On the night of December 27th or 28th, the Nautilus left the shores of Vanikoro at great speed.
She headed southwest, and within three days she had crossed the 750 leagues separating La Perouse’s island group from the southeastern tip of Papua.
Early on January 1st, 1863, Conseil came to join me on the platform.
“Master, may I wish you a happy New Year?”
“What? Conseil! You say that as if we were back in Paris, in my study at the Jardin des Plantes.”
“I accept your good wishes, my friend. Thank you.”
“But tell me, what does a ‘happy New Year’ mean in our present situation? Do you mean a year that will bring an end to our captivity? Or a year in which we continue this strange voyage beneath the sea?”
“Master, I honestly do not know how to answer.”
“But I do know one thing. We have seen many extraordinary things, and during the past two months we have certainly not had time to become bored.”
“Every new wonder seems even more amazing than the last.”
“If this continues, I cannot imagine what we will discover next.”
“In my opinion, we will never again see anything like this journey.”
“So, with no disrespect to you, master, I believe the happiest year would be the one in which we are allowed to see everything.”
On January 2nd, we calculated that since leaving the Japanese seas, the Nautilus had traveled 11,340 miles, or 5,250 French leagues.
Ahead of us lay the dangerous waters of the Coral Sea, along the northeastern coast of Australia.
The vessel was now several miles away from the famous reef where Captain Cook’s ship had been wrecked on June 10th, 1770.
Cook’s ship had struck a coral rock, and if it did not sink completely, it was only because a piece of coral had broken off during the impact and became stuck inside the damaged keel, temporarily sealing the opening.
I had greatly wished to visit that enormous reef, which stretched for 360 leagues and where the powerful waves crashed with a thunderous roar.
But just then, the Nautilus’s diving planes forced her downward into the deep water, and I could not see the towering coral walls.
I had to satisfy myself with studying the fish brought up by the nets.
Among them, I noticed several large germons, a kind of mackerel almost as big as tuna.
Their sides were blue, marked with dark stripes running across their bodies. These stripes disappeared after the fish died.
These fish followed the Nautilus in large groups and provided us with wonderfully delicate food.
We also caught many gilt-head fish, about an inch and a half long, whose flavor reminded me of dory.
There were also flying fish, true creatures of the underwater world, like swallows of the sea. On dark nights, their glowing bodies illuminated both the air and the water with their natural phosphorescence.
Among the mollusks and sea creatures attached to the ocean floor, I discovered several kinds of alcyonarians, sea urchins, hammer-shaped shells, spur-shaped shells, dial-shaped shells, cerites, and hyalleas.
The underwater vegetation was equally beautiful.
Floating seaweeds, laminarias, and giant macrocystes filled the waters. Their surfaces were covered with a thick substance that flowed naturally from their pores.
Among them, I collected a magnificent specimen of Nemastoma Geliniarois, which was later considered one of the rare treasures of the museum.
Two days after crossing the Coral Sea, on January 4th, we saw the coast of Papua.
On this occasion, Captain Nemo told me his plan.
“We shall enter the Indian Ocean through Torres Strait.”
That was all he said.
The Torres Strait was nearly thirty-four leagues wide, but it was filled with countless islands, small reefs, hidden rocks, and dangerous passages.
Because of this, navigating through it was extremely difficult.
Captain Nemo took every possible precaution.
The Nautilus moved slowly between the surface and the depths.
Her speed was reduced.
Her propeller turned gently, beating the water like the tail of a giant whale.
Taking advantage of this slower pace, Conseil, Ned Land, and I went up to the empty platform.
In front of us stood the helmsman’s cabin.
I expected Captain Nemo to be inside, carefully guiding the course of the Nautilus.
I studied the excellent charts of Torres Strait and followed our route closely.
Around us, the sea was violently disturbed.
The waves moved from southeast to northwest at a speed of about two and a half miles an hour, crashing against coral reefs that appeared here and there above the surface.
“This is terrible water,” Ned Land said.
“Very dangerous indeed,” I replied. “Especially for a vessel like the Nautilus.”
“The Captain must be absolutely certain of his route,” Ned said.
“Look at those coral formations. If the ship touched them even slightly, they could tear open the keel.”
He was right.
The situation was dangerous.
Yet the Nautilus seemed to glide effortlessly between the rocks, almost as if guided by magic.
Captain Nemo did not follow exactly the same route taken by the Astrolabe and the Zelee, the two ships that had brought disaster to Dumont d’Urville.
Instead, he moved farther north, passed along the Murray Islands, and then turned southwest toward Cumberland Passage.
I thought he intended to avoid the passage.
But suddenly the Nautilus turned northwest again and entered a region filled with countless islands and small islets, many of which were still unknown.
We moved toward Island Sound and Canal Mauvais.
I wondered whether Captain Nemo had become dangerously reckless.
Was he really going to guide his ship through the same passage where Dumont d’Urville’s two corvettes had struck?
But once again, he changed direction.
The Nautilus turned westward and headed directly toward Gilboa Island.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon.
The tide had begun to fall after reaching its highest point.
The Nautilus approached the island, which I could see clearly because of its remarkable border of screw-pine trees.
The vessel stopped about two miles away.
Suddenly, a violent shock threw me off balance.
The Nautilus had touched a rock.
