this desolate scene, Captain Nemo said,

in a sad voice:

{this above paragraph was edited}

"Commander La Perouse set out 7th December, 1785, with his vessels

La Boussole and the Astrolabe.  He first cast anchor at Botany Bay,

visited the Friendly Isles, New Caledonia, then directed his course

towards Santa Cruz, and put into Namouka, one of the Hapai group.

Then his vessels struck on the unknown reefs of Vanikoro.

The Boussole, which went first, ran aground on the southerly coast.

The Astrolabe went to its help, and ran aground too.  The first vessel

was destroyed almost immediately.  The second, stranded under the wind,

resisted some days.  The natives made the castaways welcome.

They installed themselves in the island, and constructed a smaller boat

with the debris of the two large ones.  Some sailors stayed willingly

at Vanikoro; the others, weak and ill, set out with La Perouse.

They directed their course towards the Solomon Islands, and there perished,

with everything, on the westerly coast of the chief island of the group,

between Capes Deception and Satisfaction."

"How do you know that?"

"By this, that I found on the spot where was the last wreck."

Captain Nemo showed me a tin-plate box, stamped with the French arms,

and corroded by the salt water.  He opened it, and I saw a bundle of papers,

yellow but still readable.

They were the instructions of the naval minister to Commander La Perouse,

annotated in the margin in Louis XVI's handwriting.

"Ah! it is a fine death for a sailor!" said Captain Nemo, at last.

"A coral tomb makes a quiet grave; and I trust that I and my comrades

will find no other."

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CHAPTER XIX

TORRES STRAITS

During the night of the 27th or 28th of December,

the Nautilus left the shores of Vanikoro with great speed.

Her course was south-westerly, and in three days she had gone

over the 750 leagues that separated it from La Perouse's group

and the south-east point of Papua.

Early on the 1st of January, 1863, Conseil joined me on the platform.

"Master, will you permit me to wish you a happy New Year?"

"What!  Conseil; exactly as if I was at Paris in my study

at the Jardin des Plantes?  Well, I accept your good wishes,

and thank you for them.  Only, I will ask you what you mean

by a `Happy New Year' under our circumstances?  Do you mean

the year that will bring us to the end of our imprisonment,

or the year that sees us continue this strange voyage?"

"Really, I do not know how to answer, master.  We are sure to see

curious things, and for the last two months we have not had time

for dullness.  The last marvel is always the most astonishing;

and, if we continue this progression, I do not know how it will end.

It is my opinion that we shall never again see the like.

I think then, with no offence to master, that a happy year would be

one in which we could see everything."

On 2nd January we had made 11,340 miles, or 5,250

French leagues, since our starting-point in the Japan Seas.

Before the ship's head stretched the dangerous shores

of the coral sea, on the north-east coast of Australia.

Our boat lay along some miles from the redoubtable bank

on which Cook's vessel was lost, 10th June, 1770.  The boat

in which Cook was struck on a rock, and, if it did not sink,

it was owing to a piece of coral that was broken by the shock,

and fixed itself in the broken keel.

I had wished to visit the reef, 360 leagues long, against which the sea,

always rough, broke with great violence, with a noise like thunder.

But just then the inclined planes drew the Nautilus down to a great depth,

and I could see nothing of the high coral walls.  I had to content

myself with the different specimens of fish brought up by the nets.

I remarked, among others, some germons, a species of mackerel as large

as a tunny, with bluish sides, and striped with transverse bands,

that disappear with the animal's life.  These fish followed us in shoals,

and furnished us with very delicate food.  We took also a large number

of giltheads, about one and a half inches long, tasting like dorys;

and flying fire-fish like submarine swallows, which, in dark nights,

light alternately the air and water with their phosphorescent light.{2

sentences missing here}

Two days after crossing the coral sea, 4th January, we sighted

the Papuan coasts.  On this occasion, Captain Nemo informed me that his

intention was to get into the Indian Ocean by the Strait of Torres.

His communication ended there.

