CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The Last Words of Captain Nemo

The metal doors closed and the sitting room was dark and silent. The Nautilus was now going north. Where were we going? To the north or south? Where was this man escaping to after such a terrible event? I could not speak. I felt terror for Captain Nemo. Whatever terrible suffering he had experienced in his life was no reason to punish the hundreds of men he just sent to the bottom of the ocean.

That night, I could not sleep, as I continued to think about the terrible sight of the hundreds of men drowning in front of my eyes. We were moving through the sea quickly at twenty-five miles an hour.

For the next twenty days, I did not see the captain. I no longer saw Ned Land, either, as he had become quite depressed, never speaking a word. Conseil, therefore, watched over him carefully. One night, however, I was awoken to Ned Land whispering, "We are going to escape."

I sat up.

"When shall we go?" I asked.

"Tomorrow night. Land is in sight. I do not know what country, but we shall go," Ned exclaimed.

"Yes, Ned, yes. We will go tonight!" I told him.

"The sea is bad and the wind is strong."

"I will follow you," I said.

"But, if they find out my plans, I will defend myself. I will be forced to kill them."

I promised the Canadian I would do the same.

"I will meet you at ten o'clock tonight," he said before leaving the room.

I dressed myself in the warmest clothes I had and waited. At half past nine, I heard the captain crying. He was in the sitting room. I had to go through the sitting room to go meet Ned! I must not wait. I had to go. I opened the door carefully. The captain did not see me. I walked by quietly. As I was ready to open the door to go meet Ned and Conseil, I heard the captain stand up. As I heard him walking, I heard him whispering.

"God! Enough! I have suffered enough!"

I then quickly ran to the library, exclaiming, "Let us go!" to my companions as we went. We immediately went to the boat, and were returning to the surface of the water. There was a terrible storm at the time, however. The captain had sailed the Nautilus directly into the middle of the storm, which we were now struggling to leave.

What a situation to be in! We were silent with fear.

"We must hold on," said Ned. Then, my head struck the side of the boat, and I no longer remember the storm.

(end of section)