"But in that case what do you expect?" the Canadian asked. "That we'll encounter advantageous conditions for escaping just as readily in six months as now." "Great Scott!" Ned Land put in. "And where, if you please, will we be in six months, Mr. Naturalist?" "Perhaps here, perhaps in China. You know how quickly the Nautilus moves. It crosses oceans like swallows cross the air or express trains continents. It doesn't fear heavily traveled seas. Who can say it won't hug the coasts of France, England, or America, where an escape attempt could be carried out just as effectively as here." "Professor Aronnax," the Canadian replied, "your arguments are rotten to the core. You talk way off in the future: 'We'll be here, we'll be there!' Me, I'm talking about right now: we are here, and we must