Mysterious Island Page #5

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Because your behaviour,

gentlemen, and ladies...

...in a struggle for survival,

has been quite admirable.

Now I am satisfied that I can use

your resourcefulness.

You see, that volcano is

on the verge of eruption.

A catastrophe of nature will

soon turn this island into cinders.

In short, Captain Harding,

I need your help...

...as much as you need mine.

Only you don't have much choice

if you want to live.

Now you listen to me. We won't do

anything because of your threats.

We have every intention of

going on living.

If, however, you'd care to

share the boat we're building...

...I think that might be arranged.

Thank you, but it wouldn't

be finished in time.

Also, it would be too small for my needs.

Fortunately, the ship that will carry us all

into safety is already waiting for us.

Out there.

My last bottle.

Another pressing reason

for moving out soon.

Captain Nemo, if we ever do get off this island,

I'd like to write your life story.

Yes. Whatever does a man do

on an island like this for eight years?

It depends on the man.

I did what I've always done...

...devoted my strength to

destroying the concept of warfare.

Your profession, Captain Harding.

Considering the ships and crews

that you've sunk without mercy...

...you can't disturb my conscience.

Can't I?

What I did was in the name of peace.

Your war, like all wars,

glories in devastation and death.

Well, my war will set men free.

That's a struggle that belongs

to all men, don't you think?

Just how have you been able

to carry out your crusade, Captain...

...without the

Nautilus in operation?

A good question, Mr. War Correspondent.

It will please Captain Harding to know

it did not entail the sinking of warships.

So instead, I've been conducting

experiments in horticultural physics.

Horti-what?

Experiments that will guarantee mankind

an inexhaustible food supply.

Yes. Surely you've seen the results.

-Hey, that crab!

-And the honeycomb!

The giant oysters you devoured.

The bird that almost devoured you.

With the Nautilus,

I was merely attacking the weapons of war.

But now I've conquered the causes:

famine and economic competition.

Imagine, wheat growing 40 feet high

and sheep the size of cattle.

When I've delivered my designs

and apparatus to the world...

...my work will be over.

That's what you meant when you said

our boat wouldn't be big enough.

-That is right.

-Now look.

You said that volcano was due to erupt

in the next few days.

Have we got time to just sit and talk?

Not really, but I should like

to if you don't mind.

I want to make it clear to you that

there is more than saving our lives...

...which interests me.

I must take the results of my work

back to civilization.

To do this, I realised I needed

a ship of size, like that pirate vessel.

And that's why you sent her to the bottom?

How would you dispose of

a crew of violent men in one stroke?

Do you actually believe

you can refloat a ship of that size?

I planted that charge to damage her

only in one small section.

I have the necessary

equipment to raise her.

And you all will supply the manpower.

To your very good health.

You will need it.

Now, Captain Harding...

...aren't you ready to dance

with the devil now?

You show me the pumps and the power

to raise that ship...

...and then you'll have

seven new waltz partners.

Very well.

Have a look.

This bottle, like a ship,

floats because it is filled with air.

Now, make a hole in either,

as I did in that pirate vessel...

...the air is displaced by water...

...and the bottle, like the ship,

sinks to the bottom.

Therefore, when we've set a patch

over the damaged section of the hull...

...we can pipe air into it...

...through the pipeline,

which we construct from bamboo.

The pressurised air entering here

drives the water out of the hold...

...which becomes afloat, and as it does so,

the ship will rise to the surface.

Fabricating the patch,

bolting it into place...

...making sure all sections of the hull

are airtight, including the hatchways...

...are the jobs you will

have to do under water.

I'll train you and equip you for it.

-Theoretically, it should work.

-Theoretically, we'll be dead if it doesn't.

Although Captain Nemo was confident,

was extremely doubtful.

Nevertheless, under his direction

we cut bamboo for the pipeline.

Nemo told us where there

were rubber trees...

...and the women gathered the sap

to seal the pipe connections.

And we laboriously manufactured

a large wooden patch...

...according to Nemo's

specifications.

We were to use it to repair the hull

of the damaged pirate ship.

Even Spilett worked hard on the raft

we would need.

Lady Mary and Elena arduously applied

the sealing substance...

...joining the lengths of bamboo...

...which had to be stretched

from the Nautilus' engine room...

...through tortuous rocky areas

to the water's edge and beyond.

Then Nemo gave us underwater gear

that he kept aboard his submarine.

The breathing apparatus had been

fabricated out of giant seashells.

We had to learn how to walk

with lead-weighted shoes on the seabed...

...and to withstand the pressures

of the water's depth.

Nemo then showed us the incredible

electric gun he had invented...

...for protection against

the dangers of the deep.

By learning to breathe

and walk on the seafloor...

...Nemo showed us the remains of

an ancient city and a forgotten civilization.

We could see

that once before a volcano had erupted...

...decreeing the death of all who are now

entombed in this weird, sunken citadel.

Herbert, these aren't finished here.

Well, we ought to be able

to fit the patch tomorrow morning.

Is that it? Is it starting now?

I was wrong. There won't be enough time.

Man, look at it. It's terrifying!

We've lost the race.

Still, there is always a small

chance it will subside.

I suggest we take cover in the

Nautilus and hope.

When the lava comes,

we'll just be trapped here, won't we?

How soon will that be?

Would it really help to know?

Two hours. Two hours, then.

Aren't we able to do anything

to save ourselves?

There's nothing that can be done.

Is this the infinitely resourceful

genius you told me about?

A man who says let yourself be trapped

and die without even lifting a finger.

I don't believe nothing can be done.

I don't believe it!

Lady Mary...

...I am a realist.

Captain Harding, is he right?

Have we worked so hard

and gone through all this...

...to be told there's no hope?

He is like you, a man of

faith, not of reason.

Captain.

Captain, come here, please.

I've got an idea.

Herbert, now look.

Say this is the envelope

of the balloon that brought us here.

It would only take

about half an hour to repair.

We attach it to the bamboo pipeline.

Then we place it inside the hull

of the sunken ship.

It would take, what, another hour.

Then with the pumps of the

Nautilus...

...we force air into the balloon cloth,

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