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Around the World in 80 Days
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Chapter I
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
AND PASSEPARTOUT
ACCEPT EACH OTHER, THE
ONE AS MASTER, THE
OTHER AS MAN
Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row,
Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in
1814. He was one of the most noticeable members of the
Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid
attracting attention; an enigmatical personage, about
whom little was known, except that he was a polished
man of the world. People said that he resembled Byron—
at least that his head was Byronic; but he was a bearded,
tranquil Byron, who might live on a thousand years
without growing old.
Certainly an Englishman, it was more doubtful whether
Phileas Fogg was a Londoner. He was never seen on
‘Change, nor at the Bank, nor in the counting-rooms of
the ‘City"; no ships ever came into London docks of
ads:
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which he was the owner; he had no public employment;
he had never been entered at any of the Inns of Court,
either at the Temple, or Lincoln’s Inn, or Gray’s Inn; nor
had his voice ever resounded in the Court of Chancery, or
in the Exchequer, or the Queen’s Bench, or the
Ecclesiastical Courts. He certainly was not a manufacturer;
nor was he a merchant or a gentleman farmer. His name
was strange to the scientific and learned societies, and he
never was known to take part in the sage deliberations of
the Royal Institution or the London Institution, the
Artisan’s Association, or the Institution of Arts and
Sciences. He belonged, in fact, to none of the numerous
societies which swarm in the English capital, from the
Harmonic to that of the Entomologists, founded mainly
for the purpose of abolishing pernicious insects.
Phileas Fogg was a member of the Reform, and that
was all.
The way in which he got admission to this exclusive
club was simple enough.
He was recommended by the Barings, with whom he
had an open credit. His cheques were regularly paid at
sight from his account current, which was always flush.
Was Phileas Fogg rich? Undoubtedly. But those who
knew him best could not imagine how he had made his
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fortune, and Mr. Fogg was the last person to whom to
apply for the information. He was not lavish, nor, on the
contrary, avaricious; for, whenever he knew that money
was needed for a noble, useful, or benevolent purpose, he
supplied it quietly and sometimes anonymously. He was,
in short, the least communicative of men. He talked very
little, and seemed all the more mysterious for his taciturn
manner. His daily habits were quite open to observation;
but whatever he did was so exactly the same thing that he
had always done before, that the wits of the curious were
fairly puzzled.
Had he travelled? It was likely, for no one seemed to
know the world more familiarly; there was no spot so
secluded that he did not appear to have an intimate
acquaintance with it. He often corrected, with a few clear
words, the thousand conjectures advanced by members of
the club as to lost and unheard-of travellers, pointing out
the true probabilities, and seeming as if gifted with a sort
of second sight, so often did events justify his predictions.
He must have travelled everywhere, at least in the spirit.
It was at least certain that Phileas Fogg had not
absented himself from London for many years. Those who
were honoured by a better acquaintance with him than
the rest, declared that nobody could pretend to have ever
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seen him anywhere else. His sole pastimes were reading
the papers and playing whist. He often won at this game,
which, as a silent one, harmonised with his nature; but his
winnings never went into his purse, being reserved as a
fund for his charities. Mr. Fogg played, not to win, but for
the sake of playing. The game was in his eyes a contest, a
struggle with a difficulty, yet a motionless, unwearying
struggle, congenial to his tastes.
Phileas Fogg was not known to have either wife or
children, which may happen to the most honest people;
either relatives or near friends, which is certainly more
unusual. He lived alone in his house in Saville Row,
whither none penetrated. A single domestic sufficed to
serve him. He breakfasted and dined at the club, at hours
mathematically fixed, in the same room, at the same table,
never taking his meals with other members, much less
bringing a guest with him; and went home at exactly
midnight, only to retire at once to bed. He never used the
cosy chambers which the Reform provides for its favoured
members. He passed ten hours out of the twenty-four in
Saville Row, either in sleeping or making his toilet. When
he chose to take a walk it was with a regular step in the
entrance hall with its mosaic flooring, or in the circular
gallery with its dome supported by twenty red porphyry
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Ionic columns, and illumined by blue painted windows.
When he breakfasted or dined all the resources of the
club—its kitchens and pantries, its buttery and dairy—
aided to crowd his table with their most succulent stores;
he was served by the gravest waiters, in dress coats, and
shoes with swan-skin soles, who proffered the viands in
special porcelain, and on the finest linen; club decanters, of
a lost mould, contained his sherry, his port, and his
cinnamon-spiced claret; while his beverages were
refreshingly cooled with ice, brought at great cost from
the American lakes.
If to live in this style is to be eccentric, it must be
confessed that there is something good in eccentricity.
The mansion in Saville Row, though not sumptuous,
was exceedingly comfortable. The habits of its occupant
were such as to demand but little from the sole domestic,
but Phileas Fogg required him to be almost superhumanly
prompt and regular. On this very 2nd of October he had
dismissed James Forster, because that luckless youth had
brought him shaving-water at eighty-four degrees
Fahrenheit instead of eighty-six; and he was awaiting his
successor, who was due at the house between eleven and
half-past.
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Phileas Fogg was seated squarely in his armchair, his
feet close together like those of a grenadier on parade, his
hands resting on his knees, his body straight, his head
erect; he was steadily watching a complicated clock which
indicated the hours, the minutes, the seconds, the days, the
months, and the years. At exactly half-past eleven Mr.
Fogg would, according to his daily habit, quit Saville
Row, and repair to the Reform.
A rap at this moment sounded on the door of the cosy
apartment where Phileas Fogg was seated, and James
Forster, the dismissed servant, appeared.
‘The new servant,’ said he.
A young man of thirty advanced and bowed.
‘You are a Frenchman, I believe,’ asked Phileas Fogg,
‘and your name is John?’
‘Jean, if monsieur pleases,’ replied the newcomer, ‘Jean
Passepartout, a surname which has clung to me because I
have a natural aptness for going out of one business into
another. I believe I’m honest, monsieur, but, to be
outspoken, I’ve had several trades. I’ve been an itinerant
singer, a circus-rider, when I used to vault like Leotard,
and dance on a rope like Blondin. Then I got to be a
professor of gymnastics, so as to make better use of my
talents; and then I was a sergeant fireman at Paris, and
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assisted at many a big fire. But I quitted France five years
ago, and, wishing to taste the sweets of domestic life, took
service as a valet here in England. Finding myself out of
place, and hearing that Monsieur Phileas Fogg was the
most exact and settled gentleman in the United Kingdom,
I have come to monsieur in the hope of living with him a
tranquil life, and forgetting even the name of
Passepartout.’
‘Passepartout suits me,’ responded Mr. Fogg. ‘You are
well recommended to me; I hear a good report of you.
You know my conditions?’
‘Yes, monsieur.’
‘Good! What time is it?’
‘Twenty-two minutes after eleven,’ returned
Passepartout, drawing an enormous silver watch from the
depths of his pocket.
‘You are too slow,’ said Mr. Fogg.
‘Pardon me, monsieur, it is impossible—‘
‘You are four minutes too slow. No matter; it’s enough
to mention the error. Now from this moment, twenty-
nine minutes after eleven, a.m., this Wednesday, 2nd
October, you are in my service.’
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Phileas Fogg got up, took his hat in his left hand, put it
on his head with an automatic motion, and went off
without a word.
Passepartout heard the street door shut once; it was his
new master going out. He heard it shut again; it was his
predecessor, James Forster, departing in his turn.
Passepartout remained alone in the house in Saville Row.
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Chapter II
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
IS CONVINCED THAT HE HAS
AT LAST FOUND HIS IDEAL
‘Faith,’ muttered Passepartout, somewhat flurried, ‘I’ve
seen people at Madame Tussaud’s as lively as my new
master!’
Madame Tussaud’s ‘people,’ let it be said, are of wax,
and are much visited in London; speech is all that is
wanting to make them human.
During his brief interview with Mr. Fogg, Passepartout
had been carefully observing him. He appeared to be a
man about forty years of age, with fine, handsome
features, and a tall, well-shaped figure; his hair and
whiskers were light, his forehead compact and
unwrinkled, his face rather pale, his teeth magnificent. His
countenance possessed in the highest degree what
physiognomists call ‘repose in action,’ a quality of those
who act rather than talk. Calm and phlegmatic, with a
clear eye, Mr. Fogg seemed a perfect type of that English
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composure which Angelica Kauffmann has so skilfully
represented on canvas. Seen in the various phases of his
daily life, he gave the idea of being perfectly well-
balanced, as exactly regulated as a Leroy chronometer.
Phileas Fogg was, indeed, exactitude personified, and this
was betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and
feet; for in men, as well as in animals, the limbs themselves
are expressive of the passions.
He was so exact that he was never in a hurry, was
always ready, and was economical alike of his steps and his
motions. He never took one step too many, and always
went to his destination by the shortest cut; he made no
superfluous gestures, and was never seen to be moved or
agitated. He was the most deliberate person in the world,
yet always reached his destination at the exact moment.
He lived alone, and, so to speak, outside of every social
relation; and as he knew that in this world account must
be taken of friction, and that friction retards, he never
rubbed against anybody.
As for Passepartout, he was a true Parisian of Paris.
Since he had abandoned his own country for England,
taking service as a valet, he had in vain searched for a
master after his own heart. Passepartout was by no means
one of those pert dunces depicted by Moliere with a bold
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gaze and a nose held high in the air; he was an honest
fellow, with a pleasant face, lips a trifle protruding, soft-
mannered and serviceable, with a good round head, such
as one likes to see on the shoulders of a friend. His eyes
were blue, his complexion rubicund, his figure almost
portly and well-built, his body muscular, and his physical
powers fully developed by the exercises of his younger
days. His brown hair was somewhat tumbled; for, while
the ancient sculptors are said to have known eighteen
methods of arranging Minerva’s tresses, Passepartout was
familiar with but one of dressing his own: three strokes of
a large-tooth comb completed his toilet.
It would be rash to predict how Passepartout’s lively
nature would agree with Mr. Fogg. It was impossible to
tell whether the new servant would turn out as absolutely
methodical as his master required; experience alone could
solve the question. Passepartout had been a sort of vagrant
in his early years, and now yearned for repose; but so far
he had failed to find it, though he had already served in
ten English houses. But he could not take root in any of
these; with chagrin, he found his masters invariably
whimsical and irregular, constantly running about the
country, or on the look-out for adventure. His last master,
young Lord Longferry, Member of Parliament, after
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passing his nights in the Haymarket taverns, was too often
brought home in the morning on policemen’s shoulders.
Passepartout, desirous of respecting the gentleman whom
he served, ventured a mild remonstrance on such conduct;
which, being ill-received, he took his leave. Hearing that
Mr. Phileas Fogg was looking for a servant, and that his
life was one of unbroken regularity, that he neither
travelled nor stayed from home overnight, he felt sure that
this would be the place he was after. He presented himself,
and was accepted, as has been seen.
At half-past eleven, then, Passepartout found himself
alone in the house in Saville Row. He begun its
inspection without delay, scouring it from cellar to garret.
So clean, well-arranged, solemn a mansion pleased him ; it
seemed to him like a snail’s shell, lighted and warmed by
gas, which sufficed for both these purposes. When
Passepartout reached the second story he recognised at
once the room which he was to inhabit, and he was well
satisfied with it. Electric bells and speaking-tubes afforded
communication with the lower stories; while on the
mantel stood an electric clock, precisely like that in Mr.
Fogg’s bedchamber, both beating the same second at the
same instant. ‘That’s good, that’ll do,’ said Passepartout to
himself.
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He suddenly observed, hung over the clock, a card
which, upon inspection, proved to be a programme of the
daily routine of the house. It comprised all that was
required of the servant, from eight in the morning, exactly
at which hour Phileas Fogg rose, till half-past eleven,
when he left the house for the Reform Club—all the
details of service, the tea and toast at twenty-three minutes
past eight, the shaving-water at thirty-seven minutes past
nine, and the toilet at twenty minutes before ten.
Everything was regulated and foreseen that was to be done
from half-past eleven a.m. till midnight, the hour at which
the methodical gentleman retired.
Mr. Fogg’s wardrobe was amply supplied and in the
best taste. Each pair of trousers, coat, and vest bore a
number, indicating the time of year and season at which
they were in turn to be laid out for wearing; and the same
system was applied to the master’s shoes. In short, the
house in Saville Row, which must have been a very
temple of disorder and unrest under the illustrious but
dissipated Sheridan, was cosiness, comfort, and method
idealised. There was no study, nor were there books,
which would have been quite useless to Mr. Fogg; for at
the Reform two libraries, one of general literature and the
other of law and politics, were at his service. A moderate-
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sized safe stood in his bedroom, constructed so as to defy
fire as well as burglars; but Passepartout found neither arms
nor hunting weapons anywhere; everything betrayed the
most tranquil and peaceable habits.
