"No." "The Nautilus has stranded?" "Yes." "And this has happened--how?" "From a caprice of nature, not from the ignorance of man. Not a mistake has been made in the working. But we cannot prevent equilibrium from producing its effects. We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones." Captain Nemo had chosen a strange moment for uttering this philosophical reflection. On the whole, his answer helped me little. "May I ask, sir, the cause of this accident?" "An enormous block of ice, a whole mountain, has turned over," he replied. "When icebergs are undermined at their base by warmer water or reiterated shocks their centre of gravity rises, and the whole thing turns over. This is what has happened; one of these blocks, as it fell, struck the Nautilus, then, gliding under its hull, raised it with irresistible force, bringing it into beds which are not so thick, where it is lying on its side." "But can we not get the Nautilus off by emptying its reservoirs, that it might regain its equilibrium?" "That, sir, is being done at this moment. You can hear the pump working. Look at the needle of the manometer; it shows that the Nautilus is rising, but the block of ice is floating with it; and, until some obstacle stops its ascending motion, our position cannot be altered." Indeed, the Nautilus still held the same position to starboard; doubtless it would right itself when the block stopped. But at this moment who knows if we may not be frightfully crushed between the two glassy surfaces? I reflected on all the consequences of our position. Captain Nemo never took his eyes off the manometer. Since the fall of the iceberg, the Nautilus had risen about a hundred and fifty feet, but it still made the same angle with the perpendicular. Suddenly a slight movement was felt in the hold. Evidently it was righting a little. Things hanging in the saloon were sensibly returning to their normal position. The partitions were nearing the upright. No one spoke. With beating hearts we watched and felt the straightening. The boards became horizontal under our feet. Ten minutes passed. "At last we have righted!" I exclaimed. "Yes," said Captain Nemo, going to the door of the saloon. "But are we floating?" I asked. "Certainly," he replied; "since the reservoirs are not empty; and, when empty, the Nautilus must rise to the surface of the sea." We were in open sea; but at a distance of about ten yards, on either side of the Nautilus, rose a dazzling wall of ice. Above and beneath the same wall. Above, because the lower surface of the iceberg stretched over us like an immense ceiling. Beneath, because the overturned block, having slid by degrees, had found a resting-place on the lateral walls, which kept it in that position. The Nautilus was really imprisoned in a perfect tunnel of ice more than twenty yards in breadth, filled with quiet water. It was easy to get out of it by going either forward or backward, and then make a free passage under the iceberg, some hundreds of yards deeper. The luminous ceiling had been extinguished, but the saloon was still resplendent with intense light. It was the powerful reflection from the glass partition sent violently back to the sheets of the lantern. I cannot describe the effect of the voltaic rays upon the great blocks so capriciously cut; upon every angle, every ridge, every facet was thrown a different light, according to the nature of the veins running through the ice; a dazzling mine of gems, particularly of sapphires, their blue rays crossing with the green of the emerald. Here and there were opal shades of wonderful softness, running through bright spots like diamonds of fire, the brilliancy of which the eye could not bear. The power of the lantern seemed increased a hundredfold, like a lamp through the lenticular plates of a first-class lighthouse. "How beautiful! how beautiful!" cried Conseil. "Yes," I said, "it is a wonderful sight. Is it not, Ned?" "Yes, confound it! Yes," answered Ned Land, "it is superb! I am mad at being obliged to admit it. No one has ever seen anything like it; but the sight may cost us dear. And, if I must say all, I think we are seeing here things which God never intended man to see." Ned was right, it was too beautiful. Suddenly a cry from Conseil made me turn. "What is it?" I asked. "Shut your eyes, sir! Do not look, sir!" Saying which, Conseil clapped his hands over his eyes. "But what is the matter, my boy?" "I am dazzled, blinded." My eyes turned involuntarily towards the glass, but I could not stand the fire which seemed to devour them. I understood what had happened. The Nautilus had put on full speed. All the quiet lustre of the ice-walls was at once changed into flashes of lightning. The fire from these myriads of diamonds was blinding. It required some time to calm our troubled looks. At last the hands were taken down. "Faith, I should never have believed it," said Conseil. It was then five in the morning; and at that moment a shock was felt at the bows of the Nautilus. I knew that its spur had struck a block of ice. It must have been a false manoeuvre, for this submarine tunnel, obstructed by blocks, was not very easy navigation. I thought that Captain Nemo, by changing his course, would either turn these obstacles or else follow the windings of the tunnel. In any case, the road before us could not be entirely blocked. But, contrary to my expectations, the Nautilus took a decided retrograde motion. "We are going backwards?" said Conseil. "Yes," I replied. "This end of the tunnel can have no egress." "And then?" "Then," said I, "the working is easy. We must go back again, and go out at the southern opening. That is all." In speaking thus, I wished to appear more confident than I really was. But the retrograde motion of the Nautilus was increasing; and, reversing the screw, it carried us at great speed. "It will be a hindrance," said Ned. "What does it matter, some hours more or less, provided we get out at last?" "Yes," repeated Ned Land, "provided we do get out at last!" For a short time I walked from the saloon to the library. My companions were silent. I soon threw myself on an ottoman, and took a book, which my eyes overran mechanically. A quarter of an hour after, Conseil, approaching me, said, "Is what you are reading very interesting, sir?" "Very interesting!" I replied. "I should think so, sir. It is your own book you are reading." "My book?" And indeed I was holding in my hand the work on the Great Submarine Depths. I did not even dream of it. I closed the book and returned to my walk. Ned and Conseil rose to go. "Stay here, my friends," said I, detaining them. "Let us remain together until we are out of this block." "As you please, sir," Conseil replied. Some hours passed. I often looked at the instruments hanging from the partition. The manometer showed that the Nautilus kept at a constant depth of more than three hundred yards; the compass still pointed to south; the log indicated a speed of twenty miles an hour, which, in such a cramped space, was very great. But Captain Nemo knew that he could not hasten too much, and that minutes were worth ages to us. At twenty-five minutes