Jules Verne

Name: 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (Walter) — Chapter 40
Author: Jules Verne

Summary

“20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (Walter) — Chapter 40”, published in 1870, is a work by Jules Verne. It explores elements such as Nautilus, ice and reservoirs.

Quotes from 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (Jules Verne)

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ What was the good of digging if I must be suffocated, crushed by the water that was turning into stone? -- a punishment that the ferocity of the savages even would not have invented! Just then Captain Nemo passed near me. I touched his hand and showed him the walls of our prison. The wall to port had advanced to at least four yards from the hull of the Nautilus. The Captain understood me, and signed me to follow him. We went on board. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ On March 22, the Nautilus was in the open polar seas. We were at 26o. For five days we had lived on the reserve on board. And what was left of the respirable air must be kept for the workers. Even now, as I write, my recollection is still so vivid that an involuntary terror seizes me and my lungs seem to be without air. Meanwhile, Captain Nemo reflected silently, and evidently an idea had struck him; but he seemed to reject it. At last, these words escaped his lips:
"Boiling water!" ”

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Source: Wikisource

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ By a curious effect of specific gravity, these blocks, lighter than water, fled, so to speak, to the vault of the tunnel, that increased in thickness at the top in proportion as it diminished at the base. But that mattered little, so long as the lower part grew thinner. After two hours' hard work, Ned Land came in exhausted. He and his comrades were replaced by new workers, whom Conseil and I joined. The second lieutenant of the Nautilus superintended us. The water seemed singularly cold, but I soon got warm handling the pickaxe. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ Therefore we must not reckon on the aid of nature, but on our own exertions. We must stop this solidification. Not only will the side walls be pressed together; but there is not ten feet of water before or behind the Nautilus. The congelation gains on us on all sides."
"How long will the air in the reservoirs last for us to breathe on board?" ”

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Source: Wikisource

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ We have no more suffocation to fear."
During the night the temperature of the water rose to 1o below zero. The injections could not carry it to a higher point. But, as the congelation of the sea-water produces at least 2o, I was at least reassured against the dangers of solidification.
The next day, March 27th, six yards of ice had been cleared, twelve feet only remaining to be cleared away. There was yet forty-eight hours' work. The air could not be renewed in the interior of the Nautilus. And this day would make it worse. An intolerable weight oppressed me. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ But in the morning when, dressed in my cork-jacket, I traversed the slushy mass at a temperature of six or seven degrees below zero, I remarked that the side walls were gradually closing in. The beds of water farthest from the trench, that were not warmed by the men's work, showed a tendency to solidification. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (1870)

“ There were about 6,000 cubic yards to detach, so as to dig a hole by which we could descend to the ice-field. The work had begun immediately and carried on with indefatigable energy. Instead of digging round the Nautilus which would have involved greater difficulty, Captain Nemo had an immense trench made at eight yards from the port-quarter. Then the men set to work simultaneously with their screws on several points of its circumference. Presently the pickaxe attacked this compact matter vigorously, and large blocks were detached from the mass. ”

Jules Verne

Summary

Quotes from 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas… (Jules Verne)

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