Having scrutinised the house from top to bottom, he
rubbed his hands, a broad smile overspread his features,
and he said joyfully, ‘This is just what I wanted! Ah, we
shall get on together, Mr. Fogg and I! What a domestic
and regular gentleman! A real machine; well, I don’t mind
serving a machine.’
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Chapter III
IN WHICH A
CONVERSATION TAKES
PLACE WHICH SEEMS LIKELY
TO COST PHILEAS FOGG
DEAR
Phileas Fogg, having shut the door of his house at half-
past eleven, and having put his right foot before his left
five hundred and seventy-five times, and his left foot
before his right five hundred and seventy-six times,
reached the Reform Club, an imposing edifice in Pall
Mall, which could not have cost less than three millions.
He repaired at once to the dining-room, the nine
windows of which open upon a tasteful garden, where the
trees were already gilded with an autumn colouring; and
took his place at the habitual table, the cover of which had
already been laid for him. His breakfast consisted of a side-
dish, a broiled fish with Reading sauce, a scarlet slice of
roast beef garnished with mushrooms, a rhubarb and
gooseberry tart, and a morsel of Cheshire cheese, the
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whole being washed down with several cups of tea, for
which the Reform is famous. He rose at thirteen minutes
to one, and directed his steps towards the large hall, a
sumptuous apartment adorned with lavishly-framed
paintings. A flunkey handed him an uncut Times, which
he proceeded to cut with a skill which betrayed familiarity
with this delicate operation. The perusal of this paper
absorbed Phileas Fogg until a quarter before four, whilst
the Standard, his next task, occupied him till the dinner
hour. Dinner passed as breakfast had done, and Mr. Fogg
re-appeared in the reading-room and sat down to the Pall
Mall at twenty minutes before six. Half an hour later
several members of the Reform came in and drew up to
the fireplace, where a coal fire was steadily burning. They
were Mr. Fogg’s usual partners at whist: Andrew Stuart, an
engineer; John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin, bankers;
Thomas Flanagan, a brewer; and Gauthier Ralph, one of
the Directors of the Bank of England— all rich and highly
respectable personages, even in a club which comprises the
princes of English trade and finance.
‘Well, Ralph,’ said Thomas Flanagan, ‘what about that
robbery?’
‘Oh,’ replied Stuart, ‘the Bank will lose the money.’
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‘On the contrary,’ broke in Ralph, ‘I hope we may put
our hands on the robber. Skilful detectives have been sent
to all the principal ports of America and the Continent,
and he’ll be a clever fellow if he slips through their
fingers.’
‘But have you got the robber’s description?’ asked
Stuart.
‘In the first place, he is no robber at all,’ returned
Ralph, positively.
‘What! a fellow who makes off with fifty-five thousand
pounds, no robber?’
‘No.’
‘Perhaps he’s a manufacturer, then.’
‘The Daily Telegraph says that he is a gentleman.’
It was Phileas Fogg, whose head now emerged from
behind his newspapers, who made this remark. He bowed
to his friends, and entered into the conversation. The affair
which formed its subject, and which was town talk, had
occurred three days before at the Bank of England. A
package of banknotes, to the value of fifty-five thousand
pounds, had been taken from the principal cashier’s table,
that functionary being at the moment engaged in
registering the receipt of three shillings and sixpence. Of
course, he could not have his eyes everywhere. Let it be
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observed that the Bank of England reposes a touching
confidence in the honesty of the public. There are neither
guards nor gratings to protect its treasures; gold, silver,
banknotes are freely exposed, at the mercy of the first
comer. A keen observer of English customs relates that,
being in one of the rooms of the Bank one day, he had
the curiosity to examine a gold ingot weighing some seven
or eight pounds. He took it up, scrutinised it, passed it to
his neighbour, he to the next man, and so on until the
ingot, going from hand to hand, was transferred to the end
of a dark entry; nor did it return to its place for half an
hour. Meanwhile, the cashier had not so much as raised
his head. But in the present instance things had not gone
so smoothly. The package of notes not being found when
five o’clock sounded from the ponderous clock in the
‘drawing office,’ the amount was passed to the account of
profit and loss. As soon as the robbery was discovered,
picked detectives hastened off to Liverpool, Glasgow,
Havre, Suez, Brindisi, New York, and other ports,
inspired by the proffered reward of two thousand pounds,
and five per cent. on the sum that might be recovered.
Detectives were also charged with narrowly watching
those who arrived at or left London by rail, and a judicial
examination was at once entered upon.
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There were real grounds for supposing, as the Daily
Telegraph said, that the thief did not belong to a
professional band. On the day of the robbery a well-
dressed gentleman of polished manners, and with a well-
to-do air, had been observed going to and fro in the
paying room where the crime was committed. A
description of him was easily procured and sent to the
detectives; and some hopeful spirits, of whom Ralph was
one, did not despair of his apprehension. The papers and
clubs were full of the affair, and everywhere people were
discussing the probabilities of a successful pursuit; and the
Reform Club was especially agitated, several of its
members being Bank officials.
Ralph would not concede that the work of the
detectives was likely to be in vain, for he thought that the
prize offered would greatly stimulate their zeal and
activity. But Stuart was far from sharing this confidence;
and, as they placed themselves at the whist-table, they
continued to argue the matter. Stuart and Flanagan played
together, while Phileas Fogg had Fallentin for his partner.
As the game proceeded the conversation ceased, excepting
between the rubbers, when it revived again.
‘I maintain,’ said Stuart, ‘that the chances are in favour
of the thief, who must be a shrewd fellow.’
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‘Well, but where can he fly to?’ asked Ralph. ‘No
country is safe for him.’
‘Pshaw!’
‘Where could he go, then?’
‘Oh, I don’t know that. The world is big enough.’
‘It was once,’ said Phileas Fogg, in a low tone. ‘Cut,
sir,’ he added, handing the cards to Thomas Flanagan.
The discussion fell during the rubber, after which
Stuart took up its thread.
‘What do you mean by ‘once’? Has the world grown
smaller?’
‘Certainly,’ returned Ralph. ‘I agree with Mr. Fogg.
The world has grown smaller, since a man can now go
round it ten times more quickly than a hundred years ago.
And that is why the search for this thief will be more
likely to succeed.’
‘And also why the thief can get away more easily.’
‘Be so good as to play, Mr. Stuart,’ said Phileas Fogg.
But the incredulous Stuart was not convinced, and
when the hand was finished, said eagerly: ‘You have a
strange way, Ralph, of proving that the world has grown
smaller. So, because you can go round it in three
months—‘
‘In eighty days,’ interrupted Phileas Fogg.
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‘That is true, gentlemen,’ added John Sullivan. ‘Only
eighty days, now that the section between Rothal and
Allahabad, on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, has
been opened. Here is the estimate made by the Daily
Telegraph:
From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and
Brindisi, by rail and steamboats ................. 7 days
From Suez to Bombay, by steamer .................... 13 ‘
From Bombay to Calcutta, by rail ................... 3 ‘
From Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer ............. 13 ‘
From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer ..... 6
‘
From Yokohama to San Francisco, by steamer ......... 22 ‘
From San Francisco to New York, by rail ............. 7 ‘
From New York to London, by steamer and rail ........ 9 ‘
Total ............................................ 80 days.’
‘Yes, in eighty days!’ exclaimed Stuart, who in his
excitement made a false deal. ‘But that doesn’t take into
account bad weather, contrary winds, shipwrecks, railway
accidents, and so on.’
‘All included,’ returned Phileas Fogg, continuing to
play despite the discussion.
‘But suppose the Hindoos or Indians pull up the rails,’
replied Stuart; ‘suppose they stop the trains, pillage the
luggage-vans, and scalp the passengers!’
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‘All included,’ calmly retorted Fogg; adding, as he
threw down the cards, ‘Two trumps.’
Stuart, whose turn it was to deal, gathered them up,
and went on: ‘You are right, theoretically, Mr. Fogg, but
practically—‘
‘Practically also, Mr. Stuart.’
‘I’d like to see you do it in eighty days.’
‘It depends on you. Shall we go?’
‘Heaven preserve me! But I would wager four thousand
pounds that such a journey, made under these conditions,
is impossible.’
‘Quite possible, on the contrary,’ returned Mr. Fogg.
‘Well, make it, then!’
‘The journey round the world in eighty days?’
‘Yes.’
‘I should like nothing better.’
‘When?’
‘At once. Only I warn you that I shall do it at your
expense.’
‘It’s absurd!’ cried Stuart, who was beginning to be
annoyed at the persistency of his friend. ‘Come, let’s go on
with the game.’
‘Deal over again, then,’ said Phileas Fogg. ‘There’s a
false deal.’
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Stuart took up the pack with a feverish hand; then
suddenly put them down again.
‘Well, Mr. Fogg,’ said he, ‘it shall be so: I will wager
the four thousand on it.’
‘Calm yourself, my dear Stuart,’ said Fallentin. ‘It’s only
a joke.’
‘When I say I’ll wager,’ returned Stuart, ‘I mean it.’ ‘All
right,’ said Mr. Fogg; and, turning to the others, he
continued: ‘I have a deposit of twenty thousand at Baring’s
which I will willingly risk upon it.’
‘Twenty thousand pounds!’ cried Sullivan. ‘Twenty
thousand pounds, which you would lose by a single
accidental delay!’
‘The unforeseen does not exist,’ quietly replied Phileas
Fogg.
‘But, Mr. Fogg, eighty days are only the estimate of the
least possible time in which the journey can be made.’
‘A well-used minimum suffices for everything.’
‘But, in order not to exceed it, you must jump
mathematically from the trains upon the steamers, and
from the steamers upon the trains again.’
‘I will jump—mathematically.’
‘You are joking.’
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‘A true Englishman doesn’t joke when he is talking
about so serious a thing as a wager,’ replied Phileas Fogg,
solemnly. ‘I will bet twenty thousand pounds against
anyone who wishes that I will make the tour of the world
in eighty days or less; in nineteen hundred and twenty
hours, or a hundred and fifteen thousand two hundred
minutes. Do you accept?’
‘We accept,’ replied Messrs. Stuart, Fallentin, Sullivan,
Flanagan, and Ralph, after consulting each other.
‘Good,’ said Mr. Fogg. ‘The train leaves for Dover at a
quarter before nine. I will take it.’
‘This very evening?’ asked Stuart.
‘This very evening,’ returned Phileas Fogg. He took
out and consulted a pocket almanac, and added, ‘As today
is Wednesday, the 2nd of October, I shall be due in
London in this very room of the Reform Club, on
Saturday, the 21st of December, at a quarter before nine
p.m.; or else the twenty thousand pounds, now deposited
in my name at Baring’s, will belong to you, in fact and in
right, gentlemen. Here is a cheque for the amount.’
A memorandum of the wager was at once drawn up
and signed by the six parties, during which Phileas Fogg
preserved a stoical composure. He certainly did not bet to
win, and had only staked the twenty thousand pounds,
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half of his fortune, because he foresaw that he might have
to expend the other half to carry out this difficult, not to
say unattainable, project. As for his antagonists, they
seemed much agitated; not so much by the value of their
stake, as because they had some scruples about betting
under conditions so difficult to their friend.
The clock struck seven, and the party offered to
suspend the game so that Mr. Fogg might make his
preparations for departure.
‘I am quite ready now,’ was his tranquil response.
‘Diamonds are trumps: be so good as to play, gentlemen.’
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Chapter IV
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
ASTOUNDS PASSEPARTOUT,
HIS SERVANT
Having won twenty guineas at whist, and taken leave
of his friends, Phileas Fogg, at twenty-five minutes past
seven, left the Reform Club.
Passepartout, who had conscientiously studied the
programme of his duties, was more than surprised to see
his master guilty of the inexactness of appearing at this
unaccustomed hour; for, according to rule, he was not due
in Saville Row until precisely midnight.
Mr. Fogg repaired to his bedroom, and called out,
‘Passepartout!’
Passepartout did not reply. It could not be he who was
called; it was not the right hour.
‘Passepartout!’ repeated Mr. Fogg, without raising his
voice.
Passepartout made his appearance.
‘I’ve called you twice,’ observed his master.
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‘But it is not midnight,’ responded the other, showing
his watch.
‘I know it; I don’t blame you. We start for Dover and
Calais in ten minutes.’
A puzzled grin overspread Passepartout’s round face;
clearly he had not comprehended his master.
‘Monsieur is going to leave home?’
‘Yes,’ returned Phileas Fogg. ‘We are going round the
world.’
Passepartout opened wide his eyes, raised his eyebrows,
held up his hands, and seemed about to collapse, so
overcome was he with stupefied astonishment.
‘Round the world!’ he murmured.
‘In eighty days,’ responded Mr. Fogg. ‘So we haven’t a
moment to lose.’
‘But the trunks?’ gasped Passepartout, unconsciously
swaying his head from right to left.
‘We’ll have no trunks; only a carpet-bag, with two
shirts and three pairs of stockings for me, and the same for
you. We’ll buy our clothes on the way. Bring down my
mackintosh and traveling-cloak, and some stout shoes,
though we shall do little walking. Make haste!’
