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Chapter seven of twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. This
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is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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public domain. More information not volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Twenty thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, Chapter
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seven A wail of unknown species. Although I was startled
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by this unexpected descent, I at least have a very
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clear recollection of my sensations during it. At first I
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was dragged about twenty feet under. I'm a good swimmer,
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without claiming to equal such other authors as Byron Edgar
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Awlan Poe, who were master divers, and I didn't lose
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my head on the way down. With two vigorous kicks
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at the heel, I came back to the surface of
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the sea. My first concern was to look for the frigate.
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Had the crew seen me go overboard? Was the Abraham
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Lincoln tacking about? Would Commander Farragut put a long boat
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to see? Could I hope to be rescued? The gloom
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was profound. I glimpsed a black mass disappearing eastward, where
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its running lights were fading out in the distance. It
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was the frigate I felt I was done for help. Help,
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I shouted, swimming desperately toward the Abraham Lincoln. My clothes
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were weighing me down. The water glued them to my body.
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They were paralyzing my movements. I was sinking. I was suffocating.
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Help this the last shout I gave. My mouth was
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filling with water. I struggled against being dragged into the depths.
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Suddenly my clothes were seized by energetic hands. I felt
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myself pulled abruptly back to the surface of the sea.
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And yes, I heard these words pronounced in my ear.
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If Master would oblige me by leaning on my shoulder,
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Master will him with much greater ease. With one hand,
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I seized the arm of my loyal Conseil. You, I
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said you myself, Conseil replied, and at the Master's command.
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That collision threw you overboard along with me. Not at all,
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but being in Master's employ I've followed Master. The fine
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lad thought this only natural. What about the frigate, I
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asked the frigate, Conseil replied, rolling over on his back.
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I think Master had best not depend on it to
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any great extent. What are you saying? I'm saying that
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just as I jumped overboard, I heard the men at
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the helm shout, are propeller and rudder are smashed. Smashed, Yes,
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smashed by the monster's tusk. I believe it's the sole
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injury that Abraham Lincoln has sustained, but most inconfut for us,
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the ship can no longer steer, then we're done for perhaps,
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Conseil replied serenely. However, we still have a few hours
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before us, and in a few hours one can do
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a great many things. Conseil's unflappable composure cheered me up.
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I swam more vigorously, but hampered by clothes that was
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restricting as a cloak made of lead, I was managing
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with only the greatest difficulty. Conseil noticed as much. Master
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will allow me to make an incision, he said, and
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he slipped an open clasp knife under my clothes, slitting
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them from top to bottom with one swift stroke, and
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he briskly undressed me while I swam for us both.
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I then did Consail the same favor, and we continued
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to navigate side by side. But our circumstances were no
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less dreadful. Perhaps they hadn't seen us go overboard, and
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even if they had, the frigate, being undone by rudder,
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couldn't return to Leeward after us, till we could count
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only on its long birds. Conseil had coolly reasoned out
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the hypothesis and laid his plans accordingly. An amazing character,
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this boy in mid ocean, this stowed lad, seemed right
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at home. So, having concluded that our sole chance for
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salvation lay in being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln's longboats,
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we had to take steps to wait for them as
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long as possible. Consequently, I decided to divide our energies
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so we wouldn't both be worn out at the same time.
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And this was the arrangement. While one of us lay
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on his back, staying motionless with arms crossed and legs outstretched,
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the other would swim and propel his partner forward. This
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towing roll was to last no longer than ten minutes,
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and by relieving each other in this way, we could
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stay afloat for hours, perhaps even until daybreak. Slim chance,
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but hope springs eternal in the human breast side. There
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were two of us. Lastly, I can vouch, as improbable
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as it seems, that even if I had wanted to
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destroy all my illusions. Even if I had been willing
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to give in to despair, I could not have done so.
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The cetacean had rammed our frigate at about eleven o'clock
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in the evening. I therefore calculated on eight hours of
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swimming until sunrise, a strenuous task, but feasible thanks to
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our relieving each other. The sea was pretty smooth and
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barely tire us. Sometimes I tried to peer through the
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dense gloom, which was broken only by the phosphorescent flickers
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coming from our movements. I stared at the luminous ripples
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breaking over my hands, shimmering sheets spattered with blotches of
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bluish gray. It seemed as if we'd plunged into a
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pool of quicksilver. Near one o'clock in the morning, I
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was overcome with tremendous exhaustion, my limbs stiffened in the
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grip of intense cramps. Conseil had to keep me going,
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and attending to our self preservation became his sole responsibility.
