[00:00.83] Part three.
[00:02.99] Chapter 10.
[00:05.73] Malstrom.
[00:08.32] I went to my room, but I slept badly.
[00:12.73] The horrible sight of the sinking battleship kept coming into my head.
[00:18.16] I hadn't thought it would ever happen, but I now hated the sea.
[00:24.78] It was a place of great beauty, but it was also a cruel killer.
[00:31.68] And I knew if I stayed much longer, I would be its next victim.
[00:39.29] I awoke from another nightmare to see Ned and Conceal standing over me.
[00:46.84] Professor, Ned said.
[00:51.63] Tonight's the night.
[00:55.90] We are going to escape at last.
[01:02.04] But where are we? I cried, still half asleep.
[01:09.00] In sight of land.
[01:11.88] It's 20 miles to the east, Ned answered.
[01:19.32] And what country is it?
[01:23.79] We don't know, Conceal admitted.
[01:28.65] But whatever it is, that's where we are going.
[01:35.98] I sat up and saw that Ned and Conceal meant business.
[01:41.39] I thought again of the dead sailors being dragged down inside their doomed battleship.
[01:49.85] You're right, I said.
[01:54.40] It's time to go.
[01:57.92] I would die for science, but I will not let others die for me.
[02:07.81] And I will die for my freedom, Ned said quietly.
[02:15.38] If anybody tries to stop me, I will fight them to the death.
[02:25.63] I understand, I said.
[02:30.67] Let's meet in half an hour on board the small boat.
[02:41.32] The others went back to their cabins to get their things.
[02:46.63] I put on my strong sea clothes, then collected all my research notes and put them in a leather wallet.
[02:56.92] My heart thumped in my chest as I got ready to leave.
[03:03.69] At that moment, I heard the piano in the saloon.
[03:10.01] Nemo was playing a sad tune.
[03:14.53] It sounded like a cry of pain.
[03:18.94] I had to creep past Nemo to reach the door that led to the small boat.
[03:27.08] The saloon was in darkness.
[03:31.45] But I hoped that he wouldn't hear me above the sounds of the piano.
[03:38.38] Even if there had been a light on, I don't think Nemo would have noticed me.
[03:46.71] He was too lost in his music.
[03:55.40] I reached the door and was just about to open it when the music stopped.
[04:03.63] A sigh from Captain Nemo froze me to the spot.
[04:12.39] I heard him rising from his seat.
[04:17.59] Then I caught a glimpse of him as he walked into the light that shone into the saloon from his cabin.
[04:27.86] He came towards me silently with his arms crossed, gliding like a ghost.
[04:37.96] His breathing sounded shallow and his voice broke as he said the last words I ever heard from him.
[04:48.58] Enough.
[04:53.76] Enough.
[05:00.51] Had he had enough of his revenge?
[05:05.50] Was his conscience getting the better of him?
[05:13.18] I rushed out of the door without looking back, not knowing if Nemo had seen me or not.
[05:21.63] I leap up the ladder that led to the small boat and crept through the opening.
[05:29.78] Ned and Conceal were already aboard.
[05:34.36] Let's go, I said quickly.
[05:39.91] Ned closed the manhole cover behind us.
[05:45.18] Then he tried loosening the bolts that fixed the small boat to the nautilus with a gadget he had made himself.
[05:56.34] Loud voices from inside the nautilus made Ned pause.
[06:02.55] What was the matter?
[06:06.64] Had they discovered we were missing?
[06:12.34] I felt Ned slip a dagger into my hand.
[06:19.64] So, I murmured.
[06:24.97] This is how we shall die.
[06:31.84] We sat and waited, daggers in hand and ready to fight.
[06:40.50] But no one came.
[06:45.83] All we heard was one word from inside the nautilus, repeated over and over again by the sailors.
[06:56.30] Malstrom, they kept saying.
[07:01.91] The malstrom is a violent whirlpool off the coast of Norway, which few ships have ever escaped from.
[07:13.65] The nautilus was caught in its swirling grip.
[07:19.71] Had Nemo steered towards it on purpose?
[07:26.67] Did he want to die?
[07:33.63] Quickly, I said to Ned.
[07:38.13] Undo the bolts.
[07:41.68] We must get free before the whirlpool takes too strong a hold of the nautilus.
[07:50.38] But Ned was already struggling with the bolts.
[07:55.84] It's no use, he said.
[08:00.73] The gadget I made doesn't fit.
[08:05.40] It won't turn them.
[08:10.99] Then we're trapped, Conceal said.
[08:16.42] And we'll drown with Nemo.
[08:23.95] We sat in silence for a moment, thinking that we were going to die.
[08:31.44] The sound of the raging waters outside grew louder, and the boat rocked more and more violently.
[08:43.00] The steel plates of the nautilus creaked under the strain.
[08:49.36] We must hold on, Ned said.
[08:53.87] Maybe the nautilus will get free.
[09:00.77] He had hardly finished speaking when we heard the bolts groan and saw them turn without the help of Ned's homemade key.
[09:12.47] Was it the violence of the water that was freeing us or an unseen hand from inside the nautilus?
[09:22.29] Was this Nemo's last good act?
[09:27.76] The bolts gave way, and the boat was hurled like a stone towards the edge of the whirlpool.
[09:38.33] Then my head struck against the steel side of the boat, and everything went jumbled and dark.