The Canadian remained some moments without answering. Then crossing his arms, he said:
“Frankly, I do not regret this journey under the seas. I shall be glad to have made it; but now that it is made, let us have done with it. That is my idea.”
“It will come to an end, Ned.”
“Where and when?”
“Where I do not know, when I cannot say; or, rather, I suppose it will end when these seas have nothing more to teach us.”
“Then what do you hope for?” demanded the Canadian.
“That circumstances may occur as well six months hence as now by which we may and ought to profit.”
“Oh,” said Ned Land, “and where shall we be in six months, if you please, Sir Naturalist?”
“Perhaps in China; you know the Nautilus is a rapid traveler. It goes through water as swallows through the air, or as an express on the land. It does not fear frequented seas; who can say that it may not beat the coasts of France, England, or America, on which flight may be attempted as advantageously as here.”
“M. Aronnax,” replied the Canadian, “your arguments are rotten at the foundation. You speak in the future, ‘We shall be there! We shall be here!’ I speak in the present, ‘We are here, and we must profit by it.’ ”
Ned Land’s logic pressed me hard, and I felt myself beaten on that ground. I knew not what argument would now tell in my favor.
“Sir,” continued Ned, “let us suppose an impossibility; if Captain Nemo should this day offer you your liberty, would you accept it?”
“I do not know,” I answered.
“And if,” he added, “the offer he made you this day was never to be renewed, would you accept it?”
“Friend Ned, this is my answer. Your reasoning is against me. We must not rely on Captain Nemo’s goodwill. Common prudence forbids him to set us at liberty. On the other side, prudence bids us profit by the first opportunity to leave the Nautilus.”
“Well, M. Aronnax, that is wisely said.”
“Only one observation—just one. The occasion must be serious, and our first attempt must succeed; if it fails, we shall never find another, and Captain Nemo will never forgive us.”
“All that is true,” replied the Canadian. “But your observation applies equally to all attempts at flight, whether in two years’ time, or in two days. But the question is still this: if a favorable opportunity presents itself, it must be seized.”
“Agreed! And now, Ned, will you tell me what you mean by a favorable opportunity?”
“It will be that which, on a dark night, will bring the Nautilus a short distance from some European coast.”
“And you will try and save yourself by swimming?”
“Yes, if we were near enough to the bank, and if the vessel was floating at the time. Not if the bank was far away, and the boat was under the water.”
“And in that case?”
“In that case, I should seek to make myself master of the pinnace. I know how it is worked. We must get inside, and the bolts once drawn, we shall come to the surface of the water, without even the pilot, who is in the bows, perceiving our flight.”
“Well, Ned, watch for the opportunity; but do not forget that a hitch will ruin us.”
“I will not forget, sir.”
“And now, Ned, would you like to know what I think of your project?”
“Certainly, M. Aronnax.”
“Well, I think—I do not say I hope—I think that this favorable opportunity will never present itself.”
“Why not?”
“Because Captain Nemo cannot hide from himself that we have not given up all hope of regaining our liberty, and he will be on his guard, above all, in the seas, and in the sight of European coasts.”
“We shall see,” replied Ned Land, shaking his head determinedly.
“And now, Ned Land,” I added, “let us stop here. Not another word on the subject. The day that you are ready, come and let us know, and we will follow you. I rely entirely upon you.”
Thus ended a conversation which, at no very distant time, led to such grave results. I must say here that facts seemed to confirm my foresight, to the Canadian’s great despair. Did Captain Nemo distrust us in these frequented seas, or did he only wish to hide himself from the numerous vessels of all nations, which plowed the Mediterranean? I could not tell; but we were oftener between waters, and far from the coast. Or, if the Nautilus did emerge, nothing was to be seen but the pilot’s cage; and sometimes it went to great depths, for, between the Grecian Archipelago and Asia Minor, we could not touch the bottom by more than a thousand fathoms.