The Torres Straits are nearly thirty-four leagues wide; but they are

obstructed by an innumerable quantity of islands, islets, breakers,

and rocks, that make its navigation almost impracticable;

so that Captain Nemo took all needful precautions to cross them.

The Nautilus, floating betwixt wind and water, went at a moderate pace.

Her screw, like a cetacean's tail, beat the waves slowly.

Profiting by this, I and my two companions went up on to the

deserted platform.  Before us was the steersman's cage, and I expected

that Captain Nemo was there directing the course of the Nautilus.

I had before me the excellent charts of the Straits of Torres, and I

consulted them attentively.  Round the Nautilus the sea dashed furiously.

The course of the waves, that went from south-east to north-west at

the rate of two and a half miles, broke on the coral that showed itself

here and there.

"This is a bad sea!" remarked Ned Land.

"Detestable indeed, and one that does not suit a boat like the Nautilus."

"The Captain must be very sure of his route, for I see there pieces of coral

that would do for its keel if it only touched them slightly."

Indeed the situation was dangerous, but the Nautilus seemed to slide

like magic off these rocks.  It did not follow the routes of the

Astrolabe and the Zelee exactly, for they proved fatal to Dumont

d'Urville. It bore more northwards, coasted the Islands of Murray,

and came back to the south-west towards Cumberland Passage.

I thought it was going to pass it by, when, going back to north-west,

it went through a large quantity of islands and islets little known,

towards the Island Sound and Canal Mauvais.

I wondered if Captain Nemo, foolishly imprudent, would steer his

vessel into that pass where Dumont d'Urville's two corvettes touched;

when, swerving again, and cutting straight through to the west,

he steered for the Island of Gilboa.

It was then three in the afternoon.  The tide began to recede,

being quite full.  The Nautilus approached the island, that I

still saw, with its remarkable border of screw-pines. He stood off

it at about two miles distant.  Suddenly a shock overthrew me.

The Nautilus just touched a rock, and stayed immovable,

laying lightly to port side.

When I rose, I perceived Captain Nemo and his lieutenant on the platform.

They were examining the situation of the vessel, and exchanging words in

their incomprehensible dialect.

She was situated thus:  Two miles, on the starboard side,

appeared Gilboa, stretching from north to west like an immense arm.

Towards the south and east some coral showed itself, left by the ebb.

We had run aground, and in one of those seas where the tides

are middling--a sorry matter for the floating of the Nautilus.

However, the vessel had not suffered, for her keel was solidly joined.

But, if she could neither glide off nor move, she ran the risk

of being for ever fastened to these rocks, and then Captain Nemo's

submarine vessel would be done for.

I was reflecting thus, when the Captain, cool and calm,

always master of himself, approached me.

"An accident?"  I asked.

"No; an incident."

"But an incident that will oblige you perhaps to become an inhabitant

of this land from which you flee?"

Captain Nemo looked at me curiously, and made a negative gesture, as much

as to say that nothing would force him to set foot on terra firma again.

Then he said:

"Besides, M. Aronnax, the Nautilus is not lost; it will

carry you yet into the midst of the marvels of the ocean.

Our voyage is only begun, and I do not wish to be deprived so soon

of the honour of your company."

"However, Captain Nemo," I replied, without noticing the ironical

turn of his phrase, "the Nautilus ran aground in open sea.

Now the tides are not strong in the Pacific; and, if you cannot

lighten the Nautilus, I do not see how it will be reinflated."

"The tides are not strong in the Pacific:  you are right there,

Professor; but in Torres Straits one finds still a difference

of a yard and a half between the level of high and low seas.

To-day is 4th January, and in five days the moon will be full.

Now, I shall be very much astonished if that satellite does

not raise these masses of water sufficiently, and render me

a service that I should be indebted to her for."

Having said this, Captain Nemo, followed by his lieutenant,

redescended to the interior of the Nautilus.  As to the vessel,

it moved not, and was immovable, as if the coralline polypi had

already walled it up with their in destructible cement.

"Well, sir?" said Ned Land, who came up to me after the departure

of the Captain.

"Well, friend Ned, we will wait patiently for the tide on the 9th instant;

for it appears that the moon will have the goodness to put it off again."

