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III . Inside the Monster The fall pulled me down about twenty feet , but I am a good swimmer , and two strong kicks brought me back to the surface . In the darkness I saw a black shape moving away to the east , with its lights growing smaller , and I knew that it was the frigate . I was lost . “ Help ! ” I shouted , swimming after the ship . My clothes were heavy with water and pulled me down , so I swallowed salt water and began to sink . Then a strong hand took hold of my coat and pulled me up , and I heard a calm voice in my ear . “ If master would be so good as to lean on my shoulder , master would swim much more easily . ” “ Conseil ! ” I cried . “ Were you thrown into the sea too ? ” “ No , sir . But as I am in master’s service , I followed him . ” The good fellow thought that this was quite natural , and he told me that the frigate’s rudder and screw had been broken by the monster , so she could not turn back for us . With his knife he cut my clothes open from top to bottom and helped me out of them , and then I did the same for him . We decided to save our strength : while one of us lay still on his back , the other swam and pushed him along , and every ten minutes we changed places . It was a long , cold night , and at about one o’clock my arms and legs were seized by cramp , and Conseil had to hold me up alone . I could hear that he was losing his strength too . “ Leave me ! Leave me ! ” I said . “ Leave master ? Never ! I would rather drown first . ” Then the moon came out from behind a cloud , and far away I saw the frigate , but no boats . Conseil shouted for help , and to our amazement a voice answered him . Conseil swam towards it with his last strength , but I could do no more . My mouth filled with water , the cold crept over me , and I sank . Then I struck something hard , I was pulled up out of the sea , and I fainted . When I opened my eyes , somebody was rubbing my arms , and in the moonlight I saw a face which was not Conseil’s . “ Ned ! ” I cried . “ The same , sir , still looking for his prize ! The shock threw me into the sea too , but I was luckier than you , because I found a floating island almost at once . Or rather , I found our giant narwhal , and I soon understood why my harpoon could not go into its skin . This beast , sir , is made of iron ! ”
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