His hearers shuddered at this avowal.
"It seems to me that we are to be prisoners?" observed the professor.
"Certainly."
"But this is an outrage!" exclaimed Mont. "I demand to be put on shore at the nearest port, or given up to the nearest ship we meet."
"You will none of you ever see the earth again, or set foot upon it," replied the captain with much emphasis.
"This floating prison is, then, our tomb—our coffin, in which we must live and die?"
"Call it what you will," replied the captain. "You have obtained the secret of my existence. Do you think I could ever allow you to revisit the world, to let it be known through every newspaper how I pass my life?"
"How are we to address you, sir?"
"My name is Vindex. By my men I am called the Wizard of the Sea."
"Very well, Captain Vindex of the Searcher," said Mont, "we must make the best of our situation, but I will never give my word that I will not attempt to escape."