"Oh, then the gentleman is going on terra firma?" replied Ned Land.
"That seems to me to be clearly indicated," said I, reading the letter once more.
"Well, we must accept," said the Canadian. "But once more on dry ground, we shall know what to do. Indeed, I shall not be sorry to eat a piece of fresh venison."
Without seeking to reconcile what was contradictory between Captain Nemo's manifest aversion to islands and continents, and his invitation to hunt in a forest, I contented myself with replying:
"Let us see first where the island of Crespo is."
I consulted the planisphere, and in 32° 40′ north lat., and 157° 50′ west long., I found a small island, recognized in 1801 by Captain Crespo, and marked in the ancient Spanish maps as Rocca de la Plata, the meaning of which is "The Silver Rock." We were then about eighteen hundred miles from our starting point, and the course of the Nautilus, a little changed, was bringing it back toward the southeast.
I showed this little rock lost in the midst of the North Pacific to my companions.
"If Captain Nemo does sometimes go on dry ground," said I, "he at least chooses desert islands."
Ned Land shrugged his shoulders without speaking, and Conseil and he left me.
After supper, which was served by the steward, mute and impassible, I went to bed, not without some anxiety.
The next morning, the 17th of November, on awakening I felt that the Nautilus was perfectly still. I dressed quickly and entered the saloon.
Captain Nemo was there, waiting for me. He rose, bowed, and asked me if it was convenient for me to accompany him. As he made no allusion to his absence during the last eight days, I did not mention it, and simply answered that my companions and myself were ready to follow him.
We entered the dining-room, and breakfast was served.
"M. Aronnax," said the captain, "pray share my breakfast without ceremony; we will chat as we eat. For though I promised you a walk in the forest, I did not undertake to find hotels there. So breakfast as a man who will most likely not have his dinner till very late."
I did honor to the repast. It was composed of several
