DURING THE NIGHT of December 27-28, the Nautilus left the waterways of Vanikoro behind with extraordinary speed. Its heading was southwesterly, and in three days it had cleared the 750 leagues that separated La Pérouse's islands from the southeastern tip of Papua.
On January 1, 1868, bright and early, Conseil joined me on the platform.
"Will master," the gallant1 lad said to me, "allow me to wish him a happy new year?"
"Good heavens, Conseil, it's just like old times in my office at the Botanical Gardens in Paris! I accept your kind wishes and I thank you for them. Only, I'd like to know what you mean by a 'happy year' under the circumstances in which we're placed. Is it a year that will bring our imprisonment2 to an end, or a year that will see this strange voyage continue?"
"Ye gods," Conseil replied, "I hardly know what to tell master. We're certainly seeing some unusual things, and for two months we've had no time for boredom3. The latest wonder is always the most astonishing, and if this progression keeps up, I can't imagine what its climax4 will be. In my opinion, we'll never again have such an opportunity."
"Never, Conseil."
"Besides, Mr. Nemo really lives up to his Latin name, since he couldn't be less in the way if he didn't exist."
"True enough, Conseil."
"Therefore, with all due respect to master, I think a 'happy year' would be a year that lets us see everything--"
"Everything, Conseil? No year could be that long. But what does Ned Land think about all this?"
"Ned Land's thoughts are exactly the opposite of mine," Conseil replied. "He has a practical mind and a demanding stomach. He's tired of staring at fish and eating them day in and day out. This shortage of wine, bread, and meat isn't suitable for an upstanding Anglo-Saxon, a man accustomed to beefsteak and unfazed by regular doses of brandy or gin!"
"For my part, Conseil, that doesn't bother me in the least, and I've adjusted very nicely to the diet on board."
"So have I," Conseil replied. "Accordingly, I think as much about staying as Mr. Land about making his escape. Thus, if this new year isn't a happy one for me, it will be for him, and vice5 versa. No matter what happens, one of us will be pleased. So, in conclusion, I wish master to have whatever his heart desires."
"Thank you, Conseil. Only I must ask you to postpone6 the question of new year's gifts, and temporarily accept a hearty7 handshake in their place. That's all I have on me."
"Master has never been more generous," Conseil replied.
And with that, the gallant lad went away.
By January 2 we had fared 11,340 miles, hence 5,250 leagues, from our starting point in the seas of Japan. Before the Nautilus's spur there stretched the dangerous waterways of the Coral Sea, off the northeast coast of Australia. Our boat cruised along a few miles away from that daunting8 shoal where Captain Cook's ships wellnigh miscarried on June 10, 1770. The craft that Cook was aboard charged into some coral rock, and if his vessel9 didn't go down, it was thanks to the circumstance that a piece of coral broke off in the collision and plugged the very hole it had made in the hull10.
I would have been deeply interested in visiting this long, 360-league reef, against which the ever-surging sea broke with the fearsome intensity11 of thunderclaps. But just then the Nautilus's slanting12 fins13 took us to great depths, and I could see nothing of those high coral walls. I had to rest content with the various specimens14 of fish brought up by our nets. Among others I noted15 some long-finned albacore, a species in the genus Scomber, as big as tuna, bluish on the flanks, and streaked16 with crosswise stripes that disappear when the animal dies. These fish followed us in schools and supplied our table with very dainty flesh. We also caught a large number of yellow-green gilthead, half a decimeter long and tasting like dorado, plus some flying gurnards, authentic18 underwater swallows that, on dark nights, alternately streak17 air and water with their phosphorescent glimmers19. Among mollusks and zoophytes, I found in our trawl's meshes20 various species of alcyonarian coral, sea urchins21, hammer shells, spurred-star shells, wentletrap snails22, horn shells, glass snails. The local flora23 was represented by fine floating algae24: sea tangle25, and kelp from the genus Macrocystis, saturated26 with the mucilage their pores perspire27, from which I selected a wonderful Nemastoma geliniaroidea, classifying it with the natural curiosities in the museum.