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I soon heard the poor lad gasping. His breathing became
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shallow and quick. I didn't think he could stand such
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exertions for much longer. Go on, go on. I told
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him leave massa behind. He replied, never, I'll drown before
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he does. Just then, past the fringes of a large
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cloud that the wind was driving eastward, the moon appeared.
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The surface of the sea glistened under its rays. That
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kindly light kindled our strength. I held up my head again.
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My eyes darted to every point at the horizon. I
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spotted the frigate. It was five miles from us and
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formed no more than a dark, pearly perceptible mass. But
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as for long boats, not a one in sight. I
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tried to call out, what was the use at such
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a distance. My swollen lips wouldn't let a single sound through.
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Conseil could still articulate a few words, and I heard
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him repeat at intervals, help help, ceasing all movement. For
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an instant, we listened, and it may have been a
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ringing in my ear from this organ filling with impeded blood,
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But it seemed to me that conseils shout had received
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an answer back. Did you hear that? I muttered, yes, yes,
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and Conseil hurled another desperate plea into space. This time
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there could be no mistake a human voice had answered us.
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Was it the voice of some poor devil left behind
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in mid ocean, some other victim of that collision suffered
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by our ship? Or was it one of the frigate's
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longboats hailing us out of the gloom? Conseil made one
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final effort in braising his hands on my shoulders, while
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I offered resistance with someone supreme exertion. He raised himself
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half out of the water and fell back, exhausted. What
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did you see? I saw, he muttered. I saw, But
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we mustn't talk, save us strength. What had he seen? Then?
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Lord knows why the thought of the monster came into
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my head for the first time. But even so that
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voice gone other days when jonahs took refuge in the
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bellies of whales. Nevertheless, and sail kept towing me. Sometimes
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he looked up, stared straight ahead, and shouted a request
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for directions, which was answered by a voice that was
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getting closer and closer. I could barely hear it. I
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was at the end of my strength. My fingers gave out.
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My hands were no help to me. My mouth opened convulsively,
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filling with brine. Its coldness ran through me. I raised
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my head one last time. Then I collapsed. Just then
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something hard banged against me. I clung to it. Then
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I felt myself being pulled upward, back to the of
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the water. My chest caved in and I fainted. For
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certain I came too quickly because some one was massaging
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me so vigorously. A lift furrows in my flesh. I
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half opened my eyes. Conseil, I muttered, did Master ring
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for me? Conseil replied, Just then, in the last light
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of a moon settling on the horizon, I spotted a
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face that wasn't consails, but which I recognized at once, Ned,
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I exclaimed in person, sir, and still after his prize.
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The Canadian replied, you were thrown overboard after the frigate's collision, Yes, Professor,
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but I was luckier than you, and right away I
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was able to set foot on this floating islet pilot,
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or in other words, on our gigantic narwhale. Explain yourself, Ned,
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It's just that I soon realized while my harpoon got
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bluntened and couldn't puncture its hide, whine nead, why, because Professor,
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this beast is made of boiler plated steel. At this
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point of my story, I needed to get a grip
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on myself. We construct exactly what I experienced and make
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doubly sure of everything I write. The Canadian's last words
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caused a sudden upheaval in my brain. I swiftly hoisted
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myself to the summit of this half submerged creature or
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object that was serving as our refuge. I tested it
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with my foot. Obviously it was some hard, impenetrable substance,
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not the soft matter that except the bodies of our
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big marine mammals. But this hard substance could have been
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a bony carapace, like those that covered some prehistoric animals,
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and I might have left it at that and classified
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this monster among such amphibious reptiles as turtles or alligators. Well. No,
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the blackish bag supporting he was smooth and polished, with
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no overlapping scales. On impact, it gave off a metallic sonority,
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and as incredible as this sounds, it seemed, I swear
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to be made of riveted plates. No doubts were possible.
