yrus Harding's reply, for he raised
himself slightly, and in a voice more feeble, but always intelligible--

"You are right, sir," he said. "I shall die here--it is my wish; and
therefore I have a request to make of you."

Cyrus Harding and his companions had drawn near the divan, and now
arranged the cushions in such a manner as to better support the dying
man.

They saw his eyes wander over all the marvels of this saloon, lighted by
the electric rays which fell from the arabesques of the luminous
ceiling. He surveyed, one after the other, the pictures hanging from
the splendid tapestries of the partitions, the _chef-d'oeuvres_ of the
Italian, Flemish, French, and Spanish masters; the statues of marble and
bronze on their pedestals; the magnificent organ, leaning against the
after-partition; the aquarium, in which bloomed the most wonderful
productions of the sea--marine plants, zoophytes, chaplets of pearls of
inestimable value; and, finally, his eyes rested on this device,
inscribed over the pediment of the museum--the motto of the _Nautilus_--

"_Mobilis in mobile_."

His glance seemed to rest fondly for the last time on these masterpieces
of art and of nature, to which he had limited his horizon during a
sojourn of so many years in the abysses of the seas.

Cyrus Harding respected the captain's silence, and waited till he should
speak.

After some minutes, during which, doubtless, he passed in review his
whole life, Captain Nemo turned to the colonists and said--

"You consider yourselves, gentlemen, under some obligations to me?"

"Captain, believe us that we would give our lives to prolong yours."

"Promise, then," continued Captain Nemo, "to carry out my last wishes,
and I shall be repaid for all I have done for you."

"We promise," said Cyrus Harding.

And by this promise he bound both himself and his companions.

"Gentlemen," resumed the captain, "to-morrow I shall be dead."

Herbert was about to utter an exclamation, but a sign from the captain
arrested him.

"To-morrow I shall die, and I desire no other tomb than the _Nautilus_.
It is my grave! All my friends repose in the depths of the ocean; their
resting-place shall be mine."

These words were received with profound silence.

"Pay attention to my wishes," he continued. "The _Nautilus_ is
imprisoned in this grotto, the entrance of which is blocked up; but,
although egress is impossible, the vessel may at least sink in the
abyss, an