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Passepartout tried to reply, but could not. He went out,
mounted to his own room, fell into a chair, and muttered:
‘That’s good, that is! And I, who wanted to remain quiet!’
He mechanically set about making the preparations for
departure. Around the world in eighty days! Was his
master a fool? No. Was this a joke, then? They were going
to Dover; good! To Calais; good again! After all,
Passepartout, who had been away from France five years,
would not be sorry to set foot on his native soil again.
Perhaps they would go as far as Paris, and it would do his
eyes good to see Paris once more. But surely a gentleman
so chary of his steps would stop there; no doubt— but,
then, it was none the less true that he was going away, this
so domestic person hitherto!
By eight o’clock Passepartout had packed the modest
carpet-bag, containing the wardrobes of his master and
himself; then, still troubled in mind, he carefully shut the
door of his room, and descended to Mr. Fogg.
Mr. Fogg was quite ready. Under his arm might have
been observed a red-bound copy of Bradshaw’s
Continental Railway Steam Transit and General Guide,
with its timetables showing the arrival and departure of
steamers and railways. He took the carpet-bag, opened it,
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and slipped into it a goodly roll of Bank of England notes,
which would pass wherever he might go.
‘You have forgotten nothing?’ asked he.
‘Nothing, monsieur.’
‘My mackintosh and cloak?’
‘Here they are.’
‘Good! Take this carpet-bag,’ handing it to
Passepartout. ‘Take good care of it, for there are twenty
thousand pounds in it.’
Passepartout nearly dropped the bag, as if the twenty
thousand pounds were in gold, and weighed him down.
Master and man then descended, the street-door was
double-locked, and at the end of Saville Row they took a
cab and drove rapidly to Charing Cross. The cab stopped
before the railway station at twenty minutes past eight.
Passepartout jumped off the box and followed his master,
who, after paying the cabman, was about to enter the
station, when a poor beggar-woman, with a child in her
arms, her naked feet smeared with mud, her head covered
with a wretched bonnet, from which hung a tattered
feather, and her shoulders shrouded in a ragged shawl,
approached, and mournfully asked for alms.
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Mr. Fogg took out the twenty guineas he had just won
at whist, and handed them to the beggar, saying, ‘Here,
my good woman. I’m glad that I met you;’ and passed on.
Passepartout had a moist sensation about the eyes; his
master’s action touched his susceptible heart.
Two first-class tickets for Paris having been speedily
purchased, Mr. Fogg was crossing the station to the train,
when he perceived his five friends of the Reform.
‘Well, gentlemen,’ said he, ‘I’m off, you see; and, if you
will examine my passport when I get back, you will be
able to judge whether I have accomplished the journey
agreed upon.’
‘Oh, that would be quite unnecessary, Mr. Fogg,’ said
Ralph politely. ‘We will trust your word, as a gentleman
of honour.’
‘You do not forget when you are due in London
again?’ asked Stuart.
‘In eighty days; on Saturday, the 21st of December,
1872, at a quarter before nine p.m. Good-bye,
gentlemen.’
Phileas Fogg and his servant seated themselves in a first-
class carriage at twenty minutes before nine; five minutes
later the whistle screamed, and the train slowly glided out
of the station.
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The night was dark, and a fine, steady rain was falling.
Phileas Fogg, snugly ensconced in his corner, did not open
his lips. Passepartout, not yet recovered from his
stupefaction, clung mechanically to the carpet-bag, with its
enormous treasure.
Just as the train was whirling through Sydenham,
Passepartout suddenly uttered a cry of despair.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘Alas! In my hurry—I—I forgot—‘
‘What?’
‘To turn off the gas in my room!’
‘Very well, young man,’ returned Mr. Fogg, coolly; ‘it
will burn— at your expense.’
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Chapter V
IN WHICH A NEW SPECIES
OF FUNDS, UNKNOWN TO
THE MONEYED MEN,
APPEARS ON ‘CHANGE
Phileas Fogg rightly suspected that his departure from
London would create a lively sensation at the West End.
The news of the bet spread through the Reform Club,
and afforded an exciting topic of conversation to its
members. From the club it soon got into the papers
throughout England. The boasted ‘tour of the world’ was
talked about, disputed, argued with as much warmth as if
the subject were another Alabama claim. Some took sides
with Phileas Fogg, but the large majority shook their
heads and declared against him; it was absurd, impossible,
they declared, that the tour of the world could be made,
except theoretically and on paper, in this minimum of
time, and with the existing means of travelling. The
Times, Standard, Morning Post, and Daily News, and
twenty other highly respectable newspapers scouted Mr.
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Fogg’s project as madness; the Daily Telegraph alone
hesitatingly supported him. People in general thought him
a lunatic, and blamed his Reform Club friends for having
accepted a wager which betrayed the mental aberration of
its proposer.
Articles no less passionate than logical appeared on the
question, for geography is one of the pet subjects of the
English; and the columns devoted to Phileas Fogg’s
venture were eagerly devoured by all classes of readers. At
first some rash individuals, principally of the gentler sex,
espoused his cause, which became still more popular when
the Illustrated London News came out with his portrait,
copied from a photograph in the Reform Club. A few
readers of the Daily Telegraph even dared to say, ‘Why
not, after all? Stranger things have come to pass.’
At last a long article appeared, on the 7th of October,
in the bulletin of the Royal Geographical Society, which
treated the question from every point of view, and
demonstrated the utter folly of the enterprise.
Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every
obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. A
miraculous agreement of the times of departure and
arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to
his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival of
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trains at the designated hours, in Europe, where the
distances were relatively moderate; but when he calculated
upon crossing India in three days, and the United States in
seven, could he rely beyond misgiving upon
accomplishing his task? There were accidents to
machinery, the liability of trains to run off the line,
collisions, bad weather, the blocking up by snow—were
not all these against Phileas Fogg? Would he not find
himself, when travelling by steamer in winter, at the
mercy of the winds and fogs? Is it uncommon for the best
ocean steamers to be two or three days behind time? But a
single delay would suffice to fatally break the chain of
communication; should Phileas Fogg once miss, even by
an hour; a steamer, he would have to wait for the next,
and that would irrevocably render his attempt vain.
This article made a great deal of noise, and, being
copied into all the papers, seriously depressed the
advocates of the rash tourist.
Everybody knows that England is the world of betting
men, who are of a higher class than mere gamblers; to bet
is in the English temperament. Not only the members of
the Reform, but the general public, made heavy wagers
for or against Phileas Fogg, who was set down in the
betting books as if he were a race-horse. Bonds were
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issued, and made their appearance on ‘Change; ‘Phileas
Fogg bonds’ were offered at par or at a premium, and a
great business was done in them. But five days after the
article in the bulletin of the Geographical Society
appeared, the demand began to subside: ‘Phileas Fogg’
declined. They were offered by packages, at first of five,
then of ten, until at last nobody would take less than
twenty, fifty, a hundred!
Lord Albemarle, an elderly paralytic gentleman, was
now the only advocate of Phileas Fogg left. This noble
lord, who was fastened to his chair, would have given his
fortune to be able to make the tour of the world, if it took
ten years; and he bet five thousand pounds on Phileas
Fogg. When the folly as well as the uselessness of the
adventure was pointed out to him, he contented himself
with replying, ‘If the thing is feasible, the first to do it
ought to be an Englishman.’
The Fogg party dwindled more and more, everybody
was going against him, and the bets stood a hundred and
fifty and two hundred to one; and a week after his
departure an incident occurred which deprived him of
backers at any price.
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The commissioner of police was sitting in his office at
nine o’clock one evening, when the following telegraphic
dispatch was put into his hands:
Suez to London.
Rowan, Commissioner of Police, Scotland Yard:
I’ve found the bank robber, Phileas Fogg. Send with
out delay warrant of arrest to Bombay.
Fix, Detective.
The effect of this dispatch was instantaneous. The
polished gentleman disappeared to give place to the bank
robber. His photograph, which was hung with those of
the rest of the members at the Reform Club, was minutely
examined, and it betrayed, feature by feature, the
description of the robber which had been provided to the
police. The mysterious habits of Phileas Fogg were
recalled; his solitary ways, his sudden departure; and it
seemed clear that, in undertaking a tour round the world
on the pretext of a wager, he had had no other end in
view than to elude the detectives, and throw them off his
track.
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Chapter VI
IN WHICH FIX, THE
DETECTIVE, BETRAYS A
VERY NATURAL IMPATIENCE
The circumstances under which this telegraphic
dispatch about Phileas Fogg was sent were as follows:
The steamer Mongolia, belonging to the Peninsular and
Oriental Company, built of iron, of two thousand eight
hundred tons burden, and five hundred horse-power, was
due at eleven o’clock a.m. on Wednesday, the 9th of
October, at Suez. The Mongolia plied regularly between
Brindisi and Bombay via the Suez Canal, and was one of
the fastest steamers belonging to the company, always
making more than ten knots an hour between Brindisi and
Suez, and nine and a half between Suez and Bombay.
Two men were promenading up and down the
wharves, among the crowd of natives and strangers who
were sojourning at this once straggling village— now,
thanks to the enterprise of M. Lesseps, a fast-growing
town. One was the British consul at Suez, who, despite
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the prophecies of the English Government, and the
unfavourable predictions of Stephenson, was in the habit
of seeing, from his office window, English ships daily
passing to and fro on the great canal, by which the old
roundabout route from England to India by the Cape of
Good Hope was abridged by at least a half. The other was
a small, slight-built personage, with a nervous, intelligent
face, and bright eyes peering out from under eyebrows
which he was incessantly twitching. He was just now
manifesting unmistakable signs of impatience, nervously
pacing up and down, and unable to stand still for a
moment. This was Fix, one of the detectives who had
been dispatched from England in search of the bank
robber; it was his task to narrowly watch every passenger
who arrived at Suez, and to follow up all who seemed to
be suspicious characters, or bore a resemblance to the
description of the criminal, which he had received two
days before from the police headquarters at London. The
detective was evidently inspired by the hope of obtaining
the splendid reward which would be the prize of success,
and awaited with a feverish impatience, easy to
understand, the arrival of the steamer Mongolia.
‘So you say, consul,’ asked he for the twentieth time,
‘that this steamer is never behind time?’
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‘No, Mr. Fix,’ replied the consul. ‘She was bespoken
yesterday at Port Said, and the rest of the way is of no
account to such a craft. I repeat that the Mongolia has
been in advance of the time required by the company’s
regulations, and gained the prize awarded for excess of
speed.’
‘Does she come directly from Brindisi?’
‘Directly from Brindisi; she takes on the Indian mails
there, and she left there Saturday at five p.m. Have
patience, Mr. Fix; she will not be late. But really, I don’t
see how, from the description you have, you will be able
to recognise your man, even if he is on board the
Mongolia.’
‘A man rather feels the presence of these fellows,
consul, than recognises them. You must have a scent for
them, and a scent is like a sixth sense which combines
hearing, seeing, and smelling. I’ve arrested more than one
of these gentlemen in my time, and, if my thief is on
board, I’ll answer for it; he’ll not slip through my fingers.’
‘I hope so, Mr. Fix, for it was a heavy robbery.’
‘A magnificent robbery, consul; fifty-five thousand
pounds! We don’t often have such windfalls. Burglars are
getting to be so contemptible nowadays! A fellow gets
hung for a handful of shillings!’
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‘Mr. Fix,’ said the consul, ‘I like your way of talking,
and hope you’ll succeed; but I fear you will find it far from
easy. Don’t you see, the description which you have there
has a singular resemblance to an honest man?’
‘Consul,’ remarked the detective, dogmatically, ‘great
robbers always resemble honest folks. Fellows who have
rascally faces have only one course to take, and that is to
remain honest; otherwise they would be arrested off-hand.
The artistic thing is, to unmask honest countenances; it’s
no light task, I admit, but a real art.’
Mr. Fix evidently was not wanting in a tinge of self-
conceit.
Little by little the scene on the quay became more
animated; sailors of various nations, merchants, ship-
brokers, porters, fellahs, bustled to and fro as if the steamer
were immediately expected. The weather was clear, and
slightly chilly. The minarets of the town loomed above the
houses in the pale rays of the sun. A jetty pier, some two
thousand yards along, extended into the roadstead. A
number of fishing-smacks and coasting boats, some
retaining the fantastic fashion of ancient galleys, were
discernible on the Red Sea.
As he passed among the busy crowd, Fix, according to
habit, scrutinised the passers-by with a keen, rapid glance.
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It was now half-past ten.
‘The steamer doesn’t come!’ he exclaimed, as the port
clock struck.
‘She can’t be far off now,’ returned his companion.
‘How long will she stop at Suez?’
‘Four hours; long enough to get in her coal. It is
thirteen hundred and ten miles from Suez to Aden, at the
other end of the Red Sea, and she has to take in a fresh
coal supply.’
‘And does she go from Suez directly to Bombay?’