"Really?"

"Really."

"And this Captain is not going to cast anchor at all since the tide

will suffice?" said Conseil, simply.

The Canadian looked at Conseil, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Sir, you may believe me when I tell you that this piece of iron will navigate

neither on nor under the sea again; it is only fit to be sold for its weight.

I think, therefore, that the time has come to part company with Captain Nemo."

"Friend Ned, I do not despair of this stout Nautilus, as you do;

and in four days we shall know what to hold to on the Pacific tides.

Besides, flight might be possible if we were in sight of the English

or Provencal coast; but on the Papuan shores, it is another thing;

and it will be time enough to come to that extremity if the Nautilus

does not recover itself again, which I look upon as a grave event."

"But do they know, at least, how to act circumspectly?  There is an island;

on that island there are trees; under those trees, terrestrial animals,

bearers of cutlets and roast beef, to which I would willingly give a trial."

"In this, friend Ned is right," said Conseil, "and I agree with him.

Could not master obtain permission from his friend Captain Nemo to put us

on land, if only so as not to lose the habit of treading on the solid parts

of our planet?"

"I can ask him, but he will refuse."

"Will master risk it?" asked Conseil, "and we shall know how to rely

upon the Captain's amiability."

To my great surprise, Captain Nemo gave me the permission I asked for,

and he gave it very agreeably, without even exacting from me a promise

to return to the vessel; but flight across New Guinea might be

very perilous, and I should not have counselled Ned Land to attempt it.

Better to be a prisoner on board the Nautilus than to fall into the hands

of the natives.

At eight o'clock, armed with guns and hatchets, we got off the Nautilus.

The sea was pretty calm; a slight breeze blew on land.

Conseil and I rowing, we sped along quickly, and Ned steered

in the straight passage that the breakers left between them.

The boat was well handled, and moved rapidly.

Ned Land could not restrain his joy.  He was like a prisoner that had escaped

from prison, and knew not that it was necessary to re-enter it.

"Meat!  We are going to eat some meat; and what meat!" he replied.

"Real game! no, bread, indeed."

"I do not say that fish is not good; we must not abuse it;

but a piece of fresh venison, grilled on live coals,

will agreeably vary our ordinary course."

"Glutton!" said Conseil, "he makes my mouth water."

"It remains to be seen," I said, "if these forests are full of game,

and if the game is not such as will hunt the hunter himself."

"Well said, M. Aronnax," replied the Canadian, whose teeth seemed

sharpened like the edge of a hatchet; "but I will eat tiger--

loin of tiger--if there is no other quadruped on this island."

"Friend Ned is uneasy about it," said Conseil.

"Whatever it may be," continued Ned Land, "every animal with four

paws without feathers, or with two paws without feathers,

will be saluted by my first shot."

"Very well!  Master Land's imprudences are beginning."

"Never fear, M. Aronnax," replied the Canadian; "I do not want

twenty-five minutes to offer you a dish, of my sort."

At half-past eight the Nautilus boat ran softly aground

on a heavy sand, after having happily passed the coral reef

that surrounds the Island of Gilboa.

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CHAPTER XX

A FEW DAYS ON LAND

I was much impressed on touching land.  Ned Land tried

the soil with his feet, as if to take possession of it.

However, it was only two months before that we had become,

according to Captain Nemo, "passengers on board the Nautilus,"

but, in reality, prisoners of its commander.

In a few minutes we were within musket-shot of the coast.

The whole horizon was hidden behind a beautiful curtain of forests.

Enormous trees, the trunks of which attained a height of 200 feet,

were tied to each other by garlands of bindweed, real natural

hammocks, which a light breeze rocked.  They were mimosas,

figs, hibisci, and palm trees, mingled together in profusion;

and under the shelter of their verdant vault grew orchids,

leguminous plants, and ferns.

But, without noticing all these beautiful specimens of Papuan flora,

the Canadian abandoned the agreeable for the useful.

He discovered a coco-tree, beat down some of the fruit, broke them,

and we drunk the milk and ate the nut with a satisfaction that

protested against the ordinary food on the Nautilus.