On January 4, two days after crossing the Coral Sea, we raised the coast of Papua. On this occasion Captain Nemo told me that he intended to reach the Indian Ocean via the Torres Strait. This was the extent of his remarks. Ned saw with pleasure that this course would bring us, once again, closer to European seas.
The Torres Strait is regarded as no less dangerous for its bristling28 reefs than for the savage29 inhabitants of its coasts. It separates Queensland from the huge island of Papua, also called New Guinea.
Papua is 400 leagues long by 130 leagues wide, with a surface area of 40,000 geographic30 leagues. It's located between latitude31 0 degrees 19' and 10 degrees 2' south, and between longitude32 128 degrees 23' and 146 degrees 15'. At noon, while the chief officer was taking the sun's altitude, I spotted33 the summits of the Arfak Mountains, rising in terraces and ending in sharp peaks.
Discovered in 1511 by the Portuguese34 Francisco Serrano, these shores were successively visited by Don Jorge de Meneses in 1526, by Juan de Grijalva in 1527, by the Spanish general Alvaro de Saavedra in 1528, by Inigo Ortiz in 1545, by the Dutchman Schouten in 1616, by Nicolas Sruick in 1753, by Tasman, Dampier, Fumel, Carteret, Edwards, Bougainville, Cook, McClure, and Thomas Forrest, by Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux in 1792, by Louis-Isidore Duperrey in 1823, and by Captain Dumont d'Urville in 1827. "It's the heartland of the blacks who occupy all Malaysia," Mr. de Rienzi has said; and I hadn't the foggiest inkling that sailors' luck was about to bring me face to face with these daunting Andaman aborigines.
So the Nautilus hove before the entrance to the world's most dangerous strait, a passageway that even the boldest navigators hesitated to clear: the strait that Luis Vaez de Torres faced on returning from the South Seas in Melanesia, the strait in which sloops35 of war under Captain Dumont d'Urville ran aground in 1840 and nearly miscarried with all hands. And even the Nautilus, rising superior to every danger in the sea, was about to become intimate with its coral reefs.
The Torres Strait is about thirty-four leagues wide, but it's obstructed36 by an incalculable number of islands, islets, breakers, and rocks that make it nearly impossible to navigate37. Consequently, Captain Nemo took every desired precaution in crossing it. Floating flush with the water, the Nautilus moved ahead at a moderate pace. Like a cetacean's tail, its propeller38 churned the waves slowly.
Taking advantage of this situation, my two companions and I found seats on the ever-deserted platform. In front of us stood the pilothouse, and unless I'm extremely mistaken, Captain Nemo must have been inside, steering39 his Nautilus himself.
Under my eyes I had the excellent charts of the Torres Strait that had been surveyed and drawn40 up by the hydrographic engineer Vincendon Dumoulin and Sublieutenant (now Admiral) Coupvent-Desbois, who were part of Dumont d'Urville's general staff during his final voyage to circumnavigate the globe. These, along with the efforts of Captain King, are the best charts for untangling the snarl41 of this narrow passageway, and I consulted them with scrupulous42 care.
Around the Nautilus the sea was boiling furiously. A stream of waves, bearing from southeast to northwest at a speed of two and a half miles per hour, broke over heads of coral emerging here and there.
"That's one rough sea!" Ned Land told me.
"Abominable43 indeed," I replied, "and hardly suitable for a craft like the Nautilus."
"That damned captain," the Canadian went on, "must really be sure of his course, because if these clumps44 of coral so much as brush us, they'll rip our hull into a thousand pieces!"
The situation was indeed dangerous, but as if by magic, the Nautilus seemed to glide45 right down the middle of these rampaging reefs. It didn't follow the exact course of the Zealous46 and the new Astrolabe, which had proved so ill-fated for Captain Dumont d'Urville. It went more to the north, hugged the Murray Islands, and returned to the southwest near Cumberland Passage. I thought it was about to charge wholeheartedly into this opening, but it went up to the northwest, through a large number of little-known islands and islets, and steered47 toward Tound Island and the Bad Channel.
