silence the result of this scene.
The commander, leaning against a corner of the table with his arms folded, scanned us with profound attention. Did he hesitate to speak? Did he regret the words which he had just spoken in French? One might almost think so.
After some moments of silence, which not one of us dreamed of breaking, 'Gentlemen,' said he, in a calm and penetrating voice, 'I speak French, English, German, and Latin equally well. I could, therefore, have answered you at our first interview, but I wished to know you first, then to reflect. The story told by each one, entirely agreeing in the main points, convinced me of your identity. I know now that chance has brought before me M. Pierre Aronnax, Professor of Natural History at the Museum of Paris, intrusted with a scientific mission abroad; Conseil, his servant; and Ned Land, of Canadian origin, harpooner on board the frigate Abraham Lincoln of the navy of the United States of America.'
I bowed assent. It was not a question that the commander put to me. Therefore there was no answer to be made. This man expressed himself with perfect ease, without any accent. His sentences were well turned, his words clear, and his fluency of speech remarkable. Yet I did not recognize in him a fellow-countryman.
He continued the conversation in these terms:
'You have doubtless thought, sir, that I have delayed long in paying you this second visit. The reason is that, your identity recognized, I wished to weigh maturely what part to act toward you. I have hesitated much. Most annoying circumstances have brought you into the presence of a man who has broken all the ties of humanity. You have come to trouble my existence.'
'Unintentionally!' said I.
'Unintentionally?' replied the stranger, raising his voice a little. 'Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln pursued me all over the seas? Was it unintentionally that you took passage in this frigate? Was it unintentionally that your cannon-balls rebounded off the plating of my vessel? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land struck me with his harpoon?'
I detected a restrained irritation in these words. But to these recriminations I had a very natural answer to make, and I made it.
'Sir,' said I, 'no doubt you are ignorant of the discussions which have taken place concerning you in America and Europe. You do not know that divers accidents, caused by collisions with your submarine machine, have excited public feeling in the two continents. I omit the hypotheses without number by which it was sought to explain the inexplicable phenomenon of which you alone possess the secret. But you must understand that, in pursuing you over the high seas of the Pacific, the Abraham Lincoln believed itself to be chasing some powerful sea-monster, of which it was necessary to rid the ocean at any price.'
A half-smile curled the lips of the commander: then, in a calmer tone:
'M. Aronnax,' he replied, 'dare you affirm that your frigate would not as soon have pursued and cannonaded a submarine boat as a monster?'
This question embarrassed me, for certainly Captain Farragut might not have hesitated. He might have thought it his duty to destroy a contrivance of this kind, as he would a gigantic narwhal.
'You understand then, sir,' continued the stranger, 'that I have the right to treat you as enemies?'
I answered nothing, purposely. For what good would it be to discuss such a proposition, when force could destroy the best arguments?
'I have hesitated for some time,' continued the commander; 'nothing obliged me to show you hospitality. If I chose to separate myself from you, I should have no interest in seeing you again; I could place you upon the deck of this vessel which has served you as a refuge, I could sink beneath the waters, and forget that you had ever existed. Would not that be my right?'
'It might be the right of a savage,' I answered, 'but not that of a civilized man.'
'Professor,' replied the commander quickly, 'I am not what you call a civilized man! I have done with society entirely, for reasons which I alone have the right of appreciating. I do not therefore obey its laws, and I desire you never to allude to them before me again!'
This was said plainly. A flash of anger and disdain kindled in the eyes of the Unknown, and I had a glimpse of a terrible past in the life of this man. Not only had he put himself beyond the pale of human laws, but he had made himself independent of them, free in the strictest acceptation of the word, quite beyond their reach! Who then would dare to pursue him at the bottom of the sea, when, on its surface, he defied all attempts made against him? What vessel could resist the shock of his submarine monitor? What cuirass, however thick, could withstand the blows of his spur? No man could demand from him an account of his actions; God, if he believed in one-his conscience, if he had one-were the sole judges to whom he was answerable.
These reflections crossed my mind rapidly, while the stranger personage was silent, absorbed, and as if wrapped up in himself. I regarded him with fear mingled with interest, as, doubtless, dipus regarded the Sphinx.
After a rather long silence, the commander resumed the conversation.
'I have hesitated,' said he, 'but I have thought that my interest might be reconciled with that pity to which every human being has a right. You will remain on board my vessel, since fate has cast you there. You will be free; and in exchange for this liberty, I shall only impose one single condition. Your word of honor to submit to it will suffice.'
'Speak, sir,' I answered. 'I suppose this condition is one which a man of honor may accept?'
