by Jules Verne
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
LAST MOMENTS OF CAPTAIN NEMO--WISHES OF THE DYING MAN--A PARTING GIFT TOHIS FRIENDS OF A DAY--CAPTAIN NEMO'S COFFIN--ADVICE TO THE COLONISTS--THE SUPREME MOMENT--AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.
Day had returned. No ray of light penetrated into the profundity of thecavern. It being high-water, the entrance was closed by the sea. Butthe artificial light, which escaped in long streams from the skylightsof the _Nautilus_, was as vivid as before, and the sheet of water shonearound the floating vessel.
An extreme exhaustion now overcame Captain Nemo, who had fallen backupon the divan. It was useless to contemplate removing him to GraniteHouse, for he had expressed his wish to remain in the midst of thosemarvels of the _Nautilus_ which millions could not have purchased, andto await there for that death which was swiftly approaching.
During a long interval of prostration, which rendered him almostunconscious, Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett attentively observed thecondition of the dying man. It was apparent that his strength wasgradually diminishing. That frame, once so robust, was now but thefragile tenement of a departing soul. All of life was concentrated inthe heart and head.
The engineer and reporter consulted in whispers. Was it possible torender any aid to the dying man? Might his life, if not saved, beprolonged for some days? He himself had said that no remedy couldavail, and he awaited with tranquillity that death which had for him noterrors.
"We can do nothing," said Gideon Spilett.
"But of what is he dying?" asked Pencroft.
"Life is simply fading out," replied the reporter.
"Nevertheless," said the sailor, "if we moved him into the open air, andthe light of the sun, he might perhaps recover."
"No, Pencroft," answered the engineer, "it is useless to attempt it.Besides, Captain Nemo would never consent to leave his vessel. He haslived for a dozen years on board the _Nautilus_, and on board the_Nautilus_ he desires to die."
Without doubt Captain Nemo heard Cyrus Harding's reply, for he raisedhimself slightly, and in a voice more feeble, but always intelligible--
"You are right, sir," he said. "I shall die here--it is my wish; andtherefore I have a request to make of you."
Cyrus Harding and his companions had drawn near the divan, and nowarranged the cushions in such a manner as to better support the dyingman.
They saw his eyes wander over all the marvels of this saloon, lighted bythe electric rays which fell from the arabesques of the luminousceiling. He surveyed, one after the other, the pictures hanging fromthe splendid tapestries of the partitions, the _chef-d'oeuvres_ of theItalian, Flemish, French, and Spanish masters; the statues of marble andbronze on their pedestals; the magnificent organ, leaning against theafter-partition; the aquarium, in which bloomed the most wonderfulproductions of the sea--marine plants, zoophytes, chaplets of pearls ofinestimable value; and, finally, his eyes rested on this device,inscribed over the pediment of the museum--the motto of the _Nautilus_--
"_Mobilis in mobile_."
His glance seemed to rest fondly for the last time on these masterpiecesof art and of nature, to which he had limited his horizon during asojourn of so many years in the abysses of the seas.
Cyrus Harding respected the captain's silence, and waited till he shouldspeak.
After some minutes, during which, doubtless, he passed in review hiswhole life, Captain Nemo turned to the colonists and said--
"You consider yourselves, gentlemen, under some obligations to me?"
"Captain, believe us that we would give our lives to prolong yours."
"Promise, then," continued Captain Nemo, "to carry out my last wishes,and I shall be repaid for all I have done for you."
"We promise," said Cyrus Harding.
And by this promise he bound both himself and his companions.
"Gentlemen," resumed the captain, "to-morrow I shall be dead."
Herbert was about to utter an exclamation, but a sign from the captainarrested him.
"To-morrow I shall die, and I desire no other tomb than the _Nautilus_.It is my grave! All my friends repose in the depths of the ocean; theirresting-place shall be mine."
These words were received with profound silence.
"Pay attention to my wishes," he continued. "The _Nautilus_ isimprisoned in this grotto, the entrance of which is blocked up; but,although egress is impossible, the vessel may at least sink in theabyss, and there bury my remains."
The colonists listened reverently to the words of the dying man.
"To-morrow, after my death, Mr Harding," continued the captain,"yourself and companions will leave the _Nautilus_, for all thetreasures it contains must perish with me. One token alone will remainwith you of Prince Dakkar, with whose history you are now acquainted.That coffer yonder contains diamonds of the value of many millions, mostof them mementoes of the time when, husband and father, I thoughthappiness possible for me, and a collection of pearls gathered by myfriends and myself in the depths of the ocean. Of this treasure, at afuture day, you may make good use. In the hands of such men as yourselfand your comrades, Captain Harding, money will never be a source ofdanger. From on high I shall still participate in your enterprises, andI fear not but that they will prosper."