I was already wondering if Captain Nemo, rash to the point of sheer insanity48, wanted his ship to tackle the narrows where Dumont d'Urville's two sloops of war had gone aground, when he changed direction a second time and cut straight to the west, heading toward Gueboroa Island.
By then it was three o'clock in the afternoon. The current was slacking off, it was almost full tide. The Nautilus drew near this island, which I can see to this day with its remarkable49 fringe of screw pines. We hugged it from less than two miles out.
A sudden jolt50 threw me down. The Nautilus had just struck a reef, and it remained motionless, listing slightly to port.
When I stood up, I saw Captain Nemo and his chief officer on the platform. They were examining the ship's circumstances, exchanging a few words in their incomprehensible dialect.
Here is what those circumstances entailed51. Two miles to starboard lay Gueboroa Island, its coastline curving north to west like an immense arm. To the south and east, heads of coral were already on display, left uncovered by the ebbing52 waters. We had run aground at full tide and in one of those seas whose tides are moderate, an inconvenient53 state of affairs for floating the Nautilus off. However, the ship hadn't suffered in any way, so solidly joined was its hull. But although it could neither sink nor split open, it was in serious danger of being permanently54 attached to these reefs, and that would have been the finish of Captain Nemo's submersible.
I was mulling this over when the captain approached, cool and calm, forever in control of himself, looking neither alarmed nor annoyed.
"An accident?" I said to him.
"No, an incident," he answered me.
"But an incident," I replied, "that may oblige you to become a resident again of these shores you avoid!"
Captain Nemo gave me an odd look and gestured no. Which told me pretty clearly that nothing would ever force him to set foot on a land mass again. Then he said:
"No, Professor Aronnax, the Nautilus isn't consigned55 to perdition. It will still carry you through the midst of the ocean's wonders. Our voyage is just beginning, and I've no desire to deprive myself so soon of the pleasure of your company."
"Even so, Captain Nemo," I went on, ignoring his ironic56 turn of phrase, "the Nautilus has run aground at a moment when the sea is full. Now then, the tides aren't strong in the Pacific, and if you can't unballast the Nautilus, which seems impossible to me, I don't see how it will float off."
"You're right, professor, the Pacific tides aren't strong," Captain Nemo replied. "But in the Torres Strait, one still finds a meter-and-a-half difference in level between high and low seas. Today is January 4, and in five days the moon will be full. Now then, I'll be quite astonished if that good-natured satellite doesn't sufficiently57 raise these masses of water and do me a favor for which I'll be forever grateful."
This said, Captain Nemo went below again to the Nautilus's interior, followed by his chief officer. As for our craft, it no longer stirred, staying as motionless as if these coral polyps had already walled it in with their indestructible cement.
"Well, sir?" Ned Land said to me, coming up after the captain's departure.
"Well, Ned my friend, we'll serenely58 wait for the tide on the 9th, because it seems the moon will have the good nature to float us away!"
"As simple as that?"
"As simple as that."
"So our captain isn't going to drop his anchors, put his engines on the chains, and do anything to haul us off?"
"Since the tide will be sufficient," Conseil replied simply.
The Canadian stared at Conseil, then he shrugged59 his shoulders. The seaman60 in him was talking now.
"Sir," he answered, "you can trust me when I say this hunk of iron will never navigate again, on the seas or under them. It's only fit to be sold for its weight. So I think it's time we gave Captain Nemo the slip."
"Ned my friend," I replied, "unlike you, I haven't given up on our valiant61 Nautilus, and in four days we'll know where we stand on these Pacific tides. Besides, an escape attempt might be timely if we were in sight of the coasts of England or Provence, but in the waterways of Papua it's another story. And we'll always have that as a last resort if the Nautilus doesn't right itself, which I'd regard as a real calamity62."
