Then night fell in the midst of a heavy silence, sometimes broken by the cries
of the pelican and other night-birds, and the noise of the waves breaking upon
the shore, chafing against the rocks, or the panting of some far-off steamer
beating the waters of the Gulf with its noisy paddles.
From eight to nine o'clock the Nautilus remained some fathoms
under the water. According to my calculation we must have
been very near Suez. Through the panel of the saloon I saw
the bottom of the rocks brilliantly lit up by our electric lamp.
We seemed to be leaving the Straits behind us more and more.
At a quarter-past nine, the vessel having returned to the surface,
I mounted the platform. Most impatient to pass through Captain
Nemo's tunnel, I could not stay in one place, so came to breathe
the fresh night air.
Soon in the shadow I saw a pale light, half discoloured by the fog,
shining about a mile from us.
"A floating lighthouse!" said someone near me.
I turned, and saw the Captain.
"It is the floating light of Suez," he continued.
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