He's attached to a pump that sends him air through an india-rubber hose; it's an actual chain that fetters him to the shore, and if we were to be bound in this way to the Nautilus, we couldn't go far either."
Valósággal hozzá van tehát láncolva a földhöz. Ha mi is így hozzá lennénk kötve a Nautilushoz, bizony nem jutnánk messzire.