"But couldn't we at least get the lay of the land?" Ned went on. "Here's an island. On this island there are trees. Under those trees land animals loaded with cutlets and roast beef, which I'd be happy to sink my teeth into."
"In this instance our friend Ned is right," Conseil said, "and I side with his views. Couldn't master persuade his friend Captain Nemo to send the three of us ashore63, if only so our feet don't lose the knack64 of treading on the solid parts of our planet?"
"I can ask him," I replied, "but he'll refuse."
"Let master take the risk," Conseil said, "and we'll know where we stand on the captain's affability."
Much to my surprise, Captain Nemo gave me the permission I asked for, and he did so with grace and alacrity65, not even exacting66 my promise to return on board. But fleeing across the New Guinea territories would be extremely dangerous, and I wouldn't have advised Ned Land to try it. Better to be prisoners aboard the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of Papuan natives.
The skiff was put at our disposal for the next morning. I hardly needed to ask whether Captain Nemo would be coming along. I likewise assumed that no crewmen would be assigned to us, that Ned Land would be in sole charge of piloting the longboat. Besides, the shore lay no more than two miles off, and it would be child's play for the Canadian to guide that nimble skiff through those rows of reefs so ill-fated for big ships.
The next day, January 5, after its deck paneling was opened, the skiff was wrenched67 from its socket68 and launched to sea from the top of the platform. Two men were sufficient for this operation. The oars69 were inside the longboat and we had only to take our seats.
At eight o'clock, armed with rifles and axes, we pulled clear of the Nautilus. The sea was fairly calm. A mild breeze blew from shore. In place by the oars, Conseil and I rowed vigorously, and Ned steered us into the narrow lanes between the breakers. The skiff handled easily and sped swiftly.
Ned Land couldn't conceal70 his glee. He was a prisoner escaping from prison and never dreaming he would need to reenter it.
"Meat!" he kept repeating. "Now we'll eat red meat! Actual game! A real mess call, by thunder! I'm not saying fish aren't good for you, but we mustn't overdo71 'em, and a slice of fresh venison grilled72 over live coals will be a nice change from our standard fare."
"You glutton," Conseil replied, "you're making my mouth water!"
"It remains73 to be seen," I said, "whether these forests do contain game, and if the types of game aren't of such size that they can hunt the hunter."
"Fine, Professor Aronnax!" replied the Canadian, whose teeth seemed to be as honed as the edge of an ax. "But if there's no other quadruped on this island, I'll eat tiger--tiger sirloin."
"Our friend Ned grows disturbing," Conseil replied.
"Whatever it is," Ned Land went on, "any animal having four feet without feathers, or two feet with feathers, will be greeted by my very own one-gun salute74."
"Oh good!" I replied. "The reckless Mr. Land is at it again!"
"Don't worry, Professor Aronnax, just keep rowing!" the Canadian replied. "I only need twenty-five minutes to serve you one of my own special creations."
By 8:30 the Nautilus's skiff had just run gently aground on a sandy strand75, after successfully clearing the ring of coral that surrounds Gueboroa Island.