‘Without putting in anywhere.’
‘Good!’ said Fix. ‘If the robber is on board he will no
doubt get off at Suez, so as to reach the Dutch or French
colonies in Asia by some other route. He ought to know
that he would not be safe an hour in India, which is
English soil.’
‘Unless,’ objected the consul, ‘he is exceptionally
shrewd. An English criminal, you know, is always better
concealed in London than anywhere else.’
This observation furnished the detective food for
thought, and meanwhile the consul went away to his
office. Fix, left alone, was more impatient than ever,
having a presentiment that the robber was on board the
Mongolia. If he had indeed left London intending to reach
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the New World, he would naturally take the route via
India, which was less watched and more difficult to watch
than that of the Atlantic. But Fix’s reflections were soon
interrupted by a succession of sharp whistles, which
announced the arrival of the Mongolia. The porters and
fellahs rushed down the quay, and a dozen boats pushed
off from the shore to go and meet the steamer. Soon her
gigantic hull appeared passing along between the banks,
and eleven o’clock struck as she anchored in the road. She
brought an unusual number of passengers, some of whom
remained on deck to scan the picturesque panorama of the
town, while the greater part disembarked in the boats, and
landed on the quay.
Fix took up a position, and carefully examined each
face and figure which made its appearance. Presently one
of the passengers, after vigorously pushing his way through
the importunate crowd of porters, came up to him and
politely asked if he could point out the English consulate,
at the same time showing a passport which he wished to
have visaed. Fix instinctively took the passport, and with a
rapid glance read the description of its bearer. An
involuntary motion of surprise nearly escaped him, for the
description in the passport was identical with that of the
bank robber which he had received from Scotland Yard.
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‘Is this your passport?’ asked he.
‘No, it’s my master’s.’
‘And your master is—‘
‘He stayed on board.’
‘But he must go to the consul’s in person, so as to
establish his identity.’
‘Oh, is that necessary?’
‘Quite indispensable.’
‘And where is the consulate?’
‘There, on the corner of the square,’ said Fix, pointing
to a house two hundred steps off.
‘I’ll go and fetch my master, who won’t be much
pleased, however, to be disturbed.’
The passenger bowed to Fix, and returned to the
steamer.
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Chapter VII
WHICH ONCE MORE
DEMONSTRATES THE
USELESSNESS OF PASSPORTS
AS AIDS TO DETECTIVES
The detective passed down the quay, and rapidly made
his way to the consul’s office, where he was at once
admitted to the presence of that official.
‘Consul,’ said he, without preamble, ‘I have strong
reasons for believing that my man is a passenger on the
Mongolia.’ And he narrated what had just passed
concerning the passport.
‘Well, Mr. Fix,’ replied the consul, ‘I shall not be sorry
to see the rascal’s face; but perhaps he won’t come here—
that is, if he is the person you suppose him to be. A robber
doesn’t quite like to leave traces of his flight behind him;
and, besides, he is not obliged to have his passport
countersigned.’
‘If he is as shrewd as I think he is, consul, he will
come.’
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‘To have his passport visaed?’
‘Yes. Passports are only good for annoying honest folks,
and aiding in the flight of rogues. I assure you it will be
quite the thing for him to do; but I hope you will not visa
the passport.’
‘Why not? If the passport is genuine I have no right to
refuse.’
‘Still, I must keep this man here until I can get a
warrant to arrest him from London.’
‘Ah, that’s your look-out. But I cannot—‘
The consul did not finish his sentence, for as he spoke a
knock was heard at the door, and two strangers entered,
one of whom was the servant whom Fix had met on the
quay. The other, who was his master, held out his passport
with the request that the consul would do him the favour
to visa it. The consul took the document and carefully
read it, whilst Fix observed, or rather devoured, the
stranger with his eyes from a corner of the room.
‘You are Mr. Phileas Fogg?’ said the consul, after
reading the passport.
‘I am.’
‘And this man is your servant?’
‘He is: a Frenchman, named Passepartout.’
‘You are from London?’
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‘Yes.’
‘And you are going—‘
‘To Bombay.’
‘Very good, sir. You know that a visa is useless, and
that no passport is required?’
‘I know it, sir,’ replied Phileas Fogg; ‘but I wish to
prove, by your visa, that I came by Suez.’
‘Very well, sir.’
The consul proceeded to sign and date the passport,
after which he added his official seal. Mr. Fogg paid the
customary fee, coldly bowed, and went out, followed by
his servant.
‘Well?’ queried the detective.
‘Well, he looks and acts like a perfectly honest man,’
replied the consul.
‘Possibly; but that is not the question. Do you think,
consul, that this phelgmatic gentleman resembles, feature
by feature, the robber whose description I have received?’
‘I concede that; but then, you know, all descriptions—‘
‘I’ll make certain of it,’ interrupted Fix. ‘The servant
seems to me less mysterious than the master; besides, he’s a
Frenchman, and can’t help talking. Excuse me for a little
while, consul.’
Fix started off in search of Passepartout.
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Meanwhile Mr. Fogg, after leaving the consulate,
repaired to the quay, gave some orders to Passepartout,
went off to the Mongolia in a boat, and descended to his
cabin. He took up his note-book, which contained the
following memoranda:
‘Left London, Wednesday, October 2nd, at 8.45 p.m.
‘Reached Paris, Thursday, October 3rd, at 7.20 a.m. ‘Left
Paris, Thursday, at 8.40 a.m. ‘Reached Turin by Mont
Cenis, Friday, October 4th, at 6.35 a.m. ‘Left Turin,
Friday, at 7.20 a.m. ‘Arrived at Brindisi, Saturday, October
5th, at 4 p.m. ‘Sailed on the Mongolia, Saturday, at 5 p.m.
‘Reached Suez, Wednesday, October 9th, at 11 a.m.
‘Total of hours spent, 158+; or, in days, six days and a
half.’
These dates were inscribed in an itinerary divided into
columns, indicating the month, the day of the month, and
the day for the stipulated and actual arrivals at each
principal point Paris, Brindisi, Suez, Bombay, Calcutta,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New
York, and London—from the 2nd of October to the 21st
of December; and giving a space for setting down the gain
made or the loss suffered on arrival at each locality. This
methodical record thus contained an account of
everything needed, and Mr. Fogg always knew whether
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he was behind-hand or in advance of his time. On this
Friday, October 9th, he noted his arrival at Suez, and
observed that he had as yet neither gained nor lost. He sat
down quietly to breakfast in his cabin, never once
thinking of inspecting the town, being one of those
Englishmen who are wont to see foreign countries
through the eyes of their domestics.
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Chapter VIII
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
TALKS RATHER MORE,
PERHAPS, THAN IS PRUDENT
Fix soon rejoined Passepartout, who was lounging and
looking about on the quay, as if he did not feel that he, at
least, was obliged not to see anything.
‘Well, my friend,’ said the detective, coming up with
him, ‘is your passport visaed?’
‘Ah, it’s you, is it, monsieur?’ responded Passepartout.
‘Thanks, yes, the passport is all right.’
‘And you are looking about you?’
‘Yes; but we travel so fast that I seem to be journeying
in a dream. So this is Suez?’
‘Yes.’
‘In Egypt?’
‘Certainly, in Egypt.’
‘And in Africa?’
‘In Africa.’
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‘In Africa!’ repeated Passepartout. ‘Just think, monsieur,
I had no idea that we should go farther than Paris; and all
that I saw of Paris was between twenty minutes past seven
and twenty minutes before nine in the morning, between
the Northern and the Lyons stations, through the
windows of a car, and in a driving rain! How I regret not
having seen once more Pere la Chaise and the circus in
the Champs Elysees!’
‘You are in a great hurry, then?’
‘I am not, but my master is. By the way, I must buy
some shoes and shirts. We came away without trunks,
only with a carpet-bag.’
‘I will show you an excellent shop for getting what you
want.’
‘Really, monsieur, you are very kind.’
And they walked off together, Passepartout chatting
volubly as they went along.
‘Above all,’ said he; ‘don’t let me lose the steamer.’
‘You have plenty of time; it’s only twelve o’clock.’
Passepartout pulled out his big watch. ‘Twelve!’ he
exclaimed; ‘why, it’s only eight minutes before ten.’
‘Your watch is slow.’
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‘My watch? A family watch, monsieur, which has come
down from my great-grandfather! It doesn’t vary five
minutes in the year. It’s a perfect chronometer, look you.’
‘I see how it is,’ said Fix. ‘You have kept London time,
which is two hours behind that of Suez. You ought to
regulate your watch at noon in each country.’
‘I regulate my watch? Never!’
‘Well, then, it will not agree with the sun.’
‘So much the worse for the sun, monsieur. The sun
will be wrong, then!’
And the worthy fellow returned the watch to its fob
with a defiant gesture. After a few minutes silence, Fix
resumed: ‘You left London hastily, then?’
‘I rather think so! Last Friday at eight o’clock in the
evening, Monsieur Fogg came home from his club, and
three-quarters of an hour afterwards we were off.’
‘But where is your master going?’
‘Always straight ahead. He is going round the world.’
‘Round the world?’ cried Fix.
‘Yes, and in eighty days! He says it is on a wager; but,
between us, I don’t believe a word of it. That wouldn’t be
common sense. There’s something else in the wind.’
‘Ah! Mr. Fogg is a character, is he?’
‘I should say he was.’
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‘Is he rich?’
‘No doubt, for he is carrying an enormous sum in
brand new banknotes with him. And he doesn’t spare the
money on the way, either: he has offered a large reward to
the engineer of the Mongolia if he gets us to Bombay well
in advance of time.’
‘And you have known your master a long time?’
‘Why, no; I entered his service the very day we left
London.’
The effect of these replies upon the already suspicious
and excited detective may be imagined. The hasty
departure from London soon after the robbery; the large
sum carried by Mr. Fogg; his eagerness to reach distant
countries; the pretext of an eccentric and foolhardy bet—
all confirmed Fix in his theory. He continued to pump
poor Passepartout, and learned that he really knew little or
nothing of his master, who lived a solitary existence in
London, was said to be rich, though no one knew whence
came his riches, and was mysterious and impenetrable in
his affairs and habits. Fix felt sure that Phileas Fogg would
not land at Suez, but was really going on to Bombay.
‘Is Bombay far from here?’ asked Passepartout.
‘Pretty far. It is a ten days’ voyage by sea.’
‘And in what country is Bombay?’
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‘India.’
‘In Asia?’
‘Certainly.’
‘The deuce! I was going to tell you there’s one thing
that worries me— my burner!’
‘What burner?’
‘My gas-burner, which I forgot to turn off, and which
is at this moment burning at my expense. I have
calculated, monsieur, that I lose two shillings every four
and twenty hours, exactly sixpense more than I earn; and
you will understand that the longer our journey—‘
Did Fix pay any attention to Passepartout’s trouble
about the gas? It is not probable. He was not listening, but
was cogitating a project. Passepartout and he had now
reached the shop, where Fix left his companion to make
his purchases, after recommending him not to miss the
steamer, and hurried back to the consulate. Now that he
was fully convinced, Fix had quite recovered his
equanimity.
‘Consul,’ said he, ‘I have no longer any doubt. I have
spotted my man. He passes himself off as an odd stick who
is going round the world in eighty days.’
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‘Then he’s a sharp fellow,’ returned the consul, ‘and
counts on returning to London after putting the police of
the two countries off his track.’
‘We’ll see about that,’ replied Fix.
‘But are you not mistaken?’
‘I am not mistaken.’
‘Why was this robber so anxious to prove, by the visa,
that he had passed through Suez?’
‘Why? I have no idea; but listen to me.’
He reported in a few words the most important parts of
his conversation with Passepartout.
‘In short,’ said the consul, ‘appearances are wholly
against this man. And what are you going to do?’
‘Send a dispatch to London for a warrant of arrest to be
dispatched instantly to Bombay, take passage on board the
Mongolia, follow my rogue to India, and there, on
English ground, arrest him politely, with my warrant in
my hand, and my hand on his shoulder.’
Having uttered these words with a cool, careless air, the
detective took leave of the consul, and repaired to the
telegraph office, whence he sent the dispatch which we
have seen to the London police office. A quarter of an
hour later found Fix, with a small bag in his hand,
proceeding on board the Mongolia; and, ere many
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Chapter IX
IN WHICH THE RED SEA
AND THE INDIAN OCEAN
PROVE PROPITIOUS TO THE
DESIGNS OF PHILEAS FOGG
The distance between Suez and Aden is precisely
thirteen hundred and ten miles, and the regulations of the
company allow the steamers one hundred and thirty-eight
hours in which to traverse it. The Mongolia, thanks to the
vigorous exertions of the engineer, seemed likely, so rapid
was her speed, to reach her destination considerably
within that time. The greater part of the passengers from
Brindisi were bound for India some for Bombay, others
for Calcutta by way of Bombay, the nearest route thither,
now that a railway crosses the Indian peninsula. Among
the passengers was a number of officials and military
officers of various grades, the latter being either attached
to the regular British forces or commanding the Sepoy
troops, and receiving high salaries ever since the central
government has assumed the powers of the East India
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Company: for the sub-lieutenants get 280 pounds,
brigadiers, 2,400 pounds, and generals of divisions, 4,000
pounds. What with the military men, a number of rich
young Englishmen on their travels, and the hospitable
efforts of the purser, the time passed quickly on the
Mongolia. The best of fare was spread upon the cabin
tables at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the eight o’clock
supper, and the ladies scrupulously changed their toilets
twice a day; and the hours were whirled away, when the
sea was tranquil, with music, dancing, and games.