past eight a second shock took place, this time from behind. I turned pale. My companions were close by my side. I seized Conseil's hand. Our looks expressed our feelings better than words. At this moment the Captain entered the saloon. I went up to him. "Our course is barred southward?" I asked. "Yes, sir. The iceberg has shifted and closed every outlet." "We are blocked up then?" "Yes." CHAPTER XVI WANT OF AIR Thus around the Nautilus, above and below, was an impenetrable wall of ice. We were prisoners to the iceberg. I watched the Captain. His countenance had resumed its habitual imperturbability. "Gentlemen," he said calmly, "there are two ways of dying in the circumstances in which we are placed." (This puzzling person had the air of a mathematical professor lecturing to his pupils.) "The first is to be crushed; the second is to die of suffocation. I do not speak of the possibility of dying of hunger, for the supply of provisions in the Nautilus will certainly last longer than we shall. Let us, then, calculate our chances." "As to suffocation, Captain," I replied, "that is not to be feared, because our reservoirs are full." "Just so; but they will only yield two days' supply of air. Now, for thirty-six hours we have been hidden under the water, and already the heavy atmosphere of the Nautilus requires renewal. In forty-eight hours our reserve will be exhausted." "Well, Captain, can we be delivered before forty-eight hours?" "We will attempt it, at least, by piercing the wall that surrounds us." "On which side?" "Sound will tell us. I am going to run the Nautilus aground on the lower bank, and my men will attack the iceberg on the side that is least thick." Captain Nemo went out. Soon I discovered by a hissing noise that the water was entering the reservoirs. The Nautilus sank slowly, and rested on the ice at a depth of 350 yards, the depth at which the lower bank was immersed. "My friends," I said, "our situation is serious, but I rely on your courage and energy." "Sir," replied the Canadian, "I am ready to do anything for the general safety." "Good! Ned," and I held out my hand to the Canadian. "I will add," he continued, "that, being as handy with the pickaxe as with the harpoon, if I can be useful to the Captain, he can command my services." "He will not refuse your help. Come, Ned!" I led him to the room where the crew of the Nautilus were putting on their cork-jackets. I told the Captain of Ned's proposal, which he accepted. The Canadian put on his sea-costume, and was ready as soon as his companions. When Ned was dressed, I re-entered the drawing-room, where the panes of glass were open, and, posted near Conseil, I examined the ambient beds that supported the Nautilus. Some instants after, we saw a dozen of the crew set foot on the bank of ice, and among them Ned Land, easily known by his stature. Captain Nemo was with them. Before proceeding to dig the walls, he took the soundings, to be sure of working in the right direction. Long sounding lines were sunk in the side walls, but after fifteen yards they were again stopped by the thick wall. It was useless to attack it on the ceiling-like surface, since the iceberg itself measured more than 400 yards in height. Captain Nemo then sounded the lower surface. There ten yards of wall separated us from the water, so great was the thickness of the ice-field. It was necessary, therefore, to cut from it a piece equal in extent to the waterline of the Nautilus. There were about 6,000 cubic yards to detach, so as to dig a hole by which we could descend to the ice-field. The work had begun immediately and carried on with indefatigable energy. Instead of digging round the Nautilus which would have involved greater difficulty, Captain Nemo had an immense trench made at eight yards from the port-quarter. Then the men set to work simultaneously with their screws on several points of its circumference. Presently the pickaxe attacked this compact matter vigorously, and large blocks were detached from the mass. By a curious effect of specific gravity, these blocks, lighter than water, fled, so to speak, to the vault of the tunnel, that increased in thickness at the top in proportion as it diminished at the base. But that mattered little, so long as the lower part grew thinner. After two hours' hard work, Ned Land came in exhausted. He and his comrades were replaced by new workers, whom Conseil and I joined. The second lieutenant of the Nautilus superintended us. The water seemed singularly cold, but I soon got warm handling the pickaxe. My movements were free enough, although they were made under a pressure of thirty atmospheres. When I re-entered, after working two hours, to take some food and rest, I found a perceptible difference between the pure fluid with which the Rouquayrol engine supplied me and the atmosphere of the Nautilus, already charged with carbonic acid. The air had not been renewed for forty-eight hours, and its vivifying qualities were considerably enfeebled. However, after a lapse of twelve hours, we had only raised a block of ice one yard thick, on the marked surface, which was about 600 cubic yards! Reckoning that it took twelve hours to accomplish this much it would take five nights and four days to bring this enterprise to a satisfactory conclusion. Five nights and four days! And we have only air enough for two days in the reservoirs! "Without taking into account," said Ned, "that, even if we get out of this infernal prison, we shall also be imprisoned under the iceberg, shut out from all possible communication with the atmosphere." True enough! Who could then foresee the minimum of time necessary for our deliverance? We might be suffocated before the Nautilus could regain the surface of the waves? Was it destined to perish in this ice-tomb, with all those it enclosed? The situation was terrible. But everyone had looked the danger in the face, and each was determined to do his duty to the last. As I expected, during the night a new block a yard square was carried away, and still further sank the immense hollow. But in the morning when, dressed in my cork-jacket, I traversed the slushy mass at a temperature of six or seven degrees below zero, I remarked that the side walls were gradually closing in. The beds of water farthest from the trench, that were not warmed by the men's work, showed a tendency to solidification. In presence of this new and imminent danger, what would become of our chances of safety, and how hinder the solidification of this liquid medium, that would burst the partitions of the Nautilus like glass? I did not tell my companions of this new danger. What was the good of damping the energy they displayed in the painful work of escape? But when I went on board again, I told Captain Nemo of this grave complication. "I know it," he said, in that calm tone which could counteract the most terrible apprehensions. "It is one danger more; but I see no way of escaping it; the only chance of safety is to go quicker than solidification. We must be beforehand with it, that is all." On this day for several hours I used my pickaxe vigorously. The work kept me up. Besides, to work was to