“But what is the end to be?”
“The end will come in good time. Besides, we can do nothing, and there is no use talking about it. If you should come to me and say: ‘I see a chance of escape for us,’ I would go into the question with you; but that is not the case now, and I tell you frankly I do not think that Captain Nemo will ever venture into European waters.”
By this short conversation you will perceive that I was almost as much attached to the Nautilus as its commander. Ned Land brought the interview to a conclusion by the following muttered words:
“That is all very well, but in my opinion, when one is tired of the thing, there is no fun in it.”
For four days the Nautilus explored the Sea of Oman at various depths, and with varying speed. We appeared to be sailing at random, as if there were some hesitation respecting our route, but we did not pass the Tropic of Cancer.
As we left this sea we caught a glimpse of Muscat, the most important town of the Oman territory. I admired its strange aspect in the midst of the black rocks surrounding it, and against which the white houses and forts stood out in strong relief. The round domes of the mosques, the tapering points of the minarets, the fresh green terraces, were all before us. But it was only a fleeting vision, for the Nautilus again plunged under Oman’s green water.
We afterwards coasted the Arabian shore for six miles, and its line of undulating mountains dotted with ancient ruins.
On the 5th of February we entered the Gulf of Aden, a regular funnel introduced into the neck of Bab-el-Mandeb, which serves as the entrance for the waters of the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea.
