 Chapter 1 of Captain Antifur by Jules Verne This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information on a volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Joe DeNoya, Somerset, New Jersey. Captain Antifur by Jules Verne Chapter 1 It is September 9th, 1831. The captain left his cabin at 6 o'clock. The sun is rising. Or to speak more exactly, its light is illuminating the lower clouds in the east, for its disc is still below the horizon. A long, luminous effluence plays over the surface of the sea, which is broken into gentle waves by the morning breeze. After a calm night there is every promise of a fine day. One of those September days in which the temperate zone occasionally rejoices at the decline of the hot season. The captain rests against the skylight of the poop, places the telescope in his right eye, and sweeps the horizon. Lowering the telescope, he approaches the man at the wheel, a gray-bearded, keen-sighted old man, who blinks as he looks at him. When did you come on duty? At 4 o'clock, sir. The two men speak a language that no European would understand unless he had sailed in a Levant. It is a dialect of Turkish and Syriac. Nothing new? Nothing, sir. And you have sighted no ship since the morning? Only one, a large three-master, which would have crossed us on the opposite tack, and I left a point so as to leave her as far off as possible. You did well. And now? The captain looks searchingly round the horizon. Ready about, he shouted loudly. The men on watch ran to their stations. The helm was put down, the sheets were shortened in, the ship came up in the wind and went off on the opposite tack toward the northwest. She was a brigantine of 400 tons, a merchant vessel used as a yacht. The captain had under his orders a mate and 15 men, whose jacket and cap and wide trousers and sea boots were those of the mariners of Eastern Europe. There was no name in the brigantine, either under the counter or the bow. There was no flag. To avoid any salute, the brigantine changed her course whenever the lookout reported a sail in sight. Was she then a pirate? For pirates were not unknown in those days in these parts, which feared pursuit. No. A search for arms on board would have been in vain, and it was not with so small a crew that a vessel would run the risk of so dangerous a trade. Was she a smuggler working along the coast or from one island to another? By no means. The keenest custom house officer might have gone down into her hold, overhauled her cargo, dived into her packages, ransacked her cases without discovering any dutyable merchandise. To tell the truth, she had no cargo at all. She carried provisions for several years in her hold, and in the lazarette there were three oak casks strongly hooked with iron. The rest was mere ballast, heavy ballast, to enable her to carry so large a spread of canvas. Perhaps you may think that these three barrels contained powder or some other explosive. Evidently not, for none of the indispensable precautions were taken in entering the storeroom in which they were kept. Besides, not one of the sailors could have given you any information on the subject, neither on the Brigantine's destination, nor on the motives which made her change her course whenever a ship appeared in sight, nor on the goings to and fro during the 15 months she had been at sea, nor even of her position at the present moment, sometimes under full sail, sometimes under hardly any at all, sometimes on an inland sea, sometimes on a balance ocean. During this inexplicable voyage, what highlands had been sighted which the captain had immediately steered away from, what islands had been discovered which the helmet once had shifted to avoid. Looking at the logbook, you would have found the strangest changes of course, which neither the caprisis of the wind nor the appearance of the sky would possibly explain. That was a secret between the captain, a grizzling man of 46, and a personage of lofty mean who at the moment appeared at the commanding. Nothing, he asked. Nothing, Your Excellency, was the reply. A shrug of the shoulders, betraying some annoyance, terminated this conversation of four words. Then the personage went down in the steps and regained his cabin. There he stretched himself on a couch and abandoned himself to a kind of tarpour. He could not have been more motionless as sleep had taken possession of him, and yet he was not asleep. He seemed to be under the influence of a fixed idea. He might be 50 years old. His tall stature, his powerful head, his abundant hair with the gray showing in it. His large beard spread over his chest, his black eyes and their keen glances, his proud but evidently gloomy physiognomy. The dignity of his bearing indicated a man of noble birth. A large brinew sprayed at the sleeves, fringed with many colored scales enveloped him from shoulders to feet, and on his head he wore a greenish cap with a black tassel. Two hours later, his breakfast was brought into him by a boy. It was laid on a rolling table fixed at the floor of the cabin, which was covered with a thick carpet, diapered with raised flowers. He scarcely touched the dainty dishes, but devoted his chief attention to the hot and perfumed coffee, served in two small, finely chased silver cups. The venomar ghillie was placed before him, crowned with scented fumes, and with the amber mouthpiece between his lips, he resumed his reverie amid the fragrant vapors of Latakia. Part of the day was thus passed, while the Brigantine, gently cradled on the billows, continued her uncertain course over the sea. About four o'clock, his excellency rose, took a few turns backwards and forwards, stopped before the light ports open to the breeze, looked away to the horizon and stood before a sort of trapped door, which was covered by a piece of carpet. This door swung open by pressing the foot of one of the angles, closing the way down into the storeroom beneath the cabin floor. There lay side by side the three casks we had spoken of. The distinguished person had stooped over the trap and remained in this attitude for some seconds, as if the sight of the casks had hypnotized him. Then he stood upright. No, he murmured. No hesitation. If I cannot find an unknown island where I can bury them in secret, it would be better to throw them into the sea. He shut down the trap door then he went to the companion stairs and mounted to the poop. It was five o'clock in the afternoon. There was no change in the weather. The sun was dappled with white clouds. Barely healing to the gentle breeze, the vessel glided along the port tack, leaving a light lacework of foam to vanish in her wake. His excellency slowly looked round the clear horizon. Far off, at a distance of from 14 to 15 miles, he could see moderately high land, but there was no sharp ridge to break the line of sea and sky. The captain walking toward him was received by the inevitable, nothing, which provoked the inevitable reply, nothing, your excellency. The personage remained silent for a few minutes. Then he went off and sat down on one of the seats while the captain walked to windward and in an excited way, he worked about with his telescope. Captain, he said at last, what is your excellency desire? To note where we are exactly, the captain took a large-scale chart and opened it out on the deck. Here, he answered, pointing with his pencil to where a line of latitude crossed the meridian. At what distance from that island to the east? Twenty-two miles. And from that land? About twenty-six. No one on board knows where we are just now. No one save you and I, your excellency. Not even on what sea we are? We have been sailing so many different courses for so long, that the best of seamen could not tell you. Ah, why has ill fortune prevented us from reaching some island that has escaped the search of other navigators? Or if not an island, an inlet, or even a rock, which I alone should know the position? There would I bury this treasure and in a voyage of a few days I can recover it if ever the time came for me to return. And so saying, he lapsed into silence. With a long look down over the taff rail into the water, which was so transparent that he could see quite eighty feet beneath him. He returned to the captain and with a certain vehemence exclaimed, I will throw my riches into the sea. It will never give them up again, your excellency. Let them perish rather than fall into the hands of my enemies or those who are unworthy of them. As you please. If before tonight we have not discovered some unknown island, those three castes will be thrown into the sea. Aye aye, your excellency, replied the captain, who at once gave orders to haul a little closer to Windward. His excellency returned to the stern and, sitting down on the deck, resumed the dreamy state which was habitual to him. The sun was sinking rapidly. At this time of year, a fortnight before the equinox, it was set but a few degrees from the west, that is to say in exactly the direction the captain was looking. Was there in his direction any high promontory on the shore of the continent or on some island? Impossible. Impossible, for the chart showed no island within a radius of from 15 to 20 miles and this on a sea well known to navigators. Was this then a solitary rock? A reef rising but a few yards above the surface of the waves, which was served as the spot which up to then his excellency had sought in vain as a deposit for his treasure. There was nothing answering to it on the very careful charts of this portion of the sea. An island with the breakers around it, girdled with mist and spray, was not lucky to have escaped as sailors noticed. The charts should have shown his true position and according to the chart he had, the captain could declare that there was not even a reef marked anywhere within sight. It is an illusion he thought when he had again brought his telescope to bear on the suspected spot, although he picked it up immediately. In fact, there was nothing so indistinct within the telescope's field of view. At this moment, a few minutes after six, the solar disk was just in the horizon and hissing at the touch of the sea. If we believe what the Iberians used to say. At his setting and at his rising, refraction still showed his position when he was below the horizon. The luminous rays obliquely projected on the surface of the waves extended as in a long diameter from west to east. The last ripples like rays of fire gleamed beneath the dying breeze. This light suddenly went out as the upper edge of the disk touched the line of water and shot forth its green ray. The hull of the Brigittean became dark while the upper canvas was shown purple in the last little light. As the shades of twilight began to fall, a voice was heard from the bowels. Ho there! What does the matter ask the captain? Land on the starboard bow. Land. And in the direction of the captain I've been watching the misty outline a few minutes before. He had not been mistaken then. At the shout of the lookout, they were looking away to the west. The captain, with his telescope slung behind him, grasped the main shrouds and slowly melted the rat lines to reach the cross trees and there sit a stride at them. With his glass at his eye, he looked at the land in sight. The lookout was not mistaken. Six or seven miles away was a small island, its limit standing out black against the sky. You would have said it was a reef of moderate height, crowned with a cloud of sulfurous vapor. Later, a sailor would have said it was a smoke of a large steamer passing in the offing. But in 1831, no one imagined that the ocean would one day be plowed by these monsters of navigation. The captain had little time to look at it or think about it. The island was almost immediately hidden behind the evening mist. No matter, he had seen it and seen it well. There's no doubt of that. The captain descended to the poop and a distinguished personage, well, yes, Your Excellency, land in sight and islet at least at what distance? About six miles to the westward and the chart shows nothing in that direction? Nothing. You're sure about that? Sure. It must be an unknown island then? I think so. Is that possible? Yes, Your Excellency, if the island be of recent formation. Recent? I'm inclined to think so, for it appeared to me to be wrapped in vapor. In these parts, the plutonic forces are often in action and manifest themselves by submarine upheavals. I hope what you say is true. I cannot wish for anything better than that one of these masses should suddenly rise from the sea. It does not belong to anybody. Or rather, Your Excellency, it belongs to the first occupant. That would be me then? Yes, to you. Steer straight for that island. Straight? But careful, replied the captain. Our Brigantine would be in danger of being dashed to pieces if the reefs extend far out. I proposed to wait for daylight to make out the position and then land on the islet. Wait then. This was only acting like a seaman. It would never do to risk a ship in shoals that were unknown. In approaching an unknown coast, the night must be avoided and the lead used. His Excellency went back to his cabin. If he slept at all, cabin boy would have no occasion to call him at dawn. He would be on deck before sunrise. The captain would not leave his post, but prefer to watch through the night which slowly passed. The horizon became more and more obscure. Overhead, the clouds became invisible as the diffused light left them. About one o'clock the breeze increased slightly. Only sufficient sail was set to keep the vessel under the control of her helm. The firmament became lighted by the early constellations. In the north, Polaris gazed gently with emotionless eye, while Octurus shone brightly to continue the curve of the Great Bear. On the other side of the pole, Cassiopeia traced her sparkling W. Below, Capella appeared where she had appeared the day before and would appear on the morrow, allowing for the four minutes of advance with which her side rail day begins. On the surface of the sea reigned the inexplicable torpor due to the fall of the night. The captain, resting on his elbow in the