Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

by Deb Mercier

  You go to tell Ned and Conseil about the treasure. They’re as stumped as you are.

  “If the boat left and returned last night,” says Ned, “we must be close to land.”

  You know instantly what he’s getting at. Ned wants to escape. He’s probably right that the Nautilus is close to land. You don’t know if you will ever have a better opportunity. But you aren’t familiar with the seas in which the Nautilus now sails. An escape could be dangerous. Should you wait, or should you go now? What will you choose to do?

  Convince Ned to wait.

  Escape now.

  “We’re not even at the surface,” you say. “How can we escape?”

  “I have learned that the boat has a watertight covering,” says Ned. “With the covering closed, we can make it to the surface inside the boat.”

  It makes sense. Once freed from the submarine, the air inside the watertight boat will lift it to the surface, kind of like a giant life jacket, with you inside. You’re now convinced that escape is possible. You agree to listen to the rest of Ned’s plan.

  ***

  Later that night, the three of you meet in the drawing room. For some reason, it feels too hot. You mop your brow with a handkerchief.

  “Are we ready?” you ask.

  Ned opens his coat and grins. He has stashed a wrench in the inside pocket. Conseil shows you a small, watertight bag of food that he’s prepared.

  Quietly, the three of you make your way down the deserted hallway, up the ladder, and into the covered boat. If anything, it’s even hotter in here than in the drawing room.

  Captain Nemo must still be having trouble with the temperature controls.

  It takes longer than you would like, but you finally get ready to launch. Sweat pours down your face, but not because you’re nervous. With the cover drawn tight, it’s hotter than ever inside the little boat.

  Ned gives a final twist of the wrench, and the little boat launches from the protection of the Nautilus.

  You know instantly that something is wrong.

  The air around you, hot before, now burns in your lungs. The boat gives an awful groan. Rivets burst, and boiling jets of water shoot into the boat.

  You have only a second to register a thought: You must be near an active volcano. Pain overwhelms your senses for a moment, and then you feel nothing. Not ever again.

  Try again.

  “We’re not even at the surface,” you say. “How can we escape?”

  “I’ve learned that the row boat has a watertight covering,” says Ned. “With the covering closed, we can make it to the surface inside the boat.”

  “We still don’t know what the seas around us are like,” you argue. “It could be dangerous. It’s best we wait.”

  You see that a part of Ned wants to continue the argument, while a part of him agrees with you. He returns to his cabin to sulk.

  You sigh and head back to your quarters. As you shuffle through your papers in the drawing room, a trickle of sweat runs down your face. The temperature has grown so hot; you’re having trouble breathing. You wonder if there’s a fire on board and rush to the doors of the drawing room. You run right into Captain Nemo.

  He brushes past you and checks the thermometer on the wall. “Hmm, forty-two degrees Celsius,” he says.

  “That’s over 107 Fahrenheit!” you exclaim. “If it gets much hotter, we won’t survive!”

  “Not to worry,” says the captain. “We’ll just head away from the stove.”

  “The stove?”

  “We’re sailing on a current of boiling water,” he says as he opens the window panels.

  You see only white, all around the submarine. Tendrils of sulfur smoke curl through the boiling waves. You touch one of the panes of glass and cry out, snatching your fingers back.

  The captain explains that new islands are always forming in this region because of volcanoes that erupt under the sea. He then sends an order to the bridge. Soon the temperature begins to drop as the Nautilus moves out of the current.

  You shiver. The thought suddenly strikes you that if you had followed Ned’s escape plan, you would have been boiled like sausages.

  ***

  Much to Ned’s disgust, you sail rapidly through the Mediterranean Sea over the next two days.

  This would have been the perfect place to attempt an escape. The sea is calm and land is close by. But Captain Nemo orders the Nautilus to plow full steam ahead. Unlatching the small boat at this speed would be like jumping off a speeding train. The boat would split apart on impact.

  Ned paces and fumes. You and Conseil pass your time adding to your notes and working on your journal.

  Soon, the Nautilus slips through the Straits of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic Ocean. You estimate that the Nautilus has traveled nearly 10,000 leagues in three and a half months—a distance greater than the circumference of the earth.

  You’re much farther away from land now, and the submarine surfaces. Up on the platform, you feel the spray of saltwater on your face, and you wonder where you are going next.

  You can see the coast of Spain far in the distance. A strong south wind lifts your hair. The sea is swollen and billowy, making the Nautilus rock violently. The waves’ heavy rolls make it hard to keep your footing.

  Later, when you return to your room, Ned joins you. He sits on your chair and looks at you, his face stormy. “We leave tonight,” he says. “We agreed to wait for an opportunity. That opportunity has arrived. Tonight we will be only a few miles off the Spanish coast. I have already spoken to Conseil. I’m counting on you, Mr. Arronax.”

  Ned waits for a reply, but you can’t speak.

  “Tonight at nine o’clock,” continues Ned. “Captain Nemo will be in his room, probably in bed. Conseil and I will go up the central staircase. You will remain in the library waiting on my signal. I have stocked the boat with some supplies. All is ready.”