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This animal, this monster, this natural phenomenon that had puzzled
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the whole scientific world, that had muddled and misled the
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minds of seamen on both hemispheres was there could be
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no escaping it. An even more astonishing phenomenon, a phenomenon
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made by the hand of man. Even if I had
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discovered that some fabulous mythological creature really existed, it wouldn't
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have given me such a terrific mental jolt. It's easy
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enough to accept that prodigious things can come from our creator.
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But to find all at once, right before your eyes,
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that the impossible has been mysteriously achieved by man himself.
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This staggers the mind. But there was no question. Now.
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It was stretched out on the back of some kind
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of underwater bird that, as far as I could judge,
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boasted the shape of an immense steel fish. Ned Land
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had clear views on the issue con sail, and I
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could only line up behind him. But then I said,
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does this contraption contained some sort of locomotive mechanism and
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a crew to run it? Apparently, the harpooner replied, And
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yet for the three hours I've lived on this floating island,
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it hasn't shown a sign of life. This boat hasn't
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moved at all, no, Professor Aronnax, It just rides with
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the waves. But otherwise it hasn't stirred. But we know
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that it's certainly gifted with great speed. Now, then, since
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an engine is needed to generate that speed, and a
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mechanic to run that engine, I conclude we are saved. Humph.
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Ned Land put in his tone denoting reservations. Just then,
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as if to take my side in the argument. Abobbling began,
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and a stern of this strange submersible whose drive mechanism
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was obviously propeller, and the boat started to move. We
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barely had time to hang on to its top side,
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which emerged about eighty centimeters above water. Fortunately, its speed
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was not excessive so long as it navigates horizontally. Ned
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Land muttered, I've no complaints, but if it gets the
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urge to die, if I wouldn't give two dollars from
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my hide, the Canadian might have quoted a much lower price.
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So it was imperative to make contact, which with whatever
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beings were confined inside the plating of this machine. I
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searched its surface for an opening or hatchet a manhole
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to use the official term, But the lines of rivets
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had been firmly driven into the sheet iron, joined and
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was straight in uniform. Moreover, the moon then disappeared and
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left us in profound darkness. We had to wait for
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daylight to find some way of getting inside this underwater boat.
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So our salvation laid totally in the hands of the
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mysterious helmsman steering this submersible, and if it made a dive,
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we were done for. But aside from this occurring, I
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didn't doubt the possibility of our making contact with them.
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In fact, if they didn't produce their own air, they
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inevitably had to make periodic visits to the surface of
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the ocean to replenish their oxygen supply. Hence the need
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for some opening that put the boat's interior in contact
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with the atmosphere. As for any hope of being rescued
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by Commander Farragut, that had to be renounced completely. We
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were being swept westward, and I estimate that our comparatively
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moderate speed reached twelve miles per hour. The propeller churned
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the waves with mathematical regularity, sometimes emerging above the surface
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and throwing phosphorescent spray to great heights. Nearly four o'clock
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in the morning, the submersible picked up speed. We could
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barely cope with this dizzying rush, and the waves battered
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us at close range. Fortunately Ned's hands came across a
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big mooring ring fastened to the top side of this
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sheet iron back, and we all held on for dear life.
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Finally this long night was over. My imperfect memories won't
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let me recall my every impression of it. A single
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detail comes back to me. Several times, during various lulls
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of wind and sea, I thought I heard indistinct sounds,
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a sort of elusive harmony produced by distant musical chords.
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What was the secret behind this underwater navigating whose explanation
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the whole world had sought in vain? What beings that
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inside this strange vote? What mechanical force allowed it to
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move about with such prodigious speed? Daylight appeared the morning
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mists surrounded us, but they soon broke up. I was
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about to proceed with the careful examination of the hole,
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whose topside formed a sort of horizontal platform, when I
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felt it sinking little by little, Oh damnation, ned Land shouted,
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stamping his foot on the residence. She died. Open up there,
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you antisocial navigators, But it was difficult to make yourself
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heard above the deafening beats of the propeller. Fortunately, this
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submerging movement stopped. From inside the boat, there suddenly came
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noises of iron fastenings pushed roughly aside. One of the
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steel plates flew up. A man appeared, gave a bizarre yell,
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and instantly disappeared. A few moments later, eight strapping fellows appeared, silently,
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their faces like masks, and dragged us down into their
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fearsome machine. End of Chapter seven.