bow, never moved from the windlass against which he lent. Motionless, he thought only of the spot which he could see through the gloom. He doubted still, and the darkness made the doubts more serious. Was he the sport of an illusion? Was this really a new islet risen from the sea? Yes, certainly. He knew these parts. He had been here a hundred times before. He had fixed his position within a mile. And eight or ten leagues were between him and the nearest land. But if he was not mistaken, if in this spot an islet had risen from the sea, would it not be already taken possession of? Had not some navigator hoisted his flag on it? Was there no gleam of a fire indicating that this place was inhabited? It was possible that this massive rocks had been there for some weeks, and how could it have escaped a sailor's notice? Hence the captain's uneasiness and his impatience for the daylight. He saw nothing to indicate the islet's position, not even the reflection of the vapors which seemed to envelop it, and which might have thrown a phylogenous hue on the darkness. Everywhere the air and the water were mingled in the same obscurity. The hours rolled by. The circumpolar constellations had described a quarter circle around the axis of the firmament. About four o'clock, the sky began to brighten in the east northeast, and the clouds came into view overhead. Two hours and more were still to run before the sun rose, but in such a light an experienced mariner could find the reported island, if it existed. At this moment the distinguished personage came on deck and approached the captain. Well, this islet, he asked? There it is, Your Excellency, replied the captain, pointing to a heap of rocks less than two miles away. Let us land there, as you wish. End of chapter 1 Chapter 2 of Captain Antefer by Jules Verne This little box recording is in the public domain. Recorded by Joe De Noia, Sonorset, New Jersey. Chapter 2 The reader will hardly be astonished at Mohammed Ali entering on the scene at the beginning of this chapter. Whatever may have been the importance of the illustrious Pasha in the history of the Levant, he must inevitably have appeared in the story on account of the unpleasant experiences the owner of the Brigantine had had with the founder of modern Egypt. At this epoch, Mohammed Ali had not begun with the army of his son Ibrahim, the conquest of Palestine and Syria, which belonged to Sultan Mahmud, the sovereign of Turkey in Europe and Turkey in Asia. On the contrary, the Sultan and the Pasha were good friends, the Pasha having helped the Sultan successfully to reduce the Moria and overcome the attempt at independence of the little kingdom of Greece. For some years, Mohammed Ali remained quietly in their prekelic. But undoubtedly, this state of vassalage, which made them mere subjects of the Porte, lay heavy on their ambition and they were only waiting an opportunity for breaking the bonds which had existed for centuries. There then lived in Egypt a personage whose fortune, accumulated for many generations, made him one of the most important men in the country. He lived at Cairo. His name was Kamalik Pasha, and he it was whom the captain of the Brigantine had dressed as Excellency. He was an educated man, well versed in the mathematical sciences, and in their practical and even fanciful application. But above all things, he was steeped deep in Orientalism and in Ottoman at heart, though in Egyptian by birth. Having persuaded himself that the resistance to the attempts of western Europe to reduce the people of the Levant to subjection would be more stubborn under Sultan Mahmud than under Mohammed Ali. He had thrown himself heart and soul into the contest. Born in 1780 of a family of soldiers, he was scarcely 20 years of age when he had joined the army of the Jezer, where he soon attained by his courage the title and rank of Pasha. In 1799 he had many times risked his liberty, his fortune, and his life in fighting against the French under Bonaparte. At the battle of El-Arish he was made prisoner with the Turks and would have been set at liberty and he had signed an undertaking not to bear arms again against the French. But resolved to struggle to the end and reckoning on an unlikely change of fortune obstinate in his deeds as he was in his ideas he refused to give his parole. He succeeded in escaping and became more energetic than ever in the various encounters which distinguished the conflict of the two races. At the surrender of Jaffa on the 6th of March he was among those given up under the capitulation on condition that their lives were saved. When these prisoners through the number of 4000 for the most part Albanians or Arnauts were brought before Bonaparte the conqueror was much disturbed at the capture figuring that these redoubtable soldiers would go to reinforce the Pasha's garrison at Acre. And even in those days showing that he was one of those conquerors who stick at nothing he gave orders that the prisoners should be shot. This time there was no offer as to the prisoners of El-Arish to set them at liberty on condition of serving again. No, they were condemned to die. They fell on the beach and those who in the bullets had not struck believing that mercy had been shown them were shot down as they ran along the shore. It was not in this place nor in this way that Kamalik Pasha was to perish. He met with some men Frenchmen be it said to their honour who were disgusted at this frightful massacre necessitated perhaps by the exigencies of war. These brave fellows managed to save several of the prisoners. One of them, a merchant seaman was prowling a night round the reefs of which several of the victims were lying when he found Kamalik seriously wounded. He carried him away to a place of safety took care of him and restored him to health. Would Kamalik ever forget such a service? No. How he rewarded it is the object of this curious story to tell. Briefly then, Kamalik Pasha was on his feet again in three months. Bonaparte's campaign had ended in the failure before anger. Under the command of Abdullah, Pasha of Damascus the Turkish army had crossed the Jordan on the 4th of April and the British fleet under Sidney Smith was cruising off the coast of Syria. Bonaparte had hurried up Cleaver's division with Junot and had himself taken the command and routed the Turks to the battle of Mount Tabora. But he was too late when he returned to threaten anger. A reinforcement had arrived. The plague appeared and on the 20th of May he decided to raise the siege. Kamalik thought he might venture to return to Syria. To return to Egypt which was much disturbed at the time would have been the height of imprudence. It was better to wait and Kamalik waited for five years. Thanks to his wealth he was able to live in easy circumstances in the provinces beyond the reach of Egyptian Cavettasness. These years were marked by the entry on the scene of a mere son of the Aga who had been remarkable at the battle of Abukar in 1799. Mohammed Ali already enjoyed such influence that he was able to persuade the Marmalukes to revolt against the governor Koshru Pasha to excite them against the chief to depose Korshin, Koshru's successor and finally in 1806 to proclaim himself viceroy with the consent of the sublime porting. Two years before the jazzer, the protector of Kamalik Pasha, had died. Finding himself alone he felt there would be no danger in his returning to Cairo. He was then 27 and new inheritances had made him one of the richest men in Egypt. Having no wish to marry being of a very uncommunicative nature preferring a retired life he had retained a strong liking for the profession of arms and until an opportunity came for him to exercise his skill he would find an outlet for the activity so natural to his age in long and distant voyages. But if Kamalik Pasha was not to have any direct heir for his enormous fortune were there not collaterals ready to receive it? A certain morad born in 1786 six years younger than he was was his cousin. Differing in their political opinions they never saw each other although they both lived at Cairo. Kamalik was devoted to the Turkish interest and as we have seen had proved his devotion to the cause. Morad opposed the Ottoman influence by his words and actions and became the most ardent advisor of Muhammad Ali and his enterprises against Sultan Mahmud. This morad the only relative of Kamalik Pasha as poor as the other was rich could not depend on his cousin's fortune unless a reconciliation took place. This was not likely. On the contrary animosity violent hate even had made the abyss deeper between the only two members of this family. 18 years elapsed from 1886 to 1824 during which the reign of Muhammad Ali was untroubled by foreign war. He had however to struggle against the increasing influence and formidable agitation of the Marmaloaks his accomplices to whom he owed his throne. A general massacre throughout Egypt in 1811 delivered him from this troublesome militia. Thenceforth long years of tranquility were assured to the subjects of the Viceroy whose relations with the Davan continued excellent in appearance at least for the Sultan distrusted his vassal and not without reason. Kamalik was often the mark of Morad's ill-will Morad taking advantage of the testimonies of sympathy he received from the Viceroy was continually inciting his master against a rich Egyptian. He reminded him that he was a part of the Mahmud a friend of the Turks and that he had shed his blood for them. According to his account he was a dangerous personage a man to be watched perhaps a spot. This enormous fortune in one man's hand was a danger. In short he said all he could to awaken the greed of the patente without principle and without scruple. Kamalik would have taken no notice of this. At Cairo he lived alone and would have been difficult to devise a plot to catch him. When he left Egypt it was on a long voyage. Then on a ship that belonged to him commanded by Captain Zo five years his junior and entirely devoted to him he cruised on the seas of Asia Africa and Europe his life without an object and marked by a haughty indifference to humanity. We may even ask if he had forgotten the sailor to whom he owed his escape from the fuselage of Bonaparte certainly not. Such services he did not forget but had these services received their reward that was not likely. Would it enter the thoughts of Kamalik Pasha to recognize them later on waiting an opportunity of doing so until one of his maritime expeditions took him into French waters? Who could tell? In process of time the rich Egyptian could not hide from himself that he was narrowly watched during his stay in Cairo. Several journeys he wished to undertake were forbidden by order of the viceroy. Owing to the incessant suggestions of his cousin his liberty wasn't danger. In 1823 Marad at the age of 37 married in a way that did not promise to improve his position in the world. He had espoused a young fella almost a slave. There is no room for astonishment then that he continued the torturous proceedings by which he hoped to ruin Kamalik by means of influence he possessed with Muhammad Ali and his son Ibrahim. Egypt however was about to begin a period of military activity in which its arms were to have brilliant success. In 1824 Greece was against Mahmoud who called on his vassal to aid him in putting down the rebellion. Ibrahim at the head of 120 sail started for the Moria and landed there. The opportunity had come for Kamalik to have an object in life to venture in the perilous enterprises which for 20 years he had abandoned and with all the more ardour as it was to maintain the rights of the port menaced by the rising of the Peloponnesis. He would have joined Ibrahim's army he was refused he would have served as an officer in the Sultan's troops was this not in consequence of the ill omen influence of those whose interest it was not to lose sight of their millionaire relative? The struggle of the Greeks for independence was to end in the victory of that heroic nation. After three years during which they were inhumanly treated by Ibrahim's troops the combined action of the allied fleets destroyed the Ottoman navy at the battle of Navarino in 1827 and obliged the vassal to recall his vassals and army to Egypt. Ibrahim then returned to Cairo followed by Morat who had been through the Peloponnesian campaign from that day Camelik's position grew worse Mahmoud's hatred became all the more violent in 1829 owing to his having a son born of his marriage with the young fella his family was increasing and not his fortune evidently his cousin's fortune was find its way into his hands the viceroy would not refuse to sanction this boleation such readiness to oblige is not unknown in Egypt nor in other less oriental civilized countries Saouk it may be as well to remember was the name of Morat's child under these circumstances Camelik saw that there was only one thing to do to get his fortune together the greater part of it being in diamonds and precious stones and depart with it out of Egypt this he did with as much prudence as ability thanks to the assistance of some foreigners at Alexandria in whom the Egyptian did not hesitate to trust his confidence was well placed and the operation was accomplished in the utmost secrecy who were these foreigners to what nation did they belong Camelik Pasha alone knew three casks of double staves hooked with iron similar to those which Spanish wines are put suffice to contain all his wealth they were secretly placed on board a Neapolitan Spironeer and their owner accompanied by Captain Zau went with them as a passenger not without escaping many dangers for he had been followed from Cairo to Alexandria and kept under observation all the time he was in that town five days afterwards the Spironeer landed him at Latakia and thence he gained Aleppo which he had chosen for his new residence now he was in Syria what did he to fear from Morat under the protection of this old general Abdullah now Pasha of Acre would Mohammed Ali however daring he might be ventured to seize him in a province of which the sublime Porte extended its all-powerful jurisdiction