  Ned leaves your room without another word.

  Moments later, a loud hissing noise tells you that the air tanks are filling. The Nautilus sinks under the waves of the Atlantic.

  You pass the day, caught between your desire to be free and the thought of abandoning the wonderful Nautilus. You wander through the drawing room and library, running your fingers over the treasures you must leave behind.

  You know there is limited space on the boat, and you have your notes. But is that proof of your adventure? Will others believe you if you can only supply words on paper? There are many other things on board that no one else has seen before. Should you bring them? Or will you trust that your notes will be enough? What will you choose to do?

  Bring some treasures with you.

  Bring only your notes.

  You pack the items that would be most valued by your museum: rare samples of shells and undersea creatures, an updated map of the ocean floor, and your notes. Captain Nemo will not be happy at finding them missing, but this is the proof you need.

  You snap the lid closed, and suddenly the captain bursts into the room

  “What is the meaning of this?” he bellows. “You dare steal from me? After I spared your life and gave you every comfort the sea has to offer?” He wrenches the trunk from your grasp and pops open the lid. “You will be spared no more!” The captain barks an order, and you are surrounded by stony-faced crewmen.

  You, Ned, and Conseil are marched roughly up the central staircase. As you step out on the platform, harsh sea air hits your face with a sharp and salty tang.

  “Please,” you say. “I meant no harm!”

  The captain stares at you. His face is unreadable. He gives an order. You feel strong hands push you from behind. You tumble helplessly into the dark and waiting waves of the ocean. The empty trunk lands beside you with a splash. Then the Nautilus sails off.

 
You and your companions swim for hours and hours. But without land in sight, there is no hope. Your limbs grow numb and your strength fades. Saltwater fills your mouth as you struggle against the ocean waves. Soon, the cold, dark water swallows you, and you disappear below the waves forever.

  Try again.

  You carefully place your notes in a waterproof bag and tuck them inside your shirt to keep them safe. Packing anything more may lead Captain Nemo to discover your plans.

  And then you wait. The day seems to last forever.

  Your dinner is served as usual in your room. You are nervous, and your stomach jumps at the slightest sound. You eat very little. You’re done at seven o’clock. One hundred and twenty minutes are all that remain between now and the moment of your escape.

  A few minutes before nine o’clock, you dress warmly in sea boots, an otterskin cap and a coat lined with sealskin. You leave your room and enter the drawing room. It’s dark and deserted. You open the door that leads into the library. That room is empty too. You stand near the door leading to the central staircase and wait for Ned’s signal.

  Suddenly, the trembling of the submarine’s engines fades. The silence is frightening.

  A slight shock travels up your legs, and you know the Nautilus has landed at the bottom of the ocean.

  Ned’s signal never comes.

  9. Southern Waters

  The next morning, Ned visits your room. He doesn’t look happy.

  “Well, Ned, luck was against us yesterday,” you say.

  He slouches onto a chair. “There will be another time. Perhaps even tonight.”

  You shake your head. The Nautilus is heading south, away from land, toward the South Pole.

  ***

  One day, you add a note in your journal that you have sailed nearly 13,000 leagues on board the Nautilus. As you write, the submarine slows and stops.

  You rush onto the platform. A bitter wind hits your face, but the view makes up for the cold. Thousands of birds wheel through the foggy sky. You peer over the side and see fish of intense blue and olive green. Icebergs loom all around the submarine. Seeing these wonders, you are glad to still be aboard the Nautilus.

  The captain stands beside you on the platform.

  “Are we at the pole?” you ask.

  “I don’t know. I will take our bearings tomorrow.”

  ***

  It is March 21. At around five in the morning, you climb to the platform. Captain Nemo is already there.

  After breakfast, a boat takes you, Captain Nemo, two crewmen, and some instruments to land. The sky brightens and the fog lifts from the cold surface of the waters. Captain Nemo strides toward a rocky peak.

  It is a difficult climb. But finally you reach the summit. To the north, the disc of the sun looks like a ball of fire, already cut by the horizon.

  Captain Nemo carefully sets up his instruments. If the sun looks cut in half by the horizon at twelve o’clock, it is proof that you are standing at the South Pole.

  You watch the clock. At the click of noon you call out, “Twelve!”

  “The South Pole!” yells Captain Nemo. He hands you the telescope, and you see that the sun is cut exactly in half by the horizon.

  Captain Nemo’s hand claps down on your shoulder. He says, “I, Captain Nemo, on this twenty-first day of March, 1868, have reached the South Pole. I take possession of this continent!”

  “In whose name, Captain?” you ask.

  Captain Nemo’s eyes flash with anger. “In my own name!” he replies. He unfurls a black flag bearing a gold “N” at its center. He turns toward the sun as its last rays sink into the sea, and he yells, “Goodbye sun! Disappear and rest beneath this open sea.”

  ***

  After leaving the South Pole, the Nautilus sails for the American coast. You are still uneasy about the captain’s state of mind.

  In your room, you discuss your options with Conseil and Ned. “We’ve travelled more than 17,000 leagues so far,” you begin.

