CHAPTER TWELVE

Whales

During the nights of the 13th and 14* of March, the Nautilus was again sailing south. I guessed that after reaching the southern tip of South America, the captain would sail to the west into the Pacific Ocean, therefore completing a world tour. He did not return to the Pacific, however, but rather continued going south. Where was he going? To the South Pole? I now worried that the captain's great courage would lead us into a terrible situation, as Ned Land had feared. For some time, the Canadian had not spoken of his escape plans. Now, he was almost silent. His time on the submarine was not an exciting adventure, as he longed to be on land again. When he met the captain, I could see anger in his eyes and feared that he might become violent soon. On the 14* of March, he and Conseil came to speak to me.

"How many men do you believe to be onboard the Nautilus?" Ned Land asked me.

"I do not know, my friend," I responded. "Certainly at least ten men."

"Well, could you estimate the number of men onboard the submarine by calculating the size of the Nautilus?" Conseil suggested.

"Well, you need to figure out the total amount of air used by one person, then find out how much air can be held onboard," I explained. "I estimate, then, there could be 625 men onboard, to breathe in the submarine's air supply in twenty-four hours."

"Six hundred and twenty-five!" exclaimed Ned Land.

"That is far too many for three men," whispered Conseil. I then realized that Ned had wished to take over the ship, therefore allowing him to return to land. We, however, did not know how many men were onboard.

"Professor," continued Conseil, "I must tell you that poor Ned misses everything he cannot have. We must understand him. He has no desire to learn about the mysteries under the surface of the water. He desires to return to his life where he had freedom."

I understood that the Canadian could not bear living in such a manner much longer, but we still had no way of escaping, as we were rather far from land.

The next morning, as we were standing on the platform watching the ocean, we saw a group of whales swimming nearby. This sighting only upset poor Ned, as he remembered his days as a whale catcher; the days when he was free.

"Ah!" exclaimed the Canadian, "if I was onboard a whaling ship, I would be meeting those whales with pleasure. But now, I have no freedom from this submarine. They are coming closer!"

Immediately, Ned stepped back into the submarine to look for the captain to tell him of his desire to go whale catching.

"Will you allow me an opportunity to catch one of the whales, sir," he asked the captain.

"For what reason," asked the captain, "only to destroy them? We have no need for them onboard right now."

"But, sir," continued the Canadian, "you allowed us to follow a whale in the Red Sea."

"That was to supply the ship with food. Here it would be simply killing. I do not agree with such things. Fishermen are taking all the whales from the sea because they are selfish. Soon there will be none left."

The captain was right. The terrible selfishness of the fishermen will one day take all the lives of the whales. Ned Land said nothing more, but felt a great deal of anger towards the captain.

(end of section)