But the Red Sea is full of caprice, and often boisterous,
like most long and narrow gulfs. When the wind came
from the African or Asian coast the Mongolia, with her
long hull, rolled fearfully. Then the ladies speedily
disappeared below; the pianos were silent; singing and
dancing suddenly ceased. Yet the good ship ploughed
straight on, unretarded by wind or wave, towards the
straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. What was Phileas Fogg doing all
this time? It might be thought that, in his anxiety, he
would be constantly watching the changes of the wind,
the disorderly raging of the billows—every chance, in
short, which might force the Mongolia to slacken her
speed, and thus interrupt his journey. But, if he thought of
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these possibilities, he did not betray the fact by any
outward sign.
Always the same impassible member of the Reform
Club, whom no incident could surprise, as unvarying as
the ship’s chronometers, and seldom having the curiosity
even to go upon the deck, he passed through the
memorable scenes of the Red Sea with cold indifference;
did not care to recognise the historic towns and villages
which, along its borders, raised their picturesque outlines
against the sky; and betrayed no fear of the dangers of the
Arabic Gulf, which the old historians always spoke of with
horror, and upon which the ancient navigators never
ventured without propitiating the gods by ample sacrifices.
How did this eccentric personage pass his time on the
Mongolia? He made his four hearty meals every day,
regardless of the most persistent rolling and pitching on
the part of the steamer; and he played whist indefatigably,
for he had found partners as enthusiastic in the game as
himself. A tax-collector, on the way to his post at Goa; the
Rev. Decimus Smith, returning to his parish at Bombay;
and a brigadier-general of the English army, who was
about to rejoin his brigade at Benares, made up the party,
and, with Mr. Fogg, played whist by the hour together in
absorbing silence.
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As for Passepartout, he, too, had escaped sea-sickness,
and took his meals conscientiously in the forward cabin.
He rather enjoyed the voyage, for he was well fed and
well lodged, took a great interest in the scenes through
which they were passing, and consoled himself with the
delusion that his master’s whim would end at Bombay. He
was pleased, on the day after leaving Suez, to find on deck
the obliging person with whom he had walked and
chatted on the quays.
‘If I am not mistaken,’ said he, approaching this person,
with his most amiable smile, ‘you are the gentleman who
so kindly volunteered to guide me at Suez?’
‘Ah! I quite recognise you. You are the servant of the
strange Englishman—‘
‘Just so, monsieur—‘
‘Fix.’
‘Monsieur Fix,’ resumed Passepartout, ‘I’m charmed to
find you on board. Where are you bound?’
‘Like you, to Bombay.’
‘That’s capital! Have you made this trip before?’
‘Several times. I am one of the agents of the Peninsular
Company.’
‘Then you know India?’
‘Why yes,’ replied Fix, who spoke cautiously.
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‘A curious place, this India?’
‘Oh, very curious. Mosques, minarets, temples, fakirs,
pagodas, tigers, snakes, elephants! I hope you will have
ample time to see the sights.’
‘I hope so, Monsieur Fix. You see, a man of sound
sense ought not to spend his life jumping from a steamer
upon a railway train, and from a railway train upon a
steamer again, pretending to make the tour of the world in
eighty days! No; all these gymnastics, you may be sure,
will cease at Bombay.’
‘And Mr. Fogg is getting on well?’ asked Fix, in the
most natural tone in the world.
‘Quite well, and I too. I eat like a famished ogre; it’s
the sea air.
‘But I never see your master on deck.’
‘Never; he hasn’t the least curiosity.’
‘Do you know, Mr. Passepartout, that this pretended
tour in eighty days may conceal some secret errand—
perhaps a diplomatic mission?’
‘Faith, Monsieur Fix, I assure you I know nothing
about it, nor would I give half a crown to find out.’
After this meeting, Passepartout and Fix got into the
habit of chatting together, the latter making it a point to
gain the worthy man’s confidence. He frequently offered
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him a glass of whiskey or pale ale in the steamer bar-room,
which Passepartout never failed to accept with graceful
alacrity, mentally pronouncing Fix the best of good
fellows.
Meanwhile the Mongolia was pushing forward rapidly;
on the 13th, Mocha, surrounded by its ruined walls
whereon date-trees were growing, was sighted, and on the
mountains beyond were espied vast coffee-fields.
Passepartout was ravished to behold this celebrated place,
and thought that, with its circular walls and dismantled
fort, it looked like an immense coffee-cup and saucer. The
following night they passed through the Strait of Bab-el-
Mandeb, which means in Arabic The Bridge of Tears, and
the next day they put in at Steamer Point, north-west of
Aden harbour, to take in coal. This matter of fuelling
steamers is a serious one at such distances from the coal-
mines; it costs the Peninsular Company some eight
hundred thousand pounds a year. In these distant seas, coal
is worth three or four pounds sterling a ton.
The Mongolia had still sixteen hundred and fifty miles
to traverse before reaching Bombay, and was obliged to
remain four hours at Steamer Point to coal up. But this
delay, as it was foreseen, did not affect Phileas Fogg’s
programme; besides, the Mongolia, instead of reaching
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Aden on the morning of the 15th, when she was due,
arrived there on the evening of the 14th, a gain of fifteen
hours.
Mr. Fogg and his servant went ashore at Aden to have
the passport again visaed; Fix, unobserved, followed them.
The visa procured, Mr. Fogg returned on board to resume
his former habits; while Passepartout, according to custom,
sauntered about among the mixed population of Somanlis,
Banyans, Parsees, Jews, Arabs, and Europeans who
comprise the twenty-five thousand inhabitants of Aden.
He gazed with wonder upon the fortifications which make
this place the Gibraltar of the Indian Ocean, and the vast
cisterns where the English engineers were still at work,
two thousand years after the engineers of Solomon.
‘Very curious, very curious,’ said Passepartout to
himself, on returning to the steamer. ‘I see that it is by no
means useless to travel, if a man wants to see something
new.’ At six p.m. the Mongolia slowly moved out of the
roadstead, and was soon once more on the Indian Ocean.
She had a hundred and sixty-eight hours in which to reach
Bombay, and the sea was favourable, the wind being in
the north-west, and all sails aiding the engine. The steamer
rolled but little, the ladies, in fresh toilets, reappeared on
deck, and the singing and dancing were resumed. The trip
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was being accomplished most successfully, and
Passepartout was enchanted with the congenial companion
which chance had secured him in the person of the
delightful Fix. On Sunday, October 20th, towards noon,
they came in sight of the Indian coast: two hours later the
pilot came on board. A range of hills lay against the sky in
the horizon, and soon the rows of palms which adorn
Bombay came distinctly into view. The steamer entered
the road formed by the islands in the bay, and at half-past
four she hauled up at the quays of Bombay.
Phileas Fogg was in the act of finishing the thirty-third
rubber of the voyage, and his partner and himself having,
by a bold stroke, captured all thirteen of the tricks,
concluded this fine campaign with a brilliant victory.
The Mongolia was due at Bombay on the 22nd; she
arrived on the 20th. This was a gain to Phileas Fogg of
two days since his departure from London, and he calmly
entered the fact in the itinerary, in the column of gains.
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Chapter X
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
IS ONLY TOO GLAD TO GET
OFF WITH THE LOSS OF HIS
SHOES
Everybody knows that the great reversed triangle of
land, with its base in the north and its apex in the south,
which is called India, embraces fourteen hundred thousand
square miles, upon which is spread unequally a population
of one hundred and eighty millions of souls. The British
Crown exercises a real and despotic dominion over the
larger portion of this vast country, and has a governor-
general stationed at Calcutta, governors at Madras,
Bombay, and in Bengal, and a lieutenant-governor at
Agra.
But British India, properly so called, only embraces
seven hundred thousand square miles, and a population of
from one hundred to one hundred and ten millions of
inhabitants. A considerable portion of India is still free
from British authority; and there are certain ferocious
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rajahs in the interior who are absolutely independent. The
celebrated East India Company was all-powerful from
1756, when the English first gained a foothold on the spot
where now stands the city of Madras, down to the time of
the great Sepoy insurrection. It gradually annexed
province after province, purchasing them of the native
chiefs, whom it seldom paid, and appointed the governor-
general and his subordinates, civil and military. But the
East India Company has now passed away, leaving the
British possessions in India directly under the control of
the Crown. The aspect of the country, as well as the
manners and distinctions of race, is daily changing.
Formerly one was obliged to travel in India by the old
cumbrous methods of going on foot or on horseback, in
palanquins or unwieldly coaches; now fast steamboats ply
on the Indus and the Ganges, and a great railway, with
branch lines joining the main line at many points on its
route, traverses the peninsula from Bombay to Calcutta in
three days. This railway does not run in a direct line across
India. The distance between Bombay and Calcutta, as the
bird flies, is only from one thousand to eleven hundred
miles; but the deflections of the road increase this distance
by more than a third.
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The general route of the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway is as follows: Leaving Bombay, it passes through
Salcette, crossing to the continent opposite Tannah, goes
over the chain of the Western Ghauts, runs thence north-
east as far as Burhampoor, skirts the nearly independent
territory of Bundelcund, ascends to Allahabad, turns
thence eastwardly, meeting the Ganges at Benares, then
departs from the river a little, and, descending south-
eastward by Burdivan and the French town of
Chandernagor, has its terminus at Calcutta.
The passengers of the Mongolia went ashore at half-
past four p.m.; at exactly eight the train would start for
Calcutta.
Mr. Fogg, after bidding good-bye to his whist partners,
left the steamer, gave his servant several errands to do,
urged it upon him to be at the station promptly at eight,
and, with his regular step, which beat to the second, like
an astronomical clock, directed his steps to the passport
office. As for the wonders of Bombay its famous city hall,
its splendid library, its forts and docks, its bazaars, mosques,
synagogues, its Armenian churches, and the noble pagoda
on Malabar Hill, with its two polygonal towers— he cared
not a straw to see them. He would not deign to examine
even the masterpieces of Elephanta, or the mysterious
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hypogea, concealed south-east from the docks, or those
fine remains of Buddhist architecture, the Kanherian
grottoes of the island of Salcette.
Having transacted his business at the passport office,
Phileas Fogg repaired quietly to the railway station, where
he ordered dinner. Among the dishes served up to him,
the landlord especially recommended a certain giblet of
‘native rabbit,’ on which he prided himself.
Mr. Fogg accordingly tasted the dish, but, despite its
spiced sauce, found it far from palatable. He rang for the
landlord, and, on his appearance, said, fixing his clear eyes
upon him, ‘Is this rabbit, sir?’
‘Yes, my lord,’ the rogue boldly replied, ‘rabbit from
the jungles.’
‘And this rabbit did not mew when he was killed?’
‘Mew, my lord! What, a rabbit mew! I swear to you—‘
‘Be so good, landlord, as not to swear, but remember
this: cats were formerly considered, in India, as sacred
animals. That was a good time.’
‘For the cats, my lord?’
‘Perhaps for the travellers as well!’
After which Mr. Fogg quietly continued his dinner. Fix
had gone on shore shortly after Mr. Fogg, and his first
destination was the headquarters of the Bombay police.
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He made himself known as a London detective, told his
business at Bombay, and the position of affairs relative to
the supposed robber, and nervously asked if a warrant had
arrived from London. It had not reached the office;
indeed, there had not yet been time for it to arrive. Fix
was sorely disappointed, and tried to obtain an order of
arrest from the director of the Bombay police. This the
director refused, as the matter concerned the London
office, which alone could legally deliver the warrant. Fix
did not insist, and was fain to resign himself to await the
arrival of the important document; but he was determined
not to lose sight of the mysterious rogue as long as he
stayed in Bombay. He did not doubt for a moment, any
more than Passepartout, that Phileas Fogg would remain
there, at least until it was time for the warrant to arrive.
Passepartout, however, had no sooner heard his
master’s orders on leaving the Mongolia than he saw at
once that they were to leave Bombay as they had done
Suez and Paris, and that the journey would be extended at
least as far as Calcutta, and perhaps beyond that place. He
began to ask himself if this bet that Mr. Fogg talked about
was not really in good earnest, and whether his fate was
not in truth forcing him, despite his love of repose, around
the world in eighty days!