and yet this was possible in fact this very year 1830 Mohammed Ali broke off his relations with the Sultan to break the bonds of vassalage which attached him to Mahmoud to add Syria to his Egyptian possessions perhaps to become sovereign of the Ottoman Empire where ideas not too high for the vice-proclaimed ambition the pretext was not difficult to find fellas they were treated by the agents of Mohammed Ali had sought refuge in Syria under Abdullah's protection the vice-roy demanded the extradition of these peasants the Pasha of Acre refused Mohammed Ali requested the Sultan's permission to reduce Abdullah by force of arms Mahmoud replied at first that the fellas being Turkish subjects he had no intention of handing them over to the vice-roy of Egypt but a little time after desirous of securing the aid of Mohammed Ali or at least his neutrality at the outbreak of the revolt of the Pasha of Skutari he gave the required permission several events among others the appearance of the cholera in the ports of Levant delayed the departure of Ibrahim at the head of 32,000 men at 22 ships of war Kamalik had time to think of the danger to him of a landing of Egyptians in Syria he was then 51 in 51 years of a life Ibrahim brings a man almost to the threshold of old age wearied discouraged long and only for the rest he had hoped to find in this quiet town of Aleppo here had events again turned against him was it prudent for him to remain in Aleppo while Ibrahim was preparing to invade Syria admittedly his business was only with the Pasha of Acre but after he had turned out Abdullah with the vice-roy halted his victorious army would his ambition be satisfied with the mere chastisement of the guilty would he not take advantage of the opportunity to attempt the conquest of this Syria which had been the constant object of his desires and after Acre would not Damascus and Sidon and Aleppo be threatened by the soldiers of Ibrahim it was at least to be feared so Kamalik Pasha took a final resolution this time they did not want him but the fortune covered by Marad and of this his relative would deprive him at the cost of handing over the greater part to the vice-roy well he would make a way with his fortune and hide it in some secret place where no one would discover it then he would see how matters turned out later on if Kamalik decided to leave these oriental countries to which he was so much attached or if Syria became safe enough for him to live there in security he could bring back his treasure from his hiding place Captain Zo approved Kamalik's plans and offered to carry them out in such a way that this secret would never be discovered a brigantine was bought a crew was formed of sailors having no bond between them not even the bottom nationality the cast were put on board without anyone suspecting what they contained on the 13th April the vessel on which Kamalik embarked as a passenger at the port of Latakia was put to sea his object, as we know was to discover an island the position of which should only be known to himself and the captain it was therefore necessary for the crew to be justified that they could not guess the direction followed by the brigantine for 15 months Captain Zo acted with this object in view and changed his course in every possible way did he come out of the Mediterranean and if he did, did he go back into it did he not cross the other seas of the old continent was he even in Europe when he sighted this unknown island certain it is that the brigantine had been in very different climates one after the other in very different zones the best sailor on board cannot say where they actually were provisioned for several years they had never touched land but when they wanted water and the watering places were only known to captain Zo the voyage was long Kamalik had grown so hopeless of discovering his island that he was about to throw his diamonds into the sea when the unexpected at last appeared such were the events related to the history of Egypt and Syria which was necessary to mention they will not trouble us again our story will have a more romantic voyage than this grave beginning might lead the reader to expect but it had to rest on a solid basis and this, the author has given it or at least he has attempted to do so End of Chapter 2 Chapter 3 of Captain Antifa by Jules Verne this little box recording is in the public domain recording by Joe DeNoya Somerset, New Jersey Chapter 3 Captain Zo had given his orders to the man at the helm and reduced the canvas till it was but just enough to keep the steerage way on the vessel a gentle morning breeze was blowing from the northeast the burgantine neared the island another jib, four top sail and mainsail, the other sails being furrowed if the sea rose she would find shelter at the very foot of the island while Kamalik rested on his elbows on the poop the captain took up his position forward and acted as a prudent mariner does when approaching a coast on whose bearings his chart gives no indication there was the danger, in fact under these calm waters is difficult to recognize where the rocks may be almost at water level there was nothing to show the channel to be followed the vicinity was apparently very open there was no appearance of a reef the boson who was working the lead found no sudden shoaling of the sea the island was seen from about a mile off at this hour the sun was lighting it nobly from east to west after clearing it of the mists with which it had been bathed at daybreak it was an islet that nothing but an islet which no state would have claimed its possession for it would not have been worthwhile speaking generally it was a plateau measuring some 600 yards around an irregular oval about 300 yards in length and from 120 to 160 wide it was not an agglomeration of rocks haped up in disorder one on the other in seeming defiance of the laws of equilibrium it was evidently caused by a quiet and slow uprising of the earth's crust the edges were not cut up into creeks or indentations it did not resemble one of the shells in which capricious nature revels in the thousand fancies but rather had the regularity of the upper valve of an oyster with a carapace of a turtle this carapace rose towards the center in such a way that its highest point was 150 feet above the level of the sea were there any trees on its surface? not one any traces of vegetation? none any vestiges of exploration? nowhere the island then had never been inhabited there was no doubt about that and it cannot be considering that its bearings had never been noted and its utter barrenness his excellency cannot have wished for a better as a secret deposit for the treasure he was about to confide in the interior of the earth it would seem as though nature had made it expressly said captain zoe slowly the brigantine approached it gradually reducing sales as she did so when she was within a cable's length of the shore the order was given to let go of the anchor the anchor dropped from the cat head and dragging the chain after it through the hall's hole struck ground at 28 favels the slope of the shore was thus very sudden on this side at all events a ship can come close up without risk of grounding although it would be safer for her to remain at a distance as the brigantine swung to her anchor the ship had no idea as the brigantine swung to her anchor the boats unfurled the last sail and captain zoe mounted the poot shall I man a large boat your excellency no, the yaw I would rather we two went alone a minute afterwards the captain with two light oars in his hands was seated in the bow of the yaw the pascha being in the stern in a few moments the boat had reached the shore where landing was easy the grapple was fixed firmly in the crack of the rock and its excellency took possession of the island no flag was run up no gun was fired it was not a state taking possession of it but an individual who landed with the attention of leaving it in a few hours camelik and captain zoe remarked to begin with that the flanks of the island had no sandy base to rest on but rose directly from the sea at an inclination of from 50 to 60 degrees hence doubtless its formation was due to an elevation of the bed of the sea they commenced their explorations by getting around the island walking over a sort of crystallized quartz bare of all footprints nowhere did the shore appear to be worn by the action of the waves on the dry and crystallized surface the only liquid was water left in crevices and depressions here and there by the last rains there was not a trace of vegetation not even a lichen or a marine moss or any of those hardy plants sturdy enough to thrive among the rocks where the wind may have scattered their germs there were no mollusks either living or dead an anomaly truly inexplicable here and there were a few traces of birds which could be counted for by the presence of a few gulls the sole representations of animal life and its vicinity when the circuit of the island was completed camelik and the captain walked toward the round an elevation in the center nowhere was there a trace of a recent visitor otherwise everywhere was the same crystalline freedom not a spot or a stain when its excellency in the captain reached the center of the carapace they were about 150 feet above the sea sitting down they carefully looked around the horizon over the vast surface of waves reflecting the solar rays there was no sign of land the island thus belonged to no group of cyclities no archipelago however small captain zoe telescope in hand searched in vain for a sail in sight the sea was deserted and no risk of being seen during a few hours should remain at her mornings you are certain of our position on this 9th of September? ask the posture I am certain your excellency and to leave no doubt I will take the position again that is important but how do you account for this islet not appearing on the chart? because in my opinion is a very recent formation in any case it ought to be all the better for you that is not on the chart and that we are sure of finding it when you wish to return yes when these troubleous times are over what does it matter if these millions remain buried among these rocks for long, long years will they not be safer here than in my house at Aleppo? it is not here that the viceroy or his son Ibrahim with that rascally morad would come to steal them leave this fortune to morad I would rather leave it at the bottom of the sea that would be a pity said captain zoe the sea never gives back what you entrust to its depths it is lucky that we found this islet it at least will guard your riches and faithfully restore them come, said Kamalik Pasha rising, we must be quick about what we are about it would be better if our ship were not seen I am ready no one on board knows where we are no one your excellency not even in what sea of the old or the new world we have been sailing the ocean for 15 months and in 15 months a ship can travel great distances between the continents that are whereabouts being known the Pasha and the captain return to the y'all as they embarked the captain said when we have finished our work here is it the intention of your excellency to steer straight for Syria? that is not my intention before I return to Aleppo I will wait until the soldiers of Ibrahim have evacuated the province and the country recovered its tranquility under my mood you do not think that it will ever form part of the positions of the viceroy? no by the prophet no exclaimed Kamalik firing up at the suggestion for a period of which I hope to see the end Syria may possibly be annexed to the domains of Mohammed Ali for the ways of Allah are inscrutable but that it should not return eventually to the rule of the Sultan Allah would never permit where is your excellency going to reside when you leave these seas? nowhere when my riches are safe among the rocks of this island there they will remain we will continue to cruise about the worlds we have done during the many years we have been together as you please in a few minutes afterwards the Pasha and his companion have returned on board about nine o'clock the captain took a first observation of the sun with a view of obtaining its longitude that is to say at the time of the place an observation which would be completed at noon when the sun passes the meridian and when he would obtain his latitude he brought out a sextant and took the altitude and as he had promised the Pasha he fixed the position as accurately as possible meanwhile he had given orders for the boat to be prepared his men had to take with them the three casks from the lazareff as well as the tools, picks and shovels and the cement necessary for the burial of the treasure before ten o'clock everything was ready six sailors under the Bosun's orders occupied the boat they had no suspicions of what the casks contained nor why they were going to bury them it was none of their business and they did not trouble about it in the least they were sailors accustomed to obey mere machines is a word working without asking the why and the wherefor Kim Malik and the captain took their seats in the stern and reached the island in a few strokes of their oars the first thing to be done was to choose a suitable spot for the excavation not too near the shore or within reach of the waves on stormy days nor too high up to be subject to the risks of a landslip a suitable place was found at the base of a steep rock on one of the south-eastern capes of the island at the captain's orders they headed to casks and tools and began the attack on the ground at this spot it was heavy work as the pieces of crystallized quartz were chipped out they were carefully put in the position so as to be used for filling the hole where the casks were buried no less than two hours are spent digging a hole some five or six feet wide and long Kim Malik remained at a distance pensive and sad perhaps it was pondering if it would be better for him to sleep forever by the side of his treasure a shelter from the injustice and profidity of man when the casks were lowered into the excavation the posture took a last look at them then it was that