The Ark was running slowly, but it would very soon have left the stranger in its wake if he had not also been in motion. It was evident that the object under his feet must be a submersible vessel of some kind, although it was of a type which Captain Arms, standing beside Cosmo on the bridge, declared that he had never set eyes on before. It lay so low in the water that nothing could be seen of its motive machinery, but it kept its place alongside the Ark with the ease of a dolphin, and gradually edged in closer and closer. When it was so near that he could be heard speaking in a voice hardly raised above the ordinary pitch, the man, first again lifting his cap with an easy gesture, addressed Cosmo Versál by name, using the English language with a scarcely perceptible accent: "M. Versál, I offer you my felicitations upon the magnificent appearance of your Ark, and I present my compliments to the ladies and gentlemen of your company." And then he bowed once more to the passengers, who were almost crowding each other over the side in their eagerness to both see and hear. "Thank you," responded Cosmo, "but who are you?" "Capitaine Yves de Beauxchamps, of the French army." "Where's the navy, then?" blurted out Captain Arms. De Beauxchamps glanced at the speaker a little disdainfully, and then replied gravely: "Alas! At the bottom of the sea--with all the other navies." "And how have you escaped?" demanded Cosmo Versál. "As you see, in a submersible." "Can it be possible!" exclaimed Cosmo. "And you have been in the sea ever since the beginning of the flood?" "Since the first rise of the ocean on the coast at Brest." "Have you no companions?" "Six--in truth, seven." "Astonishing!" said Cosmo Versál. "But I heard nothing of the preparation of a submersible. In fact, the idea of such a thing never occurred to me. You must have made your preparations secretly." "We did. We did not share your certainty, M. Versál, concerning the arrival of a deluge. Even when we embarked we were not sure that it would be more than an affair of the coasts." "But you must be on the point of starvation by this time. The flood has only begun. This cessation is but for a time, while we are passing a gap in the nebula. You will come aboard the Ark. I had chosen my company, but your gallant escape, and the ability that you have shown, prove that you are worthy to aid in the re-establishment of the race, and I have no doubt that your companions are equally worthy." The Frenchman bowed politely, and with a slight smile replied: "I believe, M. Versál, that the _Jules Verne_ is as safe and comfortable, and proportionately as well provisioned, as your Ark." "So you call it the _Jules Verne?_" returned Cosmo, smiling in his turn. "We were proud to give it that name, and its conduct has proved that it is worthy of it." "But you will surely come aboard and shake hands, and let us offer you a little hospitality," said Cosmo.