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Having purchased the usual quota of shirts and shoes,
he took a leisurely promenade about the streets, where
crowds of people of many nationalities—Europeans,
Persians with pointed caps, Banyas with round turbans,
Sindes with square bonnets, Parsees with black mitres, and
long-robed Armenians—were collected. It happened to be
the day of a Parsee festival. These descendants of the sect
of Zoroaster—the most thrifty, civilised, intelligent, and
austere of the East Indians, among whom are counted the
richest native merchants of Bombay—were celebrating a
sort of religious carnival, with processions and shows, in
the midst of which Indian dancing-girls, clothed in rose-
coloured gauze, looped up with gold and silver, danced
airily, but with perfect modesty, to the sound of viols and
the clanging of tambourines. It is needless to say that
Passepartout watched these curious ceremonies with
staring eyes and gaping mouth, and that his countenance
was that of the greenest booby imaginable.
Unhappily for his master, as well as himself, his
curiosity drew him unconsciously farther off than he
intended to go. At last, having seen the Parsee carnival
wind away in the distance, he was turning his steps
towards the station, when he happened to espy the
splendid pagoda on Malabar Hill, and was seized with an
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irresistible desire to see its interior. He was quite ignorant
that it is forbidden to Christians to enter certain Indian
temples, and that even the faithful must not go in without
first leaving their shoes outside the door. It may be said
here that the wise policy of the British Government
severely punishes a disregard of the practices of the native
religions.
Passepartout, however, thinking no harm, went in like
a simple tourist, and was soon lost in admiration of the
splendid Brahmin ornamentation which everywhere met
his eyes, when of a sudden he found himself sprawling on
the sacred flagging. He looked up to behold three enraged
priests, who forthwith fell upon him; tore off his shoes,
and began to beat him with loud, savage exclamations.
The agile Frenchman was soon upon his feet again, and
lost no time in knocking down two of his long-gowned
adversaries with his fists and a vigorous application of his
toes; then, rushing out of the pagoda as fast as his legs
could carry him, he soon escaped the third priest by
mingling with the crowd in the streets.
At five minutes before eight, Passepartout, hatless,
shoeless, and having in the squabble lost his package of
shirts and shoes, rushed breathlessly into the station.
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Fix, who had followed Mr. Fogg to the station, and
saw that he was really going to leave Bombay, was there,
upon the platform. He had resolved to follow the
supposed robber to Calcutta, and farther, if necessary.
Passepartout did not observe the detective, who stood in
an obscure corner; but Fix heard him relate his adventures
in a few words to Mr. Fogg.
‘I hope that this will not happen again,’ said Phileas
Fogg coldly, as he got into the train. Poor Passepartout,
quite crestfallen, followed his master without a word. Fix
was on the point of entering another carriage, when an
idea struck him which induced him to alter his plan.
‘No, I’ll stay,’ muttered he. ‘An offence has been
committed on Indian soil. I’ve got my man.’
Just then the locomotive gave a sharp screech, and the
train passed out into the darkness of the night.
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Chapter XI
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
SECURES A CURIOUS MEANS
OF CONVEYANCE AT A
FABULOUS PRICE
The train had started punctually. Among the passengers
were a number of officers, Government officials, and
opium and indigo merchants, whose business called them
to the eastern coast. Passepartout rode in the same carriage
with his master, and a third passenger occupied a seat
opposite to them. This was Sir Francis Cromarty, one of
Mr. Fogg’s whist partners on the Mongolia, now on his
way to join his corps at Benares. Sir Francis was a tall, fair
man of fifty, who had greatly distinguished himself in the
last Sepoy revolt. He made India his home, only paying
brief visits to England at rare intervals; and was almost as
familiar as a native with the customs, history, and character
of India and its people. But Phileas Fogg, who was not
travelling, but only describing a circumference, took no
pains to inquire into these subjects; he was a solid body,
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traversing an orbit around the terrestrial globe, according
to the laws of rational mechanics. He was at this moment
calculating in his mind the number of hours spent since his
departure from London, and, had it been in his nature to
make a useless demonstration, would have rubbed his
hands for satisfaction. Sir Francis Cromarty had observed
the oddity of his travelling companion—although the only
opportunity he had for studying him had been while he
was dealing the cards, and between two rubbers—and
questioned himself whether a human heart really beat
beneath this cold exterior, and whether Phileas Fogg had
any sense of the beauties of nature. The brigadier-general
was free to mentally confess that, of all the eccentric
persons he had ever met, none was comparable to this
product of the exact sciences.
Phileas Fogg had not concealed from Sir Francis his
design of going round the world, nor the circumstances
under which he set out; and the general only saw in the
wager a useless eccentricity and a lack of sound common
sense. In the way this strange gentleman was going on, he
would leave the world without having done any good to
himself or anybody else.
An hour after leaving Bombay the train had passed the
viaducts and the Island of Salcette, and had got into the
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open country. At Callyan they reached the junction of the
branch line which descends towards south-eastern India by
Kandallah and Pounah; and, passing Pauwell, they entered
the defiles of the mountains, with their basalt bases, and
their summits crowned with thick and verdant forests.
Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty exchanged a few
words from time to time, and now Sir Francis, reviving
the conversation, observed, ‘Some years ago, Mr. Fogg,
you would have met with a delay at this point which
would probably have lost you your wager.’
‘How so, Sir Francis?’
‘Because the railway stopped at the base of these
mountains, which the passengers were obliged to cross in
palanquins or on ponies to Kandallah, on the other side.’
‘Such a delay would not have deranged my plans in the
least,’ said Mr. Fogg. ‘I have constantly foreseen the
likelihood of certain obstacles.’
‘But, Mr. Fogg,’ pursued Sir Francis, ‘you run the risk
of having some difficulty about this worthy fellow’s
adventure at the pagoda.’ Passepartout, his feet
comfortably wrapped in his travelling-blanket, was sound
asleep and did not dream that anybody was talking about
him. ‘The Government is very severe upon that kind of
offence. It takes particular care that the religious customs
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of the Indians should be respected, and if your servant
were caught—‘
‘Very well, Sir Francis,’ replied Mr. Fogg; ‘if he had
been caught he would have been condemned and
punished, and then would have quietly returned to
Europe. I don’t see how this affair could have delayed his
master.’
The conversation fell again. During the night the train
left the mountains behind, and passed Nassik, and the next
day proceeded over the flat, well-cultivated country of the
Khandeish, with its straggling villages, above which rose
the minarets of the pagodas. This fertile territory is
watered by numerous small rivers and limpid streams,
mostly tributaries of the Godavery.
Passepartout, on waking and looking out, could not
realise that he was actually crossing India in a railway train.
The locomotive, guided by an English engineer and fed
with English coal, threw out its smoke upon cotton,
coffee, nutmeg, clove, and pepper plantations, while the
steam curled in spirals around groups of palm-trees, in the
midst of which were seen picturesque bungalows, viharis
(sort of abandoned monasteries), and marvellous temples
enriched by the exhaustless ornamentation of Indian
architecture. Then they came upon vast tracts extending
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to the horizon, with jungles inhabited by snakes and tigers,
which fled at the noise of the train; succeeded by forests
penetrated by the railway, and still haunted by elephants
which, with pensive eyes, gazed at the train as it passed.
The travellers crossed, beyond Milligaum, the fatal country
so often stained with blood by the sectaries of the goddess
Kali. Not far off rose Ellora, with its graceful pagodas, and
the famous Aurungabad, capital of the ferocious Aureng-
Zeb, now the chief town of one of the detached provinces
of the kingdom of the Nizam. It was thereabouts that
Feringhea, the Thuggee chief, king of the stranglers, held
his sway. These ruffians, united by a secret bond, strangled
victims of every age in honour of the goddess Death,
without ever shedding blood; there was a period when this
part of the country could scarcely be travelled over
without corpses being found in every direction. The
English Government has succeeded in greatly diminishing
these murders, though the Thuggees still exist, and pursue
the exercise of their horrible rites.
At half-past twelve the train stopped at Burhampoor
where Passepartout was able to purchase some Indian
slippers, ornamented with false pearls, in which, with
evident vanity, he proceeded to encase his feet. The
travellers made a hasty breakfast and started off for
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Assurghur, after skirting for a little the banks of the small
river Tapty, which empties into the Gulf of Cambray,
near Surat.
Passepartout was now plunged into absorbing reverie.
Up to his arrival at Bombay, he had entertained hopes that
their journey would end there; but, now that they were
plainly whirling across India at full speed, a sudden change
had come over the spirit of his dreams. His old vagabond
nature returned to him; the fantastic ideas of his youth
once more took possession of him. He came to regard his
master’s project as intended in good earnest, believed in
the reality of the bet, and therefore in the tour of the
world and the necessity of making it without fail within
the designated period. Already he began to worry about
possible delays, and accidents which might happen on the
way. He recognised himself as being personally interested
in the wager, and trembled at the thought that he might
have been the means of losing it by his unpardonable folly
of the night before. Being much less cool-headed than Mr.
Fogg, he was much more restless, counting and recounting
the days passed over, uttering maledictions when the train
stopped, and accusing it of sluggishness, and mentally
blaming Mr. Fogg for not having bribed the engineer. The
worthy fellow was ignorant that, while it was possible by
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such means to hasten the rate of a steamer, it could not be
done on the railway.
The train entered the defiles of the Sutpour Mountains,
which separate the Khandeish from Bundelcund, towards
evening. The next day Sir Francis Cromarty asked
Passepartout what time it was; to which, on consulting his
watch, he replied that it was three in the morning. This
famous timepiece, always regulated on the Greenwich
meridian, which was now some seventy-seven degrees
westward, was at least four hours slow. Sir Francis
corrected Passepartout’s time, whereupon the latter made
the same remark that he had done to Fix; and upon the
general insisting that the watch should be regulated in each
new meridian, since he was constantly going eastward,
that is in the face of the sun, and therefore the days were
shorter by four minutes for each degree gone over,
Passepartout obstinately refused to alter his watch, which
he kept at London time. It was an innocent delusion
which could harm no one.
The train stopped, at eight o’clock, in the midst of a
glade some fifteen miles beyond Rothal, where there were
several bungalows, and workmen’s cabins. The conductor,
passing along the carriages, shouted, ‘Passengers will get
out here!’
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Phileas Fogg looked at Sir Francis Cromarty for an
explanation; but the general could not tell what meant a
halt in the midst of this forest of dates and acacias.
Passepartout, not less surprised, rushed out and speedily
returned, crying: ‘Monsieur, no more railway!’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Sir Francis.
‘I mean to say that the train isn’t going on.’
The general at once stepped out, while Phileas Fogg
calmly followed him, and they proceeded together to the
conductor.
‘Where are we?’ asked Sir Francis.
‘At the hamlet of Kholby.’
‘Do we stop here?’
‘Certainly. The railway isn’t finished.’
‘What! not finished?’
‘No. There’s still a matter of fifty miles to be laid from
here to Allahabad, where the line begins again.’
‘But the papers announced the opening of the railway
throughout.’
‘What would you have, officer? The papers were
mistaken.’
‘Yet you sell tickets from Bombay to Calcutta,’ retorted
Sir Francis, who was growing warm.
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‘No doubt,’ replied the conductor; ‘but the passengers
know that they must provide means of transportation for
themselves from Kholby to Allahabad.’
Sir Francis was furious. Passepartout would willingly
have knocked the conductor down, and did not dare to
look at his master.
‘Sir Francis,’ said Mr. Fogg quietly, ‘we will, if you
please, look about for some means of conveyance to
Allahabad.’
‘Mr. Fogg, this is a delay greatly to your disadvantage.’
‘No, Sir Francis; it was foreseen.’
‘What! You knew that the way—‘
‘Not at all; but I knew that some obstacle or other
would sooner or later arise on my route. Nothing,
therefore, is lost. I have two days, which I have already
gained, to sacrifice. A steamer leaves Calcutta for Hong
Kong at noon, on the 25th. This is the 22nd, and we shall
reach Calcutta in time.’
There was nothing to say to so confident a response.
It was but too true that the railway came to a
termination at this point. The papers were like some
watches, which have a way of getting too fast, and had
been premature in their announcement of the completion
of the line. The greater part of the travellers were aware of
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this interruption, and, leaving the train, they began to
engage such vehicles as the village could provide four-
wheeled palkigharis, waggons drawn by zebus, carriages
that looked like perambulating pagodas, palanquins,
ponies, and what not.
Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty, after searching the
village from end to end, came back without having found
anything.
‘I shall go afoot,’ said Phileas Fogg.
Passepartout, who had now rejoined his master, made a
wry grimace, as he thought of his magnificent, but too
frail Indian shoes. Happily he too had been looking about
him, and, after a moment’s hesitation, said, ‘Monsieur, I
think I have found a means of conveyance.’
‘What?’
‘An elephant! An elephant that belongs to an Indian
who lives but a hundred steps from here.’
‘Let’s go and see the elephant,’ replied Mr. Fogg.
