I worked in my stateroom until noon without seeing Captain Nemo even for an instant. Nobody on board seemed to be making any preparations for departure.
I still waited for a while, then I made my way to the main lounge. Its timepiece marked 2:30. In ten minutes the tide would reach its maximum elevation, and if Captain Nemo hadn’t made a rash promise, the Nautilus would immediately break free. If not, many months might pass before it could leave its coral bed.
But some preliminary vibrations could soon be felt over the boat’s hull. I heard its plating grind against the limestone roughness of that coral base.
At 2:35 Captain Nemo appeared in the lounge.
“We’re about to depart,” he said.
“Ah!” I put in.
“I’ve given orders to open the hatches.”
“What about the Papuans?”
“What about them?” Captain Nemo replied, with a light shrug of his shoulders.
“Won’t they come inside the Nautilus?”