"But unless the Nautilus navigates on dry land and crosses over the isthmus--"
"Or under it, Professor Aronnax."
"Under it?"
"Surely," Captain Nemo replied serenely. "Under that tongue of land, nature long ago made what man today is making on its surface."
"What! There's a passageway?"
"Yes, an underground passageway that I've named the Arabian Tunnel. It starts below Suez and leads to the Bay of Pelusium."
"But isn't that isthmus only composed of quicksand?"
"To a certain depth. But at merely fifty meters, one encounters a firm foundation of rock."
"And it's by luck that you discovered this passageway?" I asked, more and more startled.
"Luck plus logic, professor, and logic even more than luck."
"Captain, I hear you, but I can't believe my ears."
"Oh, sir! The old saying still
