We were headed west, toward the Indian Ocean, and the Nautilus was traveling quickly. Where would Captain Nemo's whim carry us next? Only time would tell. Every day we were charmed by some new marvel that we saw through the windows of the submarine. Ned kept trying to vary our diet by introducing some of the foods we had gathered on our island excursion. Aside from that, we no longer thought about life on land until something very strange happened.
On January 18, I went up to the platform to greet the day as was my habit. I waited for the lieutenant to call out his usual phrase, but this time the words were different. Almost immediately Captain Nemo appeared and scanned the horizon with his telescope. For some minutes he didn't move. Then he lowered his telescope and exchanged some words with his lieutenant, who appeared agitated. The captain, however, remained cool.
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What had they seen with their telescopes? I looked carefully at the horizon but could see nothing. The Nautilus was hundreds of miles from the nearest shore. Pacing the platform, Captain Nemo gave the order for the submarine to speed up. Just then the lieutenant drew the captain's attention to something. Captain Nemo stopped pacing and studied the horizon again with his telescope.
I had to find out what they were looking at. I went to the gallery and retrieved a telescope that I often used. Back on the platform, I raised it to my eye, but as soon as I did that, the telescope was snatched away! I turned around to face Captain Nemo, but I almost didn't recognize him. His eyes flashed and his teeth were clenched. His whole body betrayed his anger. He did not move while my telescope rolled at his feet. Had I unwittingly discovered some secret that provoked this fit of anger?
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I quickly realized that I was not the object of his hatred because he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was fixed on some distant point of the horizon.
"Professor Aronnax," he said in a particularly commanding tone, "I now require you to honor your agreement with me."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You and your companions must be confined until I decide to release you."
"You're the captain," I said while looking steadily at him. "But may I ask you one question?"
"You may not."
It would have been useless to try to resist his order. I went down to the cabin occupied by Ned and Conseil and told them what the captain had said.
You can imagine Ned's reaction, but there was no time for argument.
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Four of the crew arrived and conducted us to that cell where we had spent our first night onboard the Nautilus. Ned tried to protest, but the door was shut in his face.
"Master, will you tell us what this all means?" asked Conseil.
I had no idea what was going on and could only think of the strange fear on Captain Nemo's face.
"Hello! What's this?" said Ned, interrupting my thoughts. "Breakfast! But it's only the regular ship's fare, none of my special treats from the island."
"I suggest we eat it," said Conseil, "because we don't know when we'll see our next meal."
We took our seats at the table and ate in silence. Just then the ceiling light went out, leaving us in total darkness.
"That's all right," said Ned. "I'm feeling sleepy anyway."
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To my astonishment both he and Conseil were soon asleep. I was wondering why they were so drowsy when I felt myself becoming very tired. My eyes closed despite my efforts to keep them open. I began to suspect that our food had been drugged. Evidently Captain Nemo felt that imprisonment wasn't enough to conceal his actions from us. I heard the hatches shut and thought I felt the Nautilus descending below the surface. I fell into a deep sleep filled with nightmares.
The next morning I awoke with a clear head. To my great surprise, I was in my own room. My companions undoubtedly had been transferred to their cabin. I tried my door and it opened, so I was once again free to roam the submarine. I went up on the platform, where I met Ned and Conseil. Like me, they had been astonished at waking up in their own beds. The lieutenant came up and pronounced his usual phrase. There was no sign of Captain Nemo.
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Later that afternoon I was busy working in the gallery when the captain appeared. I hoped he might give me some explanation for the previous day's events, but he said nothing. He looked very sad.
After a few minutes he said, "Professor, are you a doctor?"
I was surprised at the question. "Yes, I am. I practiced medicine for several years before I joined the museum."
"Then would you look at one of my men who is ill?"
"Certainly," I said, curious if this man's illness had anything to do with yesterday's mysterious happenings.
Captain Nemo led me to a cabin near the crew's quarters. On the bed lay a man who was not only seriously ill but also gravely wounded. His head was covered with a bandage, and when I unwrapped it, I found a devastating injury.
"What caused this wound?" I asked.
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"Does it really matter? How is he doing?"
I hesitated to give my opinion, but Nemo reassured me that the man couldn't understand me if I spoke French.
"He'll be dead in two hours," I said. "Nothing can be done to save him."
I was surprised to see tears glistening in Captain Nemo's eyes. He said, "You may go now, Professor."
For the rest of the day I felt upset. I slept badly that night and thought I heard distant music that sounded like a funeral hymn.
The next morning Captain Nemo asked if my companions and I could go for another underwater walk. This time Ned decided to go with us because he regretted having missed our underwater hunt.
Accompanied by Captain Nemo and about a dozen crew members, we left the Nautilus. I recognized at once that we were in the middle of a kingdom made of coral.
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Four of the men were carrying an oblong-shaped object. After walking for about two hours, we came to an area where there was a coral cross surrounded by small mounds of coral. Obviously the cross and mounds were man-made. And then it occurred to me that we were in the middle of a cemetery. The oblong object was the body of the man who had died the previous night.
A grave was dug and the man was buried with great care and ceremony. Back onboard the Nautilus, I talked to Captain Nemo.
"That was the man who died last night," I said.
"Yes, now the coral will do its work and cover him for eternity." Nemo buried his face in his hands and tried to suppress a sob.
"Your dead sleep out of the reach of sharks," I said quietly.
"Yes, sir, of sharks and men," gravely replied the captain.