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This reservoir is
fixed on the back by means of braces, like a soldier's knapsack.
Its upper part forms a box in which the air is kept by means of
a bellows, and therefore cannot escape unless at its normal tension.
In the Rouquayrol apparatus such as we use, two india rubber pipes
leave this box and join a sort of tent which holds the nose and mouth;
one is to introduce fresh air, the other to let out the foul, and the tongue
closes one or the other according to the wants of the respirator.
But I, in encountering great pressures at the bottom of the sea,
was obliged to shut my head, like that of a diver in a ball of copper;
and it is to this ball of copper that the two pipes, the inspirator and
the expirator, open."
"Perfectly, Captain Nemo; but the air that you carry with you
must soon be used; when it only contains fifteen per cent.
of oxygen it is no longer fit to breathe."
"Right! But I told you, M. Aronnax, that the pumps of the Nautilus allow
me to store the air under considerable pressure, and on those conditions
the reservoir of the apparatus can furnish breathable air for nine
or ten hours."
"I have no further objections to make," I answered.
"I will only ask you one thing, Captain--how can you light your
road at the bottom of the sea?"
"With the Ruhmkorff apparatus, M. Aronnax; one is carried on the back,
the other is fastened to the waist. It is composed of a Bunsen pile,
which I do not work with bichromate of potash, but with sodium.
A wire is introduced which collects the electricity produced, and directs
it towards a particularly made lantern. In this lantern is a spiral glass
which contains a small quantity of carbonic gas. When the apparatus is at
work this gas becomes luminous, giving out a white and continuous light.
Thus provided, I can breathe and I can see."
"Captain Nemo, to all my objections you make such crushing answers that I
dare no longer doubt. But, if I am forced to admit the Rouquayrol
and Ruhmkorff apparatus, I must be allowed some reservations with regard
to the gun I am to carry."
"But it is not a gun for powder," answered the Captain.
"Then it is an air-gun."
"Doubtless! How would you have me manufacture gun powder on board,
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