CHAPTER TWENTY

A Long Journey

After the great storm that had thrown the Nautilus through the sea, we were now far northeast of the North American eastern coast. Poor Ned now refused to leave his room, just as the captain had done himself. Conseil and I, however, never left each other.

Near the end of May, I was surprised to see the Nautilus sail towards European waters. After having shown the Canadian the North American coast, was the captain now going to show me the coast of France?

On the 30th of May, we were near the western coast of England. I rarely saw the captain, but when I did see him, he seemed more depressed than ever. What could sadden him? Was it the closeness to his home country's coast?

The next day, the 1st of June, the Nautilus continued moving south, looking for a particular spot in the ocean. I was on the platform when I heard the captain declare, "It is here."

I did not know what he was speaking of, but I was soon to find out. The Nautilus then sunk beneath the waters, and I saw an old ship that had sunk many years before. What was this ship?

In a slow voice, I heard Captain Nemo speak. "This French ship arrived here on the 1st of June, 1794, for a battle with England. Unfortunately, the ship lost the great battle, but the 356 sailors decided they would rather drown with the ship than lose the battle. When the ship sank, the sailors were cheering, 'Long live France!'"

"The Avenger," I exclaimed.

"Yes, sir, the Avenger! A good name," said Captain Nemo.

(end of section)