Chapter 60

CHAPTER 18

At break of day the colonists regained in silence the entrance of the
cavern, to which they gave the name of "Dakkar Grotto," in memory of
Captain Nemo. It was now low-water, and they passed without difficulty
under the arcade, washed on the right by the sea.

The canoe was left here, carefully protected from the waves. As
additional precaution, Pencroft, Neb, and Ayrton drew it up on a little
beach which bordered one of the sides of the grotto, in a spot where it
could run no risk of harm.

The storm had ceased during the night. The last low mutterings of the
thunder died away in the west. Rain fell no longer, but the sky was yet
obscured by clouds. On the whole, this month of October, the first of the
southern spring, was not ushered in by satisfactory tokens, and the wind
had a tendency to shift from one point of the compass to another, which
rendered it impossible to count upon settled weather.

Cyrus Harding and his companions, on leaving Dakkar Grotto, had taken the
road to the corral. On their way Neb and Herbert were careful to preserve
the wire which had been laid down by the captain between the corral and the
grotto, and which might at a future time be of service.

The colonists spoke but little on the road. The various incidents of the
night of October 15th had left a profound impression on their minds. The
unknown being whose influence had so effectually protected them, the man
whom their imagination had endowed with supernatural powers, Captain Nemo,
was no more. His "Nautilus" and he were buried in the depths of the abyss.
To each one of them their existence seemed even more isolated than before.
They had been accustomed to count upon the intervention of that power which
existed no longer, and Gideon Spilett, and even Cyrus Harding, could not
escape this impression. Thus they maintained a profound silence during
their journey to the corral.

Towards nine in the morning the colonists arrived at Granite House.

It had been agreed that the construction of the vessel should be actively
pushed forward, and Cyrus Harding more than ever devoted his time and labor
to this object. It was impossible to divine what future lay before them.
Evidently the advantage to the colonists would be great of having at their
disposal a substantial vessel, capable of keeping the sea even in heavy
weather, and large enough to attempt, in case of need, a voyage of some
duration. Even if, when their vessel should be completed, the colonists
should not resolve to leave Lincoln Island as yet, in order to gain either
one of the Polynesian Archipelagoes of the Pacific or the shores of New
Zealand, they might at least, sooner or later, proceed to Tabor Island, to
leave there the notice