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Chapter seven of twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. This
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is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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public domain. More information not volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Twenty thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, Chapter
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seven A wail of unknown species. Although I was startled
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by this unexpected descent, I at least have a very
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clear recollection of my sensations during it. At first I
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was dragged about twenty feet under. I'm a good swimmer,
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without claiming to equal such other authors as Byron Edgar
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Awlan Poe, who were master divers, and I didn't lose
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my head on the way down. With two vigorous kicks
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at the heel, I came back to the surface of
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the sea. My first concern was to look for the frigate.
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Had the crew seen me go overboard? Was the Abraham
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Lincoln tacking about? Would Commander Farragut put a long boat
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to see? Could I hope to be rescued? The gloom
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was profound. I glimpsed a black mass disappearing eastward, where
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its running lights were fading out in the distance. It
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was the frigate I felt I was done for help. Help,
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I shouted, swimming desperately toward the Abraham Lincoln. My clothes
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were weighing me down. The water glued them to my body.
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They were paralyzing my movements. I was sinking. I was suffocating.
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Help this the last shout I gave. My mouth was
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filling with water. I struggled against being dragged into the depths.
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Suddenly my clothes were seized by energetic hands. I felt
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myself pulled abruptly back to the surface of the sea.
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And yes, I heard these words pronounced in my ear.
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If Master would oblige me by leaning on my shoulder,
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Master will him with much greater ease. With one hand,
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I seized the arm of my loyal Conseil. You, I
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said you myself, Conseil replied, and at the Master's command.
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That collision threw you overboard along with me. Not at all,
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but being in Master's employ I've followed Master. The fine
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lad thought this only natural. What about the frigate, I
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asked the frigate, Conseil replied, rolling over on his back.
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I think Master had best not depend on it to
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any great extent. What are you saying? I'm saying that
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just as I jumped overboard, I heard the men at
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the helm shout, are propeller and rudder are smashed. Smashed, Yes,
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smashed by the monster's tusk. I believe it's the sole
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injury that Abraham Lincoln has sustained, but most inconfut for us,
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the ship can no longer steer, then we're done for perhaps,
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Conseil replied serenely. However, we still have a few hours
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before us, and in a few hours one can do
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a great many things. Conseil's unflappable composure cheered me up.
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I swam more vigorously, but hampered by clothes that was
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restricting as a cloak made of lead, I was managing
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with only the greatest difficulty. Conseil noticed as much. Master
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will allow me to make an incision, he said, and
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he slipped an open clasp knife under my clothes, slitting
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them from top to bottom with one swift stroke, and
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he briskly undressed me while I swam for us both.
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I then did Consail the same favor, and we continued
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to navigate side by side. But our circumstances were no
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less dreadful. Perhaps they hadn't seen us go overboard, and
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even if they had, the frigate, being undone by rudder,
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couldn't return to Leeward after us, till we could count
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only on its long birds. Conseil had coolly reasoned out
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the hypothesis and laid his plans accordingly. An amazing character,
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this boy in mid ocean, this stowed lad, seemed right
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at home. So, having concluded that our sole chance for
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salvation lay in being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln's longboats,
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we had to take steps to wait for them as
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long as possible. Consequently, I decided to divide our energies
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so we wouldn't both be worn out at the same time.
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And this was the arrangement. While one of us lay
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on his back, staying motionless with arms crossed and legs outstretched,
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the other would swim and propel his partner forward. This
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towing roll was to last no longer than ten minutes,
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and by relieving each other in this way, we could
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stay afloat for hours, perhaps even until daybreak. Slim chance,
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but hope springs eternal in the human breast side. There
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were two of us. Lastly, I can vouch, as improbable
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as it seems, that even if I had wanted to
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destroy all my illusions. Even if I had been willing
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to give in to despair, I could not have done so.
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The cetacean had rammed our frigate at about eleven o'clock
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in the evening. I therefore calculated on eight hours of
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swimming until sunrise, a strenuous task, but feasible thanks to
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our relieving each other. The sea was pretty smooth and
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barely tire us. Sometimes I tried to peer through the
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dense gloom, which was broken only by the phosphorescent flickers
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coming from our movements. I stared at the luminous ripples
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breaking over my hands, shimmering sheets spattered with blotches of
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bluish gray. It seemed as if we'd plunged into a
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pool of quicksilver. Near one o'clock in the morning, I
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was overcome with tremendous exhaustion, my limbs stiffened in the
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grip of intense cramps. Conseil had to keep me going,
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and attending to our self preservation became his sole responsibility.
