Ten yards from me I saw the open shell,
through which the water was rushing with the noise of thunder,
then the double line of guns and the netting. The bridge was
covered with black, agitated shadows.
The water was rising. The poor creatures were crowding the ratlines,
clinging to the masts, struggling under the water. It was a human ant-heap
overtaken by the sea. Paralysed, stiffened with anguish, my hair standing
on end, with eyes wide open, panting, without breath, and without voice,
I too was watching! An irresistible attraction glued me to the glass!
Suddenly an explosion took place. The compressed air blew up her decks,
as if the magazines had caught fire. Then the unfortunate vessel sank
more rapidly. Her topmast, laden with victims, now appeared; then her spars,
bending under the weight of men; and, last of all, the top of her mainmast.
Then the dark mass disappeared, and with it the dead crew, drawn down by
the strong eddy.
I turned to Captain Nemo. That terrible avenger, a perfect
archangel of hatred, was still looking.
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