20000 льє під водою

Chapter 13. Some Figures

           "Sir,"saidCaptainNemo,"wewill,ifyouplease,takeourbearingsandfixthestarting-pointofthisvoyage.Itisaquartertotwelve;Iwillgoupagaintothesurface."

           TheCaptainpressedanelectricclockthreetimes.Thepumpsbegantodrivethewaterfromthetanks;theneedleofthemanometermarkedbyadifferentpressuretheascentoftheNautilus,thenitstopped.

           "Wehavearrived,"saidtheCaptain.

           Iwenttothecentralstaircasewhichopenedontotheplatform,clambereduptheironsteps,andfoundmyselfontheupperpartoftheNautilus.

           Theplatformwasonlythreefeetoutofwater.ThefrontandbackoftheNautiluswasofthatspindle-shapewhichcauseditjustlytobecomparedtoacigar.Inoticedthatitsironplates,slightlyoverlayingeachother,resembledtheshellwhichclothesthebodiesofourlargeterrestrialreptiles.Itexplainedtomehownaturalitwas,inspiteofallglasses,thatthisboatshouldhavebeentakenforamarineanimal.

           Towardthemiddleoftheplatformthelongboat,halfburiedinthehullofthevessel,formedaslightexcrescence.Foreandaftrosetwocagesofmediumheightwithinclinedsides,andpartlyclosedbythicklenticularglasses;onedestinedforthesteersmanwhodirectedtheNautilus,theothercontainingabrilliantlanterntogivelightontheroad.

           Theseawasbeautiful,theskypure.Scarcelycouldthelongvehiclefeelthebroadundulationsoftheocean.Alightbreezefromtheeastrippledthesurfaceofthewaters.Thehorizon,freefromfog,madeobservationeasy.Nothingwasinsight.Notaquicksand,notanisland.Avastdesert.

Налаштування
Фон сторінки
Розмір шрифту
Міжрядковий інтервал
Фразові дієслова
Показати / Приховати меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Сторінка 89 з 384