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WewentacrossIndianandArabianwatersandintotheRedSea.Neddidn’tstopthinkingaboutescapefromtheNautilus.
‘Wherearewegoingafterthis?’heasked.
‘BacktotheArabianSeafirst,’Ianswered.‘ThenperhapsdowntheAfricancoast...’
Butwedidn’tgobacktotheArabianSea.OnedayCaptainNemosaid,‘Tomorrowwe’regoingtobeintheMediterranean.’
Ididn’tunderstand.‘Wecan’tgofromtheRedSeatothe
Mediterraneaninaboat!’Isaid.‘HowarewegoingtotaketheNautilusacrossEgypt?’
‘Wearen’tgoingtogoacrossEgypt.We’regoingtogounderit,’thecaptainanswered.‘Iknowanunderwatertunnel.’
Thatevening,wewentintothetunnel.Itwasverydarkandverysmall.ButNemowasagoodseaman,andtheNautilusdidn’thaveanyproblems.Inaveryshorttime,wewereintheMediterranean.
WethenmovedquicklyawayfromEgypt.NearCrete,Irememberedstoriesinthenewspapers.CretewasinTurkey,buttheCretanswantedtobeGreek.AlotofCretanswerenowdead,becausetheTurkishpeoplewereveryangrywiththem.
Ilookedatthesea.Therewasaswimmerunderwater,andhedidn’thaveadivingsuit.
‘Quickly!’IsaidtoCaptainNemo.‘Let’sgotohimnow,orthesea’sgoingtokillhim.’
‘He’sOK,’thecaptainanswered.‘Hisname’sNicolas,andhe’saverygoodswimmer.’
Wasthismanafriendofthecaptain?Iwantedtoask,butthenIstoppedthinkingabouttheswimmer.CaptainNemohadgoldinhishands!Ilookedbehindhim,andtherewasgoldonthetable,too—alotofgold!
Later,Ilistenedtothenoisesofthenight.MenwentawayfromtheNautilusinthelittleboat,andcamebackashorttimelater.Didtheytakegoldwiththem?Wheredidtheytakeit?WasitfortheCretans?
Wedidn’tgonearanycoastsafterthis,andthreedayslaterwewereintheAtlantic.Nedwasangry.HewantedtoescapetoaEuropeancountry,andEuropewasbehindusnow.
ButfirstwewentupthecoastofPortugalandSpain.
‘We’regoingtoescapethisevening,’Nedsaid.‘MeetConseilandmeatthelittleboatatnineo’clock.’
IwantedtostayontheNautilus,becauseitwasagoodhomeforascientist.ButIwantedtoseeParisagainoneday,andthiswasperhapstheonlytimeforanescape.
‘OK,’IsaidtoNed.
Atnineo’clock,Iopenedmydoorandstartedtowalktothelittleboat.Butsuddenly,theNautilusstoppedontheseafloor.ThenCaptainNemoarrived.
‘Youwantedtheanswertoaquestion,Ithink,MrAronnax,’hesaid.‘Comewithme.’
Iwentwithhimtothewindow.Thereweresomeoldboatsontheseafloor,andNemo’smenwerethereintheirdivingsuits.Theywalkedtotheoldboatsandcamebackwithgoldintheirhands.
‘Theseboatswentdowntotheseafloorin1702,heavywithSouthAmericangold.MymenandIsometimescomehereandtakealittlegold.Butitisn’tforus.Thereareunhappypeopleinmanycountries.Thegoldisforthem.’
IrememberedtheproblemsinCreteandstartedtounderstandCaptainNemo.
ButNedwasnotahappyman.‘Wherewereyou?’heaskedmelater.‘Wewaitedforyou,butyoudidn’tcome.’
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