quit the Nautilus, and breathe directly the pure air drawn from the reservoirs, and supplied by our apparatus, and to quit the impoverished and vitiated atmosphere. Towards evening the trench was dug one yard deeper. When I returned on board, I was nearly suffocated by the carbonic acid with which the air was filled--ah! if we had only the chemical means to drive away this deleterious gas. We had plenty of oxygen; all this water contained a considerable quantity, and by dissolving it with our powerful piles, it would restore the vivifying fluid. I had thought well over it; but of what good was that, since the carbonic acid produced by our respiration had invaded every part of the vessel? To absorb it, it was necessary to fill some jars with caustic potash, and to shake them incessantly. Now this substance was wanting on board, and nothing could replace it. On that evening, Captain Nemo ought to open the taps of his reservoirs, and let some pure air into the interior of the Nautilus; without this precaution we could not get rid of the sense of suffocation. The next day, March 26th, I resumed my miner's work in beginning the fifth yard. The side walls and the lower surface of the iceberg thickened visibly. It was evident that they would meet before the Nautilus was able to disengage itself. Despair seized me for an instant; my pickaxe nearly fell from my hands. What was the good of digging if I must be suffocated, crushed by the water that was turning into stone?--a punishment that the ferocity of the savages even would not have invented! Just then Captain Nemo passed near me. I touched his hand and showed him the walls of our prison. The wall to port had advanced to at least four yards from the hull of the Nautilus. The Captain understood me, and signed me to follow him. We went on board. I took off my cork-jacket and accompanied him into the drawing-room. "M. Aronnax, we must attempt some desperate means, or we shall be sealed up in this solidified water as in cement." "Yes; but what is to be done?" "Ah! if my Nautilus were strong enough to bear this pressure without being crushed!" "Well?" I asked, not catching the Captain's idea. "Do you not understand," he replied, "that this congelation of water will help us? Do you not see that by its solidification, it would burst through this field of ice that imprisons us, as, when it freezes, it bursts the hardest stones? Do you not perceive that it would be an agent of safety instead of destruction?" "Yes, Captain, perhaps. But, whatever resistance to crushing the Nautilus possesses, it could not support this terrible pressure, and would be flattened like an iron plate." "I know it, sir. Therefore we must not reckon on the aid of nature, but on our own exertions. We must stop this solidification. Not only will the side walls be pressed together; but there is not ten feet of water before or behind the Nautilus. The congelation gains on us on all sides." "How long will the air in the reservoirs last for us to breathe on board?" The Captain looked in my face. "After to-morrow they will be empty!" A cold sweat came over me. However, ought I to have been astonished at the answer? On March 22, the Nautilus was in the open polar seas. We were at 26°. For five days we had lived on the reserve on board. And what was left of the respirable air must be kept for the workers. Even now, as I write, my recollection is still so vivid that an involuntary terror seizes me and my lungs seem to be without air. Meanwhile, Captain Nemo reflected silently, and evidently an idea had struck him; but he seemed to reject it. At last, these words escaped his lips: "Boiling water!" he muttered. "Boiling water?" I cried. "Yes, sir. We are enclosed in a space that is relatively confined. Would not jets of boiling water, constantly injected by the pumps, raise the temperature in this part and stay the congelation?" "Let us try it," I said resolutely. "Let us try it, Professor." The thermometer then stood at 7° outside. Captain Nemo took me to the galleys, where the vast distillatory machines stood that furnished the drinkable water by evaporation. They filled these with water, and all the electric heat from the piles was thrown through the worms bathed in the liquid. In a few minutes this water reached 100°. It was directed towards the pumps, while fresh water replaced it in proportion. The heat developed by the troughs was such that cold water, drawn up from the sea after only having gone through the machines, came boiling into the body of the pump. The injection was begun, and three hours after the thermometer marked 6° below zero outside. One degree was gained. Two hours later the thermometer only marked 4°. "We shall succeed," I said to the Captain, after having anxiously watched the result of the operation. "I think," he answered, "that we shall not be crushed. We have no more suffocation to fear." During the night the temperature of the water rose to 1° below zero. The injections could not carry it to a higher point. But, as the congelation of the sea-water produces at least 2°, I was at least reassured against the dangers of solidification. The next day, March 27th, six yards of ice had been cleared, twelve feet only remaining to be cleared away. There was yet forty-eight hours' work. The air could not be renewed in the interior of the Nautilus. And this day would make it worse. An intolerable weight oppressed me. Towards three o'clock in the evening this feeling rose to a violent degree. Yawns dislocated my jaws. My lungs panted as they inhaled this burning fluid, which became rarefied more and more. A moral torpor took hold of me. I was powerless, almost unconscious. My brave Conseil, though exhibiting the same symptoms and suffering in the same manner, never left me. He took my hand and encouraged me, and I heard him murmur, "Oh! if I could only not breathe, so as to leave more air for my master!" Tears came into my eyes on hearing him speak thus. If our situation to all was intolerable in the interior, with what haste and gladness would we put on our cork-jackets to work in our turn! Pickaxes sounded on the frozen ice-beds. Our arms ached, the skin was torn off our hands. But what were these fatigues, what did the wounds matter? Vital air came to the lungs! We breathed! we breathed! All this time no one prolonged his voluntary task beyond the prescribed time. His task accomplished, each one handed in turn to his panting companions the apparatus that supplied him with life. Captain Nemo set the example, and submitted first to this severe discipline. When the time came, he gave up his apparatus to another and returned to the vitiated air on board, calm, unflinching, unmurmuring. On that day the ordinary work was accomplished with unusual vigour. Only two yards remained to be raised from the surface. Two yards only separated us from the open sea. But the reservoirs were nearly emptied of air. The little that remained ought to be kept for the workers; not a particle for the Nautilus. When I went back on board, I was half suffocated. What a night! I know not how to describe it. The next day my breathing was oppressed. Dizziness accompanied