[00:00.57] Chapter six.
[00:02.23] Shark attack.
[00:05.72] Ned sank into another deep silence.
[00:09.72] Angry that we had not managed to stay on the island and find a rescue ship.
[00:15.51] Conceal helped me with my notes, but he only did it to keep his mind off being a prisoner.
[00:23.62] I, however, was glad to be aboard the Nautilus.
[00:29.70] I was sure there were more amazing scientific discoveries ahead of us.
[00:38.78] As we passed by the island of Salon in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, Captain Nemo invited us to take a walk underwater to visit the pearl fisheries.
[00:53.32] Impossible, Ned said when he got the invitation.
[00:59.70] No one can walk underwater.
[01:06.83] It was surprising enough to live in a submarine, but to discover it was also possible to breathe underwater in a suit, left us all in shock.
[01:19.12] Nemo showed us the amazing diving suits on board the Nautilus.
[01:26.82] A metal tank of pressurized air was strapped to our backs.
[01:35.22] Two rubber hoses came out at the top and were attached to a mouthpiece.
[01:42.73] A copper helmet was placed over our heads.
[01:48.16] I feel like a sardine in a tin, Ned said from inside his helmet.
[01:55.50] Well, let's hope nothing on the seabed fancies a sardine, Conceal joked.
[02:05.94] I can't wait to walk under the water, I said.
[02:11.54] At last, I'll be close enough to see and touch what I'm trying to research.
[02:19.63] You are not afraid of sharks then, Nemo said, smiling faintly.
[02:27.29] Sharks?
[02:30.80] I repeated, gulping nervously.
[02:36.59] Don't worry, he said.
[02:39.78] We'll be armed.
[02:45.99] I broke out in a sweat while the captain went off to get the small boat ready for the dive.
[02:53.50] Ned was excited at leaving the prison of the Nautilus again, if only for a short while.
[03:02.44] Conceal was less sure.
[03:08.79] Research is starting to become a daft excuse for accepting invitations from a madman, he said.
[03:18.52] I agree, Ned said.
[03:23.41] But if we leave the Nautilus, we can explore the chances of escape.
[03:30.82] If we're near the coast, maybe we could walk to freedom.
[03:37.99] But what about the sharks?
[03:40.54] I said.
[03:43.01] I was angry that Ned was still thinking about escape and I wanted to frighten him.
[03:51.90] Sharks don't scare me if I've got a good harpoon, Ned said calmly.
[03:59.95] Nothing scared Ned Land.
[04:03.97] He would fight a shark for the fun of it, but I was terrified of even being in the water with one.
[04:14.25] Conceal had once said that I would give up my freedom for science.
[04:20.85] I now realized that even though I was afraid, I would also give up my life for it.
[04:29.18] In the past, people had carried on with scientific research, even when their lives were at risk.
[04:39.37] And they had changed the world for the better.
[04:43.29] Helping others through science was worth dying for.
[04:49.38] Well, what about you, Conceal?
[04:52.75] I said.
[04:55.24] Are you ready to risk being eaten by a shark?
[05:01.35] I'm learning that while life is definitely safer behind a desk, it's not so exciting, Conceal said.
[05:14.18] Besides, we're a team, aren't we?
[05:18.45] Where one goes, we all go.
[05:26.51] Ned and I slapped Conceal on the back.
[05:31.01] The three of us were very different, but he was right.
[05:37.11] We were still friends.
[05:42.58] We finished putting on our diving suits and left the Nautilus in the small boat.
[05:51.01] Once we were out in the middle of the bay, Ned jumped into the water carrying his harpoon.
[06:00.36] Nemo gave me and Conceal a small dagger each.
[06:05.87] We looked at these daggers in panic.
[06:10.52] They didn't look big enough to fight a goldfish, never mind a shark.
[06:17.20] But we followed him into the water.
[06:23.47] The sun's rays reached down to the bottom of the seabed, reflecting off the backs of silver fish.
[06:35.08] Every rock, flower, shell, and fish shone like a rainbow.