the captain imagined from the posture's behavior that he was about to counterman the order renounce his intentions and return to sea with his wealth but no with a gesture the command was given to continue the work the captain steadied the casks together with lumps of quartz and covered them with hydraulic cement so that they became one solid mass and solid itself then the outer pieces were put back in their place and cemented so as to fill up the cavity to the level of the soil when the rain and storm had swept the surface for a little it would be impossible to discover the place where the treasure was buried it was necessary however as some marks should be made an ineffisible mark in order that some day the seeker might find it on the vertical face of the rock which rose behind the excavation the boat was carved out with a chisel, a monogram in the name of the Kamalik placed back to back which was the Egyptians usual signature there was no need to prolong the stay on the islet the treasure was safe in its grave who would discover it here who would carry it off from its unknown resting place here it was secure and if Kamalik and the captain took the secret to their graves with them the end of the world might come without anybody finding whether millions were hidden the boats in order the men into the boat whilst excellently the captain remained on a rock by the shore a few minutes afterwards the boat came to fetch them and brought them on board the brigantine which had remained at anchor it was quarter to 12 the weather was magnificent there was not a cloud in the sky in a quarter of an hour the sun would have reached the meridian the captain went in search of his sextant and prepared to take his meridian altitude when he had taken it he found from it the latitude and then with the longitude obtained by calculating the horary angle after the nine o'clock observation he left the islet within half a mile or less he had finished this and was prepared to go on deck when the cabin door opened Kamalik appeared have you got your position he asked yes your excellency give it to me the captain held up the sheet of paper on which was the working Kamalik looked at it attentively as if he would fix the position of the islet in his memory he will keep the paper he said and as to the logbook you have been keeping for the last 15 months and which you have recorded our course no one will ever have that your excellency to be quite certain of that destroy it at once as you please the captain took the book in which were registered the directions taken by the brigade team during her lengthy cruise on so many different seas and he tore out the leaves and burned them in the flame in the lantern some hours were spent at anchor about five o'clock clouds came to appear on the western horizon and through their narrow intervals they shot at streams of rays which drew to sea with scales of gold the captain shook his head like a sailor whom the appearance of the weather did not please your excellency he said there is a strong breeze in those heavy clouds perhaps a storm tonight this islet affords no shelter and before it is too dark I should like to get a dozen miles to windward and there is nothing to keep us here said the pascha we will go then for the last time there is no need for you to verify your observations for latitude or longitude know your excellency I am as sure of my position as I am of being my mother's child get underway then the preparations did not take long the anchor left the ground and was hauled up to the cathead the sails were set and the vessel headed northwest Kimmelik washed the unknown islet as they left it until it disappeared in the shades of the night but the rich egyptian could find it again when he pleased and with it the treasure he had buried in it the treasure with four millions sterling in gold and diamonds and precious stones End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of Captain Antefer by Jules Verne this little box recording is in the public domain recording by Joe DeNoya Somerset, New Jersey Chapter 4 Every Saturday about 8 o'clock in the evening Captain Antefer would smoke his pipe a regular furnace very short in the stem and plunged into a blue rage light red an hour afterwards when he had relieved himself at the expense of his neighbor and friend Gildus Trigomane and what caused this rage simply is not being able to find what he wanted on one of the maps in an old atlas Confound this latitude he would exclaim if they even ran through the furnace of Beelzebub I should have to follow it from one end to the other and until he put his planet to execution Captain Antefer dug his nails into the said latitude and punctured it with pencil points and compass rods until it was as full of holes as a coffee strainer the latitude which had brought down Antefer's objugations was written at the end of a piece of parchment which was almost as yellow as an old Spanish flag 24 degrees 59 minutes north above this in the corner of the parchment were these words in red ink let my boy never find this and Captain Antefer would exclaim never fear my good old father I have not forgotten it nor will I ever forget it but may the three patron saints of my baptism bless me if I know what use it can ever be it is the 23rd of February 1862 and this evening Captain Antefer is behaving himself as usual he is in a howling rage he is swearing like a top man when a rope slips through his hands he is grinding away at the pebble which he has in his mouth he is pulling away at his pipe which has gone out 20 times and which he has lighted again and again from a box of matches he is throwing his atlas into one corner his chair into another he has smashed a big shell in the mantelpiece he is stamped so as to shake down flakes of whitewash from the ceiling and in a voice accustomed to be heard above a roaring gale he shouts, nanon enogate making a speaking trumpet out of a roll of cardboard enogate and nanon the one busy knitting in the other in front of the kitchen stove judged at time to put a stop to their troubled domestic elements one of the good old houses of Saint Molo built of granite facing the Rue de Autocennis a ground floor in two stories each containing two rooms and the upper one at the back overlooking the road around the ramparts there you could see its walls of granite thick enough to defy the projectiles of the olden days the narrow windows with the iron bars the massive gate of heart of oak ornamented with iron fastenings and furnished with a knocker you could hear at Saint Cervan when Captain Antefur had it in hand its slate roof peers with Dwemer windows from which the old sailor's telescope was occasionally visible this house, half a case mate half a fortress adjoining an angle of the ramparts which is surrounded by the town has a superb view to the right, Grand Bay a corner of Saint Zembray the point du Decollet and Cape Prehal to the left, the jetty in the mole south of the Rance the beach of Prairie near Denard and the great dome of Saint Cervan formerly Saint Mala was an island and perhaps Captain Antefur regretted the time when he would have been called an islander but the ancient Aaron has become a peninsula and he has to make the best of it besides one has the right to be proud of being a child of the Breton city which has given so many great men to France among others Duguet-Tuan whose statue are worthy mariner of the island every time he crossed the square Lamanai although this writer in no way interested him and Chateaubriand whose best work he did not know and whose proud and modest tomb on the little island of Grand Bay we cannot pass without mention Captain Antefur Pierre Cervan Malau was then 46 years old 18 months before he had retired from the sea with a certain independence which suffice for himself and his people a few thousand francs in the funds that resulted from his service on the two or three ships he had commanded which had always hailed from Saint Malau these ships belonged to Le Bélif and Company and traded in the Channel in the North Sea in the Baltic and even in the Mediterranean before obtaining this lofty position Captain Antefur had been about the world a great deal a good seaman very enterprising hard master to himself and others never sparing himself a non-reproach his obstinacy unyielding the obstinacy of a true Breton did he regret the sea no, for he had left it in the prime of his life had his health anything to do with this resolve no, for he was built with a pure granite with a Breton coast it was quite enough to look at him to hear him to receive one of the grips of his hand of which he was not sparing figure a sturdy man of medium height he was not a fish-deck here is his description in detail a wooden cap hair bristling with the quills of a porcupine face tanned cooked and re-cooked by seawater and bronzed by the sun of southern latitudes beard like a lichen on the rocks with the gray hairs bristling all around it bright eyes veritable carbuncles beneath the arc's eyebrows with the pupils black as jet and gleaming with the cats nose big at the end and long enough to carry the spectacles and with two wrinkles at the base near the eyes teeth complete sound unhealthy clicking with the convulsions of the jaw particularly as their owner always had a pebble in his mouth the ears hairy tip erect lobe pendant one of them with a copper ring on which an anchor was engraved body rather thin set on nervous legs firm enough on their strong supports and straddling at the most appropriate angle for dealing with the rolling and pitching of his ship at sea evidently a man of unusual strength due to the muscles massed together like the rods in a roman liquor's bundle a man drinking well and eating well who would have a clean bill of health for many a long day but of what irritability nervousness and impetuosity was the individual capable who 46 years before have entered in the parish register under the name of Pierre Cervan Malau Antefer in this evening he stormed and raved and the house shook so that you would think that there was a beating around its foundations one of those equinautical tides which rise for 50 feet and cover half the town with a spray Nanon the widow of Lacquot 48 years of age was the sister of this noisy sailor her husband a clerk at Lebelef had died young leaving her a daughter an ogate who had been brought up by uncle Antefer who fulfilled his functions as a guardian with conscientiousness and discipline Nanon was a worthy woman loving her brother trembling before him and bending when he stormed an ogate charming with her golden hair her blue eyes her fresh carnation color her intelligent face her natural grace more resolute than her mother and sometimes standing up to her terrible guardian who adored her and did his best to make her the happiest of the girls of Saint Malau as she was one of the prettiest but perhaps his idea of happiness was not quite the same as that of his niece and ward the two women appeared at the door of his room the one with her long knitting needles the other with the flat iron she had just taken from the front of the fire what does the matter asked Nanon only my latitude my confounded latitude answered captain Antefer and he gave himself a knock on the head which would have cracked any other crown than that which nature had fortunately given him uncle said an ogate there was no reason for you putting your room into disorder and she picked up the atlas while Nanon gathered together the pieces of shell that had been scattered about as if it had gone off like a bomb did you break that yes I did and if anyone else had done it he would have had a bad quarter of an hour why did you throw it down because my hand itched this shell was a present from our brother said Nanon and you were to blame well if you were to keep on repeating it to tomorrow that I am to blame will that put it back again what will cousin Jewel say asked an ogate he will say nothing and you better say nothing replied Antefer regretting that he had only got the two women before him on whom he could not reasonably gratify his anger and by the by he added where is Jewel you know uncle that he's gone to Nantes replied an ogate Nantes that is something new what is he going to do at Nantes uncle you yourself sent him there you know his examination for a certificate as long voyage captain long voyage captain long voyage captain growled Antefer why could he not be content to be a cozy captain like me brother said Nanon timidly he only took your advice you wished well because I wished it that is a fine reason and if I had not wished it would he not have gone all the same besides he will fail no uncle but he will and if he does I will give him a reception a regular whirlwind you see there was no way of reasoning with this man on the one hand he did not want Jewel to go up for the examination and on the other if he failed the said people would catch it as would those asses of examiners those peddlers in hydrography but an ogate had evidently a commitment that a young man would not be rejected first of all because he was her cousin then because he was an intelligent studious young man and then because he loved her and she loved him and they were engaged to be married and can you imagine three better reasons than those we may add that Jewel was a nephew of captain Antefer who had acted as guardian to him until he became of age he had been left an orphan at an early age by the death of his mother who had died at his birth and by the death of his father a naval lieutenant who's death took place a few years afterwards we need not be astonished that it was written above that he should be a sailor that he would obtain his captain certificate an ogate did not doubt nor did his uncle for that matter although he was too bad tempered to say so and this was of all the more importance to the girl as her marriage was to take place when he passed his examination the two young people really loved each other and would probably be happy for the rest of their lives Nanon was delighted to see the day of the coming of this wedding which was approved of by all the family what obstacle