Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea

miles to westward. The first thing I noticed was a range of mountains about two thousand feet high, the shapes of which were most caprici

at this moment. The Captain glanced

ts pearl-fisheries. Would you like

nly, Ca

he fishermen. The annual exportation has not yet begun. Never mind, I will gi

ent out. Soon the Nautilus returned to her native element,

ns shall visit the Bank of Manaar, and if by chance so

d, Cap

onnax you are not

!" excl

n seemed a v

ntinued Ca

am not yet very familiar

e too. However, we shall be armed, and on the road we may be able to hunt

saloon. Now, if you were invited to hunt the bear

you were asked to hunt the lion in the plains of Atlas

reflect," said I, "and take our time. Hunting otters in submarine forests, as we did in the Island of Crespo, will pass; but going up and down at the bottom of the sea, where one is almost certain to meet sharks, is quite another thing! I know well that in certain countries, particularly in the

n entered, quite composed, and even jo

aptain Nemo-the devil take him!-has

id I, "y

autilus has invited us to visit the magnificent Ceylon fisheries to-morr

d nothi

that he had already spoken

ld you give us some detai

self," I asked, "or t

; "before entering upon the ground, it

wn, my friends, an

ves on an ottoman, and the fir

hat is

pe, of a brilliancy of mother-of-pearl substance, which they wear on their fingers, their necks, or their ears; for the chemist it is a mixture of phosphate and carbona

molluscs,"

turbots, in a word, all those which secrete mother-of-pearl, that is, the blue, bluish, violet

o?" asked t

s in Scotland, Wales, Ireland,

I shall pay attention,

mation, deposited in a globular form, either adhering to the oyster shell, or buried in the folds of the creature. On the shell it is fast; in the flesh it is loose; but always has for

und in the same oys

been mentioned, though I allow myself to doubt it, as ha

ifty sharks!" ex

. "I meant to say a hundred and fift

but will you tell us now by what

y is to lay the oysters on mats of the seaweed which covers the banks. Thus they die in the open air; and at the end of ten days the

ls varies according to t

aragons. They are formed alone in the tissue of the mollusc, are white, often opaque, and sometimes have the transparency of an opal; they are generally round or oval. The round are made into bracelets, the oval into pendants, and, being more precious, are sold singly. T

l, "is this pearl-

; "particularly if certai

ing?" said Ned Land, "the swallowi

rying to take Captain Nemo's careless to

arpooner by profession? It is m

wivel, hoisting them into the vessel, cutting off their tails with a bl

is a que

cise

he wa

he wa

se sharks are ill-fashioned beasts. They turn o

saying "seize" which m

nseil, what do you

seil. "I will

he better,

s, I do not see why your faithful se