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I soon heard the poor lad gasping. His breathing became
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shallow and quick. I didn't think he could stand such
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exertions for much longer. Go on, go on. I told
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him leave massa behind. He replied, never, I'll drown before
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he does. Just then, past the fringes of a large
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cloud that the wind was driving eastward, the moon appeared.
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The surface of the sea glistened under its rays. That
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kindly light kindled our strength. I held up my head again.
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My eyes darted to every point at the horizon. I
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spotted the frigate. It was five miles from us and
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formed no more than a dark, pearly perceptible mass. But
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as for long boats, not a one in sight. I
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tried to call out, what was the use at such
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a distance. My swollen lips wouldn't let a single sound through.
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Conseil could still articulate a few words, and I heard
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him repeat at intervals, help help, ceasing all movement. For
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an instant, we listened, and it may have been a
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ringing in my ear from this organ filling with impeded blood,
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But it seemed to me that conseils shout had received
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an answer back. Did you hear that? I muttered, yes, yes,
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and Conseil hurled another desperate plea into space. This time
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there could be no mistake a human voice had answered us.
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Was it the voice of some poor devil left behind
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in mid ocean, some other victim of that collision suffered
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by our ship? Or was it one of the frigate's
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longboats hailing us out of the gloom? Conseil made one
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final effort in braising his hands on my shoulders, while
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I offered resistance with someone supreme exertion. He raised himself
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half out of the water and fell back, exhausted. What
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did you see? I saw, he muttered. I saw, But
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we mustn't talk, save us strength. What had he seen? Then?
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Lord knows why the thought of the monster came into
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my head for the first time. But even so that
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voice gone other days when jonahs took refuge in the
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bellies of whales. Nevertheless, and sail kept towing me. Sometimes
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he looked up, stared straight ahead, and shouted a request
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for directions, which was answered by a voice that was
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getting closer and closer. I could barely hear it. I
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was at the end of my strength. My fingers gave out.
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My hands were no help to me. My mouth opened convulsively,
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filling with brine. Its coldness ran through me. I raised
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my head one last time. Then I collapsed. Just then
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something hard banged against me. I clung to it. Then
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I felt myself being pulled upward, back to the of
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the water. My chest caved in and I fainted. For
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certain I came too quickly because some one was massaging
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me so vigorously. A lift furrows in my flesh. I
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half opened my eyes. Conseil, I muttered, did Master ring
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for me? Conseil replied, Just then, in the last light
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of a moon settling on the horizon, I spotted a
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face that wasn't consails, but which I recognized at once, Ned,
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I exclaimed in person, sir, and still after his prize.
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The Canadian replied, you were thrown overboard after the frigate's collision, Yes, Professor,
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but I was luckier than you, and right away I
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was able to set foot on this floating islet pilot,
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or in other words, on our gigantic narwhale. Explain yourself, Ned,
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It's just that I soon realized while my harpoon got
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bluntened and couldn't puncture its hide, whine nead, why, because Professor,
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this beast is made of boiler plated steel. At this
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point of my story, I needed to get a grip
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on myself. We construct exactly what I experienced and make
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doubly sure of everything I write. The Canadian's last words
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caused a sudden upheaval in my brain. I swiftly hoisted
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myself to the summit of this half submerged creature or
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object that was serving as our refuge. I tested it
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with my foot. Obviously it was some hard, impenetrable substance,
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not the soft matter that except the bodies of our
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big marine mammals. But this hard substance could have been
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a bony carapace, like those that covered some prehistoric animals,
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and I might have left it at that and classified
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this monster among such amphibious reptiles as turtles or alligators. Well. No,
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the blackish bag supporting he was smooth and polished, with
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no overlapping scales. On impact, it gave off a metallic sonority,
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and as incredible as this sounds, it seemed, I swear
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to be made of riveted plates. No doubts were possible.