After a few moments' repose, necessitated by his extreme weakness,Captain Nemo continued--
"To-morrow you will take the coffer, you will leave the saloon, of whichyou will close the door; then you will ascend onto the deck of the_Nautilus_, and you will lower the main-hatch so as entirely to closethe vessel."
"It shall be done, captain," answered Cyrus Harding.
"Good. You will then embark in the canoe which brought you hither; but,before leaving the _Nautilus_, go to the stern and there open two largestop-cocks which you will find upon the water-line. The water willpenetrate into the reservoirs, and the _Nautilus_ will gradually sinkbeneath the water to repose at the bottom of the abyss."
And, comprehending a gesture of Cyrus Harding, the captain added--
"Fear nothing! You will but bury a corpse!"
Neither Cyrus Harding nor his companions ventured to offer anyobservation to Captain Nemo. He had expressed his last wishes, and theyhad nothing to do but to conform to them.
"I have your promise, gentlemen?" added Captain Nemo.
"You have, captain," replied the engineer.
The captain thanked the colonists by a sign, and requested them to leavehim for some hours. Gideon Spilett wished to remain near him, in theevent of a crisis coming on, but the dying man refused, saying, "I shalllive until to-morrow, sir."
All left the saloon, passed through the library and the dining-room, andarrived forward, in the machine-room, where the electrical apparatus wasestablished, which supplied not only heat and light but the mechanicalpower of the _Nautilus_.
The _Nautilus_ was a masterpiece, containing masterpieces within itself,and the engineer was struck with astonishment.
The colonists mounted the platform, which rose seven or eight feet abovethe water. There they beheld a thick glass lenticular covering, whichprotected a kind of large eye, from which flashed forth light. Behindthis eye was apparently a cabin containing the wheels of the rudder, andin which was stationed the helmsman, when he navigated the _Nautilus_over the bed of the ocean, which the electric rays would evidently lightup to a considerable distance.
Cyrus Harding and his companions remained for a time silent, for theywere vividly impressed by what they had just seen and heard, and theirhearts were deeply touched by the thought that he whose arm had so oftenaided them, the protector whom they had known but a few hours, was atthe point of death.
Whatever might be the judgment pronounced by posterity upon the eventsof this, so to speak, extra-human existence, the character of PrinceDakkar would ever remain as one of those whose memory time can neverefface.
"What a man!" said Pencroft. "Is it possible that he can have lived atthe bottom of the sea? And it seems to me that perhaps he has not foundpeace th
ere any more than elsewhere."
"The _Nautilus_," observed Ayrton, "might have enabled us to leaveLincoln Island and reach some inhabited country."
"Good Heavens!" exclaimed Pencroft, "I for one would never risk myselfin such a craft. To sail on the seas, good; but under the seas, never!"
"I believe, Pencroft," answered the reporter, "that the navigation of asubmarine vessel such as the _Nautilus_ ought to be very easy, and thatwe should soon become accustomed to it. There would be no storms, nolee-shore to fear. At some feet beneath the surface the waters of theocean are as calm as those of a lake."
"That may be," replied the sailor, "but I prefer a gale of wind on boarda well-found craft. A vessel is built to sail on the sea, and notbeneath it."
"My friends," said the engineer, "it is useless, at any rate as regardsthe _Nautilus_, to discuss the question of submarine vessels. The_Nautilus_ is not ours, and we have not the right to dispose of it.Moreover, we could in no case avail ourselves of it. Independently ofthe fact that it would be impossible to get it out of this cavern, whoseentrance is now closed by the uprising of the basaltic rocks, CaptainNemo's wish is that it shall be buried with him. His wish is our law,and we will fulfil it."
After a somewhat prolonged conversation, Cyrus Harding and hiscompanions again descended to the interior of the _Nautilus_. Therethey took some refreshment and returned to the saloon.
Captain Nemo had somewhat rallied from the prostration which hadovercome him, and his eyes shone with their wonted fire. A faint smileeven curled his lips.
The colonists drew around him.
"Gentlemen," said the captain, "you are brave and honest men. You havedevoted yourselves to the common weal. Often have I observed yourconduct. I have esteemed you--I esteem you still! Your hand, MrHarding!"
