The next day was January 10th. The Nautilus moved very fast. It traveled at thirty-five miles an hour. I could not count the turns of the screw. Electricity gave the boat heat and light. It also protected the boat from enemies. I was amazed by the boat. I was also amazed by the engineer who built it.
We traveled west. On January 11th, we passed Cape Wessel. There were many rocks under the water. But the map was very good. The Nautilus moved easily between the dangerous reefs. On January 13th, Captain Nemo reached the Sea of Timor. We saw the island.
Then, the Nautilus turned south-west. We were in the Indian Ocean. Where was Captain Nemo going? Would he go to Asia or Europe? I did not know. Maybe he would go to the South Pole. Captain Nemo did not like the land where people lived. He wanted to stay away from everyone.
On January 14th, we could not see land. The Nautilus moved slowly now. Sometimes it stayed deep in the water. Sometimes it floated on the top. Captain Nemo did experiments. He wanted to know the temperature of the water. He used a thermometer (a tool that measures how hot or cold something is).
The boat went very deep. The Nautilus reached ten thousand yards under the sea. Captain Nemo found an important fact. The deep water is always the same temperature. It is always four and a half degrees. He tested this in many parts of the ocean.
On January 16th, the boat was very still. The screw did not move. We saw a strange sight. The windows of the room were open. It was very dark outside. Suddenly, the water became very bright. It was a phosphorescent (glowing with a light that has no heat) sea.
This light came from millions of tiny animals. They were like small pieces of jelly. They were very bright. The Nautilus floated in this bright light for many hours. We saw many sea animals. We saw a porpoise (a sea animal that looks like a small whale). It jumped in the water.
We saw a swordfish (a large fish with a long, sharp nose). It was ten feet long. The fish hit the glass of the room. We also saw mackerel and many other fish. It was a beautiful sight. The water looked like it was on fire, but it was not hot.
The days passed quickly. We felt like snails in a shell. Life was easy on the boat. We did not think about the land. But on January 18th, something changed. The weather was bad. The sea was rough. A strong wind blew from the east.
I went up to the deck. I saw a lieutenant looking at the horizon. He used a glass to see far away. He looked very worried. Captain Nemo came to the deck too. He looked through his glass. He stayed very still for a long time.
Then Captain Nemo talked to the lieutenant. The lieutenant was very nervous. Captain Nemo was calm, but he was serious. The boat started to move faster. I wanted to see what they saw. I went to get my telescope (a long tube with glass that helps you see things far away).
I looked through my glass. Suddenly, someone took the glass from my hands. It was Captain Nemo. His face looked very different. He looked very angry. His eyes were bright and his hands were tight. He was not looking at me. He was looking at the horizon.
Then Captain Nemo became calm again. He spoke to the lieutenant in a different language. Then he turned to me. He told me I must follow his rules. He said I must go to a room with my friends. We had to stay there until he told us to leave.
I did not argue with Captain Nemo. He was the master of the boat. I went to the room where Ned Land and Conseil were waiting. I told them the news. They were very surprised. Four men from the crew came to the door. They locked us in the cabin.
Ned Land was very angry. Professor Aronnax told them what happened on the deck. We did not understand why the Captain was afraid. Then, breakfast arrived. Captain Nemo wanted us to eat. Conseil said it was wise to eat now. We did not know what would happen later.
We sat down at the table. We ate our food in silence. Suddenly, the light in the room went out. It was totally dark. Then, something strange happened. Ned Land fell into a deep sleep. Then Conseil fell asleep too.
I felt very tired. My brain felt slow. I realized there was a soporific (something that makes a person sleep) in the food. Captain Nemo wanted us to sleep. He did not want us to see his secrets. I tried to stay awake, but I could not. I fell into a very deep sleep.