"Well, at noon we shall see the point."
The Canadian returned to Conseil. As soon as I was dressed,
I went into the saloon. The compass was not reassuring.
The course of the Nautilus was S.S.W. We were turning our
backs on Europe.
I waited with some impatience till the ship's place was pricked
on the chart. At about half-past eleven the reservoirs
were emptied, and our vessel rose to the surface of the ocean.
I rushed towards the platform. Ned Land had preceded me.
No more land in sight. Nothing but an immense sea.
Some sails on the horizon, doubtless those going to San Roque
in search of favourable winds for doubling the Cape of Good Hope.
The weather was cloudy. A gale of wind was preparing.
Ned raved, and tried to pierce the cloudy horizon.
He still hoped that behind all that fog stretched the land he so
longed for.
At noon the sun showed itself for an instant. The second profited by this
brightness to take its height. Then, the sea becoming more billowy,
we descended, and the panel closed.
An hour after, upon consulting the chart, I saw the position
of the Nautilus was marked at 16@ 17' long.
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