Everyone on the ship ran to Ned Land. The officers and the sailors were very excited. Even the men from the engine room came up to see.
Captain Farragut ordered the ship to stop. It was very dark outside. I did not know how Ned Land saw anything in the dark. My heart beat very fast.
Ned Land was right. We all saw a bright light in the water. It was about four hundred meters from the ship. The light was very strong and white.
"It is just a group of small sea animals," one officer said.
"No, that is not true," I answered. "That light is electric. Look! It is moving towards us!"
Everyone on the ship shouted. Captain Farragut told the sailors to be quiet. He ordered the ship to turn and move away.
The Abraham Lincoln moved fast, but the monster was faster. It moved at double our speed. We were very surprised and we could not speak.
The monster played with the ship. It swam around us in big circles. Then it moved away and left a bright trail in the water. It looked like the steam from a fast train.
Suddenly, the monster ran towards the ship. It stopped very close to the side of the ship. Then the light went out. It appeared again on the other side of the ship.
Captain Farragut looked very surprised. He was usually a calm man. He did not want to attack the monster in the dark.
"Monsieur Aronnax," the Captain said to me. "I do not know what this thing is. I will not risk my ship in the dark. We will wait for the morning."
Captain Farragut was sure it was a giant, electric narwhal. I told him it was the most dangerous animal in the world. He agreed to be very careful.
No one slept that night. The ship moved slowly. The monster also moved slowly. It stayed near the ship. At midnight, the light went out again.
At one o'clock in the morning, we heard a loud noise. It sounded like a lot of water moving very fast. Captain Farragut, Ned Land, and I stood together.
"Ned Land," the Captain asked. "Have you heard that noise before?"
"Yes, sir," Ned Land answered. "But I never saw a whale like this. I want to get close to it. I want to use my harpoon."
At two o'clock, the light appeared again. It was five miles away. We heard the monster's tail hit the water. We heard its loud breath. It sounded like a giant machine.
We stayed ready until the morning. The sailors prepared the cannons (large guns used on ships). Ned Land sharpened his harpoon. It was a very dangerous weapon.
At six o'clock, the sun began to rise. The monster’s electric light disappeared. Then a thick fog covered the sea. We could not see anything.
The sailors were angry and disappointed. I climbed up the mast (the tall pole that holds the sails). At eight o'clock, the fog went away.
"The monster is over there!" Ned Land shouted.
We looked at the water. One mile away, we saw a long, black body. Its tail moved with great power. It created a lot of white foam in the sea.
The ship moved toward the animal. I looked at it carefully. It was about two hundred and fifty feet long. It breathed out two big clouds of water and steam.
Captain Farragut called the engineer (the person who controls the ship’s engines). He told the man to use all the power of the engines.
The ship moved very fast toward the animal. The animal let the ship get close. Then it swam away a short distance. It did not seem afraid.
We followed the animal for forty-five minutes. But the ship did not get any closer. We were moving at the same speed.
"Should we use the small boats?" Captain Farragut asked Ned Land.
"No, sir," Ned Land replied. "We will not catch it easily. We need more speed."
The Captain told the engineer to go even faster. The ship started to shake because the engines were so powerful. We moved at eighteen miles an hour.
But the monster also moved at eighteen miles an hour. For one hour, we stayed the same distance away. The sailors were very angry. They shouted at the monster.
Captain Farragut was also angry. He asked the engineer for more speed. The ship moved at nineteen miles an hour. But the monster moved at the same speed.
It was a strange race. Ned Land stayed at the front of the ship. Sometimes the monster let us get close. But when Ned Land prepared his harpoon, the monster swam away very fast.
At noon, we were still far away. Captain Farragut decided to use the cannons. He told the men to prepare the large gun at the front of the ship.
The first shot missed the animal. Then, an old sailor with a grey beard aimed the gun. He took a long time. Then, there was a loud noise.
The bullet hit the animal. We all cheered. But the bullet did not hurt the monster. It hit the hard back of the animal and fell into the sea.
"I will follow this beast until my ship breaks!" Captain Farragut said. I hoped the monster would get tired, but it did not.
We followed the monster all day. We traveled three hundred miles. Night came again. I thought the chase was over. But I was wrong.
At ten o'clock, the electric light appeared again. The monster was three miles away. It was not moving. It looked like it was sleeping on the waves.
Captain Farragut moved the ship very slowly. He did not want to wake the monster. Ned Land went to the very front of the ship.
Everyone was silent. We were only one hundred feet away from the bright light. The light was so strong it hurt our eyes.
I saw Ned Land hold his harpoon. He was only twenty feet from the animal. Suddenly, he threw the harpoon with all his strength.
The harpoon hit something hard. It made a loud metal sound. Suddenly, the electric light went out. Two giant waves of water hit the ship.
The water threw the sailors across the deck. There was a terrible shock. I fell over the side of the ship and into the cold sea.