By the next morning, November 18, I had recovered from our adventures of the previous day. I went up on the platform, where Captain Nemo soon appeared and began a series of observations with his instruments. Meanwhile some sailors came up to haul in the fishing nets they'd laid the previous night. Although they appeared to be Europeans, they all used that strange language, so I couldn't determine their nationalities.
Nemo suddenly began speaking to me. "Professor, isn't this ocean like a living being? It has its moods. Last night it slept and now it has awoken after a quiet night."
When Captain Nemo spoke like this, he seemed like a different man.
"I can imagine," he went on, "clusters of submarine houses that would rise every morning to breathe like the Nautilus. Free towns, independent cities. Yet who knows whether some tyrant—"
Captain Nemo interrupted himself with a violent gesture. Our conversation was over without my having said a word.
During the weeks that followed, I seldom saw him, and when I did, he felt no need to explain his absence. His lieutenant regularly marked the submarine's course on the map, so I always knew where we were. By November 27 we had traveled 4,860 leagues and reached Hawaii. On December 1 we crossed the equator. From December 4 to 11, we traveled an additional 925 leagues. We passed December 25 without celebrating Christmas, much to Ned's regret.
Early on the morning of January 1, 1868, Conseil joined me on the platform.
"Master, may I wish you a Happy New Year?" he asked.
"I thank you for your good wishes," I said. "But I must ask what you mean by a 'happy' year in this situation. Do you mean a year that will bring us to the end of our imprisonment or a year that sees us continue on this strange voyage?"
"I don't really know how to answer, Master. We're sure to see some interesting things if we continue with Captain Nemo. In the past two months we haven't had time to be bored; the latest marvel is always the most astonishing. So I'd say a happy year would be one where we could see everything—"
"Everything, Conseil? No year could be that long. But what does Ned Land think about all this?"
"Ned's thoughts are exactly the opposite of mine," said Conseil. "He's tired of staring at fish through the windows and eating them at every meal."
"Oh, I don't mind the food," I said.
"Neither do I," replied Conseil. "I think as much about staying as Ned does about escaping. So no matter what happens, one of us will be happy. In conclusion I wish for you to have whatever will make you happy."
We shook hands and Conseil descended into the submarine.
By the next day, January 2, we had traveled 5,250 leagues under the sea. Over the next two days, we crossed the Coral Sea, and on January 4, we sighted the coast of New Guinea. On that day Captain Nemo announced that he intended to get to the Indian Ocean by the Torres Strait between New Guinea and Australia. Filled with coral reefs, it was a route that even the boldest navigators feared, and many considered the world's most dangerous strait.
The passage is about seventy miles wide, but it's obstructed by countless islands, islets, and rocks. It's almost impossible to navigate, so Captain Nemo had to take every precaution. Rising to the surface, the Nautilus proceeded slowly through the water. My two companions and I took advantage of the situation and climbed to the deserted platform. I suspected that Captain Nemo was piloting the sub himself. Around the Nautilus the sea appeared to boil as waves broke over the coral.
"This is a rough sea," said Ned. "I hope the captain knows what he's doing."
Indeed the situation was dangerous, but the Nautilus seemed to glide through the water like magic.
At about three in the afternoon, we were only a couple miles away from the island of Gilboa. Suddenly I was knocked off my feet—we had run aground! The Nautilus had just touched the coral below, but the vessel was now listing slightly to its portside.
When I stood up, I saw that Captain Nemo and his lieutenant were on the platform. They were examining the situation and talking in their incomprehensible language.
Unfortunately we had run aground in a part of the ocean where the tides were not strong. It would be difficult for the tide to rise high enough to float the sub off the coral. I was thinking about this when the captain, cool and calm as ever, approached me.
"An accident?" I asked.
"No, an incident," he replied.
"But an incident that may oblige you to become an inhabitant of land once more?"
Captain Nemo shook his head as if to say that nothing could force him to set foot on dry land again.
"The Nautilus is not damaged, Professor. It will still carry you into the midst of the ocean's marvels," he replied. "Our voyage has only begun, and I would not want to be deprived so soon of the honor of your company."
"But the tides aren't very high here," I said.
"That is true, but in five days, the moon will be full, so the tide will be at its highest. I fully expect the moon to take care of this incident for me."
Having said that, Captain Nemo and his lieutenant went back into the interior of the submarine. Once they were gone, Ned and Conseil approached me.
"Well, sir?" asked Ned. "What did Captain Nemo have to say?"
I explained how the captain said we must wait for the full moon to do its work.
"Really?" said Ned skeptically. "We're just going to sit here?"
"The captain is not going to do anything to try and move the Nautilus?" asked Conseil.
"That is correct," I said.
Ned looked at Conseil and then shrugged his shoulders. "Sir, believe me, this hunk of metal is never going to navigate the sea again. It's only fit to be sold for scrap, therefore, I think it's time to part company with Captain Nemo."
I still had faith in the captain and his vessel, so I counseled Ned to stay put. "Flight might be possible if we were in sight of the English or French coasts, but out here—"
"Couldn't we at least go ashore?" asked Ned. "There are likely to be animals roaming the island, and I'm sure they could be turned into fine roasts and cutlets."
"Master, I agree with Ned," said Conseil. "Couldn't you ask your friend, Captain Nemo, to put us ashore, if only so we don't forget how to walk on land?"
"I'll ask, but I know he'll refuse."
To my great surprise, the captain agreed to our request. He didn't even make us promise to return, probably knowing that fleeing across New Guinea would be perilous. I'd decided that if Ned asked me about escaping, I'd say it was better to be a prisoner onboard the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of the natives.