noon
I got up at six o'clock in the morning . The hatches were n't open . So the air inside had n't been renewed ; but the air tanks were kept full for any eventuality and would function appropriately to shoot a few cubic meters of oxygen into the Nautilus 's thin atmosphere . I worked in my stateroom until noon without seeing Captain Nemo even for an instant . Nobody on board seemed to be making any preparations for departure . I still waited for a while , then I made my way to the main lounge . Its timepiece marked 2:30 .