Chapter-7
Once Ceylon was behind us, the Nautilus steered due west across the Arabian Sea. When Ned saw our course on the map, he exclaimed, “Professor, we’re heading right into the Red Sea. And the Red Sea is a dead end. Perhaps, one day when the Suez Canal is finished, we’ll be able to reach the Mediterranean through it, but the canal is still under construction.”
“Then where do you think Captain Nemo is heading?” I asked.
“Who knows where?” answered Ned with a shrug. “All I know is we’ve been prisoners here for three months. It’s got to end.”
“Ned,” I said calmly, “this is not yet the time to think of escape. Perhaps when we get closer to European waters…”
But Ned didn’t let me finish. He left the room, muttering, “A man can’t go on like this, living without his freedom.”
I looked at the map gain. Why was Captain Nemo taking us into the Red Sea when there was no way out but the way we had come in? I had no answers, so I simply made good use of my time observing the sea through the crystal-clear waters.
I saw marvelous shrubs of dazzling coral and huge rocks covered with a green fur of seaweed. How many new types of colourful fish, flowers and plants appeared before me!
At noon on February 9, we were cruising on the surface when Captain Nemo came up to the platform. “Well, Professor,” he said, “how are you enjoying the wonders of the Red Sea?”
“The Nautilus is a remarkable boat for such a study,” I replied, “It certainly is centuries ahead of its time. What a pity that such a secret will one day die with its inventor!”
Captain Nemo gave me an icy stare but said nothing. I thought it best to change the subject, so I asked him if he had ever been in the Red Sea before.
“Yes, Monsieur,” he replied, “all the way up to the northern end where the Suez Canal is being built.”
“And will the Nautilus be able to use the canal once it’s finished?” I asked.
“I’m afraid I cannot risk having the Nautilus seen. However, the canal will be very useful to the rest of the world by connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and then to the Indian Ocean. Your countryman, Monsieur deLesseps, who is building the canal, is an amazing man! People laughed at him and stood in the way of this project, but his genius finally won.”
“Yes, Captain, I agree. But I still don’t understand why we have entered the Red Sea.”
“To reach the Mediterranean, of course, Professor, which we shall do the day after tomorrow.”
“But to reach the Mediterranean, we must go around the entire continent of Africa. That can’t be done in two days, not even by the Nautilus.”
“Who said we were going around Africa?” asked the captain, smiling.
“Well, unless the Nautilus can sail over dry land….”
“Or under it, Professor?”
“Under it?” I cried in amazement.
“Yes,” replied the captain calmly, “What Monsieur deLesseps is doing on the land at Suez—digging a passage—Nature has already done below the ocean floor!”
“You mean there’s an underground passage at Suez” I gasped.
“Yes,” said the captain, “I call it the Arabian Tunnel. You see, Monsieur Aronnax, the land at Suez is covered with sand. But this sand is only one hundred fifty feet deep. Below it is a layer of solid rock. In this rock, Nature had made the tunnel.”
“I can hardly believe my ears, Captain. How did you ever discover this tunnel?”
“On my early trips in this area, I noticed that the Red Sea and the Mediterranean contained identical types of fish. This made me wonder if perhaps there was some passage between the two seas for the fish to get through. If such a passage did exist, the water would have to flow from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean because the water level is higher in the Red Sea. So I searched for this passage, found it, and travelled through it. And very soon, Professor, you too will travel through my Arbian Tunnel.”
When I told Ned and Conseil about this tunnel, Ned laughed, “I never heard of an underwater tunnel connecting two seas. But right now, I’ll believe anything that would take us into the Mediterranean and closer to civilization. For then, we might have the chance to escape.”
On the evening of February 11, the Nautilus approached the Gulf of Suez. We were cruising on the surface, and I could see clearly the high mountain known in biblical times as Mount Sinai. It was there that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.
Captain Nemo informed me that we were close to the mouth of the tunnel and the Nautilus was preparing to dive.
“The tunnel is difficult to enter,” he said, “so I stay at the helm throughout that part of the voyage. Perhaps, Monsieur Aronnax, you would like to watch from the helmsman’s compartment as I steer through the tunnel.”
“I would be very honoured,” I answered.
We entered a compartment about six feet square. Through the thick glass I saw high walls only a few feet from either side of us. Captain Nemo didn’t take his eyes off these walls for an instant.
Soon I heard a strange rumbling sound. It was the sound of water rushing down the sloping tunnel from one sea into the other. This current sent the Nautilus shooting forward at an unbelievable rate of speed. For twenty minutes, my heart beat excitedly as the narrow walls of the tunnel sped by.
Then we gradually slowed down. Captain Nemo finally turned to me and said, “Professor, the Mediterranean!”
