10. The Gulf Stream

Captain Nemo shuts himself away in his room. You don’t see him for many days. He must be devastated at the loss—the second crewman gone since you have been aboard the Nautilus. You sense his sadness by the course of the submarine. It floats about like driftwood, moving completely at random.

Finally, the vessel resumes a northward course. Yet you still sense an aimless feeling aboard the submarine. Maybe you can use this to your advantage; maybe escape is more possible now that Captain Nemo is so distracted. The shores along the submarine’s path might offer an easy escape. Steam ships run from New York to the Gulf of Mexico. You could hope to get picked up.

However, you are still more than thirty miles off the coast, and you think a storm is brewing. It would be difficult to sail a small boat to shore in rough seas.

You knock on Ned’s door, hoping to talk to him about future plans of escape.

“Come in,” says Ned.

He paces his small room as you tell him about the weather conditions.

“This journey must come to an end,” says Ned. “It looks like Nemo is leaving land behind again and going north. I’ll tell you this. I had enough at the South Pole, and I will not follow him to the North Pole.”

You spread your hands. “So what do we do, Ned? An escape isn’t practical right now.”

Ned levels you with a stare. “You must speak to the captain,” he says. “You said nothing when we were in your European waters. Speak now that we are in mine. Ask if we might finally be freed. Before long the Nautilus will sail by Nova Scotia, near my native town in Quebec. I will not stay here!”

You know that Ned has reached the end of his patience. And you’re homesick as well. You’ve been on board for seven months with no news from land. But Captain Nemo is not a man to be crossed. Could freedom really be as simple as asking him for it? Or will doing so give away your plans of escape? What will you choose to do?