Chapter 10
The Underwater CoalfieldsTHE NEXT DAY, February 20, I overslept. I was so exhausted from
the night before, I didn't get up until eleven o'clock. I dressed
quickly. I hurried to find out the Nautilus's heading. The
instruments indicated that it was running southward at a speed of
twenty miles per hour and a depth of 100 meters.
Conseil entered. I described our nocturnal excursion to him, and
since the panels were open, he could still catch a glimpse of this
submerged continent.
In fact, the Nautilus was skimming only ten meters over the soil
of these Atlantis plains. The ship scudded along like an air
balloon borne by the wind over some prairie on land; but it would
be more accurate to say that we sat in the lounge as if we were
riding in a coach on an express train.
