I saw a cabin in which Conseil and Ned Land had enjoyed an excellent meal. Thence a door opened into a kitchen, situated between the immense store-rooms.
There the electricity, more energetic and more obedient than gas, did all the cooking. The wires, passing into the fireplaces, communicated to the platinum sponges a heat which was evenly maintained. It equally heated the distilling apparatus, which, by vaporisation, made a very drinkable water. From the kitchen opened a bath-room, comfortably arranged, and with hot and cold water laid on. Beyond the kitchen was the sailors’ cabin. But the door was closed, and I was not able to inspect its arrangements, which might have given me some idea of the number of men required to navigate the Nautilus.
At the end another bulkhead separated this cabin from the engine-room. A door was opened, and I found myself in the compartment in which Captain Nemo, a most accomplished engineer, had arranged the machinery.
This engine-room, well-lighted, was of great extent. It was properly divided into two parts, one for the elements which produced the electricity, the other for the mechanism which moved the screw.
I was at first surprised by the smell—sui generis—which pervaded the room. Captain Nemo noticed my impressions.
“It is only an escape of gas produced by the use of the sodium—but it is not very unpleasant. Moreover, every morning we purify and ventilate the ship thoroughly.”
But now I began to examine with a lively interest the engine of the Nautilus.
