the air circulating in the interior. Not one of them had come to imbibe the fresh air.
My first words were of thanks and gratitude to my two companions. Ned and Conseil had prolonged my existence for the last hours of this long agony. All my thanks could not repay such devotion.
“Oh!” said the Canadian, “it is not worth speaking about. What merit is there in what we did? None at all. It was only a question of arithmetic. Your life was worth more than ours, therefore it was necessary to preserve it.”
“No, Ned,” I replied, “it was not worth so much. No one is superior to a good and generous man, and you are that.”
“All right, all right!” repeated the Canadian in an embarrassed manner.
“And you, my brave Conseil, you have also suffered.”
“But nothing compared to Monsieur; I certainly did want air, but I believe that I did right. Besides, I looked at Monsieur, who was fainting, and that gave me no encouragement to breathe.”
“My friends,” I replied, much agitated, “we are bound to one another for ever, and I am under great obligations to you.”
“I shall take advantage of that,” replied the Canadian.
“How?” asked Conseil.
“Yes,” replied Ned: “I claim the right to take you with me when I leave the Nautilus.”
“But are we going in the right direction?” said Conseil.
“Yes,” I replied, “since we follow the sun, and here the sun is in the north.”
“Certainly,” replied Ned; “but it remains to be seen
