20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Page 8

be hazardous in pursuit of an
animal capable of sinking a frigate as easily as a nutshell. Here there was matter for
reflection even to the most impassive man in the world. What would Conseil say?
"Conseil," I called a third time.
Conseil appeared.
"Did you call, sir?" said he, entering.
"Yes, my boy; make preparations for me and yourself too. We leave in two hours."
"As you please, sir," replied Conseil, quietly.
"Not an instant to lose; lock in my trunk all travelling utensils, coats, shirts, and
stockings--without counting, as many as you can, and make haste."
"And your collections, sir?" observed Conseil.
"They will keep them at the hotel."
"We are not returning to Paris, then?" said Conseil.
"Oh! certainly," I answered, evasively, "by making a curve."
"Will the curve please you, sir?"
"Oh! it will be nothing; not quite so direct a road, that is all. We take our passage in the
Abraham, Lincoln."
"As you think proper, sir," coolly replied Conseil.
"You see, my friend, it has to do with the monster-- the famous narwhal. We are going to
purge it from the seas. A glorious mission, but a dangerous one! We cannot tell where we
may go; these animals can be very capricious. But we will go whether or no; we have got
a captain who is pretty wide-awake."
Our luggage was transported to the deck of the frigate immediately. I hastened on board
and asked for Commander Farragut. One of the sailors conducted me to the poop, where I
found myself in the presence of a good-looking officer, who held out his hand to me.
"Monsieur Pierre Aronnax?" said he.
"Himself," replied I. "Commander Farragut?"

"You are welcome, Professor; your cabin is ready for you."
I bowed, and desired to be conducted to the cabin destined for me.
The Abraham Lincoln had been well chosen and equipped for her new destination. She
was a frigate of great speed, fitted with high-pressure engines which admitted a pressure
of seven atmospheres. Under this the Abraham Lincoln attained the mean speed of nearly
eighteen knots and a third an hour-- a considerable speed, but, nevertheless, insufficient
to grapple with this gigantic cetacean.
The interior arrangements of the frigate corresponded to its nautical qualities. I was well
satisfied with my cabin, which was in the after part, opening upon the gunroom.
"We shall be well off here," said I to Conseil.
"As well, by your honour's leave, as a hermit-crab in the shell of a whelk," said Conseil.
I left Conseil to stow our trunks conveniently away, and remounted the poop in order to
survey the preparations for departure.
At that moment Commander Farragut was ordering the last moorings to be cast loose
which held the Abraham Lincoln to the pier of Brooklyn. So in a quarter of an hour,
perhaps less, the frigate would have sailed without me. I should have missed this
extraordinary, supernatural, and incredible expedition, the recital of which may well meet
with some suspicion.
But Commander Farragut would not lose a day nor an hour in scouring the seas in which
the animal had been sighted. He sent for the engineer.
"Is the steam full on?" asked he.
"Yes, sir," replied the engineer.
"Go ahead," cried Commander Farragut.






CHAPTER IV

NED LAND
Captain Farragut was a good seaman, worthy of the frigate he commanded. His vessel
and he were one. He was the soul of it. On the question of the monster there was no doubt
in his mind, and he would not allow the existence of the animal to be disputed on board.
He believed in it, as certain good women believe in the leviathan--by faith, not by reason.
The monster did exist, and he had sworn to rid the seas of it. Either Captain Farragut
would kill the narwhal, or the narwhal would kill the captain. There was no third course.
The officers on board shared the opinion of their chief. They were ever chatting,
discussing, and calculating the various chances of a meeting, watching narrowly the vast
surface of the ocean. More than one took up his quarters voluntarily in the cross-trees,
who would have cursed such a berth under any other circumstances. As long as the sun
described its daily course, the rigging was crowded with sailors, whose feet were burnt to
such an extent by the heat of the deck as to render it unbearable; still the Abraham
Lincoln had not yet breasted the suspected waters of the Pacific. As to the ship's company,
they desired nothing better than to meet the unicorn, to harpoon it, hoist it on board, and
despatch it. They watched the sea with eager attention.
Besides, Captain Farragut had spoken of a certain sum of two thousand dollars, set