the pain in my head and made me like a drunken man. My companions showed the same symptoms. Some of the crew had rattling in the throat. On that day, the sixth of our imprisonment, Captain Nemo, finding the pickaxes work too slowly, resolved to crush the ice-bed that still separated us from the liquid sheet. This man's coolness and energy never forsook him. He subdued his physical pains by moral force. By his orders the vessel was lightened, that is to say, raised from the ice-bed by a change of specific gravity. When it floated they towed it so as to bring it above the immense trench made on the level of the water-line. Then, filling his reservoirs of water, he descended and shut himself up in the hole. Just then all the crew came on board, and the double door of communication was shut. The Nautilus then rested on the bed of ice, which was not one yard thick, and which the sounding leads had perforated in a thousand places. The taps of the reservoirs were then opened, and a hundred cubic yards of water was let in, increasing the weight of the Nautilus to 1,800 tons. We waited, we listened, forgetting our sufferings in hope. Our safety depended on this last chance. Notwithstanding the buzzing in my head, I soon heard the humming sound under the hull of the Nautilus. The ice cracked with a singular noise, like tearing paper, and the Nautilus sank. "We are off!" murmured Conseil in my ear. I could not answer him. I seized his hand, and pressed it convulsively. All at once, carried away by its frightful overcharge, the Nautilus sank like a bullet under the waters, that is to say, it fell as if it was in a vacuum. Then all the electric force was put on the pumps, that soon began to let the water out of the reservoirs. After some minutes, our fall was stopped. Soon, too, the manometer indicated an ascending movement. The screw, going at full speed, made the iron hull tremble to its very bolts and drew us towards the north. But if this floating under the iceberg is to last another day before we reach the open sea, I shall be dead first. Half stretched upon a divan in the library, I was suffocating. My face was purple, my lips blue, my faculties suspended. I neither saw nor heard. All notion of time had gone from my mind. My muscles could not contract. I do not know how many hours passed thus, but I was conscious of the agony that was coming over me. I felt as if I was going to die. Suddenly I came to. Some breaths of air penetrated my lungs. Had we risen to the surface of the waves? Were we free of the iceberg? No! Ned and Conseil, my two brave friends, were sacrificing themselves to save me. Some particles of air still remained at the bottom of one apparatus. Instead of using it, they had kept it for me, and, while they were being suffocated, they gave me life, drop by drop. I wanted to push back the thing; they held my hands, and for some moments I breathed freely. I looked at the clock; it was eleven in the morning. It ought to be the 28th of March. The Nautilus went at a frightful pace, forty miles an hour. It literally tore through the water. Where was Captain Nemo? Had he succumbed? Were his companions dead with him? At the moment the manometer indicated that we were not more than twenty feet from the surface. A mere plate of ice separated us from the atmosphere. Could we not break it? Perhaps. In any case the Nautilus was going to attempt it. I felt that it was in an oblique position, lowering the stern, and raising the bows. The introduction of water had been the means of disturbing its equilibrium. Then, impelled by its powerful screw, it attacked the ice-field from beneath like a formidable battering-ram. It broke it by backing and then rushing forward against the field, which gradually gave way; and at last, dashing suddenly against it, shot forwards on the ice-field, that crushed beneath its weight. The panel was opened--one might say torn off--and the pure air came in in abundance to all parts of the Nautilus. CHAPTER XVII FROM CAPE HORN TO THE AMAZON How I got on to the platform, I have no idea; perhaps the Canadian had carried me there. But I breathed, I inhaled the vivifying sea-air. My two companions were getting drunk with the fresh particles. The other unhappy men had been so long without food, that they could not with impunity indulge in the simplest aliments that were given them. We, on the contrary, had no end to restrain ourselves; we could draw this air freely into our lungs, and it was the breeze, the breeze alone, that filled us with this keen enjoyment. "Ah!" said Conseil, "how delightful this oxygen is! Master need not fear to breathe it. There is enough for everybody." Ned Land did not speak, but he opened his jaws wide enough to frighten a shark. Our strength soon returned, and, when I looked round me, I saw we were alone on the platform. The foreign seamen in the Nautilus were contented with the air that circulated in the interior; none of them had come to drink in the open air. The first words I spoke were words of gratitude and thankfulness to my two companions. Ned and Conseil had prolonged my life during the last hours of this long agony. All my gratitude could not repay such devotion. "My friends," said I, "we are bound one to the other for ever, and I am under infinite obligations to you." "Which I shall take advantage of," exclaimed the Canadian. "What do you mean?" said Conseil. "I mean that I shall take you with me when I leave this infernal Nautilus." "Well," said Conseil, "after all this, are we going right?" "Yes," I replied, "for we are going the way of the sun, and here the sun is in the north." "No doubt," said Ned Land; "but it remains to be seen whether he will bring the ship into the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, that is, into frequented or deserted seas." I could not answer that question, and I feared that Captain Nemo would rather take us to the vast ocean that touches the coasts of Asia and America at the same time. He would thus complete the tour round the submarine world, and return to those waters in which the Nautilus could sail freely. We ought, before long, to settle this important point. The Nautilus went at a rapid pace. The polar circle was soon passed, and the course shaped for Cape Horn. We were off the American point, March 31st, at seven o'clock in the evening. Then all our past sufferings were forgotten. The remembrance of that imprisonment in the ice was effaced from our minds. We only thought of the future. Captain Nemo did not appear again either in the drawing-room or on the platform. The point shown each day on the planisphere, and, marked by the lieutenant, showed me the exact direction of the Nautilus. Now, on that evening, it was evident, to, my great satisfaction, that we were going back to the North by the Atlantic. The next day, April 1st, when the Nautilus ascended to the surface some minutes before noon, we sighted land to the west. It was Terra del Fuego, which the first navigators named thus from seeing the quantity of smoke that rose from the natives' huts. The coast seemed low to me, but in the distance rose high mountains. I even thought I had a