Captain Farragut was a very good sailor. He was perfect for the frigate (a fast warship) that he commanded. Captain Farragut and his ship were like one person. He was the soul of the ship. Captain Farragut truly believed that the monster was real. He did not let anyone on the ship doubt it. He promised to kill the monster and make the ocean safe. Either Captain Farragut would kill the monster, or the monster would kill him.
The officers on the ship agreed with their captain. They talked about the monster every day. They watched the large ocean very closely. Sailors often climbed high up the ship's masts to look at the water. They stayed there even when the sun was very hot. Every man on the Abraham Lincoln wanted to see the creature. They wanted to catch it and kill it.
Captain Farragut offered a reward of two thousand dollars. He promised this money to the first person who saw the monster. It did not matter if the person was a boy or an officer. Because of this money, everyone watched the sea all the time. Pierre Aronnax also looked for the monster every day. Only Conseil did not seem excited. Conseil stayed calm while everyone else was nervous.
The ship had many weapons to catch the giant animal. Captain Farragut prepared every kind of tool. They had many guns and a harpoon (a long spear used to hunt whales). They also had a very large gun on the front of the ship. This gun was the best in the world. It could shoot a heavy piece of metal very far.
The Abraham Lincoln had the best weapons and the best men. Ned Land was also on the ship. Ned Land was a Canadian man and a famous harpooner (a person who throws a harpoon). He was very fast and very brave. He was the best whaler in the world. It was very difficult for any whale to escape from Ned Land.
Ned Land was about forty years old. He was more than six feet tall and very strong. He was a quiet man and he was often serious. Sometimes Ned Land became angry if people disagreed with him. Ned Land spoke French because he was from Canada. Pierre Aronnax and Ned Land became good friends. They liked to speak French together. Pierre Aronnax liked to hear stories about Ned Land’s adventures.
Ned Land was the only person who did not believe in the monster. On July 30th, the ship was near the coast of South America. Pierre Aronnax and Ned Land sat on the deck and talked. The sea was very deep and mysterious. Pierre Aronnax talked about the giant animal. He asked Ned Land why he did not believe the stories.
Ned Land looked at Pierre Aronnax for a moment. Then Ned Land spoke. He said he was a professional whaler. He knew all the animals in the sea. He said that no animal was strong enough to break a ship. Ned Land thought the iron plates of a ship were too strong. He did not believe that a whale or a monster could pierce iron.
Pierre Aronnax disagreed with Ned Land. Pierre Aronnax said the monster was a very special animal. He explained the pressure (the weight of water or air pushing on something). He said that deep in the ocean, the water is very heavy. If an animal lives there, it must be very strong. It must have a body as strong as iron.
Pierre Aronnax used numbers to explain his idea. He said the weight of the water would crush a human. At the bottom of the sea, the pressure is very high. An animal there must be able to resist millions of pounds of weight. Ned Land listened, but he was still not sure. He said the animal must be made of thick metal plates.
Pierre Aronnax said the animal was like a fast train. If it hits a ship, it will cause a big accident. Ned Land was quiet for a moment. He began to think about the facts. But Ned Land was still a very stubborn man. Then Pierre Aronnax asked a final question. He asked how the ship Scotia was broken if the monster was not real. Ned Land did not have an answer.