I kept on working, but the temperature rose to the point of becoming unbearable.
“Could there be a fire on board?” I wondered.
I was about to leave the lounge when Captain Nemo entered. He approached the thermometer, consulted it, and turned to me:
“42 degrees centigrade,” he said.
“I’ve detected as much, captain,” I replied, “and if it gets even slightly hotter, we won’t be able to stand it.”
“Oh, professor, it won’t get any hotter unless we want it to!”
“You mean you can control this heat?”
“No, but I can back away from the fireplace producing it.”
“So it’s outside?”
“Surely. We’re cruising in a current of boiling water.”