glimpse of Mount Sarmiento, that rises 2,070 yards above the level of the sea, with a very pointed summit, which, according as it is misty or clear, is a sign of fine or of wet weather. At this moment the peak was clearly defined against the sky. The Nautilus, diving again under the water, approached the coast, which was only some few miles off. From the glass windows in the drawing-room, I saw long seaweeds and gigantic fuci and varech, of which the open polar sea contains so many specimens, with their sharp polished filaments; they measured about 300 yards in length--real cables, thicker than one's thumb; and, having great tenacity, they are often used as ropes for vessels. Another weed known as velp, with leaves four feet long, buried in the coral concretions, hung at the bottom. It served as nest and food for myriads of crustacea and molluscs, crabs, and cuttlefish. There seals and otters had splendid repasts, eating the flesh of fish with sea-vegetables, according to the English fashion. Over this fertile and luxuriant ground the Nautilus passed with great rapidity. Towards evening it approached the Falkland group, the rough summits of which I recognised the following day. The depth of the sea was moderate. On the shores our nets brought in beautiful specimens of sea weed, and particularly a certain fucus, the roots of which were filled with the best mussels in the world. Geese and ducks fell by dozens on the platform, and soon took their places in the pantry on board. When the last heights of the Falklands had disappeared from the horizon, the Nautilus sank to between twenty and twenty-five yards, and followed the American coast. Captain Nemo did not show himself. Until the 3rd of April we did not quit the shores of Patagonia, sometimes under the ocean, sometimes at the surface. The Nautilus passed beyond the large estuary formed by the Uraguay. Its direction was northwards, and followed the long windings of the coast of South America. We had then made 1,600 miles since our embarkation in the seas of Japan. About eleven o'clock in the morning the Tropic of Capricorn was crossed on the thirty-seventh meridian, and we passed Cape Frio standing out to sea. Captain Nemo, to Ned Land's great displeasure, did not like the neighbourhood of the inhabited coasts of Brazil, for we went at a giddy speed. Not a fish, not a bird of the swiftest kind could follow us, and the natural curiosities of these seas escaped all observation. This speed was kept up for several days, and in the evening of the 9th of April we sighted the most westerly point of South America that forms Cape San Roque. But then the Nautilus swerved again, and sought the lowest depth of a submarine valley which is between this Cape and Sierra Leone on the African coast. This valley bifurcates to the parallel of the Antilles, and terminates at the mouth by the enormous depression of 9,000 yards. In this place, the geological basin of the ocean forms, as far as the Lesser Antilles, a cliff to three and a half miles perpendicular in height, and, at the parallel of the Cape Verde Islands, an other wall not less considerable, that encloses thus all the sunk continent of the Atlantic. The bottom of this immense valley is dotted with some mountains, that give to these submarine places a picturesque aspect. I speak, moreover, from the manuscript charts that were in the library of the Nautilus--charts evidently due to Captain Nemo's hand, and made after his personal observations. For two days the desert and deep waters were visited by means of the inclined planes. The Nautilus was furnished with long diagonal broadsides which carried it to all elevations. But on the 11th of April it rose suddenly, and land appeared at the mouth of the Amazon River, a vast estuary, the embouchure of which is so considerable that it freshens the sea-water for the distance of several leagues. The equator was crossed. Twenty miles to the west were the Guianas, a French territory, on which we could have found an easy refuge; but a stiff breeze was blowing, and the furious waves would not have allowed a single boat to face them. Ned Land understood that, no doubt, for he spoke not a word about it. For my part, I made no allusion to his schemes of flight, for I would not urge him to make an attempt that must inevitably fail. I made the time pass pleasantly by interesting studies. During the days of April 11th and 12th, the Nautilus did not leave the surface of the sea, and the net brought in a marvellous haul of Zoophytes, fish and reptiles. Some zoophytes had been fished up by the chain of the nets; they were for the most part beautiful phyctallines, belonging to the actinidian family, and among other species the phyctalis protexta, peculiar to that part of the ocean, with a little cylindrical trunk, ornamented With vertical lines, speckled with red dots, crowning a marvellous blossoming of tentacles. As to the molluscs, they consisted of some I had already observed--turritellas, olive porphyras, with regular lines intercrossed, with red spots standing out plainly against the flesh; odd pteroceras, like petrified scorpions; translucid hyaleas, argonauts, cuttle-fish (excellent eating), and certain species of calmars that naturalists of antiquity have classed amongst the flying-fish, and that serve principally for bait for cod-fishing. I had now an opportunity of studying several species of fish on these shores. Amongst the cartilaginous ones, petromyzons-pricka, a sort of eel, fifteen inches long, with a greenish head, violet fins, grey-blue back, brown belly, silvered and sown with bright spots, the pupil of the eye encircled with gold--a curious animal, that the current of the Amazon had drawn to the sea, for they inhabit fresh waters--tuberculated streaks, with pointed snouts, and a long loose tail, armed with a long jagged sting; little sharks, a yard long, grey and whitish skin, and several rows of teeth, bent back, that are generally known by the name of pantouffles; vespertilios, a kind of red isosceles triangle, half a yard long, to which pectorals are attached by fleshy prolongations that make them look like bats, but that their horny appendage, situated near the nostrils, has given them the name of sea-unicorns; lastly, some species of balistae, the curassavian, whose spots were of a brilliant gold colour, and the capriscus of clear violet, and with varying shades like a pigeon's throat. I end here this catalogue, which is somewhat dry perhaps, but very exact, with a series of bony fish that I observed in passing belonging to the apteronotes, and whose snout is white as snow, the body of a beautiful black, marked with a very long loose fleshy strip; odontognathes, armed with spikes; sardines nine inches long, glittering with a bright silver light; a species of mackerel provided with two anal fins; centronotes of a blackish tint, that are fished for with torches, long fish, two yards in length, with fat flesh, white and firm, which, when they arc fresh, taste like eel, and when dry, like smoked salmon; labres, half red, covered with scales only at the bottom of the dorsal and anal fins; chrysoptera, on which gold and