“It leads to the small boat,” he said.
“What! have you a boat?” I exclaimed, in surprise.
“Of course; an excellent vessel, light and insubmersible, that serves either as a fishing or as a pleasure boat.”
“But then, when you wish to embark, you are obliged to come to the surface of the water?”
“Not at all. This boat is attached to the upper part of the hull of the Nautilus, and occupies a cavity made for it. It is decked, quite water-tight, and held together by solid bolts. This ladder leads to a man-hole made in the hull of the Nautilus, that corresponds with a similar hole made in the side of the boat. By this double opening I get into the small vessel. They shut the one belonging to the Nautilus; I shut the other by means of screw pressure. I undo the bolts, and the little boat goes up to the surface of the sea with prodigious rapidity. I then open the panel of the bridge, carefully shut till then; I mast it, hoist my sail, take my oars, and I’m off.”
“But how do you get back on board?”
“I do not come back, M. Aronnax; the Nautilus comes to me.”
“By your orders?”
“By my orders. An electric thread connects us. I telegraph to it, and that is enough.”
“Really,” I said, astonished at these marvels, “nothing can be more simple.”