"Excellent!" said Ned Land.

"Exquisite!" replied Conseil.

"And I do not think," said the Canadian, "that he would object

to our introducing a cargo of coco-nuts on board."

"I do not think he would, but he would not taste them."

"So much the worse for him," said Conseil.

"And so much the better for us," replied Ned Land.

"There will be more for us."

"One word only, Master Land," I said to the harpooner, who was

beginning to ravage another coco-nut tree.  "Coco-nuts are good things,

but before filling the canoe with them it would be wise to reconnoitre

and see if the island does not produce some substance not less useful.

Fresh vegetables would be welcome on board the Nautilus."

"Master is right," replied Conseil; "and I propose to reserve three places

in our vessel, one for fruits, the other for vegetables, and the third

for the venison, of which I have not yet seen the smallest specimen."

"Conseil, we must not despair," said the Canadian.

"Let us continue," I returned, "and lie in wait.  Although the island

seems uninhabited, it might still contain some individuals that would

be less hard than we on the nature of game."

"Ho! ho!" said Ned Land, moving his jaws significantly.

"Well, Ned!" said Conseil.

"My word!" returned the Canadian, "I begin to understand

the charms of anthropophagy."

"Ned!  Ned! what are you saying?  You, a man-eater? I should

not feel safe with you, especially as I share your cabin.

I might perhaps wake one day to find myself half devoured."

"Friend Conseil, I like you much, but not enough to eat you unnecessarily."

"I would not trust you," replied Conseil.  "But enough.

We must absolutely bring down some game to satisfy this cannibal,

or else one of these fine mornings, master will find only pieces

of his servant to serve him."

While we were talking thus, we were penetrating the sombre arches

of the forest, and for two hours we surveyed it in all directions.

Chance rewarded our search for eatable vegetables,

and one of the most useful products of the tropical zones

furnished us with precious food that we missed on board.

I would speak of the bread-fruit tree, very abundant in the island

of Gilboa; and I remarked chiefly the variety destitute of seeds,

which bears in Malaya the name of "rima."

Ned Land knew these fruits well.  He had already eaten many during his

numerous voyages, and he knew how to prepare the eatable substance.

Moreover, the sight of them excited him, and he could contain

himself no longer.

"Master," he said, "I shall die if I do not taste a little

of this bread-fruit pie."

"Taste it, friend Ned--taste it as you want.  We are here

to make experiments--make them."

"It won't take long," said the Canadian.

And, provided with a lentil, he lighted a fire of dead wood that

crackled joyously.  During this time, Conseil and I chose the best

fruits of the bread-fruit. Some had not then attained a sufficient

degree of maturity; and their thick skin covered a white but rather

fibrous pulp.  Others, the greater number yellow and gelatinous,

waited only to be picked.

These fruits enclosed no kernel.  Conseil brought a dozen to Ned Land,

who placed them on a coal fire, after having cut them in thick slices,

and while doing this repeating:

"You will see, master, how good this bread is.

More so when one has been deprived of it so long.

It is not even bread," added he, "but a delicate pastry.

You have eaten none, master?"

"No, Ned."

"Very well, prepare yourself for a juicy thing.  If you do not come for more,

I am no longer the king of harpooners."

After some minutes, the part of the fruits that was exposed to the fire

was completely roasted.  The interior looked like a white pasty,

a sort of soft crumb, the flavour of which was like that of an artichoke.

It must be confessed this bread was excellent, and I ate of it

with great relish.

"What time is it now?" asked the Canadian.

"Two o'clock at least," replied Conseil.

"How time flies on firm ground!" sighed Ned Land.

"Let us be off," replied Conseil.

We returned through the forest, and completed our collection by a raid

upon the cabbage-palms, that we gathered from the tops of the trees,

little beans that I recognised as the "abrou" of the Malays, and yams

of a superior quality.

We were loaded when we reached the boat.  But Ned Land did not

find his provisions sufficient.  Fate, however, favoured us.

Just as we were pushing off, he perceived several trees,

from twenty-five to thirty feet high, a species of palm-tree.

