By this double opening I get into the small vessel. They shut the one
belonging to the Nautilus; I shut the other by means of screw pressure.
I undo the bolts, and the little boat goes up to the surface of the sea
with prodigious rapidity. I then open the panel of the bridge,
carefully shut till then; I mast it, hoist my sail, take my oars,
and I'm off."
"But how do you get back on board?"
"I do not come back, M. Aronnax; the Nautilus comes to me."
"By your orders?"
"By my orders. An electric thread connects us. I telegraph to it,
and that is enough."
"Really," I said, astonished at these marvels, "nothing can
be more simple."
After having passed by the cage of the staircase that led to the platform,
I saw a cabin six feet long, in which Conseil and Ned Land,
enchanted with their repast, were devouring it with avidity.
Then a door opened into a kitchen nine feet long, situated between
the large store-rooms. There electricity, better than gas itself,
did all the cooking. The streams under the furnaces gave out to the
sponges of platina a heat which was regularly kept up and distributed.
Pages:
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120