could there be if the all-powerful head gave his consent or rather refrained from giving it until Jewel had won his captaincy Jewel had served a complete apprenticeship to his trade first the vessels belonged to the Beliefs then in government vessels and then is made for three years in the mercantile marine he knew his trade in practice and theory and captain Antefer was really proud of his nephew but perhaps he had dreamt of a richer alliance for him because he was a lad of real merit perhaps he had even wished for a better husband for his niece than whom there was no better looking girl in the whole district and if a million had fallen into his hands and he was as happy with his 5,000 pounds in the funds it is not impossible that he would have lost his head and indulged in some such senseless dream Nanogate and Nanon soon introduced a little order into the room of this terrible man if not his brain Antefer strode around rubbing his eyes in which the lightning still lurked a sign that the storm was not yet over and a flash might come at any minute and when he looked at his barometer hung on the wall his anger awoke again because the scrumptious and faithful instrument remained in fine weather and so Jewel has not come back he asked turning towards Nanogate no uncle and then is 10 o'clock no uncle you will see he will miss the train no uncle are you going to do nothing but contradict me no uncle Nanon might gesticulate in vain for evidently the young britain was resolved to defend her cousin against the unjust accusations of her boisterous uncle evidently the thunder clap was not far off but was there not a lightning conductor to take off the whole of the electricity accumulated in Captain Antefer's reservoirs perhaps so Nanon and her daughter hastened to obey him when he yelled in the voice of the stentor send Tregomane here they rushed from the room opened the street door and ran out in search of Tregomane it is to be hoped he is at home they said to each other he was in five minutes afterwards he was in the presence of Captain Antefer Gilbus Tregomane 51 points of resemblance with his neighbor a bachelor as he was had navigated as he had navigated as he no longer navigated had retired as he had was a native of St. Malo as he was there the resemblance ended Gilbus Tregomane was as calm as Antefer was stormy as philosophical as Antefer was the reverse as accommodating as Antefer was difficult to get on with physically the friends were even more unelective if possible they were close friends but the friendship of Antefer for Tregomane was far more intelligible than of Tregomane for Antefer to be the friend of such a man was not without his drawbacks we have said that Tregomane had navigated but there are navigators and navigators Antefer had visited the principal seas of the globe but not so his neighbor Tregomane being the son of a widow had been exempt from serving the state and he had never been on the sea never he had seen the channel from the heights of Cancal and even from Cape for Hell but he had never ventured on it he had been born in the painted cabin of a canal barge and in a barge he had spent his life first as a hand then as captain of the Charmante Amelie he had been upping down the rants from Denard to Denon from Denon to Pluma Go to return with a load of wood of wine of coal according to the trade he hardly knew of any other river he was a freshwater sailor no more and no less while Antefer was the saltiest of salts a mere boatman by the side of a coaster captain and so he lowered his flag in the presence of his neighbor and friend who had no difficulty in keeping him out of distance Tregomane lived in a pretty little house about a hundred yards away from Antefer's at the end of the route to Tullot near the ramparts one of you looked out to the sea the other over the mouth of the rants he was a powerful man of extraordinary breadth of the shoulder nearly a yard five feet six inches in height a body like a box invariably wearing a huge waistcoat with two rows of bone buttons a brown jacket always very clean with great folds in the back and at the armholes from this trunking two huge arms big enough for the thighs of an ordinary man terminated by enormous hands big enough for the feet of a grenadier of the old guard with such limbs and muscles he was much more wise than of enormous strength but he was a gentle Hercules never had he abused his strength and never did he shake hands but with his thumb and index finger for fear of smashing your fingers strength was latent in him and never Antefer was far as blows but manifested itself without effort to compare him with machines he was less of a sledgehammer than of the hydraulic press that came from the circulation of his blood great and generous from his shoulders rose a big head wearing a high hat with a broad brim his hair was flat his whiskers mutton chopped his nose curved his mouth smiling his chin double and even trouble his teeth white one incisor on the top row missing teeth which had never been stained with the smoke of a pipe eyes limpid and kind under thick brows color brick red due to the breezes and not to the stormy gales on the ocean such was Gilda's Tregomane one of those obliging men to whom you can say come at 12 o'clock come at 2 o'clock and they will always be there he was also a sort of unshakable rock against which the surges of Captain Antefer beat in vain when his neighbor was in one of his whirlwind moods he was sent for and he came to plastically take all the buffettings of this tumultuous personage and so the ex-captain of the charmant Amelie was adored in the house by an anon to whom he served as a rampart but jewel who had vowed eternal friendship for him by an Elgate who did not hesitate to kiss his rounded cheeks and his wrinkled forehead that incontestable sign of a calm and conciliating temperament according to the physiognomist as the boatman mounted the wooden staircase that led to the first floor the steps grown under the heavy weight pushing open the door he found himself in the presence of Captain Antefer end of chapter 4 chapter 5 of Captain Antefer by Jules Verne this double-box recording is in the public domain recording by Joe De Noia Somerset, New Jersey chapter 5 so you have come at last came as soon as you sent for me, my friend not without taking your time the time to come here indeed one would think you had taken your passage on the charmante Amelie Trigamane took no notice of this illusion to the slow progress of canal boats compared to that of seagoing ships he saw that his neighbor was in a bad temper in which there was nothing astonishing and he made up his mind to put up with it as was his cuffs Antefer stretched out a finger which he gently squeezed between his thumb and index of his large hand hey, not so strong you always squeeze too tight excuse me I took particular care well, you cannot have made a worse mess of it and with a gesture Captain Antefer invited Trigamane to sit down at the table in the middle of the room the boatman obeyed and sat himself in a chair his legs wide apart his feet placed firmly in shoes without heels his huge handkerchief spread out his knees a cotton handkerchief with blue and red flowers ornamented with an anchor at each hand this handkerchief always made Antefer shrug his shoulders an anchor for a bargeman wide out of formast or a mainsail or a mizzen on a barge you will take some brandy said he bringing out two glasses in a bottle you know my friend that I never take anything this did not prevent Antefer from filling two glasses according to a custom now 10 years old he first drank his own brandy and then drank Trigamane's and now let us talk of what asked a bargeman who knew exactly what was coming of what would you like us to talk if not of that is true have you found the spot that interests you on this famous latitude found it how would you like me to find it by listening to the chatter of the two females who are here just now the good Nanon and my pretty Enokite oh I know you are always ready to take their part against me but that has nothing to do with it here has my father been dead for eight years and for eight years this latitude question has not advanced a step but his time should finish I said the bargeman winking would soon finish it by not bothering any more about it indeed and my father's command on his deathbed what would you do with that that sort of thing is sacred I believe it is a pity said Trigamane that the worthy man did not say a little more if he did not say a little more is because he did not know a little more Trigamane too to see my last day without knowing anymore Trigamane was about to answer that it was very likely and even desirable he refrained however so as not to excite his excitable friend what had happened a few days before Andifer died was as follows it was in the year 1854 a year which the old sailor was not to see out in this world feeling himself very ill he thought he would tell a story the mystery of which he had been unable to penetrate five years before in 1799 while he was trading in the Levant Thomas Andifer was cruising off the coast of Palestine the very day that Bonaparte was massacring the prisoners in Jaffa one of these infortunates who had taken refuge on a rock where he was awaiting inevitable death had been taken away by the French sailor during the night he embarked on his ship and had his wounds dressed and finally recovered after two months of good treatment the prisoner told his rescuer who he was he said that he was Camelik Pasha from Egypt and when he took his leave he assured the gallant soldier that he would not forget him when the time came he would receive a proof of his gratitude Thomas Andifer pursued his voyages thinking more or less of the promises that had been made to him and made up his mind to think no more of them as it did not seem that they would ever be realized in his old age he retired to St. Malo devoting himself to the maritime education of his son and he was 77 years old when the letter reached him in June 1842 whence came this letter written in French from Egypt evidently from the postmarker what did they contain simply this Captain Thomas Andifer's requested to note in his pocket book this latitude 24 degrees 59 minutes north which will be completed by a longitude that will eventually be communicated to him he will do well not to forget this and to keep it secret it is of considerable importance to him the enormous sum and gold diamonds and precious stones that this latitude and longitude will one day be worth to him will only be just recompensed for the services he formally rendered to the prisoner of Java and his letter was signed with a double K in the form of a monogram this is what it was that fired the imagination of the worthy man the worthy father of his son and so after 43 years Kamalik Pasha had remembered him he had taken his time about it but probably obstacles for all kinds had delayed him in this country of Syria the political position of which was only definitely settled in 1840 by the Treaty of London signed on 15th of July into the advantage of the Sultan now Thomas Andifer was the possessor of a latitude which passed through a certain point of the earth where Kamalik Pasha had buried a fortune and what fortune? in his opinion nothing less than millions in any case he had been required to keep the matter secret until the arrival of a messenger who would someday bring him to the promised longitude and so he spoke to no one about it not even to his son he waited he waited for 12 years and if he had had a sister Anne on the tower sister Anne would have said nothing but was it reasonable that she would carry the secret to the tomb with him that she would reach the end of his life without having to open his door to the envoy of the Pasha no he could not believe it he said to himself that this secret ought to be entrusted to him or would stand in his place his son Pierre and in 1854 the old sailor then aged 81 told his son on the air of Kamalik's intentions he made him promise as he himself had done never to forget the figures of this latitude to carefully preserve the letter signed with a double K and to await in all confidence the appearance of the messenger then the worthy man wept for by his family lamented by all those who knew him was buried in the family grave we know Captain Antefer who can easily imagine with what intensity such a revelation worked on his mind and on his inflammable imagination the millions his father had imagined he'd multiplied by 10 of Kamalik Pasha he made sort of a nabob of the Arabian knights he dreamt only of gold and precious stones buried in an Alibaba's cave but with his natural impatience his characteristic nervousness it was impossible for him to show the same reserve as his father to remain a dozen years without saying a word without confining to anybody without doing anything to discover when it had become a secret to him without doing anything to discover when it had become of the signatory of the letter with a double K the father might not be able to do this but not the son and so in 1855 during one of his voyages in the Mediterranean having put in at Alexandria he judiciously obtained as much information as he could concerning Kamalik Pasha had he existed there was no doubt as to this for the old sailor possessed a letter in his handwriting did he still exist that was a serious question to which Captain Antifur attached particular importance the information was disconcerting Kamalik Pasha had disappeared for 20 years and no one knew what had become of him here was an obstacle for Captain Antifur to run into but he did not sink all the same you might be with the news of Kamalik but there was no doubt Kamalik was living in 1842 the famous letter approved it probably he had to leave the country for reasons he was not obliged to reveal then the time came his messenger the bearer of the interesting longitude would present himself and as the father was no longer in the world it would be his son who would receive him and give him a warm welcome he may be sure Captain Antifur returned then to St. Malo and said nothing