At last, at five o'clock in the evening, loaded with our riches,

we quitted the shore, and half an hour after we hailed the Nautilus.

No one appeared on our arrival.  The enormous iron-plated cylinder

seemed deserted.  The provisions embarked, I descended to my chamber,

and after supper slept soundly.

The next day, 6th January, nothing new on board.

Not a sound inside, not a sign of life.  The boat rested

along the edge, in the same place in which we had left it.

We resolved to return to the island.  Ned Land hoped to be

more fortunate than on the day before with regard to the hunt,

and wished to visit another part of the forest.

At dawn we set off.  The boat, carried on by the waves that flowed to shore,

reached the island in a few minutes.

We landed, and, thinking that it was better to give in to the Canadian,

we followed Ned Land, whose long limbs threatened to distance us.

He wound up the coast towards the west:  then, fording some torrents,

he gained the high plain that was bordered with admirable forests.

Some kingfishers were rambling along the water-courses, but they would

not let themselves be approached.  Their circumspection proved to me

that these birds knew what to expect from bipeds of our species, and I

concluded that, if the island was not inhabited, at least human beings

occasionally frequented it.

After crossing a rather large prairie, we arrived at the skirts of a little

wood that was enlivened by the songs and flight of a large number of birds.

"There are only birds," said Conseil.

"But they are eatable," replied the harpooner.

"I do not agree with you, friend Ned, for I see only parrots there."

"Friend Conseil," said Ned, gravely, "the parrot is like pheasant

to those who have nothing else."

"And," I added, "this bird, suitably prepared, is worth knife and fork."

Indeed, under the thick foliage of this wood, a world of parrots

were flying from branch to branch, only needing a careful

education to speak the human language.  For the moment, they were

chattering with parrots of all colours, and grave cockatoos,

who seemed to meditate upon some philosophical problem,

whilst brilliant red lories passed like a piece of bunting carried

away by the breeze, papuans, with the finest azure colours,

and in all a variety of winged things most charming to behold,

but few eatable.

However, a bird peculiar to these lands, and which has never passed

the limits of the Arrow and Papuan islands, was wanting in this collection.

But fortune reserved it for me before long.

After passing through a moderately thick copse, we found a plain

obstructed with bushes.  I saw then those magnificent birds,

the disposition of whose long feathers obliges them to fly against

the wind.  Their undulating flight, graceful aerial curves,

and the shading of their colours, attracted and charmed one's looks.

I had no trouble in recognising them.

"Birds of paradise!"  I exclaimed.

The Malays, who carry on a great trade in these birds with the Chinese,

have several means that we could not employ for taking them.

Sometimes they put snares on the top of high trees that the birds

of paradise prefer to frequent.  Sometimes they catch them with a

viscous birdlime that paralyses their movements.  They even go so far

as to poison the fountains that the birds generally drink from.

But we were obliged to fire at them during flight, which gave us few

chances to bring them down; and, indeed, we vainly exhausted one

half our ammunition.

About eleven o'clock in the morning, the first range of mountains that form

the centre of the island was traversed, and we had killed nothing.

Hunger drove us on.  The hunters had relied on the products of the chase,

and they were wrong.  Happily Conseil, to his great surprise,

made a double shot and secured breakfast.  He brought down a white pigeon

and a wood-pigeon, which, cleverly plucked and suspended from a skewer,

was roasted before a red fire of dead wood.  While these interesting

birds were cooking, Ned prepared the fruit of the bread-tree. Then

the wood-pigeons were devoured to the bones, and declared excellent.

The nutmeg, with which they are in the habit of stuffing their crops,

flavours their flesh and renders it delicious eating.

"Now, Ned, what do you miss now?"

"Some four-footed game, M. Aronnax.  All these pigeons are only

side-dishes and trifles; and until I have killed an animal

with cutlets I shall not be content."

"Nor I, Ned, if I do not catch a bird of paradise."

"Let us continue hunting," replied Conseil.  "Let us go towards the sea.

We have arrived at the first declivities of the mountains, and I think we had

better regain the region of forests."

That was sensible advice, and was followed out.

