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“ Yes . And now he rests near his companions in our coral cemetery . Everyone else has forgotten them , but we have not . We dig the graves , and the coral seals our dead for ever . ” He hid his face in his hands for a moment . “ There , at least , they sleep in peace . ” “ Out of reach of the sharks , ” I said . “ Yes , sir , ” he answered seriously , “ of the sharks and of men . ” From that day I could not think of Captain Nemo as a scientist who simply wanted to live far from the world . He had locked us up , he had taken my telescope , and one of his men had been wounded by a sudden shock to the Nautilus . Captain Nemo was not only running away from men . Perhaps he was also planning a terrible revenge . VIII . The Pearl Diver The Nautilus now crossed the Indian Ocean towards the north - west . I spent my days reading in the library , writing my notes and watching the sea through the windows . Conseil kept a diary of his own , which was full of Latin names . He wrote , for example , that he had seen “ certain fish of the genus petrodon , with red backs and white chests ” . Ned only wanted to know which of them were good to eat . Towards the end of January we came near the island of Ceylon . Captain Nemo looked at the map and turned to me . “ Ceylon is famous for its pearl fisheries , ” he said . “ Would you like to visit one , Professor ? The fishing season has not begun yet , so we shall not see the fishermen , but we can walk on the oyster beds . By the way , are you afraid of sharks ? ” “ Sharks ? ” I said . “ I must admit that I do not know them very well yet . ” “ We are used to them , ” he answered , “ and you will get used to them too . We shall be armed , and perhaps we shall hunt one on the way . Until tomorrow , then , and early . ” He left the saloon as if he had invited me to a picnic , and I passed my hand over my forehead , which was wet with cold sweat . When Ned and Conseil came in , they were delighted with the plan , because nobody had mentioned sharks to them . They asked me to tell them about pearls . “ To a poet , a pearl is a tear of the sea , ” I said . “ To a scientist , it is a small mass of the same shining matter that lines the inside of the shell . It grows around a grain of sand , layer after layer , year after year . Some oysters contain many pearls . I once read about an oyster which held a hundred and fifty sharks . ” “ A hundred and fifty sharks ! ” cried Ned . “ Did I say sharks ? ” I said quickly . “ I meant a hundred and fifty pearls , of course . ” Then , as calmly as I could , I asked Ned if he was afraid of sharks . “ Me ? I’m a harpooner . It’s my job to laugh at them , ” he said .
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