12月27日至28日夜间，诺第留斯号超速度急行，离开了万尼科罗群岛海面。它向西北方开行，在三天之内，它就走过了从拉·白鲁斯群岛至巴布亚群岛东南尖角的七百五十里。
1868年1.1日大清早，康塞尔在平台上向我走来，这个老实人对我说：
“先生， 我给您拜年，祝您一年顺利，好吗？”"那还用问吗，康塞尔，就跟我在巴黎，在植物园中我的工作室中那样。我接受你的祝贺，我感谢你。不过我要问你，在我们目前所处的情况下，你说的一年顺利是什么意思。这是将使我们在船上的囚禁结束的一年呢？还是仍然继续这奇异的游历旅行的一年呢？”
“我的天，”康塞尔回答，我不知道怎样对先生说才好。我们的确是看到许多希奇古怪的事物，两个月来，我们一点没有感到厌烦。最近一次离奇的事也是最惊人的事，长此以往，我真不知道将来怎样结局。可是我觉得我们永远找不到这种机会了。”·
“永远找不到了，康塞尔。”
"此外尼摩先生， 正如他的拉丁语的名字所表示的意义一样，好像并无其人似的，一点也不碍事。”
“康塞尔，你的意思是怎么说呢？”
“如果先生让我说，我想顺利的一年，就是可以让我们看见一切的一年……”
，‘康塞尔，你想看见一切吗？那需要的时间太长久了小尼德·兰的想法又怎样呢？”
“尼德。兰的想法恰好跟我相反，”康塞尔回答，“他是很实际的人，同时食量很大。看鱼和吃鱼，并不能使他满意。没有酒、面包和肉，对一个真正的萨克逊①人来说，是不舒服的，因为牛排是他的家常便饭，喝适量的白兰地或真尼酒并不使他害怕！”"康塞尔,在我个人,使我苦恼的并不是吃喝问题.我对于船上的饮食条件很能适应，很快就习惯了。”
“我也一样，”康塞尔回答，“因此，我想留下，尼德. 兰师傅却想逃走，所以，新开始的这一年，如果对我是不顺利的，那么对他将是顺利的了；反过来也是这样。那么我们两人中总有一个满意的人。最后我总结我的诺，我敬祝先生随心顺意。”
“谢谢，康塞尔，不过我要你把新年送礼的问题搁下来，现在暂且好好握一下手作为新年的贺仪。我目前只有这个在身边。”
“先生从没有像现在这样慷慨."康塞尔回答。
说完这话，这老实人走开了。
＝月2日，自我们从日本海出发到现在，我们已经走了一万一千三百四十海里，即五千二百五十里了。现在诺第留斯号的冲角面前望见的，就是澳大利亚洲东北边岸珊瑚海的危险海面。 我们的船在距离几海里远的地方沿暗礁脉驶过去；1770年6月10日，库克率领的船几乎在这里失事沉没，库克自己乘的船碰在一座岩石上，船所以不沉，那是由于一种特殊的情形，就是有一块珊瑚石因船捡上去而崩下来，堵在被冲破的船身上，船因此得以保全。
我很想看一看这条长三百六十里的暗礁脉，暗礁脉上常有波涛汹涌的海水冲击，奔腾澎湃，十分凶猛，好像隆隆的雷声。可是，这个时候，诺第留斯号转动纵斜机板，把我们带到水底很深的地方，我没有法子看到这座珊瑚造成的长城。我只能看我们的鱼网所打到的各种不同的鱼类。我在打到的许多鱼类中间，看到了嘉蒙鱼，这是跟鲸鱼一般大的鳍鱼类，两侧浅蓝色，身上有横斜的带纹，鱼逐渐长大，带纹也就隐役不见了；这类鱼成群结队地陪伴着我们，把特别美味可口的肉供应我们。鱼网又打到许多青花绸鱼，这鱼长半分米，味道像海绊鲤。又打到锥角飞鱼，这鱼是真正的海底飞燕，在黑夜的时候，放出磷光，轮流在空中和水中照耀。我又在鱼网眼上得到了属于软体类和植虫类的各种不同的翡翠虫、海渭、糙鱼、马刺鱼、罗盘鱼、樱子鱼、硝子鱼。鱼网打到的植物花草有飘浮的美丽海藻，刀片藻和大囊藻。这种藻身上有从细孔中分泌出的一种粘液。在这种海藻里面，我又采得一种十分好看的胶质海藻，这海藻在博物馆中归人天然珍宝的一类。，走过珊瑚海两天后，1月4日，我们望见了巴布亚岛海岸。这时候，尼摩船长告诉我，他打算经托列斯海峡到印度洋去。此外，他什么也不说。尼德·兰很高兴，觉得这条路是渐渐使他跟欧洲海面相接近了。
托列斯海峡之所以被认为是很危险的地带，不仅由于有刺猬一般的暗礁，而且由于住在这一带海岸的土人。托列斯海峡把巴布亚岛（又名新几内亚岛），跟新荷兰岛分开了。
已布亚岛长约四百里， 宽约一百三十里，面积约四万平方里。它位于南纬0度19分和10度之分，西经128度23分和146度15分之间。正午，船副来测太阳高度的时候，我望见阿化斯群山的高峰，一层一层地高起，绝顶是峻峭的山峰.
