11. Goodbye, Captain Nemo

You make your way back to your room, where Ned and Conseil wait in silence. You feel horror at the thought of Captain Nemo. Whatever he has suffered, he has no right to punish others this way. He has made you a witness to his revenge, and it sickens you.

A short while later, you return to the drawing room. The instruments tell you the Nautilus is moving toward northern seas with frightening speed.

***

Whenever the submarine surfaces for air, it only stays briefly above the waves. You can only guess, but it feels like the Nautilus has been speeding north for fifteen or twenty days.

You have seen nothing of Captain Nemo or his crew. It’s like the submarine is run by ghosts. Ned, too, has withdrawn into his room, his patience at an end.

Yet, one morning, you wake to find Ned leaning over you. “We are leaving,” he says in a low voice.

You sit up. “When?”

“Tonight,” he replies. “No one is watching. Everyone on board seems half asleep. You will be ready?”

“Where are we?” you ask.

“In sight of land—twenty miles to the east.”

“What country is it?” you ask.

“I don’t care,” says Ned.

He is right. Anything will be better than staying aboard—even being swallowed by the sea.

“The sea is bad, the wind violent, but twenty miles in that light boat of the Nautilus doesn’t frighten me,” says Ned. “Unknown to the crew, I have stored away food and some bottles of water on the boat.”

The day feels like the longest of your life. You stretch out on your bed to try and calm your nerves. Your journey aboard the Nautilus plays through your mind. Each event passes before your eyes like scenes in a play.

Evening comes, and you take a last look at all of the treasures in the library and drawing room. You wish you could take them with you.

Finally, you return to your room and dress in strong sea clothing. You collect your journal and your notes and place them carefully inside your jacket.

You hear the sad, distant strains of the piano. A new thought terrifies you. If Captain Nemo is playing, it means he is in the drawing room. You will have to walk right past him to join Ned and Conseil. He may discover you. But if you wait for the captain to leave, you might be too late to join your companions. Should you go, or should you wait? What will you choose to do?