The capture happened so quickly that we barely had time to react.
One moment we were standing on the deck, and the next we were being dragged inside the strange vessel.
I felt a chill run through my whole body.
Who were these people?
They could only be some kind of new sea pirates, living beneath the ocean and exploring the waters in their own mysterious way.
The moment the narrow door closed behind us, darkness swallowed everything.
My eyes were still blinded by the bright light outside, and I could see nothing at all.
My bare feet found the rungs of an iron ladder.
Ned Land and Conseil were forced down after me, their captors holding them firmly.
At the bottom of the ladder, another door opened.
We were pushed through it, and it slammed shut behind us.
We were alone.
Where exactly were we?
I had no idea.
The darkness was so complete that even after several minutes, my eyes could not detect the slightest trace of light.
Ned Land was furious.
He could no longer control his anger.
“Damn it!” he shouted.
“These people have a strange idea of hospitality. They are almost like cannibals. I would not be surprised if they planned to eat us. But I promise they will have trouble doing it without a fight!”
“Calm down, Ned,” Conseil said quietly.
“Do not worry before anything has actually happened. We are not finished yet.”
“Not finished?” Ned replied angrily.
“Maybe not, but we are certainly close. Things look terrible. Fortunately, I still have my bowie knife, and I can use it well enough even in the dark. The first one of these pirates who touches me—”
“Do not make things worse, Ned,” I interrupted.
“Violence will only put us in greater danger. Who knows? Perhaps they may listen to us. First, we should discover where we are.”
I began feeling around in the darkness.
After taking five steps, I reached an iron wall made of heavy metal plates fastened together with bolts.
I turned back and struck against a wooden table.
Several stools stood beside it.
The floor was covered with a thick woven mat made from plant fibers, which softened the sound of our footsteps.
The bare walls showed no sign of a window or door.
Conseil walked around in the opposite direction and soon met me.
Together, we returned to the center of the cabin.
The room was about twenty feet long and ten feet wide.
As for its height, even Ned Land, despite being a very tall man, could not determine it.
Half an hour passed.
Our situation had not improved.
Then suddenly, the complete darkness disappeared.
A powerful light filled the room.
It was so bright that I had to close my eyes.
The light was pure white and intense.
I immediately recognized it.
It was the same electric light that had surrounded the submarine outside, creating a strange glow like a giant underwater fire.
After my eyes adjusted, I looked up.
The light came from a half-spherical glass fixture built into the ceiling.
“At last, we can see something!” Ned Land shouted.
He stood ready with his knife in his hand.
“Yes,” I replied.
“But we still know nothing about our situation.”
“Master should be patient,” said the calm Conseil.
The sudden illumination allowed me to examine the cabin carefully.
There was only a table and five stools.
The invisible door appeared to be completely sealed.
No sound came from outside.
Everything inside the vessel seemed lifeless.
Was it moving?
Was it floating on the surface?
Or was it diving deep into the ocean?
I could not tell.
Then I heard the sound of metal bolts moving.
The door opened.
Two men entered.
The first man was short but extremely strong.
He had broad shoulders, powerful arms, thick black hair, and a heavy moustache.
His eyes were sharp and lively.
Everything about him showed the energy and confidence often found among people from southern France.
The second man was much more remarkable.
A skilled observer could have studied his face like an open book.
His personality was immediately clear.
He had confidence because he held his head proudly and looked around with calm certainty.
He had self-control because his pale face showed no sign of fear or excitement.
He had determination because his strong eyebrows moved quickly with every thought.
And he had great physical strength because his deep breathing showed powerful lungs.
I could not tell whether he was thirty-five or fifty years old.
He was tall, with a broad forehead, a straight nose, a finely shaped mouth, beautiful teeth, and delicate hands that suggested a highly sensitive and intelligent nature.
He was one of the most impressive men I had ever seen.
But what attracted my attention most were his eyes.
They were unusually far apart, allowing him to see an enormous area at once.
Later, I discovered that his vision was far better than Ned Land’s.
When he focused on something, his eyebrows drew together and his eyelids narrowed.
It seemed as if he could enlarge distant objects with his eyes.
It seemed as if he could see through the thick layers of seawater that blocked ordinary human vision.
It was almost as if he could read the secrets hidden deep beneath the ocean.
Both men wore caps made from sea otter fur.
Their boots were made from sealskin.
Their clothing was made from a special material that allowed complete freedom of movement.
The taller man was clearly the commander.
He examined us carefully without saying a word.
Then he turned to his companion and spoke in a language I had never heard before.
The sound of it was smooth, musical, and flexible.