After walking for one hour we had attained a forest of

sago-trees. Some inoffensive serpents glided away from us.

The birds of paradise fled at our approach, and truly I despaired

of getting near one when Conseil, who was walking in front,

suddenly bent down, uttered a triumphal cry, and came back to me

bringing a magnificent specimen.

"Ah! bravo, Conseil!"

"Master is very good."

"No, my boy; you have made an excellent stroke.

Take one of these living birds, and carry it in your hand."

"If master will examine it, he will see that I have not deserved great merit."

"Why, Conseil?"

"Because this bird is as drunk as a quail."

"Drunk!"

"Yes, sir; drunk with the nutmegs that it devoured under

the nutmeg-tree, under which I found it.  See, friend Ned,

see the monstrous effects of intemperance!"

"By Jove!" exclaimed the Canadian, "because I have drunk gin for two months,

you must needs reproach me!"

However, I examined the curious bird.  Conseil was right.

The bird, drunk with the juice, was quite powerless.  It could

not fly; it could hardly walk.

This bird belonged to the most beautiful of the eight species

that are found in Papua and in the neighbouring islands.

It was the "large emerald bird, the most rare kind."

It measured three feet in length.  Its head was comparatively small,

its eyes placed near the opening of the beak, and also small.

But the shades of colour were beautiful, having a yellow beak,

brown feet and claws, nut-coloured wings with purple tips,

pale yellow at the back of the neck and head, and emerald

colour at the throat, chestnut on the breast and belly.

Two horned, downy nets rose from below the tail, that prolonged

the long light feathers of admirable fineness, and they

completed the whole of this marvellous bird, that the natives

have poetically named the "bird of the sun."

But if my wishes were satisfied by the possession of the bird

of paradise, the Canadian's were not yet.  Happily, about two

o'clock, Ned Land brought down a magnificent hog; from the brood

of those the natives call "bari-outang." The animal came in time

for us to procure real quadruped meat, and he was well received.

Ned Land was very proud of his shot.  The hog, hit by the electric ball,

fell stone dead.  The Canadian skinned and cleaned it properly,

after having taken half a dozen cutlets, destined to furnish us

with a grilled repast in the evening.  Then the hunt was resumed,

which was still more marked by Ned and Conseil's exploits.

Indeed, the two friends, beating the bushes, roused a herd

of kangaroos that fled and bounded along on their elastic paws.

But these animals did not take to flight so rapidly but what

the electric capsule could stop their course.

"Ah, Professor!" cried Ned Land, who was carried away by the

delights of the chase, "what excellent game, and stewed, too!

What a supply for the Nautilus!  Two! three! five down!

And to think that we shall eat that flesh, and that the idiots on

board shall not have a crumb!"

I think that, in the excess of his joy, the Canadian,

if he had not talked so much, would have killed them all.

But he contented himself with a single dozen of these

interesting marsupians.  These animals were small.

They were a species of those "kangaroo rabbits" that live

habitually in the hollows of trees, and whose speed is extreme;

but they are moderately fat, and furnish, at least, estimable food.

We were very satisfied with the results of the hunt.

Happy Ned proposed to return to this enchanting island the next day,

for he wished to depopulate it of all the eatable quadrupeds.

But he had reckoned without his host.

At six o'clock in the evening we had regained the shore;

our boat was moored to the usual place.  The Nautilus, like a

long rock, emerged from the waves two miles from the beach.

Ned Land, without waiting, occupied himself about the important

dinner business.  He understood all about cooking well.

The "bari-outang," grilled on the coals, soon scented the air with

a delicious odour.

Indeed, the dinner was excellent.  Two wood-pigeons

completed this extraordinary menu.  The sago pasty,

the artocarpus bread, some mangoes, half a dozen pineapples,

and the liquor fermented from some coco-nuts, overjoyed us.

I even think that my worthy companions' ideas had not all

the plainness desirable.

"Suppose we do not return to the Nautilus this evening?" said Conseil.

"Suppose we never return?" added Ned Land.

Just then a stone fell at our feet and cut short the harpooner's proposition.

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