They soon reached a small hut, near which, enclosed
within some high palings, was the animal in question. An
Indian came out of the hut, and, at their request,
conducted them within the enclosure. The elephant,
which its owner had reared, not for a beast of burden, but
for warlike purposes, was half domesticated. The Indian
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had begun already, by often irritating him, and feeding
him every three months on sugar and butter, to impart to
him a ferocity not in his nature, this method being often
employed by those who train the Indian elephants for
battle. Happily, however, for Mr. Fogg, the animal’s
instruction in this direction had not gone far, and the
elephant still preserved his natural gentleness. Kiouni—this
was the name of the beast—could doubtless travel rapidly
for a long time, and, in default of any other means of
conveyance, Mr. Fogg resolved to hire him. But elephants
are far from cheap in India, where they are becoming
scarce, the males, which alone are suitable for circus
shows, are much sought, especially as but few of them are
domesticated. When therefore Mr. Fogg proposed to the
Indian to hire Kiouni, he refused point-blank. Mr. Fogg
persisted, offering the excessive sum of ten pounds an hour
for the loan of the beast to Allahabad. Refused. Twenty
pounds? Refused also. Forty pounds? Still refused.
Passepartout jumped at each advance; but the Indian
declined to be tempted. Yet the offer was an alluring one,
for, supposing it took the elephant fifteen hours to reach
Allahabad, his owner would receive no less than six
hundred pounds sterling.
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Phileas Fogg, without getting in the least flurried, then
proposed to purchase the animal outright, and at first
offered a thousand pounds for him. The Indian, perhaps
thinking he was going to make a great bargain, still
refused.
Sir Francis Cromarty took Mr. Fogg aside, and begged
him to reflect before he went any further; to which that
gentleman replied that he was not in the habit of acting
rashly, that a bet of twenty thousand pounds was at stake,
that the elephant was absolutely necessary to him, and that
he would secure him if he had to pay twenty times his
value. Returning to the Indian, whose small, sharp eyes,
glistening with avarice, betrayed that with him it was only
a question of how great a price he could obtain. Mr. Fogg
offered first twelve hundred, then fifteen hundred,
eighteen hundred, two thousand pounds. Passepartout,
usually so rubicund, was fairly white with suspense.
At two thousand pounds the Indian yielded.
‘What a price, good heavens!’ cried Passepartout, ‘for
an elephant.
It only remained now to find a guide, which was
comparatively easy. A young Parsee, with an intelligent
face, offered his services, which Mr. Fogg accepted,
promising so generous a reward as to materially stimulate
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his zeal. The elephant was led out and equipped. The
Parsee, who was an accomplished elephant driver, covered
his back with a sort of saddle-cloth, and attached to each
of his flanks some curiously uncomfortable howdahs.
Phileas Fogg paid the Indian with some banknotes which
he extracted from the famous carpet-bag, a proceeding
that seemed to deprive poor Passepartout of his vitals.
Then he offered to carry Sir Francis to Allahabad, which
the brigadier gratefully accepted, as one traveller the more
would not be likely to fatigue the gigantic beast.
Provisions were purchased at Kholby, and, while Sir
Francis and Mr. Fogg took the howdahs on either side,
Passepartout got astride the saddle-cloth between them.
The Parsee perched himself on the elephant’s neck, and at
nine o’clock they set out from the village, the animal
marching off through the dense forest of palms by the
shortest cut.
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Chapter XII
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
AND HIS COMPANIONS
VENTURE ACROSS THE
INDIAN FORESTS, AND
WHAT ENSUED
In order to shorten the journey, the guide passed to the
left of the line where the railway was still in process of
being built. This line, owing to the capricious turnings of
the Vindhia Mountains, did not pursue a straight course.
The Parsee, who was quite familiar with the roads and
paths in the district, declared that they would gain twenty
miles by striking directly through the forest.
Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty, plunged to the
neck in the peculiar howdahs provided for them, were
horribly jostled by the swift trotting of the elephant,
spurred on as he was by the skilful Parsee; but they
endured the discomfort with true British phlegm, talking
little, and scarcely able to catch a glimpse of each other. As
for Passepartout, who was mounted on the beast’s back,
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and received the direct force of each concussion as he trod
along, he was very careful, in accordance with his master’s
advice, to keep his tongue from between his teeth, as it
would otherwise have been bitten off short. The worthy
fellow bounced from the elephant’s neck to his rump, and
vaulted like a clown on a spring-board; yet he laughed in
the midst of his bouncing, and from time to time took a
piece of sugar out of his pocket, and inserted it in Kiouni’s
trunk, who received it without in the least slackening his
regular trot.
After two hours the guide stopped the elephant, and
gave him an hour for rest, during which Kiouni, after
quenching his thirst at a neighbouring spring, set to
devouring the branches and shrubs round about him.
Neither Sir Francis nor Mr. Fogg regretted the delay, and
both descended with a feeling of relief. ‘Why, he’s made
of iron!’ exclaimed the general, gazing admiringly on
Kiouni.
‘Of forged iron,’ replied Passepartout, as he set about
preparing a hasty breakfast.
At noon the Parsee gave the signal of departure. The
country soon presented a very savage aspect. Copses of
dates and dwarf-palms succeeded the dense forests; then
vast, dry plains, dotted with scanty shrubs, and sown with
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great blocks of syenite. All this portion of Bundelcund,
which is little frequented by travellers, is inhabited by a
fanatical population, hardened in the most horrible
practices of the Hindoo faith. The English have not been
able to secure complete dominion over this territory,
which is subjected to the influence of rajahs, whom it is
almost impossible to reach in their inaccessible mountain
fastnesses. The travellers several times saw bands of
ferocious Indians, who, when they perceived the elephant
striding across-country, made angry arid threatening
motions. The Parsee avoided them as much as possible.
Few animals were observed on the route; even the
monkeys hurried from their path with contortions and
grimaces which convulsed Passepartout with laughter.
In the midst of his gaiety, however, one thought
troubled the worthy servant. What would Mr. Fogg do
with the elephant when he got to Allahabad? Would he
carry him on with him? Impossible! The cost of
transporting him would make him ruinously expensive.
Would he sell him, or set him free? The estimable beast
certainly deserved some consideration. Should Mr. Fogg
choose to make him, Passepartout, a present of Kiouni, he
would be very much embarrassed; and these thoughts did
not cease worrying him for a long time.
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The principal chain of the Vindhias was crossed by
eight in the evening, and another halt was made on the
northern slope, in a ruined bungalow. They had gone
nearly twenty-five miles that day, and an equal distance
still separated them from the station of Allahabad.
The night was cold. The Parsee lit a fire in the
bungalow with a few dry branches, and the warmth was
very grateful, provisions purchased at Kholby sufficed for
supper, and the travellers ate ravenously. The
conversation, beginning with a few disconnected phrases,
soon gave place to loud and steady snores. The guide
watched Kiouni, who slept standing, bolstering himself
against the trunk of a large tree. Nothing occurred during
the night to disturb the slumberers, although occasional
growls front panthers and chatterings of monkeys broke
the silence; the more formidable beasts made no cries or
hostile demonstration against the occupants of the
bungalow. Sir Francis slept heavily, like an honest soldier
overcome with fatigue. Passepartout was wrapped in
uneasy dreams of the bouncing of the day before. As for
Mr. Fogg, he slumbered as peacefully as if he had been in
his serene mansion in Saville Row.
The journey was resumed at six in the morning; the
guide hoped to reach Allahabad by evening. In that case,
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Mr. Fogg would only lose a part of the forty-eight hours
saved since the beginning of the tour. Kiouni, resuming
his rapid gait, soon descended the lower spurs of the
Vindhias, and towards noon they passed by the village of
Kallenger, on the Cani, one of the branches of the
Ganges. The guide avoided inhabited places, thinking it
safer to keep the open country, which lies along the first
depressions of the basin of the great river. Allahabad was
now only twelve miles to the north-east. They stopped
under a clump of bananas, the fruit of which, as healthy as
bread and as succulent as cream, was amply partaken of
and appreciated.
At two o’clock the guide entered a thick forest which
extended several miles; he preferred to travel under cover
of the woods. They had not as yet had any unpleasant
encounters, and the journey seemed on the point of being
successfully accomplished, when the elephant, becoming
restless, suddenly stopped.
It was then four o’clock.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Sir Francis, putting out his
head.
‘I don’t know, officer,’ replied the Parsee, listening
attentively to a confused murmur which came through the
thick branches.
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The murmur soon became more distinct; it now
seemed like a distant concert of human voices
accompanied by brass instruments. Passepartout was all
eyes and ears. Mr. Fogg patiently waited without a word.
The Parsee jumped to the ground, fastened the elephant to
a tree, and plunged into the thicket. He soon returned,
saying:
‘A procession of Brahmins is coming this way. We
must prevent their seeing us, if possible.’
The guide unloosed the elephant and led him into a
thicket, at the same time asking the travellers not to stir.
He held himself ready to bestride the animal at a
moment’s notice, should flight become necessary; but he
evidently thought that the procession of the faithful would
pass without perceiving them amid the thick foliage, in
which they were wholly concealed.
The discordant tones of the voices and instruments
drew nearer, and now droning songs mingled with the
sound of the tambourines and cymbals. The head of the
procession soon appeared beneath the trees, a hundred
paces away; and the strange figures who performed the
religious ceremony were easily distinguished through the
branches. First came the priests, with mitres on their
heads, and clothed in long lace robes. They were
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surrounded by men, women, and children, who sang a
kind of lugubrious psalm, interrupted at regular intervals
by the tambourines and cymbals; while behind them was
drawn a car with large wheels, the spokes of which
represented serpents entwined with each other. Upon the
car, which was drawn by four richly caparisoned zebus,
stood a hideous statue with four arms, the body coloured a
dull red, with haggard eyes, dishevelled hair, protruding
tongue, and lips tinted with betel. It stood upright upon
the figure of a prostrate and headless giant.
Sir Francis, recognising the statue, whispered, ‘The
goddess Kali; the goddess of love and death.’
‘Of death, perhaps,’ muttered back Passepartout, ‘but of
love— that ugly old hag? Never!’
The Parsee made a motion to keep silence.
A group of old fakirs were capering and making a wild
ado round the statue; these were striped with ochre, and
covered with cuts whence their blood issued drop by
drop—stupid fanatics, who, in the great Indian
ceremonies, still throw themselves under the wheels of
Juggernaut. Some Brahmins, clad in all the sumptuousness
of Oriental apparel, and leading a woman who faltered at
every step, followed. This woman was young, and as fair
as a European. Her head and neck, shoulders, ears, arms,
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hands, and toes were loaded down with jewels and gems
with bracelets, earrings, and rings; while a tunic bordered
with gold, and covered with a light muslin robe, betrayed
the outline of her form.
The guards who followed the young woman presented
a violent contrast to her, armed as they were with naked
sabres hung at their waists, and long damascened pistols,
and bearing a corpse on a palanquin. It was the body of an
old man, gorgeously arrayed in the habiliments of a rajah,
wearing, as in life, a turban embroidered with pearls, a
robe of tissue of silk and gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed
with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of a Hindoo
prince. Next came the musicians and a rearguard of
capering fakirs, whose cries sometimes drowned the noise
of the instruments; these closed the procession.
Sir Francis watched the procession with a sad
countenance, and, turning to the guide, said, ‘A suttee.’
The Parsee nodded, and put his finger to his lips. The
procession slowly wound under the trees, and soon its last
ranks disappeared in the depths of the wood. The songs
gradually died away; occasionally cries were heard in the
distance, until at last all was silence again.
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Phileas Fogg had heard what Sir Francis said, and, as
soon as the procession had disappeared, asked: ‘What is a
suttee?’
‘A suttee,’ returned the general, ‘is a human sacrifice,
but a voluntary one. The woman you have just seen will
be burned to-morrow at the dawn of day.’
‘Oh, the scoundrels!’ cried Passepartout, who could not
repress his indignation.
‘And the corpse?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘Is that of the prince, her husband,’ said the guide; ‘an
independent rajah of Bundelcund.’
‘Is it possible,’ resumed Phileas Fogg, his voice
betraying not the least emotion, ‘that these barbarous
customs still exist in India, and that the English have been
unable to put a stop to them?’
‘These sacrifices do not occur in the larger portion of
India,’ replied Sir Francis; ‘but we have no power over
these savage territories, and especially here in Bundelcund.
The whole district north of the Vindhias is the theatre of
incessant murders and pillage.’
‘The poor wretch!’ exclaimed Passepartout, ‘to be
burned alive!’
‘Yes,’ returned Sir Francis, ‘burned alive. And, if she
were not, you cannot conceive what treatment she would
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be obliged to submit to from her relatives. They would
shave off her hair, feed her on a scanty allowance of rice,
treat her with contempt; she would be looked upon as an
unclean creature, and would die in some corner, like a
scurvy dog. The prospect of so frightful an existence drives
these poor creatures to the sacrifice much more than love
or religious fanaticism. Sometimes, however, the sacrifice
is really voluntary, and it requires the active interference of
the Government to prevent it. Several years ago, when I
was living at Bombay, a young widow asked permission of
the governor to be burned along with her husband’s body;
but, as you may imagine, he refused. The woman left the
town, took refuge with an independent rajah, and there
carried out her self-devoted purpose.’
