Part 2 Chapter 17 Summary

Conseil, Ned Land and Aronnax are up on the platform, drinking in air as if it were the greatest pleasure on earth. Aronnax thanks them for saving his life and announces the bounds between them can never be severed. Ned Land is as bitter as ever and says he must escape. The Nautilus passes the polar circle toward Cape Horn. By April 1 Aronnax determines they are going north by the Atlantic route.

Aronnax continues his nature studies of seaweed and animals as they pass the Falkland Isles. By April 9 they are near Cape San Roque. During the next two weeks Aronnax writes about what he observes in terms of nature and wildlife. The Nautilus crew casts nets to catch fish. In one of the nets is a large rayfish, which Conseil picks up with two hands. This paralyzes him but he...