Then she stopped completely, leaning slightly to the left.
When I stood up, I saw Captain Nemo and his lieutenant on the platform.
They were examining the ship’s position and speaking to each other in their mysterious language.
The situation was serious.
Two miles away on the right side stood Gilboa Island, stretching from north to west like a giant arm.
To the south and east, coral reefs appeared as the tide continued to fall.
The Nautilus was trapped.
She had run aground in a sea where the tides were not very powerful.
However, the vessel itself was not damaged.
Her strong keel had held firm.
But if she could not move again, she might remain permanently imprisoned among these rocks.
And if that happened, Captain Nemo’s extraordinary submarine vessel would be finished.
While I was thinking about this danger, Captain Nemo approached me calmly.
He was always composed, always completely in control of himself.
“Is this an accident?” I asked.
“No,” he replied. “Only an incident.”
“But an incident that may force you to become a resident of this island you have been trying to avoid?”
Captain Nemo looked at me strangely.
Then he slowly shook his head, as if saying that nothing could ever force him to return to land.
Besides, he said:
“M. Aronnax, the Nautilus is not lost.”
“She will still carry you into the wonders of the ocean.”
“Our journey has only just begun.”
“I do not wish to lose the pleasure of your company so soon.”
I did not notice the irony in his words.
“But Captain Nemo,” I replied, “the Nautilus is stranded in the open sea.”
“The tides in the Pacific are weak.”
“If you cannot make the vessel lighter, I do not see how she can float again.”
“You are correct, Professor,” Nemo answered.
“The tides are weak in the Pacific.”
“But in Torres Strait, the difference between high and low tide can reach a yard and a half.”
“Today is January 4th.”
“In five days, the moon will be full.”
“I would be very surprised if the moon did not raise the water enough to free us.”
“In that case, I will owe her a debt of gratitude.”
After saying this, Captain Nemo followed by his lieutenant returned inside the Nautilus.
The vessel did not move at all.
It seemed as though the coral creatures had already surrounded it with their powerful cement-like structures.
“Well, sir?” Ned Land asked after the Captain disappeared.
“Well, my friend Ned, we will patiently wait until the ninth.”
“The moon seems willing to help us.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“And Captain Nemo is not going to drop anchor?” Conseil asked.
“The tide alone will be enough?”
Ned Land looked at Conseil and shook his head.
“Believe me, my friend, this piece of iron will never sail on the sea or beneath it again.”
“It is only worth selling for scrap metal.”
“I think the time has come for us to leave Captain Nemo.”
“Friend Ned, I do not share your hopelessness.”
“In four days, we will know whether the Pacific tides can save us.”
“Besides, escaping would only be possible if we were near the English or French coast.”
“But here, on the shores of Papua, things are completely different.”
“We should only think about escape if the Nautilus truly cannot free herself.”
“But at least, do they know how to act carefully?”
Ned pointed toward the island.
“There is land.”
“There are trees.”
“And beneath those trees are animals.”
“Animals with meat.”
“Animals that might become roast beef and steaks.”
“I would gladly test them.”
“In this matter, Ned Land is correct,” Conseil said.
“I agree with him.”
“Could you not ask Captain Nemo for permission to go ashore?”
“Even if only for a short time?”
“It would be pleasant to feel solid ground beneath our feet again.”
“I can ask him,” I replied.
“But he will refuse.”
“Will master try?” Conseil asked.
“At least then we will know whether the Captain is willing to show kindness.”
To my great surprise, Captain Nemo granted my request.
He did so pleasantly and did not even demand that I promise to return.
However, escaping across New Guinea would have been extremely dangerous.
I certainly would not have advised Ned Land to attempt such a thing.
It was better to remain a prisoner aboard the Nautilus than risk falling into the hands of the native tribes.
At eight o’clock, armed with guns and axes, we left the Nautilus.
The sea was calm.
A light wind blew toward the shore.
Conseil and I rowed, while Ned guided the boat through the narrow openings between the coral reefs.
The small boat moved quickly and smoothly.
Ned Land could barely control his excitement.
He looked like a prisoner who had escaped from prison and had forgotten that he might have to return.
“Meat!” he shouted.
“We are going to eat meat!”
“And what kind of meat!”
“Real wild game!”
“Not fish again!”
“Fish is good, I admit.”
“We should not complain about it.”
“But a piece of fresh venison roasted over a fire would be a wonderful change.”
“You are making my mouth water,” Conseil said.
“Glutton!”
“We still do not know whether these forests contain animals,” I said.
“And even if they do, we do not know whether those animals might hunt us instead.”
“Very true, M. Aronnax,” Ned replied.
“But my teeth are ready.”
“I would eat tiger meat if there were no other animals on this island.”
“Ned is already worried about his dinner,” Conseil joked.
“Whatever creature we find,” Ned continued, “as long as it has four legs and no feathers—or even two legs and no feathers—it will receive my first shot.”
“Very good,” I said.
“Master Land’s dangerous habits are returning.”
“Do not worry, M. Aronnax,” Ned replied.
“I will need less than twenty-five minutes to prepare a meal for you.”
At half past eight, our boat gently touched the sandy shore.
We had successfully crossed the coral reef surrounding Gilboa Island.
For the first time in many months, we once again stood on land.