Cyrus Harding gave his hand to the captain, who clasped itaffectionately.
"It is well!" he murmured.
He resumed--
"But enough of myself. I have to speak concerning yourselves, and thisLincoln Island, upon which you have taken refuge. You desire to leaveit?"
"To return, captain!" answered Pencroft quickly.
"To return, Pencroft?" said the captain, with a smile. "I know, it istrue, your love for this island. You have helped to make it what it nowis, and it seems to you a paradise!"
"Our project, captain," interposed Cyrus Harding, "is to annex it to theUnited States, and to establish for our shipping a port so fortunatelysituated in this part of the Pacific."
"Your thoughts are with your country, gentlemen," continued the captain;"your toils are for her prosperity and glory. You are right. One'snative land!--there should one live! there die! And I! I die far fromall I loved!"
"You have some last wish to transmit," said the engineer with emotion,"some souvenir to send to those friends you have left in the mountainsof India?"
"No, Captain Harding; no friends remain to me! I am the last of myrace, and to all whom I have known I have long been as are the dead.--But to return to yourselves. Solitude, isolation, are painful things,and beyond human endurance. I die of having thought it possible to livealone! You should, therefore, dare all in the attempt to leave LincolnIsland, and see once more the land of your birth. I am aware that thosewretches have destroyed the vessel you had built."
"We propose to construct a vessel," said Gideon Spilett, "sufficientlylarge to convey us to the nearest land; but if we should succeed, sooneror later we shall return to Lincoln Island. We are attached to it bytoo many recollections ever to forget it."
"It is here that we have known Captain Nemo," said Cyrus Harding.
"It is here only that we can make our home!" added Herbert.
"And here shall I sleep the sleep of eternity, if--" replied thecaptain.
He paused for a moment, and, instead of completing the sentence, saidsimply--
"Mr Harding, I wish to speak with you--alone!"
The engineer's companions, respecting the wish of the dying man,retired.
Cyrus Harding remained but a few minutes alone with Captain Nemo, andsoon recalled his companions; but he said nothing to them of the privatematters which the dying man had confided to him.
Gideon Spilett now watched the captain with extreme care. It wasevident that he was no longer sustained by his moral energy, which hadlost the power of reaction against his physical weakness.
The day closed without change. The colonists did not quit the_Nautilus_ for a moment. Night arrived, although it was impossible todistinguish it from day in the cavern.
Captain Nemo suffered no pain, but he was visibly sinking. His noblefeatures, paled by the approach of death, were perfectly calm.Inaudible words escaped at intervals from his lips, bearing upon variousincidents of his chequered career. Life was evidently ebbing slowly,and his extremities were already cold.
Once or twice more he spoke to the colonists who stood around him, andsmiled on them with that last smile which continues after death.
At length, shortly after midnight, Captain Nemo by a supreme effortsucceeded in folding his arms across his breast, as if wishing in thatattitude to compose himself for death.
By one o'clock his glance alone showed signs of life. A dying lightgleamed in those eyes once so brilliant. Then, murmuring the words,"God and my country!" he quietly expired.
Cyrus Harding, bending low, closed the eyes of him who had once been thePrince Dakkar, and was now not even Captain Nemo.
Herbert and Pencroft sobbed aloud. Tears fell from Ayrton's eyes. Nebwas on his knees by the reporter's side, motionless as a statue.
Then Cyrus Harding, extending his hand over the forehead of the dead,said solemnly--
"May his soul be with God! Let us pray!"
Some hours later the colonists fulfilled the promise made to the captainby carrying out his dying wishes.
Cyrus Harding and his companions quitted the _Nautilus_, taking withthem the only memento left them by their benefactor, that coffer whichcontained wealth amounting to millions.
The marvellous saloon, still flooded with light, had been carefullyclosed. The iron door leading on deck was then securely fastened insuch a manner as to prevent even a drop of water from penetrating to theinterior of the _Nautilus_.
The colonists then descended into the canoe, which was moored to theside of the submarine vessel.
The canoe was now brought round to the stern. There, at the water-line,were two large stop-cocks, communicating with the reservoirs employed inthe submersion of the vessel.
The stop-cocks were opened, the reservoirs filled, and the _Nautilus_,slowly sinking, disappeared beneath the surface of the lake.
But the colonists were yet able to follow its descent through the waves.The powerful light it gave forth lighted up the translucent water,while the cavern became gradually obscure. At length this vast effusionof electric light faded away, and soon after the _Nautilus_, now thetomb of Captain Nemo, reposed in its ocean bed.