to anybody much as it might cost him he continued at sea until his retirement in 1857 and since then he had lived in the midst of his family but what an innervating existence occupationalists unemployed always possessed with one fixed idea these 24 hour degrees and these 59 minutes flew about his brain like so many tormenting flies he can keep his tongue still no longer he confided his secret to his sister to his niece to his nephew to kill the Stratomane and soon the secret in part at least was known all over town and even beyond St. Servant and Denard it was known that an enormous fortune was to fall someday into the hands of Captain Antifur and it would not fail to come to him and there never came a knock at his door without his expecting to be greeted with these words here is the longitude you have been waiting for years went by the messenger of Camelik gave no sign of life no stranger had crossed a threshold of the house hence continual excitement on the part of Captain Antifur his family had given up believing in the fortune and the letter seemed to them mere via mystification Stratomane without letting it appear looked upon his friend as a simpleton of the first water but Antifur never faltered nothing could shake his conviction the fortune was as sure of his as he had received him and those would say otherwise did so at the peril of a storm and so the bargeman when he found himself in his presence seated before the table was firmly resolved not to provoke an explosion look here said Captain Antifur looking him in the face answered me without provocation for you always peers though you did not understand me after all the skipper of the Charmante Amelie never had occasion to fix his position it is not between the banks of rants of mere rivulet that is necessary to take altitudes observe the sun the moon the stars and in this pleasant way we may be sure it was Antifur's intention to show the immense difference between a coaster shipper and a bargey the excellent Tregomane smiled and looked at many colored braids of the handkerchief on his knees are you listening yes my friend well once and for all do you know exactly what a latitude is very nearly do you know that it is a circle parallel to the equator that is divided into 360 degrees which means 2,160 minutes or 1,029,600 seconds why should I not know it replied to smiling Tregomane and do you know that an arc of 15 degrees corresponds to an hour of time and an arc of 15 minutes to a minute and an arc of 15 seconds to a second of time would you like me to repeat it no that would be useless well I have this latitude of 24 degrees 59 minutes north of the equator well in this parallel which contains 360 degrees 360 we understand there are 359 which are of no more use to me than an anchor without flukes but there is one I do not know and never shall know until I have been told the longitude that crosses it and there at that very spot there are millions don't smile I am not smiling my friend yes millions which are mine which I have the right to dig up the day I find the place where they are buried well replied the bargeman sweetly you must wait patiently until the messenger comes with the good news patiently patiently what is there that flows in your veins syrupy I imagine nothing but syrupy try to mean and in mine it is quick silver there is salt peter dissolved in my blood I cannot rest I eat myself I devour myself really you should take it calmly calmly do you forget that we are in 62 that my father died in 54 that he possessed a secret ever since 42 and that for 20 years we have been waiting for the word of the confounded charade 20 years how the time passes 20 years ago I was still in command of the charmate amelie who was talking about the charmate amelie asked anifer are we talking about the charmate amelie or the latitude in this letter and beneath the bargeman's blinking eyes he tossed a famous letter all old and yellow on which figured the monogram of camelik pasha yes this letter this confounded letter he continued this diabolical letter which I have sometimes been tempted to tear up to reduce the cinders that might perhaps be wise ventured the bargeman see here trega main said anifer his eyes flashing his voice ringing mind you never answer me like that again never and if ever in a moment of madness I wish to destroy this letter which is as good as a title d for me if ever I am unreasonable enough to forget that I owe to myself in mine I will not prevent me I will prevent you my friend I will prevent you trega main hasten to reply anifer in great excitement seized his glass of brandy chained him against that of the bargeman and said to your health captain to yours reply trega main lifting his glass up to his eyes and sitting it back again on the table anifer became thoughtful running his feverish hand through his hair muttering to himself and grinding the pebble between his teeth and looked at his friend do you know where this wretched latitude goes how could I not do so asked the bargeman who had submitted a hundred times to this lesson in geography never mind there are some things we cannot know too well and opening the atlas at the map of the world look he said in the tone that admitted of neither hesitation no reply trega main looked you see saint mallow don't you yes and there is the rants never mind the rants they will make me curse the rants get on the meridian of paris and run down to the 24th parallel I run down traverse france spain enter africa cross algeria reach the tropic of cancer there above timbuktu I am there well now we are on this famous latitude yes here we are now run along to the east cross africa walk across the red sea take your hat off to the sultan of muscat jump into india leaving bombay and kautka to the starboard skirt the base of china run across formosa the pacific, the sandwich islands do you follow me I am following you reply trega main wiping his head with his huge handkerchief well here we are in america and mesco then in the gulf then near cuba you jump the straits of florida cross the atlantic to canaries reach africa come up to paris meridian and return to saint mollo after having made the tour of the globe on the 24th parallel yes said the complacent bargeman and now continue to enter for we have traversed the two continents the atlantic, the pacific, the indian oceans in which islands and islets are in the thousands and can you tell me where my millions are hidden that is what we do not know that is what we shall know yes that is what we shall know when the messenger antifer took the second glass of brandy which had not been set by his friend to your health he said to yours said trega main clinking in the empty glass as the full one which was once his ten o'clock struck a loud knock shook the street door if that is the man with the longitude exclaimed antifer oh said his friend who could not restrain his gentle exclamation of doubt and why not said antifer just so why not replied the conciliating bargeman thinking of the beginning of a salute for the bearer of good news suddenly shouts were heard on the ground floor shouts of joy it is true which coming from the non and enogate could not be addressed to an envoy of camelik pasha it is he it is he repeated the two women he he said captain antifer and he was walking toward the stairs when the door of his room opened good evening uncle good evening this was said in a cheery satisfied voice which had the effect of exasperating the uncle in question he was jewel he had just arrived he had not failed in catching the train from nentes nor in passing his examination for he shouted past uncle past past repeated the woman and the girl past what replied captain antifer past his long voyage captain with the maximum of marks and as his uncle did not open his arms to him he fell into those of trega mate who hugged him to his heart in a way that nearly squeezed the breath out of him we were suffocating him gildus said to non i only just touched him replied the smiling bargeman jewel panted a little and recovered himself and then turning to antifer who was walking about feverishly said and now uncle when shall the wedding be what wedding my wedding with my dear enogate replied jewel was it not agreed upon yes agreed upon said the non at least unless enogate's not care for me now i am a captain oh jewel answered the girl holding out a hand in which the worthy trega main so he pretended thought he's our put her heart antifer did not reply but seemed to be trying to find out which way the wind blew come uncle said to young man and he said there his face radiant his eyes bright with happiness uncle said he did you not say that the wedding should take place when i passed that we should fix the day as soon as i came back i believe you did say so my friend ventured to bargeman well i have passed said jewel and here i have come back and if it's not inconvenient uncle will fix it for the first week of april the antifer started in eight weeks why not in eight days in eight hours in eight minutes well i should not object uncle oh we must have a little time to sit in the non there are preparations purchases to make yes i have to get a new coat built such a germane the future best man then shall we say the fifth of april as jewel be it so said antifer who found himself driven beyond his last entrance oh my good uncle said the girl leaping out to his neck ah my dear uncle said the young man as he embraced him on one side with enogate embracing him on the other it is not impossible that their cheeks met that is agreed continued the uncle the fifth of april but on one condition oh no condition a condition is named chagamine who feared some further defiance on the part of his friend yes one condition and what is that ass jewel beginning to frown if my logitube does not reach me before that they all breathed again yes yes they replied with one voice and really it would have been cruel to refuse the satisfaction to kept the antifer besides i have to get a new coat built for him i have to get a new coat built for him i have to get the antifer besides what lethality was there that A week went by. Of a messenger, there was not even a shadow. Kilda Stregelmaid said he would not be just as much astonished to see the prophet Elijah return from the sky. But it took care not to express his opinion in this biblical form before Captain Antiphar. As to a no-getting jewel, they hardly gave a thought to the messenger of Camelay Pasha, who, as far as they were concerned, was a purely imaginary being. No, they were busy with their preparations for that charming land of matrimony which the young man knew the longitude and the growth latitude, and which would be easy to reach by combining these two geographical elements. They might rest assured that the combination would take place on the 5th of April, the date fixed. As to Captain Antiphar, they have become more unsociable and more unapproachable than ever. The date of the ceremony was the day nearer every 24 hours. A few weeks only and the young cobble will be united. A fine result, truly. In his heart their uncle had been dreaming of superb alliances for them when he became a rich man. And if he made so much of these millions, these undiscovered millions which belonged to him, it was not with an idea of adjoining them himself, of living a grand life, of dwelling in a palace, riding in a carriage, dining off gold plates, wearing diamond studs. No, he was thinking of wedding jewel to a princess and a no-gate to a prince. That was his whim, his monomania. And here was his heart's desire in jeopardy, going to a messenger not arriving at a proper time. And for one of a few figures which, combining with others, he already possessed, Camelie's hiding place would not yield up his treasures until too late. Antiphar stormed no more. He could not remain inside the house, and it was all the better for the peace of the household that he was outside. They saw him only at mealtimes, and his meals he got through at double the usual rate. Whenever there was an opportunity, Trigamate offered his cheek to the smiter in the hope of provoking an explosion, which would relieve his friend who sent him to Jericho. In short, it was to be feared that he was going to be ill. His only occupation was to strive about the railway station, watching the arrival of the trains, and about the Scyllian Keys, watching the arrival of the boats, endeavoring to discover among the passengers some exotic figure which might belong to the Envoy of Camelique, an Egyptian, without doubt, perhaps an Armenian, certainly a foreign person that is recognizable by his appearance, his accent, his clothes, and would ask for the address of Pierre-Servant-Malau Antiphar. And there was nobody of this sort, Normans, Bretons, English Scandinavians, there were many, but travelers from Eastern Europe, Maltese, or Levantines, there were none. On the 9th of February, after a breakfast at which he had not opened his lips, except to eat and drink, Captain Antiphar went forth for his usual walk, like another diogenes in search of a man. He went along the narrow streets of the town, bordered by their tall granite houses, and paved with pebbles. He descended to Rue du Bay, towards Dugais-Touan Square, looked at the time of the dial at the Sioux prefecture, hurried towards the Palais-Chateaubriand, turned round by the kiosk under its canopy of leafless plains, passed through the gate and the curtain of the rampart, and found himself on the key. He looked to the right, to the left, in front of him, behind him, puffing jerkily and furiously at his pipe. Every now and again he had to return a salute, for he was one of the notables of Saint Malo, a man of consideration. But many were the salutes he did not return, all into his not noticing that they were addressed to him. In the harbor were a number of ships sailing vessels, and steamers, briggs, schooners, luggers, chasmarees. The tide was then low, two or three hours having to elapse before the ships reported by the semaphore to be in the offing, could enter. Antefer thought it would be wisest to go off to the railway station and await the arrival of the