During some lulls of the wind and sea, I fancied I heard several times vague sounds, a sort of fugitive harmony produced by words of command.

What was, then, the mystery of this submarine craft, of which the whole world vainly sought an explanation?
What kind of beings existed in this strange boat?
What mechanical agent caused its prodigious speed?
Daybreak appeared.

The morning mists surrounded us, but they soon cleared off.

I was about to examine the hull, which formed on deck a kind of horizontal platform, when I felt it gradually sinking.
"Oh! confound it!" cried Ned Land, kicking the resounding plate.
"Open, you inhospitable rascals!" Happily the sinking movement ceased.

Suddenly a noise, like iron works violently pushed aside, came from the interior of the boat.