“But it seems to me that in this twilight, and in the midst of this fluid, which is very dense compared with the atmosphere, shots could not go far, nor easily prove mortal.”
“Sir, on the contrary, with this gun every blow is mortal; and however lightly the animal is touched, it falls as if struck by a thunderbolt.”
“Why?”
“Because the balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little cases of glass (invented by Leniebroek, an Austrian chemist), of which I have a large supply. These glass cases are covered with a case of steel, and weighted with a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles, into which the electricity is forced to a very high tension. With the slightest shock they are discharged, and the animal, however strong it may be, falls dead. I must tell you that these cases are size number four, and that the charge for an ordinary gun would be ten.”
“I will argue no longer,” I replied, rising from the table; “I have nothing left me but to take my gun. At all events, I will go where you go.”
Captain Nemo then led me aft; and in passing before Ned and Conseil’s cabin, I called my two companions, who followed immediately. We then came to a kind of cell near the machinery-room, in which we were to put on our walking-dress.
A Walk on the Bottom of the Sea
This cell was, to speak correctly, the arsenal and wardrobe of the Nautilus. A dozen diving apparatus hung from the partition, waiting our use.
Ned Land, on seeing them, showed evident repugnance to dress himself in one.
“But, my worthy Ned, the forests of the island of Crespo are nothing but submarine forests.”
“Good!” said the disappointed harpooner, who saw his dreams of fresh meat fade away. “And you, M. Aronnax, are you going to dress yourself in those clothes?”
“There is no alternative, Master Ned.”
“As you please, sir,” replied the harpooner, shrugging his shoulders; “but as for me, unless I am forced, I will never get into one.”
“No one will force you, Master Ned,” said Captain Nemo.
“Is Conseil going to risk it?” asked Ned.
“I follow my master wherever he goes,” replied Conseil.
At the captain’s call two of the ship’s crew came to help us to dress in these heavy and impervious clothes, made of India-rubber without seam, and constructed expressly to resist considerable pressure. One would have thought it a suit of armor, both supple and resisting. This suit formed trousers and waistcoat. The trousers were finished off with thick boots, weighted with heavy leaden soles. The texture of the waistcoat was held together by bands of copper, which crossed the chest, protecting it from the great pressure of the water, and leaving the lungs free to act; the sleeves ended in gloves, which in no way restrained the movement of the hands. There was a vast difference noticeable between these consummate apparatus and the old cork breastplates, jackets, and other contrivances in vogue during the eighteenth century.
Captain Nemo and one of his companions (a sort of Hercules, who must have possessed great strength), Conseil, and myself, were soon enveloped in the dresses. There remained nothing more to be done but to inclose our heads in the metal box. But before proceeding to this operation, I asked the captain’s permission to examine the guns we were to carry.
One of the Nautilus men gave me a simple gun, the butt end of which, made of steel hollow in the center, was rather large. It served as a reservoir for compressed air, which a valve worked by a spring allowed to escape into a metal tube. A box of projectiles, in a groove, in the thickness of the butt end, contained about twenty of these electric balls, which by means of a spring were forced into the barrel of the gun. As soon as one shot was fired, another was ready.
“Captain Nemo,” said I, “this arm is perfect, and easily handled; I only ask to be allowed to try it. But how shall we gain the bottom of the sea?”
“At this moment, professor, the Nautilus is stranded in five fathoms, and we have nothing to do but to start.”