CHAPTER THREE

Ten Millions of Pearls

At four o'clock in the morning, I was awoken by a crew-member, and told to prepare for the pearl hunt. I quickly dressed and went to the sitting room where Captain Nemo was waiting for me.

"Professor Aronnax, are you ready to begin?"

"I am ready."

"Then, please follow me."

The captain took us to the boat where five other men were waiting with our diving suits and helmets. The pearl beds were rather close to land. The water was too shallow for the Nautilus to sail into, so we were to take the boat there, then dive into the pearl beds.

"Here we are, Professor Aronnax," said Captain Nemo. "You see that bay over there?" he asked, pointing in the distance. "In a month, those waters will be filled with pearl divers."

We soon arrived and put on our diving suits and helmets. Just before we were to dive into the bay, I asked the captain for the air gun I had used on the hunting trip.

"Guns? What for? You will not need a gun. Here, this knife has a strong blade, and will be much more useful for you."

We then dove into the water and were soon on the bottom of the ocean floor. At about seven o'clock in the morning, we came to a cave where we found millions of pearl oysters. We were not allowed to examine these wonders, as the captain continued on his path, and we were to follow. After walking through that cave, we entered a deeper cave where the captain pointed to a gigantic oyster, almost eight feet wide. I walked up to examine this wonder of the sea, and would estimate the oyster to weigh nearly 600 pounds. Captain Nemo then walked closer, put his knife between the two shells, so it would not close, and pulled out a pearl the size of a coconut. He then returned the prized pearl to the oyster shell where it would continue to grow. I estimated the value of that pearl to be nearly 500,000 pounds at least.

I thought we would now return to the boat, but the captain gestured for us to hide behind a rock near him. He then pointed to something moving through the water nearby. I thought perhaps a shark was coming, but it was a man, an Indian fisherman, diving for pearls. His boat was above where he would place his findings before quickly diving back into the water for more oysters. We watched him for several minutes before we noticed a shark nearby. Suddenly, the man saw the shark, and I could see terror in his eyes. The shark swam towards him quickly, and the man was hit by the shark's tail, and fell to the ocean floor. Then, the shark came back with his jaws open. Captain Nemo suddenly stood up with the knife in his hand, and walked straight to the gigantic monster. He waited with calm confidence for the shark to come. The battle began, during which, the captain threw his knife into the shark several times. The water was soon red with the blood of the shark.

I wanted to help the captain, but my fear forced me to remain behind the rock where I was. It soon appeared that Captain Nemo was soon going to lose this battle. Suddenly, however, Ned Land jumped to rescue the captain, throwing his spear into the heart of the shark. Blood filled the water. Captain Nemo immediately went to the fisherman to carry him to his boat, hoping to wake him. I feared, however, that he had been killed after being hit by the shark's powerful tail.

Happily, the man was soon awake, but looked confused and terrified when looking at the four of us in our sea suits and helmets. Captain Nemo then placed a purse of pearls in the man's hand and we dove into the water to return to the Nautilus.

(end of section)