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“ Then sit down and listen , ” he said . “ In 1702 a great fleet of Spanish ships was bringing gold and silver from America , and French warships were protecting it . An English fleet was waiting for them , so the convoy went into Vigo Bay , on the north - west coast of Spain . Before the gold could be unloaded , the English attacked . The French admiral fought bravely , but when he saw that the treasure would fall into the hands of the enemy , he set fire to the ships and sank them all . ” “ And why are you telling me this ? ” “ Because we are in Vigo Bay , Professor . ” He opened the panels . All around the Nautilus , the bottom of the sea was lit by our lamp . Several of his men in diving suits were working among the black remains of old ships . They were pulling open rotten boxes and barrels , and out of them poured gold and silver bars , coins and jewels . The men carried their heavy loads back to the Nautilus and returned for more . “ Now you know where my millions come from , ” said the captain with a smile . “ I only have to pick up what men have lost , here and in a thousand other places where ships have sunk . ” “ It is a pity , ” I said , “ that these riches are of no use to the thousands of poor people who could live on them . ” At once I felt that I had hurt him . “ Of no use ! ” he cried . “ Do you think that I collect these treasures for myself ? Do you think that I do not know that there are suffering people and oppressed nations on this earth , poor people to help and victims to avenge ? Do you not understand ? ” He stopped , perhaps sorry that he had said so much . But now I understood where the gold had gone on the night near Crete . Whatever had driven this man under the sea , his heart still beat for the sufferings of humanity . The next morning Ned came to my room looking very disappointed . “ That captain had to stop at exactly the hour when we wanted to leave , ” he said . “ Yes , Ned . He had to visit his bank . ” At noon we learned that the Nautilus was a hundred and fifty leagues from the nearest land , and that it was heading south - west , away from Europe . Ned’s anger was terrible . For my part , I must admit that I felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my heart . XI . The Lost Continent That same night , at about eleven o’clock , Captain Nemo came to my room . “ Professor , you have only seen the bottom of the sea by daylight . Would you like to see it by night ? I warn you that the walk will be long and tiring . We shall have to climb a mountain . ” This time he did not invite Ned or Conseil . We put on our diving suits , but the captain did not give me a lamp , only a stick with an iron point . When we stepped onto the bottom of the Atlantic , it was nearly midnight , and the water was completely dark . But far away I saw a red light , which seemed to be a great fire burning under the sea . It lit our way faintly , and I soon understood why we did not need lamps .
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