这岛于1511年为葡萄牙人佛朗西斯.薛郎诺所发现， 以后接着来的，1526年有唐·约瑟、 ·德·米纳色斯）152宁年有格利那瓦，1528年有西班牙将军阿尔瓦·德·萨维德拉，1545年有尤哥·奥铁兹，1616年有荷兰人舒田，1753．年有尼古拉.苏留克.塔斯曼.胡每尔.嘉铁列、 爱德华、布几威尔、库克、贺列斯特，1792年有当土尔加一斯朵， 1823年有斗比列， 1827年有杜蒙·居维尔①；雷恩兹②说过：“巴布亚是占据全部马来亚的黑人的集中地。”我很相信，这次航行的偶然机会，已经把我拉到可怕的安达孟尼人面前来了。
诺第留斯号于是驶到地球上最危险的海峡口上来了，这海峡，就是很大胆的航海家也差点儿不敢冒险通过，路易·已兹·德·托列斯③从南方海上回到美拉尼西亚群岛时，曾经冒险穿过，1840年，杜蒙·居维尔的几艘船搁浅在那里，几乎全部都要沉没了。诺第留斯号虽然可以超越海中所有的危险，现在也要来试试这珊瑚礁石群的厉害了。
托列斯海峡约有三十四里宽，但有无数的小岛、岛屿、暗礁和岩石堵在里面，给航行带来很多困难，几乎没法前进。因此，尼摩船长为了安全通过这海峡，采取了必要的措施。诺第留斯号浮在水而上前进，它的推进器像鲸鱼类的尾巴一般，慢慢地冲开海浪。
乘这个机会，我的两个伺伴和我都走上总是没有人的平台上来。在我们面前是领航人的笼间，如果我没有搞错，那是尼摩船长本人在里面，他亲自指挥诺第留斯号。
我面前是很详尽的托列斯海峡地图，这图由水力工程师，从前是古往·德波亚号的海军少尉，现在是海军上将的文生唐·杜日兰所编制，他在杜蒙、·居维尔的最后一次环球航行期间，曾是参谋人员之＝。这地图跟金船长制的都是最完善的地图，可以把它当作良好的向导来避免危险，通过这狭窄的水道，我很小心地查看这些地图）
在诺第留斯号周围，海水汹涌湃澎，翻滚沸腾。海浪从东南奔向西北, 以两海里半的速度冲在处处露出尖峰的珊瑚礁上。
“真是凶恶的海！”尼德·兰对我说。
“对，是可憎恨的海，”我回答，“像诺第留斯号这样的船都不好应付呢。”
“那位怪船长，”加拿大人又说，“一定是十分熟悉他走的航路, 因为我看见有一堆对珊瑚礁石,一不小心,触上了可就幢的粉碎."
