During the nights of March 13 and 14, the Nautilus (a boat that travels under the water) moved south. Professor Aronnax thought the boat would turn west toward the Pacific Ocean. But Captain Nemo continued toward the South Pole. This was a very dangerous plan.
Ned Land was very quiet and angry. He did not like being a prisoner on the boat. He wanted to escape and go home. On March 14, Ned Land and Conseil came to the room of Professor Aronnax. Ned Land had a question.
Ned Land asked how many men lived on the Nautilus. Professor Aronnax did not know the answer. Conseil said they could use math to find out. They knew how much oxygen (the part of the air that people need to breathe) one man uses every day.
Professor Aronnax did the math. The Nautilus was very large. It held enough air for 625 men for one day. But there were probably only a few men on the boat. Ned Land was still unhappy. He wanted to go to a tavern (a place where people meet to drink and talk) in his own country.
At eleven o'clock, the Nautilus was on top of the water. Ned Land saw a group of whales (very big sea animals). Ned Land was a harpooner (a man who hunts whales with a sharp spear). He wanted to hunt them because he missed his old job.
Captain Nemo came to the platform. Ned Land asked for permission to hunt the whales. Captain Nemo said no. He said these whales were peaceful animals. Captain Nemo did not want to kill them for no reason. He said that men kill too many whales.
Then, Captain Nemo saw other animals in the distance. They were cachalots (large whales with big teeth). These animals are very dangerous and cruel. They attack and eat the peaceful whales. Captain Nemo hated the cachalots. He called them monsters.
Captain Nemo decided to attack the cachalots. He did not use a harpoon. He used the Nautilus. The boat had a sharp spur (a pointed piece of metal on the front of a ship). The Nautilus moved very fast through the water. It hit the cachalots and cut them in half.
It was a terrible battle. The Nautilus was like a giant knife. The ocean water turned red with blood. From the window, Professor Aronnax saw the big teeth of the cachalots. They tried to bite the ship. But the steel ship was too strong for them.
The battle lasted for one hour. Then the ocean became quiet. Many dead animals floated on the waves. Ned Land was not happy. He said this was a massacre (the killing of many things at the same time). He liked hunting, but he did not like this butchery.
The Nautilus moved near a dead whale. Two men from the crew went to the animal. They took its milk. Captain Nemo gave a cup of the milk to Professor Aronnax. It tasted like cow’s milk. They could use it to make butter and cheese.
Ned Land was still very angry with Captain Nemo. His anger grew every day. Professor Aronnax was worried. He decided to watch Ned Land very closely. He did not want Ned Land to do something dangerous.