om some European coast."

"And you will try and save yourself by swimming?"

"Yes, if we were near enough to the bank, and if the vessel was
floating at the time. Not if the bank was far away, and the boat was
under the water."

"And in that case?"

"In that case, I should seek to make myself master of the pinnace. I
know how it is worked. We must get inside, and the bolts once drawn,
we shall come to the surface of the water, without even the pilot, who
is in the bows, perceiving our flight."

"Well, Ned, watch for the opportunity; but do not forget that a hitch
will ruin us."

"I will not forget, sir."

"And now, Ned, would you like to know what I think of your project?"

"Certainly, M. Aronnax."

"Well, I think--I do not say I hope--I think that this favourable
opportunity will never present itself."

"Why not?"

"Because Captain Nemo cannot hide from himself that we have not given
up all hope of regaining our liberty, and he will be on his guard,
above all, in the seas and in the sight of European coasts."

"We shall see," replied Ned Land, shaking his head determinedly.

"And now, Ned Land," I added, "let us stop here. Not another word on
the subject. The day that you are ready, come and let us know, and we
will follow you. I rely entirely upon you."

Thus ended a conversation which, at no very distant time, led to such
grave results. I must say here that facts seemed to confirm my
foresight, to the Canadian's great despair. Did Captain Nemo distrust
us in these frequented seas? or did he only wish to hide himself from
the numerous vessels, of all nations, which ploughed the Mediterranean?
I could not tell; but we were oftener between waters and far from the
coast. Or, if the Nautilus did emerge, nothing was to be seen but the
pilot's cage; and sometimes it went to great depths, for, between the
Grecian Archipelago and Asia Minor we could not touch the bottom by
more than a thousand fathoms.

Thus I only knew we were near the Island of Carpathos, one of the
Sporades, by Captain Nemo reciting these lines from Virgil:

"Est Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates,
Caeruleus Proteus,"

as he pointed to a spot on the planisphere.

It was indeed the ancient abode of Proteus, the old shepherd of
Neptune's flocks, now the Island of Scarpanto, situated between Rhodes
and Crete. I saw nothing but the granite base through the glass panels
of the saloon.

The next day, the 14th of February