windows of which were now open, and with Conseil examined the ambient beds which supported the Nautilus.
Some moments after we saw a dozen of the crew on the bank of ice. Ned Land was with them, distinguishable by his great height. Captain Nemo also accompanied the party.
Before digging into the ice he sounded it, so as to be certain of the best direction in which to work. Sounding-lines were let into the side walls, but the lead stopped after fifteen yards. It was useless to attack the ceiling, since the iceberg was more than 1,200 feet high. Captain Nemo then sounded the lower part. Ten yards of ice separated us from the water. That, then, was the thickness of the ice-field. It was therefore necessary to cut out a piece equal to the Nautilus’ line of flotation. There were thus about 6,000 cubic yards to detach, so as to give us an opening to descend to the ice-field.
The work was at once commenced and vigorously prosecuted. Instead of cutting close around the Nautilus, which would have been a difficult operation, Captain Nemo determined to describe an immense trench round it, at about eight yards from the starboard side. Then the men worked with “borers” at several points of the circumference, and the picks soon went to work, and immense blocks were detached. By the curious effect of specific gravity, these blocks, lighter than water, flew, so to speak, to the top of the tunnel ; which got as much thicker above as it got thinner underneath.
After two hours’ hard work Ned Land gave in. His companions and he were replaced by new hands, to whom we were allied. The mate superintended us.
The water appeared to me to be very cold, but I soon warmed myself at work. I could move freely, although under a pressure of thirty atmospheres.