对，我们所处的情形十分危险，但诺第留斯号好像有了魔法、在这些凶险的暗礁中间安然滑过去。它并不沿着浑天仪号和热心女号所走的航线驶去，那是使杜蒙·居维尔受到过厉害打击的。它从北边一点走，沿着莫利岛，再回到西南方，向甘伯兰海道驶去。我以为它分明是要走这海道了，但忽然它又回向西北方，穿过许多人不知道的小岛和岛屿，驶往通提岛和凶险的水道. 我心中正想，尼摩船长简直粗心到发疯了，要把他的船走人杜蒙·居维尔的船几乎要沉没的险道中去。忽然它又第二次改变方向，正指着西方，向格波罗尔岛开行。
时间是下午三点。波浪汹诵，大海正在高潮。诺第留斯号走近这个岛，就是现在，我眼前还现出这岛上很好看的班达树林的边缘呢。我们沿岛走了两里左右。突然一下的冲击把我震倒了。诺第留斯号碰上了一座暗礁，它停住不动，靠左舷轻微地搁浅下来。当我站起来时，我看见平台上来了尼摩船长和他的船副。他们将船的情形检查一下，彼此用我不懂的语言说了几句话。
我们目前的情形是这样：距右舷两海里远的地方是格波罗尔岛，这岛的海岸从北至西作回环形，好像一只巨大的胳膊。南边和东边，已经看见一些由于退潮露出的珊瑚石尖我们的船是整个地搁浅在海里面，而这里的潮水平常不高，这对于诺第留斯号要重回大海是很不利的。不过船、井没有损坏，因为船身非常坚固。但是，虽然它没有沉没，‘没有损坏，可是它免不了要永远搁浅在暗礁上，尼摩船长的潜水船不是就完蛋了吗？
我正在这样想的时候，尼摩船长很冷静，好像一点也不激动，一点也不失望地走近前来，他总是那样胸有成竹。
“出了什么事故吗?我对他说.
"不,是偶然的事件."他回答我
“是偶然的事件，”我又说，“但它或者要使您重新做您不愿意做的陆上居民呢！”
尼摩船长拿奇异的眼光注视我，做一个否定的手势。这就足够清楚地对我说明，没有什么东西能够再强迫他又回到陆地上去。一会儿他又对我说：
“阿龙纳斯先生，诺第留斯号现在还没有损坏呢。”它仍然可以送您去看海洋的秘密。我们的海底旅行仅仅是一个开端呢，我很荣幸能够陪伴您，我不愿让旅行这样快就结束了。”
“尼摩船长，”我并没有注意他这一句话的讽刺语气，我又说，“但诺第留斯号是在高潮来的时候搁浅了。一般说来，太平洋的潮水上涨时是不高的，如果您不能把诺第留斯号浮起来——在我看来这是不可能的——那我就看不到它有什么法子，能够离开暗礁，重回大海。”
“太平洋的潮水涨得不高，教授，您说得对，”尼摩船长回答我，“但是托列斯海峡，高潮和低潮之间，仍然有一米半的差别。今天是1月4日，过五天月亮就圆了。如果这个讨人喜欢的月球，不掀起足够的水量，不给我出一把力做我只想由它来做的这件好事，我才十分奇怪呢！”
说完了这话，尼摩船长和跟在他后面的船副，又一同回到诺第留斯号船中。至于船，仍然是停着不动，好像那些珊．瑚腔肠类动物已经把它们的牢固的洋灰在船身上堆砌起来了：
“先生，，怎么样呢？”尼德，兰在船长走开后，到我面俞来对我说。。
“尼德好朋友， 是这样，我们要耐心等待9日潮水到来，因为那一天，好像月球会很殷勤乐意地把我们送回大海上去。”
“是这样吗？”
“是这样。”
“这位船长不把锚抛到海中去，不把链索结住机器，准备把船拉出来吗?"
“既然潮水可以做到，当然用不着了。”康塞尔简单地回答
加拿大人看着康塞尔,然后他耸耸两肩,这是一个水手要表示他是内行的意思。
“先生，”他又说，“您一定可以相信我，我告诉您, 这堆铁块再也不能在海面上或海底下航行了。现在除了把它论斤卖掉外，没有别的用处了。所以，我认为跟尼摩船长不辞而别的时候到了。”
“尼德老朋友，”我回答，“我不跟您一样想，对于这只勇敢的诺第留斯号我并不完全绝望，在四天内，我们可能有我们所指望的太平洋潮水到来。此外，如果我们是靠近英国
或法国南部海岸。逃走计划可能是很及时的, 但目前是在巴布亚海面，那就不同了；并且，如果诺第留斯号真没有法子脱身，然后再采取这个最后办法，也并不算迟，我总觉得逃走是很严重的事。”
“难道我们不可以探一探这地方的情形吗？”尼德·兰又说，“这是一个岛，在这岛上有树。树下有地上的动物，动物身上有大块大片的肉，我真想咬它们几口呢。”
“这点，尼德·兰老朋友说得对，”康塞尔说，“我赞同他的意见。先生难道不能问一问阁下的朋友尼摩船长，把我们送到岛上去，就是单单让我们的脚再踩踏一下我们地球上的陆地，让我们不要忘记了在陆地上行走的习惯也好啊?"