[06:43.21] It was more beautiful than I can describe.
[06:50.50] Walking along the seabed, Captain Nemo pointed to the clusters of oysters attached to the rocks.
[07:03.20] I loved being in the water, even though there was the chance of becoming a shark's dinner.
[07:13.62] Fish swam before me like sparkling jewels.
[07:19.74] Plant life swayed in the gentle currents.
[07:25.44] I knew I was seeing things that no other scientist had ever seen.
[07:34.32] A shadow fell across me.
[07:38.28] I ducked, scared that it might be a shark, but I was wrong.
[07:44.98] It was a man, an Indian fisherman.
[07:53.55] I could see the bottom of his canoe above our heads on the surface of the water.
[07:59.65] He dived again and again, filling a bag with oysters each time.
[08:09.19] We were hidden behind a rock, so the diver didn't notice us.
[08:15.64] As we watched, the diver turned and suddenly looked terrified.
[08:22.37] He leaped for the safety of his canoe.
[08:28.02] A huge shark was swimming towards him, its eyes on fire and its jaws open.
[08:38.57] The diver flung himself to one side and the shark missed its prey.
[08:46.46] But its tails thrashed and knocked the poor man to the seabed.
[08:53.68] I was speechless with horror and unable to move.
[09:01.44] The shark circled, getting ready for a second attack.
[09:09.21] Captain Nemo took out his dagger and walked straight towards the monster, ready to fight face to face.
[09:20.20] The shark's jaws opened wide, showing rows of razor sharp teeth, and with a flick of its tail, it fired itself forward like a bullet.
[09:33.69] Nemo swerved at the last minute and buried his dagger deep into the shark's side.
[09:42.46] Through swirling red waters, I saw Nemo hanging on to one of the creature's fins, but he fell back as the shark shook him off.
[09:54.52] Its jaws snapped greedily together as it got ready to dive in for the kill.
[10:01.72] I wanted to help the captain and grabbed my knife, but my fingers were like jelly, and I couldn't get the knife out of my belt.
[10:12.27] But Ned, his harpoon in his hand, rushed towards the shark and struck it a deadly blow.
[10:23.01] After a few seconds, it went limp and lifeless.
[10:31.22] Ned helped the captain to his feet.
[10:34.67] Then Nemo went to the diver, took him in his arms and swam to the surface.
[10:43.17] The diver opened his eyes and stared in fear as Nemo laid him in his canoe.
[10:51.48] He'll live, Nemo said calmly.
[10:56.77] Then he gave Ned a cold smile.
[11:02.83] Thank you, Master Land, he said, for saving my life.
[11:14.42] You saved me from drowning.
[11:18.23] Now we're even, Ned replied.
[11:23.29] I don't owe you anything anymore.
[11:31.44] All this took only a few minutes, but it taught me a lot.
[11:39.54] I now knew that Nemo was a man of great courage.
[11:46.33] He wouldn't think twice about risking his life.
[11:51.47] He was ready to die for a man he didn't even know.
[12:00.16] But it gave me no more clues about his history.
[12:05.76] Why had he decided to live outside the law?
[12:12.79] Why did he hate the outside world so much?
[12:20.22] I should have let him end up in the jaws of a shark, Ned said later.
[12:28.22] Then his crew would have let us go.
[12:34.14] No, they wouldn't, I said angrily.
[12:42.63] They would have blamed us for his death and killed us for sure.
[12:50.48] You saved him because you're not ruled by hatred, Ned, Conceal said.
[12:58.05] You should be glad that you're not like Nemo.
[13:02.52] He's letting his hatred of the world destroy him.
[13:08.39] But Nemo saved the diver, I told them.
[13:15.36] So he can't be as bad as you two think.
[13:21.48] But what did I really think?
[13:28.40] Was I under his spell?
[13:33.59] Or did I just want to know all the secrets of the sea that Nemo promised to show me?
[13:42.28] Why had he attacked our ship?
[13:48.21] Maybe he was a murderer, or was he a victim of terrible injustice?