express. Would it be more fortunate on this occasion than he had been during so many weeks? How easy the human machine could go wrong. Antefer, occupied and watching the passers-by, did not notice that for twenty minutes he'd been followed by someone well worth his attention. Here was a foreigner, a foreigner with a red fez and a black tassel, wearing a long loose coat, fastened with long single rows of buttons right up to the neck with a pair of baggy trousers, below which was a pair of big shoes like Turkish slippers. He was anything but young, perhaps sixty, perhaps sixty-five, stooping rather, and holding his long bony finger spread across his chest. If this good man were not the expected Levantine, there could be no doubt that he came from some land bordered by the Eastern Mediterranean, in Egyptian, and Armenian, Assyrian, and Ottoman. In short, the stranger followed Captain Antefer in a hesitating way, sometimes on the point of accosting him, sometimes stopping for fear of making a mistake. At length at the corner of the key he quickened his step, caught up Antefer, and then turned so suddenly as to run against him. Confound you, you clumsy brood exclaimed the Captain, shaken by the collision. Then, rubbing his eyes and holding his hand to his eyebrows to shade his sight, he exclaimed, Eh? Ah? Oh? He? Can it be? This must be the messenger of the double K. If it were, they said, Envoy, he certainly did not look promising, with his smooth face, his fat cheeks, his pointed nose, his big ears, his thin lips, his huge chin, his fur device, anything but a physiognomy that inspired confidence. Have I not the honor of addressing Captain Antefer, as an obliging sailor has just told me, said the stranger, in a most deplorable accent? Antefer, Pierre-Servant Malo, was the reply, and you? Ben Omar. An Egyptian? Notary at Alexandria, just come from the Hotel de l'Union, Rue de Les Poissonnières. A notary with a red hat? Evidently notaries in Oriental countries were not of the French type, with white cravat, black clothes, and gold spectacles. And it was just as astonishing to find out there were notaries at all in the country of the pharaohs. Antefer no longer doubted that he had before him the mysterious messenger, the bearer of the famous longitude, announced 20 years before in Camelink's letter. But instead of giving himself away, as might be supposed, instead of asking Omar questions, he had sufficient control over himself to await events, for to duplice the betrayed on the visage of the living mummy, warned him to be circumspect. Never would Tregomene have believed his excitable friend capable of such prudence. Well, what do you want with me, Mr. Ben Omar? He asked, noticing that the Egyptian looked embarrassed. A few minutes conversation, Mr. Antefer. Do you mean at my house? No, it would be better to be somewhere where no one can overhear us. It is a secret then? Yes and no, or rather, a bargain. Antefer started at this. Evidently, if this individual had brought the longitude, he had no intention of delivering it gratis. He had the letter signed with a double K. He said nothing about a bargain. Take care of the helm, he said to himself, and keep an eye on the way the wind blows. Then, addressing himself to his interviewer and pointing to a lonely corner at the end of the harbor, he said, Come there, we should be quite enough alone to talk of secret matters. But let us make haste for as cold enough to cut you through. They had not more than 20 yards to go. No one was on the vessels more than the key. Custom house officer on duty was half a cable length away. In a minute or so they were at the spot and seated on the end of a spar. Will this place suit you, Mr. Ben Omar, asked Antefer? Oh, very well. Then speak out, and speak clearly, and not like your sphinx, which amuses itself by offering conundrums to the poor world. There will be no concealment, and I will speak frankly, replied Ben Omar, in a tone which had little appearance of frankness. He coughed two or three times and said, You had a father? Yes, as is customary in our country. Well, I hear that he is dead. Eight years ago. Well, he had made several voyages. I believe so, considering that he was a sailor. Well, in several seas. In all, well, he once happened to go into the Levant. Yes, well. During these voyages continued the notary, to whom these brief replies gave no loophole. During these voyages, he was about sixty years ago on the coast of Syria. Perhaps so, perhaps not. Well, these wells were so many digs in the ribs to Ben Omar. You'll have to try another attack, my good man, said Antefer to himself, if you want me to pilot you. The notary saw that he would have to attack him more straightforwardly. Have you any knowledge, said he, that your father had occasion to render a service, an immense service to someone on the coast of Syria? I cannot say that I have. Well, ah, said Ben Omar, much astonished at the reply. And you did not know that he received a letter from a certain Camelik Pasha? A Pasha? Yes. Of how many tales? It does not matter, Mr. Antefer. The point is that your father received a letter containing information of great value. I know nothing of it. Well, have you not looked over his papers? It is not possible such a letter would have been destroyed. It contained, I repeat, information of extreme importance. To you, Mr. Ben Omar, to you also, Mr. Antefer, for, in short, it is that letter I am commissioned to get back again, on which might be the object of our bargain. In an instant, it became clear to Antefer that the people who had sent Ben Omar wanted to get hold of the longitude, to find the place where the millions were concealed. The rascals he'd muttered to himself, they wanted to get my secret, to buy my letter, and to go out and unearth my cash box. And perhaps he was not far out. At this stage of their interview, they heard the steps of a man who was coming round the corner in the direction of the railway station. The notary stopped in the middle of a sentence. It seemed as though the man gave Omar a sigh of look as he passed, or made a sign of denial, at which the Egyptian appeared much disconcerted. The man passed on, and disappeared. He was a stranger, about 30 years old, in the Egyptian costume of saddle complexion, black gleaming eyes, stature above the medium height, strongly built, determined looking, with anything but a pleasant expression about him. Did he and the notary know one another? Possibly. Were they not anxious that this should not be known just then? There was no doubt about that. Anyhow, Antefer did not notice this little bit of biplay, a look, a gesture, nothing more, and he continued the interview. Now Mr. Ben Omar said he, will you kindly explain why you want so much to get this letter, to know what it contains, so much that you are willing to buy it from me if I happen to have it? Mr. Antefer replied the notary with some embarrassment. I have had a certain Camelik Pasha among my clients, on his behalf. You have had, did you say? Yes, and as the representative of his heirs. His heirs explained Antefer with a movement of surprise that could not but astonish the notary. He is dead then? He is dead. Steady muttered Antefer, grinding the pebble within his teeth. Camelik is dead. That is worth remembering, that they are up to any games. And so Mr. Antefer asked Ben Omar, giving him a side look. You have not got this letter? No. That is a pity, for the heirs of Camelik Pasha, who wish to collect everything that can recall the remembrance of their beloved relative. Ah, a matter of remembrance only, dear kind hearts. Simply so Mr. Antefer, that these dear kind hearts, as you say, would not have hesitated to have offered you a considerable sum to obtain possession of this letter. How much would they have given? What does that matter, if you have not got it? You might as well say. Oh, a few hundred francs. Sir Captain Antefer, perhaps even a few thousand. Ha! Sir Captain Antefer, whose patience was exhausted. In the grip Ben Omar by the throat, dragged him toward him, and rolled out these words in his ear with a shake between each. I have your letter. You have it? Your letter with a double K? Yes, the double K. That was my client's signature. I have it. I have read it, and read it again. And I know, or rather I guess, why you want to possess it. Sir? And you are not going to get it. Do you refuse? Yes, I do, unless you buy it for me. How much, asked the notary, digging his hand in his pocket to pick out his purse. How much? Fifty millions of francs. What a jump Ben Omar gave as Antefer, with his mouth open, his lips up, his teeth showing, looked at him as he had never been looked at before. And then he dryly added, you can have it or leave it as please. Fifty millions repeated the gasping notary. There is no bargain Mr. Ben Omar, you will get no discount out of me. Fifty millions? That is the price, they could be in cash or in note, or on a check on the Bank of France. The notary, a bashful instant, gradually recovered his coolness. Evidently this confounded sailor knew of what importance his letter was to the heirs of Kimberley. In fact, did the not containing information necessary in the search of the treasure? The scheme for getting possession of it had failed. Antefer was on his guard. The letter must be bought, or rather the latitude, which would complete the longitude, which Ben Omar knew. But it may be asked, how did Ben Omar know that Antefer had the letter? Was he the former notary of the rich Egyptian? Was he the messenger instructed by the last wishes of Kimberley to bring Antefer the longitude in question? That we shall soon see. But in any case, whether Ben Omar was, or was not acting under the orders of the pashers heirs, he clearly understood that the letter would not be handed over without its pricing gold. But fifty millions? Assuming a sly, coaxing air, he said, I think you said fifty millions? I did. That is one of the funniest things I ever heard in all my life. Mr. Ben Omar, would you like to hear a funnier? Gladly. Ah, well then, you are an old thief, an old scoundrel from Egypt, an old crocodile denial. Sir. There, I will stop. You are an old fisher in troubled waters, wanting to get in my secret instead of telling me yours, which is the only mission you were entrusted with. You suppose so? I suppose what is. No, what it pleases you to imagine. Enough you consummate fool. Sir. I withdraw the consummate out of deference. You shall I tell you what you really want to know about the letter? Did the notary imagine that Antefer was going to commit himself? Anyhow, his two little eyes glowed like carbuncles as he waited. What you want to know, Ben Omar, is not what the letter says regarding the services rendered by my father. No, you want the four figures. You understand me well enough, the four figures. The four figures, murdered Ben Omar? Yes, the four figures it contains, and which I shall not hand over for less than twelve and a half million each. That is all. We have said enough. Good morning. Then sticking his hands into his pockets kept an ant for strodoff whistling a favorite air, of which nobody, not even himself knew the origin, which is more like the howling of a dog than any of the melodies of auger. Ben Omar, petrified, seemed to have taken root on the spot as if he were a bollard or a milepost. He who had reckoned twirling the sail around his finger as if he were a fella, and Muhammad knows how he had dealt with the unfortunate peasants whose ill fortune had led them to his office, what are the best in Alexandria? He saw with haggard eye the sailor going further and further away from him, swinging his hips, hoisting his shoulder, first one and then the other, and gesticulating as if his friend Tregomane was with him under the usual fire. Suddenly Antifor stopped. Had he encountered an obstacle? Yes, this obstacle was an idea that had just occurred to him. He had forgotten something. He returned to the notary, he was still as motionless as Daphne when she was turning to the laurel bush to the great disappointment of Apollo. Mr. Ben Omar, he said, what is it you want? There's one thing I forgot to shout in your ear. What? The number? Ah, the number? Yes, the number of my house. Three. Rude hot salads. You may as well have my address and know that you will have a friendly reception when you come. When I come? Put the 50 millions in your pocket. And Antifor went off again, while the number sank and called on Allah and his prophet. End of Chapter 6. Chapter 7 of Captain Antifor by Jules Verne. This little box recording is in the public domain. Recording by Joe De Noia, Somerset, New Jersey. Chapter 7 During the night of the 9th of February, the travelers of Hotel de Junyan would have run some risk of being troubled in their sleep if the door of room number 17 had not been shut and draped with a heavy curtain, which prevented any noise from being heard outside. In fact, two men, or rather one of the two therein, spent the night in recriminations and menaces that bore witness to extreme irritation, while the other tried in vain to calm him, with supplications engendered by fear. He's not lucky that anybody would have understood what this stormy conversation was about, for it was held in Turkish, which is not a familiar language to the natives of the West. A large wood fire blazed in the grate and a candle on the table threw its light onto certain papers half hidden within the pockets of a portfolio, much worn by use. One of these was Ben Omar, who, in a helpless way, looked at the flames in the fireplace, which were far less ardent than those that blazed in the eyes of his companion. This companion was the unprepossessing foreigner to whom the notary had given the almost imperceptible signal while he and Antifor were talking at the end of the harbor. For the twentieth time this person is remarked, and so you have failed? Yes, excellency, and Allah is my witness. I have nothing to do with the evidence of Allah or of anybody else. There is the fact, you failed. To my great regret, this Antifor refused to give up the letter. He did, and it refused to sell it. To sell it, he