“我可以去问问他，”我回答，“恐怕他不会答应。”
“请先生试一试好了，”康塞尔说，“我们对于船长的好意非常感谢，决不至有什么意外行动。”
完全出我意料之外，尼摩船长居然答应了我的请求。他并且很殷勤、很礼貌地答应了我，不要我保证一定回到船上来。本来在新几内亚岛上逃亡是很危险的，我决然不让尼德·兰去尝试。落在巴布亚土人手里，还不如在诺第留斯号船上作俘虏好些。
那只小艇可以供我们明天早晨使用。我不问尼摩船长是不是跟我们一同去。我并且想，船上可能没有人来给我们划艇，驾驶小艇的事要尼德·兰一人单独来担任了。此外，我们离岸至多只有两海里远，在暗礁之间的水路中，大船行驶是十分凶险的，但划一只轻快的小艇，对加拿大人来说，算不得一回事，这和玩耍一样。第二天，1月5日，小艇解开，从它的窝中出来，由平台上放人海中。两个人就可以做这些动作。桨原来就是在艇中的，我们只须上去坐好就
八点，我们带了电气枪和刀斧，从诺第留斯号下来，上了小艇。海面相当平静，有微风从地上吹来。康塞尔和我坐在桨边，我们使劲划，尼德·兰在暗礁间的狭小水路中间指挥着舵。小艇很顺利地走去，并且走得很快。
尼德·兰简直不能抑制他的快乐心情。他是从监牢中逃出来的囚人，他全没想到他还要回到监牢里面去。“吃大肉!”他一再说,“我们要去吃大肉了，吃好吃的大钩了！吃真正的野味了! 没有面包，也成！我不说鱼是不好吃的东西，但也不能整天吃，一块新鲜的野味，红火上烤起来，是可以好好地换换我们的口味呢。”
“真馋嘴：”康塞尔回答，“他说得我嘴里不停地流口水呢!"
“我们必须知道，”我说，“岛上林中是不是有很多野味，这些野味是不是身材高大，勇猛得可以猎取打猎人的呀。”
“对！阿龙纳斯先生，”加拿大人回答，他的牙齿磨得像刀一般尖利了，“如果这岛上除了老虎外没有别的四足兽，那我要吃老虎，吃老虎的腰窝肉。”
“尼德·兰好朋友，真是有点令人害怕呢。”康塞尔回答。
“不管怎样，”尼德·兰又说，“所有没有羽毛的四足兽，或所有有羽毛的两脚鸟，一出来就将受到我第一声枪响的敬礼。”“好嘛!"我回答，“尼德·兰师傅又粗心大意起来了！”“阿龙纳斯先生，不用害怕，”加拿大人回答，“请好好地划,不要二十五分钟的时间我就可以照我的烹调法给您弄盘肉来。”
八点半，诺第留斯号的小艇穿过了围绕格波罗尔岛得珊瑚石带，在沙滩上慢慢停下来了.
收听单词发音 |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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daunting
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| adj.使人畏缩的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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glimmers
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| n.微光，闪光( glimmer的名词复数 )v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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urchins
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| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
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snails
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| n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 ) | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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algae
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| n.水藻，海藻 | |
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tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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perspire
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| vi.出汗，流汗 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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geographic
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| adj.地理学的，地理的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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sloops
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| n.单桅纵帆船( sloop的名词复数 ) | |
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obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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52
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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54
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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55
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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57
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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59
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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60
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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61
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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62
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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63
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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64
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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65
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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67
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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socket
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| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
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69
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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70
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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71
overdo
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| vt.把...做得过头，演得过火 | |
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72
grilled
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| adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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73
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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74
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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