"And so . . . ?"
"So," I said, "our maneuvers are quite simple. We"ll return in our tracks and go out the southern opening. That"s all."
As I spoke, I tried to sound more confident than I really felt.
Meanwhile the Nautilus accelerated its backward movement, and running with propeller in reverse, it swept us along at great speed.
"This"ll mean a delay," Ned said.
"What are a few hours more or less, so long as we get out."
"Yes," Ned Land repeated, "so long as we get out!"
I strolled for a little while from the lounge into the library.
My companions kept their seats and didn"t move. Soon I threw myself down on a couch and picked up a book, which my eyes skimmed mechanically.
A quarter of an hour later, Conseil approached me, saying:
"Is it deeply fascinating, this volume master is reading?"
"Tremendously fascinating," I replied.
"I believe it. Master is reading his own book!"
"My own book?"
Indeed, my hands were holding my own work on the great ocean depths.
I hadn"t even suspected. I closed the book and resumed my strolling.
Ned and Conseil stood up to leave.
"Stay here, my friends," I said, stopping them. "Let"s stay together until we"re out of this blind alley."
"As master wishes," Conseil replied.
The hours pa.s.sed. I often studied the instruments hanging on the lounge wall. The pressure gauge indicated that the Nautilus stayed at a constant depth of 300 meters, the compa.s.s that it kept heading south, the log that it was traveling at a speed of twenty miles per hour, an excessive speed in such a cramped area.
But Captain Nemo knew that by this point there was no such thing as too fast, since minutes were now worth centuries.
At 8:25 a second collision took place. This time astern.
I grew pale. My companions came over. I clutched Conseil"s hand.
Our eyes questioned each other, and more directly than if our thoughts had been translated into words.
Just then the captain entered the lounge. I went to him.
"Our path is barred to the south?" I asked him.
"Yes, sir. When it overturned, that iceberg closed off every exit."
"We"re boxed in?"
"Yes."
CHAPTER 16
Shortage of Air
CONSEQUENTLY, above, below, and around the Nautilus, there were impenetrable frozen walls. We were the Ice Bank"s prisoners!
The Canadian banged a table with his fearsome fist. Conseil kept still.
I stared at the captain. His face had resumed its usual emotionlessness.
He crossed his arms. He pondered. The Nautilus did not stir.
The captain then broke into speech:
"Gentlemen," he said in a calm voice, "there are two ways of dying under the conditions in which we"re placed."
This inexplicable individual acted like a mathematics professor working out a problem for his pupils.
"The first way," he went on, "is death by crushing. The second is death by asphyxiation. I don"t mention the possibility of death by starvation because the Nautilus"s provisions will certainly last longer than we will. Therefore, let"s concentrate on our chances of being crushed or asphyxiated."
"As for asphyxiation, captain," I replied, "that isn"t a cause for alarm, because the air tanks are full."
"True," Captain Nemo went on, "but they"ll supply air for only two days.
Now then, we"ve been buried beneath the waters for thirty-six hours, and the Nautilus"s heavy atmosphere already needs renewing.
In another forty-eight hours, our reserve air will be used up."
"Well then, captain, let"s free ourselves within forty-eight hours!"
"We"ll try to at least, by cutting through one of these walls surrounding us."
"Which one?" I asked.
"Borings will tell us that. I"m going to ground the Nautilus on the lower shelf, then my men will put on their diving suits and attack the thinnest of these ice walls."
"Can the panels in the lounge be left open?"