The panels closed on the terrible scene. The room was dark and silent. The Nautilus (a boat that travels under the water) moved very fast. It was 100 feet deep. Where was Captain Nemo going? Was Captain Nemo going north or south? I went to my room. Ned Land and Conseil were there. They did not speak.
I felt a great horror for Captain Nemo. He was wrong to kill those men. He made me watch his vengeance (the act of hurting someone because they hurt you). At eleven o'clock, the electric lights came on. I went to the large room. It was empty. I looked at the instruments.
The Nautilus was moving north very fast. It traveled at twenty-five miles an hour. Sometimes it was on the surface of the water. Sometimes it was thirty feet deep. I looked at the map. We were passing the English Channel. We moved toward the cold northern seas. We traveled many miles that night.
I went to my room, but I could not sleep. I had bad dreams. I saw the ship sink again and again. The Nautilus moved through the thick fog (clouds near the ground that make it hard to see). Where were we going? I did not know. I could not tell the time because the clocks on the boat stopped.
Day and night felt the same. I think we traveled for fifteen or twenty days. I did not see Captain Nemo during this time. I did not see his men. The boat stayed under the water. When we needed air, the windows opened and closed by themselves.
Ned Land was very tired and angry. He did not come out of his room. Conseil tried to talk to Ned Land, but Ned Land was silent. Conseil watched Ned Land all the time. Conseil was afraid that Ned Land might hurt himself.
One morning, I was sleeping. I woke up suddenly. Ned Land was standing over me. He spoke in a quiet voice. "We are going to fly (to escape or run away)," Ned Land said. I sat up.
"When shall we go?" I asked.
"Tonight," Ned Land replied. "The men on the boat are not watching us. They seem very sad. Are you ready, sir?" I told Ned Land that I was ready. I asked where we were.
"I saw land in the fog this morning," Ned Land said. "It is twenty miles to the east." I did not care what country it was. I wanted to leave. I told Ned Land I would follow him.
Ned Land said the sea was rough. He said the wind was strong. But Ned Land was not afraid of the small boat. He had food and water. He was ready to fight if the crew tried to stop him. I told Ned Land we would die together.
I went to the top of the boat. The waves were very big. The sky looked dark and dangerous. But land was near, so we had to leave. I went back to the large room. I was afraid to see Captain Nemo, but I also wanted to see him one last time. I wanted to forget him forever.
That day felt very long. I was not hungry, but I forced myself to eat. I needed to be strong. At half-past six, Ned Land came to my room. He said we must meet at ten o'clock. There was no moon, so it was very dark.
I went to the large room again. I looked at the beautiful things in the room. There were many old paintings and treasures. I knew they would stay at the bottom of the sea forever with Captain Nemo. I stayed there for one hour. Then I went to my room.
I put on strong clothes for the sea. I took my notes with me. My heart beat very fast. I was very nervous. I listened at Captain Nemo’s door. I heard him walking. He was not sleeping.
I was afraid he would see me. I wanted to go into his room and talk to him. But I stayed quiet. I lay on my bed to stay calm. I thought about my whole journey on the Nautilus.
I thought about the underwater hunt and the South Pole. I thought about the giant poulps (large sea animals with many arms). I thought about the ship that Captain Nemo sank. All these memories passed before my eyes. Captain Nemo seemed like a giant man of the sea.
It was half-past nine. I held my head in my hands. I was very afraid. Then I heard music. Captain Nemo was playing the organ (a very large musical instrument like a piano). The music was very sad.
I listened to the music. Then I had a frightening thought. Captain Nemo was in the large room. I had to walk through that room to escape. He might see me. He might stop me.
At ten o'clock, I left my room. I opened the door very carefully. The door made a loud noise. I walked down the dark stairs. I reached the large room. It was very dark. I heard the music.
Captain Nemo was there. He did not see me. He was thinking only about his music. I walked slowly across the carpet. I tried to be very silent. It took five minutes to reach the other side.
I was near the door. Then I heard Captain Nemo move. He stood up. I could see him because there was a little light. He walked toward me. He did not see me.
His arms were crossed. He looked like a ghost (the spirit of a dead person). He was crying. He said some words quietly. "Almighty God! Enough! Enough!"
Was he sorry for the things he did? I ran through the library. I went up the stairs. I reached the small boat. I got inside the boat with Ned Land and Conseil.
"Let us go!" I said. Ned Land closed the door of the small boat. He used a special key. Then Ned Land started to open the bolts. These were the heavy metal pins that held the small boat to the Nautilus.
Suddenly, we heard a loud noise. We heard the crew shouting. I thought they found us. Ned Land gave me a dagger (a small, sharp knife). "Yes," I said. "We know how to die."
Ned Land stopped working. But the crew were not looking for us. They were shouting a different word. "The maelstrom! The maelstrom!"
A maelstrom (a very large and dangerous circle of moving water) is a terrible thing. We were near the coast of Norway. The water there moves in a circle very fast. No ship can escape it.
It is like a giant hole in the ocean. It pulls ships and whales down to the bottom. The Nautilus moved in a circle. The small boat was still attached to it. We moved faster and faster. I felt very sick.
We were very afraid. We were covered in cold sweat. The noise of the water was very loud. It sounded like thunder. The Nautilus shook like a person. Its steel walls made loud noises.
"We must hold on," Ned Land said. "We must stay with the Nautilus." But then there was a loud crash. The bolts broke. Our small boat flew away from the Nautilus.
It was like a stone from a sling (a simple tool used to throw stones). I hit my head on a piece of iron. Because of the shock, I lost consciousness. I could not see or hear anything anymore.