The vowels changed in many different ways.
The other man answered with a slight shake of his head and spoke a few words that were completely impossible to understand.
Then he looked at me as if asking a question.
I replied in French.
“I do not understand your language.”
But he clearly did not understand me either.
My situation became even more difficult.
“If master tells our story,” Conseil suggested, “perhaps they may understand some of the words.”
So I began explaining everything.
I spoke slowly and clearly.
I told them our names and positions.
I introduced myself as Professor Aronnax.
I introduced Conseil as my assistant.
I introduced Ned Land as the Canadian harpooner.
The man with the calm eyes listened politely.
He paid close attention.
But when I finished, his expression showed no sign that he understood anything.
He said nothing.
There was only one possibility left.
English.
Perhaps they knew that almost universal language.
I understood English and German well enough to read them, though my speaking ability was not perfect.
Still, we had to try.
“Ned,” I said, “tell our story in English. Use your best language and try to do better than I did.”
The harpooner immediately began again.
But to his great frustration, he failed as well.
The strangers did not move.
They clearly understood neither French nor English.
“Perhaps German will work,” Conseil said.
He then repeated our story in excellent German.
But this attempt also failed.
Finally, I remembered my old studies.
I tried Latin.
Yet even this ancient language had no effect.
The two strangers exchanged a few words in their own mysterious tongue.
Then they left.
The door closed behind them.
“It is unbelievable!” Ned shouted.
“We spoke French, English, German, and Latin, and those men still refuse to answer us!”
“Anger will not help,” I said.
“But Professor,” Ned replied, “do you not see? We will starve to death inside this iron prison!”
“Not so quickly,” Conseil said calmly.
“We can survive for some time.”
“My friends,” I said, “we must not lose hope. We have faced worse situations before. Let us wait before judging the commander and crew of this vessel.”
“My opinion is already made,” Ned answered.
“They are criminals.”
“Very well,” I asked.
“From what country?”
“From the country of criminals!”
“Ned, my friend, that country does not appear on any map. But I agree that their nationality is impossible to determine. They are certainly not English, French, or German. I suspect they come from a warmer region of the world. There is southern blood in them. But whether they are Spanish, Turkish, Arab, or Indian, I cannot say. Their language is completely unknown.”
“This is the problem with not knowing every language,” Conseil said.
“Or perhaps the problem is that humanity still has no single universal language.”
At that moment, the door opened again.
A steward entered.
He brought us clothes.
They were coats and trousers made from a material I had never seen before.
I quickly dressed.
Ned and Conseil followed my example.
While we changed, the steward silently prepared the table.
He placed three plates before us.
“Now this looks better,” Conseil said.
“Perhaps,” Ned replied suspiciously.
“But what do you think they will feed us? Turtle liver? Shark meat? Or steaks made from sea dogs?”
“We will soon find out,” said Conseil.
The dishes were made of a strange metal.
We sat down.
There was no doubt about it.
Our hosts were civilized people.
If not for the electric light surrounding us, I could almost have believed we were dining in a luxury hotel in Liverpool or Paris.
However, there was no bread and no wine.
The water was fresh and clean, but it was only water.
Ned Land was not impressed.
Among the dishes, I recognized several kinds of carefully prepared fish.
Some were unfamiliar to me.
Although they tasted excellent, I could not determine whether they came from animals or plants.
The tableware was elegant and beautifully designed.
Every spoon, fork, knife, and plate carried the same engraved letter and motto:
MOBILIS IN MOBILI
N.
The letter N was certainly the first letter of the mysterious commander’s name.
Ned and Conseil did not waste time thinking about such details.
They ate quickly.
I did the same.
I was also beginning to feel reassured.
Clearly, our hosts did not intend to let us starve.
Eventually, even the strongest hunger disappears.
After fifteen hours without food, our hunger was finally satisfied.
Sleep began to overcome us.
“I swear,” Conseil said, “I will sleep very well tonight.”
“So will I,” Ned replied.
My two companions lay down on the floor of the cabin.
Within moments, they were deeply asleep.
I could not sleep so easily.
Too many questions filled my mind.
Where were we?
What strange power was carrying us through the ocean?
I felt—or perhaps only imagined—that the machine was descending deeper and deeper into the sea.
My dreams became frightening.
I saw unknown creatures living in the deepest parts of the ocean.
Among them, this strange submarine seemed almost like another living creature.
It moved silently.
It was powerful.
It was mysterious.
Slowly, my thoughts became calmer.
My imagination faded into darkness.
Soon, I too fell into a deep sleep.