'Yes, sir; it is this. It is possible that certain events, unforeseen, may oblige me to consign you to your cabins for some hours or some days, as the case may be. As I desire never to use violence, I expect from you, more than all the others, a passive obedience. In thus acting, I take all the responsibility: I acquit you entirely, for I make it an impossibility for you to see what ought not to be seen. Do you accept this condition?'
Then things took place on board which, to say the least, were singular, and which ought not to be seen by people who were not placed beyond the pale of social laws. Among the surprises which the future was preparing for me, this might not be the least.
'We accept,' I answered; 'only I will ask your permission, sir, to address one question to you-one only.'
'Speak, sir.'
'You said that we should be free on board.'
'Entirely.'
'I ask you, then, what you mean by this liberty?'
'Just the liberty to go, to come, to see, to observe even all that passes here-save under rare circumstances-the liberty, in short, which we enjoy ourselves, my companions and I.'
It was evident that we did not understand one another.
'Pardon me, sir,' I resumed, 'but this liberty is only what every prisoner has of pacing his prison. It cannot suffice us.'
'It must suffice you, however.'
'What! We must renounce forever seeing our country, our friends, our relations again?'
'Yes, sir. But to renounce that unendurable worldly yoke which men believe to be liberty is not perhaps so painful as you think.'
'Well,' exclaimed Ned Land, 'never will I give my word of honor not to try to escape.'
'I did not ask you for your word of honor, Master Land,' answered the commander coldly.
'Sir,' I replied, beginning to get angry in spite of myself, 'you abuse your situation toward us; it is cruelty.'
'No, sir, it is clemency. You are my prisoners of war. I keep you, when I could, by a word, plunge you into the depths of the ocean. You attacked me. You came to surprise a secret which no man in the world must penetrate-the secret of my whole existence. And you think that I am going to send you back to that world which must know me no more? Never! In retaining you, it is not you whom I guard-it is myself.'
These words indicated a resolution taken on the part of the commander, against which no arguments would prevail.
'So, sir,' I rejoined, 'you give us simply the choice between life and death?'
'Simply.'
'My friends,' said I, 'to a question thus put, there is nothing to answer. But no word of honor binds us to the master of this vessel.'
'None, sir,' answered the Unknown.
Then, in a gentler tone, he continued:
'Now, permit me to finish what I have to say to you. I know you, M. Aronnax. You and your companions will not, perhaps, have so much to complain of in the chance which has bound you to my fate. You will find among the books which are my favorite study the work which you have published on 'the depths of the sea.' I have often read it. You have carried your work as far as terrestrial science permitted you. But you do not know all-you have not seen all. Let me tell you then, professor, that you will not regret the time passed on board my vessel. You are going to visit the land of marvels.'
These words of the commander had a great effect upon me. I cannot deny it. My weak point was touched; and I forgot, for a moment, that the contemplation of these sublime subjects was not worth the loss of liberty. Besides, I trusted to the future to decide this grave question. So I contented myself with saying:
'By what name ought I to address you?'
'Sir,' replied the commander, 'I am nothing to you but Captain Nemo; and you and your companions are nothing to me but the passengers of the Nautilus.'
Captain Nemo called. A steward appeared. The captain gave him his orders in that strange language which I did not understand. Then, turning toward the Canadian and Conseil:
'A repast awaits you in your cabin,' said he. 'Be so good as to follow this man. And now, M. Aronnax, our breakfast is ready. Permit me to lead the way.'
'I am at your service, captain.'
I followed Captain Nemo; and as soon as I had passed through the door, I found myself in a kind of passage lighted by electricity, similar to the waist of a ship. After we had proceeded a dozen yards, a second door opened before me.
I then entered a dining-room, decorated and furnished in severe taste. High oaken sideboards, inlaid with ebony, stood at the two extremities of the room, and upon their shelves glittered china, porcelain, and glass of inestimable value.
The plate on the table sparkled in the rays which the luminous ceiling shed around while the light was tempered and softened by exquisite paintings.
In the center of the room was a table richly laid out. Captain Nemo indicated the place I was to occupy.
The breakfast consisted of a certain number of dishes, the contents of which were furnished by the sea alone; and I was ignorant of the nature and mode of preparation of some of them. I acknowledged that they were good, but they had a peculiar flavor, which I easily became accustomed to. These different aliments appeared to me to be rich in phosphorus, and I thought they must have a marine origin.
Captain Nemo looked at me. I asked him no questions, but he guessed my thoughts, and answered of his own accord the questions which I was burning to address to him.