silver blend their brightness with that of the ruby and topaz; golden-tailed spares, the flesh of which is extremely delicate, and whose phosphorescent properties betray them in the midst of the waters; orange-coloured spares with long tongues; maigres, with gold caudal fins, dark thorn-tails, anableps of Surinam, etc. Notwithstanding this "et cetera," I must not omit to mention fish that Conseil will long remember, and with good reason. One of our nets had hauled up a sort of very flat ray fish, which, with the tail cut off, formed a perfect disc, and weighed twenty ounces. It was white underneath, red above, with large round spots of dark blue encircled with black, very glossy skin, terminating in a bilobed fin. Laid out on the platform, it struggled, tried to turn itself by convulsive movements, and made so many efforts, that one last turn had nearly sent it into the sea. But Conseil, not wishing to let the fish go, rushed to it, and, before I could prevent him, had seized it with both hands. In a moment he was overthrown, his legs in the air, and half his body paralysed, crying-- "Oh! master, master! help me!" It was the first time the poor boy had spoken to me so familiarly. The Canadian and I took him up, and rubbed his contracted arms till he became sensible. The unfortunate Conseil had attacked a cramp-fish of the most dangerous kind, the cumana. This odd animal, in a medium conductor like water, strikes fish at several yards' distance, so great is the power of its electric organ, the two principal surfaces of which do not measure less than twenty-seven square feet. The next day, April 12th, the Nautilus approached the Dutch coast, near the mouth of the Maroni. There several groups of sea-cows herded together; they were manatees, that, like the dugong and the stellera, belong to the skenian order. These beautiful animals, peaceable and inoffensive, from eighteen to twenty-one feet in length, weigh at least sixteen hundredweight. I told Ned Land and Conseil that provident nature had assigned an important role to these mammalia. Indeed, they, like the seals, are designed to graze on the submarine prairies, and thus destroy the accumulation of weed that obstructs the tropical rivers. "And do you know," I added, "what has been the result since men have almost entirely annihilated this useful race? That the putrefied weeds have poisoned the air, and the poisoned air causes the yellow fever, that desolates these beautiful countries. Enormous vegetations are multiplied under the torrid seas, and the evil is irresistibly developed from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to Florida. If we are to believe Toussenel, this plague is nothing to what it would be if the seas were cleaned of whales and seals. Then, infested with poulps, medusae, and cuttle-fish, they would become immense centres of infection, since their waves would not possess 'these vast stomachs that God had charged to infest the surface of the seas.'" CHAPTER XVIII THE POULPS For several days the Nautilus kept off from the American coast. Evidently it did not wish to risk the tides of the Gulf of Mexico or of the sea of the Antilles. April 16th, we sighted Martinique and Guadaloupe from a distance of about thirty miles. I saw their tall peaks for an instant. The Canadian, who counted on carrying out his projects in the Gulf, by either landing or hailing one of the numerous boats that coast from one island to another, was quite disheartened. Flight would have been quite practicable, if Ned Land had been able to take possession of the boat without the Captain's knowledge. But in the open sea it could not be thought of. The Canadian, Conseil, and I had a long conversation on this subject. For six months we had been prisoners on board the Nautilus. We had travelled 17,000 leagues; and, as Ned Land said, there was no reason why it should come to an end. We could hope nothing from the Captain of the Nautilus, but only from ourselves. Besides, for some time past he had become graver, more retired, less sociable. He seemed to shun me. I met him rarely. Formerly he was pleased to explain the submarine marvels to me; now he left me to my studies, and came no more to the saloon. What change had come over him? For what cause? For my part, I did not wish to bury with me my curious and novel studies. I had now the power to write the true book of the sea; and this book, sooner or later, I wished to see daylight. The land nearest us was the archipelago of the Bahamas. There rose high submarine cliffs covered with large weeds. It was about eleven o'clock when Ned Land drew my attention to a formidable pricking, like the sting of an ant, which was produced by means of large seaweeds. "Well," I said, "these are proper caverns for poulps, and I should not be astonished to see some of these monsters." "What!" said Conseil; "cuttlefish, real cuttlefish of the cephalopod class?" "No," I said, "poulps of huge dimensions." "I will never believe that such animals exist," said Ned. "Well," said Conseil, with the most serious air in the world, "I remember perfectly to have seen a large vessel drawn under the waves by an octopus's arm." "You saw that?" said the Canadian. "Yes, Ned." "With your own eyes?" "With my own eyes." "Where, pray, might that be?" "At St. Malo," answered Conseil. "In the port?" said Ned, ironically. "No; in a church," replied Conseil. "In a church!" cried the Canadian. "Yes; friend Ned. In a picture representing the poulp in question." "Good!" said Ned Land, bursting out laughing. "He is quite right," I said. "I have heard of this picture; but the subject represented is taken from a legend, and you know what to think of legends in the matter of natural history. Besides, when it is a question of monsters, the imagination is apt to run wild. Not only is it supposed that these poulps can draw down vessels, but a certain Olaus Magnus speaks of an octopus a mile long that is more like an island than an animal. It is also said that the Bishop of Nidros was building an altar on an immense rock. Mass finished, the rock began to walk, and returned to the sea. The rock was a poulp. Another Bishop, Pontoppidan, speaks also of a poulp on which a regiment of cavalry could manoeuvre. Lastly, the ancient naturalists speak of monsters whose mouths were like gulfs, and which were too large to pass through the Straits of Gibraltar." "But how much is true of these stories?" asked Conseil. "Nothing, my friends; at least of that which passes the limit of truth to get to fable or legend. Nevertheless, there must be some ground for the imagination of the story-tellers. One cannot deny that poulps and cuttlefish exist of a large species, inferior, however, to the cetaceans. Aristotle has stated the dimensions of a cuttlefish as five cubits, or nine feet two inches. Our fishermen frequently see some that are more than four feet long. Some skeletons of poulps are preserved in the museums of Trieste and Montpelier, that measure two yards in length. Besides, according to the calculations of some naturalists, one of these animals only six feet long would have tentacles twenty-seven feet long. That would suffice