  “I see no end to it,” replies Ned. “We can hope nothing from Captain Nemo. We must rely on ourselves.”

  Conseil nods in agreement. “Besides,” he adds, “as the days pass, the captain seems more and more unstable.”

  You sigh. “I don’t want to bury my studies with me. I have the power to write a true book of the sea. I want it to see daylight.”

  The three of you agree. You will escape at the very first opportunity.

  You make your way to the drawing room to plan your next move. According to the maps, the submarine is passing by the islands of the Bahamas.

  You peer out the windows and see high submarine cliffs covered with seaweed. Dark caverns yawn wide amid the giant plants. “These are perfect hiding places for giant squid,” you remark.

  Ned laughs. “I will never believe such animals exist.”

  You open your journal to take some notes.

  Conseil remains staring out the window. “So if there was such a thing as a giant squid, would it measure about six yards?” he asks.

  “I suppose,” you reply, turning to a fresh page.

  “Would its head be crowned with eight tentacles that beat the water like a nest of serpents?”

  “Probably.”

  “Would its eyes be at the back of its head?”

  “Yes, Conseil.”

  “Would it have a mouth like a parrot’s beak?”

  You close your journal with an irritated sigh. “Yes, Conseil, why do you ask?”

  “Because there’s one swimming toward the ship right now.”

  You and Ned rush to join Conseil at the window.

  “What a horrible beast!” cries Ned.

  The creature looms closer and closer, looking like some monster out of legend. It swims toward the Nautilus with great speed. Its eight tentacles are twice as long as its body and twist like tangled hair. The monster’s mouth, a horned beak, opens and shuts. Its tongue flicks out, showing several rows of pointed teeth. It changes color as it races toward the Nautilus—from livid gray to reddish brown.

  You snatch up your journal and start to sketch the creature. Ned looks at you like you are insane.

  When you glance out the window, six more giant squid have joined the first. Soon you hear their beaks gnashing against the iron hull. You sketch as fast as you can. Suddenly, a shock runs through the Nautilus, and the submarine grinds to a groaning halt. Your pencil leaves a jagged scratch across your drawing.

  Captain Nemo, followed by a crewman, bursts into the drawing room. He marches to the window and looks out at the squid. He says something to the crewman, who rushes from the drawing room.

  The window panels slam shut.

  “What is happening?” you ask the captain.

  “We are going to fight these monsters, man to beast,” he says. “The propeller is stopped. The jaws of a squid got caught in the blades. That is why we are not moving.”

  “What are you going to do?” asks Ned.

  “Rise to the surface and destroy them.”

  You race after him as he storms from the room. At the central staircase, you are met by about ten crewmen carrying hatchets. You and Conseil each grab a hatchet, and Ned seizes a harpoon.

  One of the sailors opens the panel that leads outside. A giant tentacle slides like a serpent down the opening. Twenty more tentacles writhe above.

  With a blow of his axe, Captain Nemo hacks the tentacle off. It falls in a wriggling heap.

  Men shout and shove at each other to get up the ladder. Suddenly, two more giant arms lash through the opening. They seize a crewman and lift him.

  Captain Nemo storms his way up to the platform. You hurry after him as best you can.

  You gasp in horror. The crewman is fixed to the tentacle’s suckers, balanced in t
he air and whipped about by the whims of the angry monster. The sailor screams for help. With a jolt, you realize he’s yelling in French, your native language.

  You have an axe. You could hack at the tentacle that holds him, but you wonder if he might fall to his death. You also spot a coil of rope nearby. Maybe you could throw it to him and pull him free. Either way, you must try something. What will you choose to do?

  Use the axe.

  Use the rope.

  You snatch up the rope and yell to the crewman, “Catch!” You make a desperate throw toward him. Somehow, he snares the end of the rope.

  He wraps the rope around himself, and you tug as hard as you can. The tentacle is too powerful for you. As it lifts the crewman higher into the air, you are pulled forward. Conseil and another crewman join you. But even with the weight of three, you cannot control the monster’s flailing tentacle.

  Suddenly, you are lifted off your feet. Before you can think to let go, you are high above the water. The other crewman and Conseil scream as they try to hang on.

  First, the crewman loses his grip. A second later, Conseil follows him into the frothy water below. Both are snagged by one of the other monsters.

  As you are whipped through the air, you lose your grip too. You crash with a klunk into the side of the Nautilus. Your vision explodes with brilliant stars. Then all goes black as you slide into the water, a meal for a hungry squid.

  Try again.

  You ignore the rope and launch yourself at the beast. It swipes at you with a tentacle, and you manage to hack it away. You bury your weapon into the tentacle again, and a horrible smell of musk fills the air.

  You look up from the fray and see there is hope that the crewman might be saved. But then the animal sprays a stream of black liquid, and you are blinded.

  When you can see again, the squid has disappeared, and the unlucky crewman is gone with it. But you have no time to think about the lost sailor. More squid attack from all sides of the Nautilus. You and your companions hack and slash at their writhing limbs.