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This animal, this monster, this natural phenomenon that had puzzled
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the whole scientific world, that had muddled and misled the
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minds of seamen on both hemispheres was there could be
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no escaping it. An even more astonishing phenomenon, a phenomenon
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made by the hand of man. Even if I had
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discovered that some fabulous mythological creature really existed, it wouldn't
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have given me such a terrific mental jolt. It's easy
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enough to accept that prodigious things can come from our creator.
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But to find all at once, right before your eyes,
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that the impossible has been mysteriously achieved by man himself.
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This staggers the mind. But there was no question. Now.
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It was stretched out on the back of some kind
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of underwater bird that, as far as I could judge,
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boasted the shape of an immense steel fish. Ned Land
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had clear views on the issue con sail, and I
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could only line up behind him. But then I said,
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does this contraption contained some sort of locomotive mechanism and
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a crew to run it? Apparently, the harpooner replied, And
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yet for the three hours I've lived on this floating island,
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it hasn't shown a sign of life. This boat hasn't
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moved at all, no, Professor Aronnax, It just rides with
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the waves. But otherwise it hasn't stirred. But we know
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that it's certainly gifted with great speed. Now, then, since
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an engine is needed to generate that speed, and a
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mechanic to run that engine, I conclude we are saved. Humph.
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Ned Land put in his tone denoting reservations. Just then,
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as if to take my side in the argument. Abobbling began,
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and a stern of this strange submersible whose drive mechanism
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was obviously propeller, and the boat started to move. We
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barely had time to hang on to its top side,
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which emerged about eighty centimeters above water. Fortunately, its speed
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was not excessive so long as it navigates horizontally. Ned
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Land muttered, I've no complaints, but if it gets the
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urge to die, if I wouldn't give two dollars from
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my hide, the Canadian might have quoted a much lower price.
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So it was imperative to make contact, which with whatever
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beings were confined inside the plating of this machine. I
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searched its surface for an opening or hatchet a manhole
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to use the official term, But the lines of rivets
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had been firmly driven into the sheet iron, joined and
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was straight in uniform. Moreover, the moon then disappeared and
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left us in profound darkness. We had to wait for
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daylight to find some way of getting inside this underwater boat.
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So our salvation laid totally in the hands of the
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mysterious helmsman steering this submersible, and if it made a dive,
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we were done for. But aside from this occurring, I
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didn't doubt the possibility of our making contact with them.
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In fact, if they didn't produce their own air, they
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inevitably had to make periodic visits to the surface of
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the ocean to replenish their oxygen supply. Hence the need
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for some opening that put the boat's interior in contact
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with the atmosphere. As for any hope of being rescued
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by Commander Farragut, that had to be renounced completely. We
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were being swept westward, and I estimate that our comparatively
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moderate speed reached twelve miles per hour. The propeller churned
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the waves with mathematical regularity, sometimes emerging above the surface
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and throwing phosphorescent spray to great heights. Nearly four o'clock
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in the morning, the submersible picked up speed. We could
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barely cope with this dizzying rush, and the waves battered
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us at close range. Fortunately Ned's hands came across a
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big mooring ring fastened to the top side of this
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sheet iron back, and we all held on for dear life.
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Finally this long night was over. My imperfect memories won't
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let me recall my every impression of it. A single
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detail comes back to me. Several times, during various lulls
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of wind and sea, I thought I heard indistinct sounds,
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a sort of elusive harmony produced by distant musical chords.
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What was the secret behind this underwater navigating whose explanation
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the whole world had sought in vain? What beings that
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inside this strange vote? What mechanical force allowed it to
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move about with such prodigious speed? Daylight appeared the morning
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mists surrounded us, but they soon broke up. I was
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about to proceed with the careful examination of the hole,
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whose topside formed a sort of horizontal platform, when I
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felt it sinking little by little, Oh damnation, ned Land shouted,
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stamping his foot on the residence. She died. Open up there,
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you antisocial navigators, But it was difficult to make yourself
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heard above the deafening beats of the propeller. Fortunately, this
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submerging movement stopped. From inside the boat, there suddenly came
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noises of iron fastenings pushed roughly aside. One of the
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steel plates flew up. A man appeared, gave a bizarre yell,
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and instantly disappeared. A few moments later, eight strapping fellows appeared, silently,
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their faces like masks, and dragged us down into their
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fearsome machine. End of Chapter seven.
