SECOND PART
CHAPTER 19: The Gulf Stream
(continued)
The Canadian was obviously at the end of his patience.
His vigorous nature couldn't adapt to this protracted imprisonment.
His facial appearance was changing by the day. His moods grew gloomier
and gloomier. I had a sense of what he was suffering because I also was
gripped by homesickness. Nearly seven months had gone by without our
having any news from shore. Moreover, Captain Nemo's reclusiveness,
his changed disposition, and especially his total silence since the battle
with the devilfish all made me see things in a different light.
I no longer felt the enthusiasm of our first days on board.
You needed to be Flemish like Conseil to accept these circumstances,
living in a habitat designed for cetaceans and other denizens
of the deep. Truly, if that gallant lad had owned gills instead
of lungs, I think he would have made an outstanding fish!
"Well, sir?" Ned Land went on, seeing that I hadn't replied.
"Well, Ned, you want me to ask Captain Nemo what he intends
to do with us?"
"Yes, sir."
"Even though he has already made that clear?"
"Yes. I want it settled once and for all. Speak just for me,
strictly on my behalf, if you want."
"But I rarely encounter him. He positively avoids me."
"All the more reason you should go look him up."
"I'll confer with him, Ned."
"When?" the Canadian asked insistently.
"When I encounter him."
"Professor Aronnax, would you like me to go find him myself?"
"No, let me do it. Tomorrow--"
"Today," Ned Land said.
"So be it. I'll see him today," I answered the Canadian, who,
if he took action himself, would certainly have ruined everything.
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