It was thus that, either by overloading her reservoirs or by descending
obliquely by means of her inclined planes, the Nautilus successively attained
the depth of three, four, five, seven, nine, and ten thousand yards,
and the definite result of this experience was that the sea preserved
an average temperature of four degrees and a half at a depth of five
thousand fathoms under all latitudes.
On the 16th of January, the Nautilus seemed becalmed
only a few yards beneath the surface of the waves.
Her electric apparatus remained inactive and her motionless
screw left her to drift at the mercy of the currents.
I supposed that the crew was occupied with interior repairs,
rendered necessary by the violence of the mechanical movements
of the machine.
My companions and I then witnessed a curious spectacle.
The hatches of the saloon were open, and, as the beacon light
of the Nautilus was not in action, a dim obscurity reigned
in the midst of the waters. I observed the state of the sea,
under these conditions, and the largest fish appeared to me
no more than scarcely defined shadows, when the Nautilus
found herself suddenly transported into full light.
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