to make a formidable monster." "Do they fish for them in these days?" asked Ned. "If they do not fish for them, sailors see them at least. One of my friends, Captain Paul Bos of Havre, has often affirmed that he met one of these monsters of colossal dimensions in the Indian seas. But the most astonishing fact, and which does not permit of the denial of the existence of these gigantic animals, happened some years ago, in 1861." "What is the fact?" asked Ned Land. "This is it. In 1861, to the north-east of Teneriffe, very nearly in the same latitude we are in now, the crew of the despatch-boat Alector perceived a monstrous cuttlefish swimming in the waters. Captain Bouguer went near to the animal, and attacked it with harpoon and guns, without much success, for balls and harpoons glided over the soft flesh. After several fruitless attempts the crew tried to pass a slip-knot round the body of the mollusc. The noose slipped as far as the tail fins and there stopped. They tried then to haul it on board, but its weight was so considerable that the tightness of the cord separated the tail from the body, and, deprived of this ornament, he disappeared under the water." "Indeed! is that a fact?" "An indisputable fact, my good Ned. They proposed to name this poulp `Bouguer's cuttlefish.'" "What length was it?" asked the Canadian. "Did it not measure about six yards?" said Conseil, who, posted at the window, was examining again the irregular windings of the cliff. "Precisely," I replied. "Its head," rejoined Conseil, "was it not crowned with eight tentacles, that beat the water like a nest of serpents?" "Precisely." "Had not its eyes, placed at the back of its head, considerable development?" "Yes, Conseil." "And was not its mouth like a parrot's beak?" "Exactly, Conseil." "Very well! no offence to master," he replied, quietly; "if this is not Bouguer's cuttlefish, it is, at least, one of its brothers." I looked at Conseil. Ned Land hurried to the window. "What a horrible beast!" he cried. I looked in my turn, and could not repress a gesture of disgust. Before my eyes was a horrible monster worthy to figure in the legends of the marvellous. It was an immense cuttlefish, being eight yards long. It swam crossways in the direction of the Nautilus with great speed, watching us with its enormous staring green eyes. Its eight arms, or rather feet, fixed to its head, that have given the name of cephalopod to these animals, were twice as long as its body, and were twisted like the furies' hair. One could see the 250 air holes on the inner side of the tentacles. The monster's mouth, a horned beak like a parrot's, opened and shut vertically. Its tongue, a horned substance, furnished with several rows of pointed teeth, came out quivering from this veritable pair of shears. What a freak of nature, a bird's beak on a mollusc! Its spindle-like body formed a fleshy mass that might weigh 4,000 to 5,000 lb.; the, varying colour changing with great rapidity, according to the irritation of the animal, passed successively from livid grey to reddish brown. What irritated this mollusc? No doubt the presence of the Nautilus, more formidable than itself, and on which its suckers or its jaws had no hold. Yet, what monsters these poulps are! what vitality the Creator has given them! what vigour in their movements! and they possess three hearts! Chance had brought us in presence of this cuttlefish, and I did not wish to lose the opportunity of carefully studying this specimen of cephalopods. I overcame the horror that inspired me, and, taking a pencil, began to draw it. "Perhaps this is the same which the Alector saw," said Conseil. "No," replied the Canadian; "for this is whole, and the other had lost its tail." "That is no reason," I replied. "The arms and tails of these animals are re-formed by renewal; and in seven years the tail of Bouguer's cuttlefish has no doubt had time to grow." By this time other poulps appeared at the port light. I counted seven. They formed a procession after the Nautilus, and I heard their beaks gnashing against the iron hull. I continued my work. These monsters kept in the water with such precision that they seemed immovable. Suddenly the Nautilus stopped. A shock made it tremble in every plate. "Have we struck anything?" I asked. "In any case," replied the Canadian, "we shall be free, for we are floating." The Nautilus was floating, no doubt, but it did not move. A minute passed. Captain Nemo, followed by his lieutenant, entered the drawing-room. I had not seen him for some time. He seemed dull. Without noticing or speaking to us, he went to the panel, looked at the poulps, and said something to his lieutenant. The latter went out. Soon the panels were shut. The ceiling was lighted. I went towards the Captain. "A curious collection of poulps?" I said. "Yes, indeed, Mr. Naturalist," he replied; "and we are going to fight them, man to beast." I looked at him. I thought I had not heard aright. "Man to beast?" I repeated. "Yes, sir. The screw is stopped. I think that the horny jaws of one of the cuttlefish is entangled in the blades. That is what prevents our moving." "What are you going to do?" "Rise to the surface, and slaughter this vermin." "A difficult enterprise." "Yes, indeed. The electric bullets are powerless against the soft flesh, where they do not find resistance enough to go off. But we shall attack them with the hatchet." "And the harpoon, sir," said the Canadian, "if you do not refuse my help." "I will accept it, Master Land." "We will follow you," I said, and, following Captain Nemo, we went towards the central staircase. There, about ten men with boarding-hatchets were ready for the attack. Conseil and I took two hatchets; Ned Land seized a harpoon. The Nautilus had then risen to the surface. One of the sailors, posted on the top ladderstep, unscrewed the bolts of the panels. But hardly were the screws loosed, when the panel rose with great violence, evidently drawn by the suckers of a poulp's arm. Immediately one of these arms slid like a serpent down the opening and twenty others were above. With one blow of the axe, Captain Nemo cut this formidable tentacle, that slid wriggling down the ladder. Just as we were pressing one on the other to reach the platform, two other arms, lashing the air, came down on the seaman placed before Captain Nemo, and lifted him up with irresistible power. Captain Nemo uttered a cry, and rushed out. We hurried after him. What a scene! The unhappy man, seized by the tentacle and fixed to the suckers, was balanced in the air at the caprice of this enormous trunk. " . " 1 2 " ? " 3 4 " . " 5 6 " - - ? " 7 8 " , . 9 . 10 . , 11 . " 12 13 14 . , . 15 16 " , , ? " 17 18 " , , , " 19 . " 20 , 21 . ; , 22 , , , , 23 , , 24 . " 25 26 " , 27 ? " 28 29 " , , . 30 . ; 31 , ; , 32 , 33 . " 34 35 , ; 36 . 37 38 ? . 39 . 40 , , 41 . 42 . . 43 44 . . . 45 . 46 . . 47 48 " ! " . 49 50 " , " , . 51 52 " ? " . 53 54 " , " ; " ; , 55 , . " 56 57 ; , 58 , . 59 . , 60 . , 61 , , - 62 , . 63 64 , . 65 , 66 , . 67 , 68 . 69 . 70 ; 71 , , 72 , ; 73 , , 74 . 75 , 76 , . 77 , 78 - . 79 80 " ! ! " . 81 82 " , " , " . , ? " 83 84 " , ! , " , " ! 