consented, and you did not buy it, you dunderhead. Is it not in your possession? You came here without bringing it? Do you know what he asked? What does that matter? Fifty millions of francs. Fifty millions? And there was a volley of oaths. And so, you imbecile, this silly nose of what importance this might be to him? There is no doubt of it. May Muhammad strangle me, and you too, exclaim the irascible personage, striding about the room. Or rather, that is my business as far as you are concerned, for I hold you responsible for all the misfortunes that may happen. But it is not my fault, excellency. I was not in the secrets of Kamalik Pasha. You ought to have been then. You ought to have found them out when he was alive. You were his notary. And then came another broadside of oaths. This terrible man was Saouk, the son of Marat, the cousin of Kamalik. He was then thirty-one. His father being dead, he found himself the direct heir of his rich uncle, and would have inherited an immense fortune if this fortune had not been put out of reach of his covetousness in the way we know. What had happened after Kamalik had left the lepo, taking his treasure with him, to bury it on some unknown island, was briefly this. In October, 1831, Ibrahim, with twenty-two ships of war and thirty thousand men, had captured Gaza, Jaffa, Qaifah, and Acre had fallen into his hands the year following, on the 27th of March, 1832. It seemed as though the territories of Palestine and Syria would be finally severed from the sublime portay, when the intervention of the European powers stopped the son of Mohammed Ali in his current conquest. In 1833, the Treaty of Qatayah was imposed on Assaulton and the Viceroy, and things remained as they had been. Fortunately for his safety during this much troubled period, Kamalik had placed his riches in the cavity sealed by a double K, and continued his voyages. Wither went the Brigadine under the command of Captain Zo, in what parts, far or near, did he plow the seas? Did he visit farthest Asia, or farthest Europe? No one knew save his captain and himself, for none of the crew were allowed to land, and none of them knew whether they were in the West or the East, the North or the South. For such was their master's whim. But after their many peregrinations, Kamalik was imprudent enough to return to the Levant. The Treaty of Qatayah having stopped the ambitious march of Ibrahim, the northern part of Syria having submitted to the Sultan, the rich Egyptian had good reason to suppose that there was no danger in his returning to Aleppo. As ill luck would have it, however, in the middle of the year 1834, his vessel was driven by bad weather into Acre. Ibrahim's fleet was then cruising off the coast, and Morad, invested with official functions by Mehmet Ali, was on board one of the ships of war. The Brigadine was flying Turkish colors. Was it known that she belonged to Kamalik Pasha? It matters a little. She was chased, caught, carried by boarding after a stopped defense, which meant the massacre of the crew, the destruction of the ship, and the capture of her owner and captain. Kamalik was at once recognized by Morad. A few weeks later, he and Captain Zo were secretly carried to Egypt and imprisoned in the Fortress of Cairo. But even if Kamalik had returned to his house at Aleppo, it is probable that he would not have found the safety of what she reckoned. That part of Syria under Egyptian administration, groaned under an odious yoke. This lasted until 1839 when the excesses of Abraham agents were such that the Sultan withdrew his concessions to which he had been forced to yield. The result of this was a new campaign on the part of Mehmet Ali, those troops gained the victory of Nizeb. Whereupon Mahmud began to fear for the safety of the capital of Turkey in Europe, and England, Russia, and Austria had to intervene to stay at the march of the conqueror and assure him hereditary possession of Egypt and the governorship for life of Palestine, west of the Jordan. It is true that the Viceroy, intoxicated with victory and encouraged by French diplomacy, refused the offer of the Allied powers. But their fleets were sent against him. Sir Charles Napier captured Beirut and then Sidon and then bombarded and captured Acre so that Mehmet Ali had to yield and recall his son to Egypt, leaving Syria entirely to Sultan Mahmud. Kamalik Pasha had been too hasty in his endeavor to return to the country of his choice, where he thought of peacefully ending his troubled life. There he intended to remove his treasure and with some portion of it, pay his debts and gratitude, debts perhaps forgotten by those who had helped him. Instead of Aleppo, it was Cairo that he found, thrown into a prison where he was at the mercy of his pitiless enemies. Kamalik understood that he was lost, the idea of regaining his liberty at the cost of his fortune did not occur to him, but rather such was the force of his character and his indomitable determination never to have been in his wealth to the Viceroy or Morad, that he contented himself with an obscenity that would only be ascribed to Ottoman fatalism. The years he passed in solitary confinement, separated from Captain Zo, whose discretion he never doubted, were anything but pleasant to him. In 1842, in the eighth year of his imprisonment, he managed, through the connivance of a jailer, to send away a few letters, one of them to Captain Thomas Endover of St. Malo. An envelope containing his will also reached the hands of Ben Omar, who had formerly been his notary at Alexandria. Three years afterward, Captain Zo died and Kamalik remained the only one who knew where the treasure had been buried. But his health declined visibly, and the severity of his imprisonment could not but shorten a life which would have lasted for years beyond the walls of his cell. At length in 1852, he died, forgotten by those who had known him, without either menaces or ill treatment, forcing him to reveal his secret. Next year, his unworthy cousin followed him to the grave, without having enjoyed the immense riches he coveted and which had led him to such criminal devices. But Morad left his son, Saouk, who inherited all his father's evil instincts. Although he was then by 23, he lived a violent, unscrupulous life among the political and other bandits who had then swarmed in Egypt. As the only heir of Kamalik Pasha, it was to him that the inheritance would have come, had it not been put beyond his reach. And consequently, his anger knew no bounds, when, as he thought, the secret of the whereabouts of this immense fortune disappeared with the death of the Pasha. Ten years went by, and Saouk had given up all hopes of ever ascertaining what had become of the lost treasure. Judge then of the effect on him of a letter received early in 1862, inviting him to visit the office of the notary, Ben Omar, on important business. Saouk knew this notary, timid to an excess, and Aaron Paltrun, with whom a determined man like himself, could do anything he pleased. So he went to Alexandria, and unceremoniously asked Ben Omar for what reason he wished to see him. Ben Omar was most obsequious in his reception to this client, when we believe he had both everything, even of strangling him straight away. He apologized for having put him to inconvenience, and said to him in his sweetest tone, but is it not the sole heir of Kamalik Pasha that I have the honor of addressing? Just so, the sole heir said Saouk, for I am the son of Murad, who was his cousin. Are you sure that there was no other relative in the line of succession than you? None. Kamalik Pasha has no heir but me. Only, where is the inheritance? Here, at your excellency's disposal. Saouk grasped the envelope handed to him by the notary. What is in this envelope? he asked. The will of Kamalik Pasha. And how did it get into your hands? It reached me a few years ago, after he was imprisoned in the fortress at Cairo. How long ago? Twenty years. Twenty years, exclaimed Saouk, and he has been dead ten years now. And you have waited? Read, excellency. Saouk read the writing on the envelope. It said that this will was not to be opened until ten years after the testator's death. Kamalik Pasha died in 1852, said the notary. It is now 1862, and that is why I have sent for your excellency. Cursed formalist, exclaimed Saouk, for ten years I ought to have been in possession. If this will is in your favor, suggested the notary. In my favor. Who else can there be? I will soon know. And he was about to break the seal when Ben Omar stopped him. In your own interest, excellency, it had better be done in the proper form, in the presence of witnesses. In opening the door, Ben Omar introduced two merchants of the neighborhood whom he had asked to attend. These were to testify that the envelope was intact and that it had been opened in their presence. The will was not very long. It was in French and as follows. I appoint as executor Ben Omar, notary of Alexandria, to whom I leave a commission of one percentum of my fortune in gold, diamonds, and precious stones, of the estimated value of four million pounds sterling. In the month of September 1831, three casks containing this treasure were buried in a hole dug at the southern point of a certain islet. Of this islet it will be easy to discover the possession by combining the longitude of 45 degrees 57 minutes east with a latitude secretly set in 1842 to Thomas Antefur of St. Malop in France. Ben Omar, in person, is to take this longitude of 54 degrees 57 minutes east to the said Thomas Antefur or his nearest heir. But he is to accompany the said heir in the search for the discovery of the treasure, which is buried at the base of the rock marked with a double K of my name. To the exclusion of my unworthy cousin, Morad, and his still more unworthy son, Saouk, Ben Omar will hasten to put himself in communication with Thomas Antefur or his direct heirs, and with him follow the formal instructions that will be found in the course of the said search, such as my last will and a desire that shall be respected in all its bearings and consequences. Written this 9th of February 1842 in the prison at Cairo by my own hands, Kemalik Pasha. We need not dwell on a reception given by Saouk to this curious will, nor do the agreeable surprise manifested by Ben Omar at the one percent of four millions, would just come to him on handing over the treasure. But the treasure had to be found, and the only way to discover the position of the islet was by combining this longitude given in the will with the latitude known only to Thomas Antefur. Saouk immediately devised a scheme, and Ben Omar, under terrible threats, became his accomplice in it. They soon discovered that Thomas Antefur had died in 1854, leaving an only son. To this son they would go, and by skillful management obtained from him the secret of the latitude, and then they would take possession of the fortune, and Ben Omar should have his commission. This scheme Saouk and the notaries set about without delay. They left Alexandria, landed at Marseille, took to Paris Express, and then went on to St. Molo, where they had arrived that morning. Neither Saouk nor Ben Omar expected that there would be any difficulty in obtaining from Antefur the letter, by which they knew the value, which contained the precious latitude, and they were prepared to buy it if necessary. We know how the attempt had failed. We shall not be astonished, therefore, at the irritation, which is excellency displayed, at his endeavouring to hold Ben Omar responsible for his ill success. At the noisy scene in the hotel, from which the unfortunate notary feared he would never emerge alive. Yes, said Saouk, it is your bungling that has caused it all. You did not know what you were about. You let yourself be played with by the sailor. You, a notary. But do not forget what I told you. What would you if Kamalik's millions escaped me? I swear to you, excellency, and I swear to you, that if I do not obtain my object, you shall pay for it and pay well. And Ben Omar knew only too well that Saouk was the man to keep his word. You must remember, excellency, that this sailor is not one of those miserable fellows easily deceived and easily frightened. No matter. No, he is a violent man who will listen to nothing. He might have added a man like you, but he took care not to complete the sentence in that fashion. I think, he continued, we shall have to give up. Give up, exclaimed Saouk, slapping the table. Give up four millions? No, your excellency, give up. Let the Breton know the logitude the will orders us to give him. For him to take advantage of it, imbecile? For him to unearth the millions? Anger is a bad counselor, and this Saouk, who is not destitute of intelligence or stuteness, finally came to think. He calmed down as much as he could and thought of the proposal submitted by Ben Omar. He was certain that nothing would be got from Antiphar by strategy, and some of their scheme must be thought of. The plan agreed upon was this. His excellency and his very humble servant would call in the morning on Captain Antiphar, give him the longitude and learn from him in exchange what was the latitude. When the information was obtained, Saouk would endeavor to forestall the sailor, and if he could not do this, he would accompany Antiphar during the search and endeavor to carry off the treasure. If, as was probable, the islet was situated in some distant part of the world, the plan had many chances of success, and the affair would end Saouk's advantage. When this plan had been definitely agreed upon, Saouk added, I rely on you, Ben Omar, to be straightforward. If not, you can rely on me, your excellency, but you promised me my commission. Yes, for according to the will the commission is due to you, on the express condition that you do not leave Antiphar for an instant during the journey. I will not leave him, nor will I accompany him. In what capacity, under what name? As the chief clerk of Ben Omar, and under the name of Nazim. You? In this, you was said in the tone of despair that indicated only too clearly what violence and misery Ben Omar anticipated. End of chapter 7