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"
"Ah, Commander! your Nautilus is certainly a marvellous boat."
"Yes, Professor; and I love it as if it were part of myself.
If danger threatens one of your vessels on the ocean,
the first impression is the feeling of an abyss above and below.
On the Nautilus men's hearts never fail them. No defects
to be afraid of, for the double shell is as firm as iron;
no rigging to attend to; no sails for the wind to carry away;
no boilers to burst; no fire to fear, for the vessel is made
of iron, not of wood; no coal to run short, for electricity
is the only mechanical agent; no collision to fear, for it
alone swims in deep water; no tempest to brave, for when it
dives below the water it reaches absolute tranquillity.
There, sir! that is the perfection of vessels! And if it is true
that the engineer has more confidence in the vessel than the builder,
and the builder than the captain himself, you understand
the trust I repose in my Nautilus; for I am at once captain,
builder, and engineer."
"But how could you construct this wonderful Nautilus in secret?"
"Each separate portion, M. Aronnax, was brought from different
parts of the globe."
"But these parts had to be put together and arranged?"
"Professor, I had set up my workshops upon a desert island in the ocean.
There my workmen, that is to say, the brave men that I instructed
and educated, and myself have put together our Nautilus. Then, when the work
was finished, fire destroyed all trace of our proceedings on this island,
that I could have jumped over if I had liked."
"Then the cost of this vessel is great?"
"M. Aronnax, an iron vessel costs L145 per ton. Now the Nautilus weighed
1,500. It came therefore to L67,500, and L80,000 more for fitting it up,
and about L200,000, with the works of art and the collections it contains."
"One last question, Captain Nemo."
"Ask it, Professor."
"You are rich?"
"Immensely rich, sir; and I could, without missing it,
pay the national debt of France."
I stared at the singular person who spoke thus. Was he playing
upon my credulity? The future would decide that.
CHAPTER XIII
THE BLACK RIVER
The portion of the terrestrial globe which is covered by
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