phyry and half
basalt. From thence we looked upon a vast sea which, towards the
north, distinctly traced its boundary line upon the sky. At our feet
lay fields of dazzling whiteness. Over our heads a pale azure, free
from fog. To the north the disc of the sun seemed like a ball of fire,
already horned by the cutting of the horizon. From the bosom of the
water rose sheaves of liquid jets by hundreds. In the distance lay the
Nautilus like a cetacean asleep on the water. Behind us, to the south
and east, an immense country and a chaotic heap of rocks and ice, the
limits of which were not visible. On arriving at the summit Captain
Nemo carefully took the mean height of the barometer, for he would have
to consider that in taking his observations. At a quarter to twelve
the sun, then seen only by refraction, looked like a golden disc
shedding its last rays upon this deserted continent and seas which
never man had yet ploughed. Captain Nemo, furnished with a lenticular
glass which, by means of a mirror, corrected the refraction, watched
the orb sinking below the horizon by degrees, following a lengthened
diagonal. I held the chronometer. My heart beat fast. If the
disappearance of the half-disc of the sun coincided with twelve o'clock
on the chronometer, we were at the pole itself.

"Twelve!" I exclaimed.

"The South Pole!" replied Captain Nemo, in a grave voice, handing me
the glass, which showed the orb cut in exactly equal parts by the
horizon.

I looked at the last rays crowning the peak, and the shadows mounting
by degrees up its slopes. At that moment Captain Nemo, resting with
his hand on my shoulder, said:

"I, Captain Nemo, on this 21st day of March, 1868, have reached the
South Pole on the ninetieth degree; and I take possession of this part
of the globe, equal to one-sixth of the known continents."

"In whose name, Captain?"

"In my own, sir!"

Saying which, Captain Nemo unfurled a black banner, bearing an "N" in
gold quartered on its bunting. Then, turning towards the orb of day,
whose last rays lapped the horizon of the sea, he exclaimed:

"Adieu, sun! Disappear, thou radiant orb! rest beneath this open sea,
and let a night of six months spread its shadows over my new domains!"

CHAPTER XV

ACCIDENT OR INCIDENT?

The next day, the 22nd of March, at six in the morning, preparations
for departure were begun. The last gleams of twilight were melting
into night. The cold was great