85 . ; 86 . , , 87 . " 88 89 , . 90 . 91 92 " ? " . 93 94 " , ! , ! " , 95 . 96 97 " , ? " 98 99 " , . " 100 101 , 102 . . 103 . 104 - . 105 . 106 . . 107 108 " , , " . 109 110 ; 111 . 112 . , , 113 , . 114 , , 115 . , 116 . , 117 , . 118 119 " ? " . 120 121 " , " . " . " 122 123 " ? " 124 125 " , " , " . , 126 . . " 127 128 , . 129 ; , 130 , . 131 132 " , " . 133 134 " , , 135 ? " 136 137 " , " , " ! " 138 139 . 140 . , 141 , . , 142 , , , " 143 , ? " 144 145 " ! " . 146 147 " , . . " 148 149 " ? " 150 151 152 . . 153 . . 154 155 " , , " , . " 156 . " 157 158 " , , " . 159 160 . 161 . 162 ; 163 ; , , 164 , . 165 , . 166 - , 167 . . . 168 ' . 169 . . 170 . 171 172 " ? " . 173 174 " , . . " 175 176 " ? " 177 178 " . " 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 , , 187 . . . 188 . 189 190 " , " , " 191 . " ( 192 . ) " 193 ; . 194 , 195 . , , 196 . " 197 198 " , , " , " , 199 . " 200 201 " ; ' . , 202 - , 203 . - 204 . " 205 206 " , , - ? " 207 208 " , , . " 209 210 " ? " 211 212 " . 213 , 214 . " 215 216 . 217 . , 218 , 219 . 220 221 " , " , " , 222 . " 223 224 " , " , " 225 . " 226 227 " ! , " . 228 229 " , " , " , 230 , , 231 . " 232 233 " . , ! " 234 235 236 - . ' , 237 . - , 238 . , - 239 - , , , 240 , . 241 , , 242 , . 243 . , , 244 . 245 , 246 . - 247 , 248 . . 249 , 250 - . , , 251 . , 252 , 253 - . 254 . 255 , 256 - . 257 258 . 259 , . 260 , , , , 261 , , 262 . 263 , . ' 264 , . 265 , . 266 . , 267 . , 268 . 269 - , , , 270 271 , 272 . 273 - , 274 . , , 275 , , 276 ! 277 278 . ! 279 ! " 280 , " , " , 281 , , 282 . " ! 283 284 ? 285 ? - , 286 ? . 287 , 288 . 289 290 , 291 , . 292 , - , 293 , 294 . 295 , ' , 296 . , 297 , 298 , 299 ? 300 301 . 302 ? 303 , 304 . 305 306 " , " , 307 . " ; 308 ; 309 . , . " 310 311 . 312 . , , 313 , 314 , . 315 . 316 , 317 - - ! 318 . ; 319 , , 320 . ; 321 , 322 ? , 323 , . 324 , . 325 , , 326 ; 327 . 328 , , ' . 329 . 330 331 . ; 332 . 333 , ? - - 334 335 ! . 336 . 337 . 338 , . . 339 - - . 340 341 " . , , 342 . " 343 344 " ; ? " 345 346 " ! 347 ! " 348 349 " ? " , ' . 350 351 " , " , " 352 ? , 353 , , , 354 ? 355 ? " 356 357 " , , . , 358 , , 359 . " 360 361 " , . , 362 . . 363 ; 364 . 365 . " 366 367 " 368 ? " 369 370 . " - ! " 371 372 . , 373 ? , . 374 . . 375 . 376 , , 377 . 378 , , 379 ; . , 380 : 381 382 " ! " . 383 384 " ? " . 385 386 " , . . 387 , , 388 ? " 389 390 " , " . 391 392 " , . " 393 394 . 395 , 396 . , 397 398 . . 399 , 400 . 401 , 402 , . 403 , 404 . . 405 . 406 407 " , " , 408 . 409 410 " , " , " . 411 . " 412 413 414 . . , 415 - , 416 . 417 418 , , , 419 . - 420 ' . 421 . . 422 . ' 423 . . 424 , . 425 . , . 426 , 427 , . , 428 , " ! , 429 ! " 430 431 . 432 , 433 - ! 434 - . , . 435 , ? 436 ! ! ! 437 438 439 . , 440 . 441 , . 442 , 443 , , , . 444 445 . 446 . 447 . 448 . ; 449 . , 450 . ! . 451 . 452 . 453 . . 454 455 , , , 456 , - 457 . ' 458 . . 459 460 , , 461 - . 462 463 - . , , 464 . 465 466 , 467 . , 468 , 469 . 470 , , 471 , . , , 472 . 473 . , 474 . 475 , , . 476 477 " ! " . 478 479 . , 480 . , , 481 , , 482 . 483 , . 484 , . , , 485 . , , 486 . 487 488 , . 489 490 , . 491 , , . 492 . . 493 . , 494 . 495 . . 496 . ? 497 ? ! , , 498 . 499 . , , 500 , , , . 501 ; , 502 . ; 503 . . 504 , . 505 . ? ? 506 ? 507 . 508 . ? . 509 . 510 , , . 511 . , 512 , - 513 - . 514 , ; 515 , , - , 516 . - - 517 - - . 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 , ; 526 . , - . 527 . 528 , 529 . , 530 , ; 531 , , , 532 . 533 534 " ! " , " ! 535 . . " 536 537 , 538 . , , , 539 . 540 ; 541 . 542 543 544 . 545 . 546 . 547 548 " , " , " , 549 . " 550 551 " , " . 552 553 " ? " . 554 555 " 556 . " 557 558 " , " , " , ? " 559 560 " , " , " , 561 . " 562 563 " , " ; " 564 , , 565 . " 566 567 , 568 569 . 570 , 571 . , , . 572 . , 573 . , 574 , ' . 575 . 576 . . 577 - 578 . , , 579 , . , 580 , , , , 581 . , , 582 , 583 . , 584 585 ' . , 586 . 587 , , , 588 , , , 589 . 590 . , , 591 , . 592 - , 593 , 594 , ; 595 - - , ' ; , 596 , . 597 , , 598 , . 599 , , . 600 , 601 - , . 602 . 603 , 604 . . 605 , 606 , 607 . 608 , . 609 610 611 , - , 612 . . 613 , 614 , . 615 . , 616 . 617 , . 618 ' 619 - , 620 . , ' , 621 , 622 . , , 623 . 624 625 , 626 627 . , 628 629 . 630 , 631 , . , 632 , , 633 , , 634 , , 635 . 636 , 637 . , , 638 - - 639 ' , . 640 641 . 642 . 643 , , 644 , 645 - . 646 647 . , 648 , ; 649 , 650 . , , 651 . , 652 , 653 . 654 . , 655 , 656 , . 657 ; 658 , , 659 , , 660 , , 661 , . 662 , 663 - - , , 664 , ; 665 , ; , 666 , - ( ) , 667 668 - , - . 669 . 670 , - , , 671 , , , - , 672 , , 673 - - , 674 , - - 675 , , , 676 ; , , , 677 , , 678 ; , , 679 , 680 , , 681 , - ; , 682 , , 683 , , 684 ' . 685 686 , , 687 , 688 , , 689 , ; 690 , ; , 691 ; 692 ; , 693 , , , , 694 , , , , , 695 ; , , 696 ; , 697 ; - 698 , , 699 ; 700 - ; , 701 , - , , . 702 703 " , " 704 , . 705 , , , 706 , . 707 , , 708 , , . 709 , , 710 , , 711 . , , 712 , , , . 713 , , 714 , - - 715 716 " ! , ! ! " 717 718 . 719 , 720 . - 721 , . , 722 , ' , 723 , 724 - . , 725 , , 726 . - ; 727 , , , 728 . , , 729 - , 730 . 731 . , , 732 , , 733 . 734 735 " , " , " 736 ? 737 , , 738 . 739 , 740 . 741 , 742 . , , 743 , - , 744 , ' 745 . ' " 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 . 754 755 . , 756 . 757 . , 758 , 759 , . 760 , 761 ' . 762 . , , 763 . 764 . , ; , 765 , . 766 , 767 . , , 768 , . . . 769 ; 770 , . 771 ? ? , 772 . 773 ; , , 774 . . 775 . 776 ' 777 , , 778 . 779 780 " , " , " , 781 . " 782 783 " ! " ; " , 784 ? " 785 786 " , " , " . " 787 788 " , " . 789 790 " , " , , " 791 792 ' . " 793 794 " ? " . 795 796 " , . " 797 798 " ? " 799 800 " . " 801 802 " , , ? " 803 804 " . , " . 805 806 " ? " , . 807 808 " ; , " . 809 810 " ! " . 811 812 " ; . . " 813 814 " ! " , . 815 816 " , " . " ; 817 , 818 . , 819 , . 820 , 821 822 . 823 . , 824 , . . , 825 , 826 . , 827 , 828 . " 829 830 " ? " . 831 832 " , ; 833 . , 834 - . 835 , , , 836 . 837 , . 838 . 839 , 840 . , 841 , 842 - . 843 . " 844 845 " ? " . 846 847 " , . 848 , , 849 . 850 , 851 , , . " 852 853 " ? " . 854 855 " . , - , 856 , - 857 . 858 , , 859 , 860 . 861 - . 862 . , 863 864 , , , 865 . " 866 867 " ! ? " 868 869 " , . 870 ' . ' " 871 872 " ? " . 873 874 " ? " , , 875 , . 876 877 " , " . 878 879 " , " , " , 880 ? " 881 882 " . " 883 884 " , , 885 ? " 886 887 " , . " 888 889 " ' ? " 890 891 " , . " 892 893 " ! , " , ; " 894 ' , , , . " 895 896 . . 897 898 " ! " . 899 900 , . 901 902 . , 903 . 904 , . 905 , , , 906 , , 907 ' . 908 . ' , 909 ' , . , , 910 , 911 . , ' 912 ! - 913 , , . ; , 914 , , 915 . 916 ? , 917 , . , 918 ! ! 919 ! ! 920 , 921 922 . , , 923 , . 924 925 " , " . 926 927 " , " ; " , 928 . " 929 930 " , " . " 931 - ; ' 932 . " 933 934 . . 935 , 936 . . 937 . 938 . . 939 940 " ? " . 941 942 " , " , " , 943 . " 944 945 , , . 946 . , , 947 - . . . 948 , , 949 , . . 950 . . 951 . 952 953 " ? " . 954 955 " , , . , " ; " 956 , . " 957 958 . . 959 960 " ? " . 961 962 " , . . 963 . 964 . " 965 966 " ? " 967 968 " , . " 969 970 " . " 971 972 " , . 973 , . 974 . " 975 976 " , , " , " 977 . " 978 979 " , . " 980 981 " , " , , , 982 . 983 984 , - . 985 ; . 986 . , 987 , . 988 , , 989 ' . 990 . 991 , , 992 . 993 , , , 994 , 995 . , . 996 . 997 998 ! , 999 , . 1000