While Sir Francis was speaking, the guide shook his
head several times, and now said: ‘The sacrifice which will
take place to-morrow at dawn is not a voluntary one.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Everybody knows about this affair in Bundelcund.’
‘But the wretched creature did not seem to be making
any resistance,’ observed Sir Francis.
‘That was because they had intoxicated her with fumes
of hemp and opium.’
‘But where are they taking her?’
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‘To the pagoda of Pillaji, two miles from here; she will
pass the night there.’
‘And the sacrifice will take place—‘
‘To-morrow, at the first light of dawn.’
The guide now led the elephant out of the thicket, and
leaped upon his neck. Just at the moment that he was
about to urge Kiouni forward with a peculiar whistle, Mr.
Fogg stopped him, and, turning to Sir Francis Cromarty,
said, ‘Suppose we save this woman.’
‘Save the woman, Mr. Fogg!’
‘I have yet twelve hours to spare; I can devote them to
that.’
‘Why, you are a man of heart!’
‘Sometimes,’ replied Phileas Fogg, quietly; ‘when I
have the time.’
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Chapter XIII
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
RECEIVES A NEW PROOF
THAT FORTUNE FAVORS
THE BRAVE
The project was a bold one, full of difficulty, perhaps
impracticable. Mr. Fogg was going to risk life, or at least
liberty, and therefore the success of his tour. But he did
not hesitate, and he found in Sir Francis Cromarty an
enthusiastic ally.
As for Passepartout, he was ready for anything that
might be proposed. His master’s idea charmed him; he
perceived a heart, a soul, under that icy exterior. He began
to love Phileas Fogg.
There remained the guide: what course would he
adopt? Would he not take part with the Indians? In default
of his assistance, it was necessary to be assured of his
neutrality.
Sir Francis frankly put the question to him.
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‘Officers,’ replied the guide, ‘I am a Parsee, and this
woman is a Parsee. Command me as you will.’
‘Excellent!’ said Mr. Fogg.
‘However,’ resumed the guide, ‘it is certain, not only
that we shall risk our lives, but horrible tortures, if we are
taken.’
‘That is foreseen,’ replied Mr. Fogg. ‘I think we must
wait till night before acting.’
‘I think so,’ said the guide.
The worthy Indian then gave some account of the
victim, who, he said, was a celebrated beauty of the Parsee
race, and the daughter of a wealthy Bombay merchant.
She had received a thoroughly English education in that
city, and, from her manners and intelligence, would be
thought an European. Her name was Aouda. Left an
orphan, she was married against her will to the old rajah of
Bundelcund; and, knowing the fate that awaited her, she
escaped, was retaken, and devoted by the rajah’s relatives,
who had an interest in her death, to the sacrifice from
which it seemed she could not escape.
The Parsee’s narrative only confirmed Mr. Fogg and his
companions in their generous design. It was decided that
the guide should direct the elephant towards the pagoda of
Pillaji, which he accordingly approached as quickly as
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possible. They halted, half an hour afterwards, in a copse,
some five hundred feet from the pagoda, where they were
well concealed; but they could hear the groans and cries of
the fakirs distinctly.
They then discussed the means of getting at the victim.
The guide was familiar with the pagoda of Pillaji, in
which, as he declared, the young woman was imprisoned.
Could they enter any of its doors while the whole party of
Indians was plunged in a drunken sleep, or was it safer to
attempt to make a hole in the walls? This could only be
determined at the moment and the place themselves; but it
was certain that the abduction must be made that night,
and not when, at break of day, the victim was led to her
funeral pyre. Then no human intervention could save her.
As soon as night fell, about six o’clock, they decided to
make a reconnaissance around the pagoda. The cries of the
fakirs were just ceasing; the Indians were in the act of
plunging themselves into the drunkenness caused by liquid
opium mingled with hemp, and it might be possible to slip
between them to the temple itself.
The Parsee, leading the others, noiselessly crept
through the wood, and in ten minutes they found
themselves on the banks of a small stream, whence, by the
light of the rosin torches, they perceived a pyre of wood,
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on the top of which lay the embalmed body of the rajah,
which was to be burned with his wife. The pagoda, whose
minarets loomed above the trees in the deepening dusk,
stood a hundred steps away.
‘Come!’ whispered the guide.
He slipped more cautiously than ever through the
brush, followed by his companions; the silence around was
only broken by the low murmuring of the wind among
the branches.
Soon the Parsee stopped on the borders of the glade,
which was lit up by the torches. The ground was covered
by groups of the Indians, motionless in their drunken
sleep; it seemed a battlefield strewn with the dead. Men,
women, and children lay together.
In the background, among the trees, the pagoda of
Pillaji loomed distinctly. Much to the guide’s
disappointment, the guards of the rajah, lighted by torches,
were watching at the doors and marching to and fro with
naked sabres; probably the priests, too, were watching
within.
The Parsee, now convinced that it was impossible to
force an entrance to the temple, advanced no farther, but
led his companions back again. Phileas Fogg and Sir
Francis Cromarty also saw that nothing could be
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attempted in that direction. They stopped, and engaged in
a whispered colloquy.
‘It is only eight now,’ said the brigadier, ‘and these
guards may also go to sleep.’
‘It is not impossible,’ returned the Parsee.
They lay down at the foot of a tree, and waited.
The time seemed long; the guide ever and anon left
them to take an observation on the edge of the wood, but
the guards watched steadily by the glare of the torches,
and a dim light crept through the windows of the pagoda.
They waited till midnight; but no change took place
among the guards, and it became apparent that their
yielding to sleep could not be counted on. The other plan
must be carried out; an opening in the walls of the pagoda
must be made. It remained to ascertain whether the priests
were watching by the side of their victim as assiduously as
were the soldiers at the door.
After a last consultation, the guide announced that he
was ready for the attempt, and advanced, followed by the
others. They took a roundabout way, so as to get at the
pagoda on the rear. They reached the walls about half-past
twelve, without having met anyone; here there was no
guard, nor were there either windows or doors.
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The night was dark. The moon, on the wane, scarcely
left the horizon, and was covered with heavy clouds; the
height of the trees deepened the darkness.
It was not enough to reach the walls; an opening in
them must be accomplished, and to attain this purpose the
party only had their pocket-knives. Happily the temple
walls were built of brick and wood, which could be
penetrated with little difficulty; after one brick had been
taken out, the rest would yield easily.
They set noiselessly to work, and the Parsee on one
side and Passepartout on the other began to loosen the
bricks so as to make an aperture two feet wide. They were
getting on rapidly, when suddenly a cry was heard in the
interior of the temple, followed almost instantly by other
cries replying from the outside. Passepartout and the guide
stopped. Had they been heard? Was the alarm being
given? Common prudence urged them to retire, and they
did so, followed by Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis. They
again hid themselves in the wood, and waited till the
disturbance, whatever it might be, ceased, holding
themselves ready to resume their attempt without delay.
But, awkwardly enough, the guards now appeared at the
rear of the temple, and there installed themselves, in
readiness to prevent a surprise.
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It would be difficult to describe the disappointment of
the party, thus interrupted in their work. They could not
now reach the victim; how, then, could they save her? Sir
Francis shook his fists, Passepartout was beside himself, and
the guide gnashed his teeth with rage. The tranquil Fogg
waited, without betraying any emotion.
‘We have nothing to do but to go away,’ whispered Sir
Francis.
‘Nothing but to go away,’ echoed the guide.
‘Stop,’ said Fogg. ‘I am only due at Allahabad
tomorrow before noon.’
‘But what can you hope to do?’ asked Sir Francis. ‘In a
few hours it will be daylight, and—‘
‘The chance which now seems lost may present itself at
the last moment.’
Sir Francis would have liked to read Phileas Fogg’s
eyes. What was this cool Englishman thinking of? Was he
planning to make a rush for the young woman at the very
moment of the sacrifice, and boldly snatch her from her
executioners?
This would be utter folly, and it was hard to admit that
Fogg was such a fool. Sir Francis consented, however, to
remain to the end of this terrible drama. The guide led
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them to the rear of the glade, where they were able to
observe the sleeping groups.
Meanwhile Passepartout, who had perched himself on
the lower branches of a tree, was resolving an idea which
had at first struck him like a flash, and which was now
firmly lodged in his brain.
He had commenced by saying to himself, ‘What folly!’
and then he repeated, ‘Why not, after all? It’s a chance
perhaps the only one; and with such sots!’ Thinking thus,
he slipped, with the suppleness of a serpent, to the lowest
branches, the ends of which bent almost to the ground.
The hours passed, and the lighter shades now
announced the approach of day, though it was not yet
light. This was the moment. The slumbering multitude
became animated, the tambourines sounded, songs and
cries arose; the hour of the sacrifice had come. The doors
of the pagoda swung open, and a bright light escaped from
its interior, in the midst of which Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis
espied the victim. She seemed, having shaken off the
stupor of intoxication, to be striving to escape from her
executioner. Sir Francis’s heart throbbed; and,
convulsively seizing Mr. Fogg’s hand, found in it an open
knife. Just at this moment the crowd began to move. The
young woman had again fallen into a stupor caused by the
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fumes of hemp, and passed among the fakirs, who escorted
her with their wild, religious cries.
Phileas Fogg and his companions, mingling in the rear
ranks of the crowd, followed; and in two minutes they
reached the banks of the stream, and stopped fifty paces
from the pyre, upon which still lay the rajah’s corpse. In
the semi-obscurity they saw the victim, quite senseless,
stretched out beside her husband’s body. Then a torch was
brought, and the wood, heavily soaked with oil, instantly
took fire.
At this moment Sir Francis and the guide seized Phileas
Fogg, who, in an instant of mad generosity, was about to
rush upon the pyre. But he had quickly pushed them
aside, when the whole scene suddenly changed. A cry of
terror arose. The whole multitude prostrated themselves,
terror-stricken, on the ground.
The old rajah was not dead, then, since he rose of a
sudden, like a spectre, took up his wife in his arms, and
descended from the pyre in the midst of the clouds of
smoke, which only heightened his ghostly appearance.
Fakirs and soldiers and priests, seized with instant
terror, lay there, with their faces on the ground, not daring
to lift their eyes and behold such a prodigy.
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The inanimate victim was borne along by the vigorous
arms which supported her, and which she did not seem in
the least to burden. Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis stood erect,
the Parsee bowed his head, and Passepartout was, no
doubt, scarcely less stupefied.
The resuscitated rajah approached Sir Francis and Mr.
Fogg, and, in an abrupt tone, said, ‘Let us be off!’
It was Passepartout himself, who had slipped upon the
pyre in the midst of the smoke and, profiting by the still
overhanging darkness, had delivered the young woman
from death! It was Passepartout who, playing his part with
a happy audacity, had passed through the crowd amid the
general terror.
A moment after all four of the party had disappeared in
the woods, and the elephant was bearing them away at a
rapid pace. But the cries and noise, and a ball which
whizzed through Phileas Fogg’s hat, apprised them that
the trick had been discovered.
The old rajah’s body, indeed, now appeared upon the
burning pyre; and the priests, recovered from their terror,
perceived that an abduction had taken place. They
hastened into the forest, followed by the soldiers, who
fired a volley after the fugitives; but the latter rapidly
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increased the distance between them, and ere long found
themselves beyond the reach of the bullets and arrows.
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Chapter XIV
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
DESCENDS THE WHOLE
LENGTH OF THE BEAUTIFUL
VALLEY OF THE GANGES
WITHOUT EVER THINKING
OF SEEING IT
The rash exploit had been accomplished; and for an
hour Passepartout laughed gaily at his success. Sir Francis
pressed the worthy fellow’s hand, and his master said,
‘Well done!’ which, from him, was high commendation;
to which Passepartout replied that all the credit of the
affair belonged to Mr. Fogg. As for him, he had only been
struck with a ‘queer’ idea; and he laughed to think that for
a few moments he, Passepartout, the ex-gymnast, ex-
sergeant fireman, had been the spouse of a charming
woman, a venerable, embalmed rajah! As for the young
Indian woman, she had been unconscious throughout of
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what was passing, and now, wrapped up in a travelling-
blanket, was reposing in one of the howdahs.
The elephant, thanks to the skilful guidance of the
Parsee, was advancing rapidly through the still darksome
forest, and, an hour after leaving the pagoda, had crossed a
vast plain. They made a halt at seven o’clock, the young
woman being still in a state of complete prostration. The
guide made her drink a little brandy and water, but the
drowsiness which stupefied her could not yet be shaken
off. Sir Francis, who was familiar with the effects of the
intoxication produced by the fumes of hemp, reassured his
companions on her account. But he was more disturbed at
the prospect of her future fate. He told Phileas Fogg that,
should Aouda remain in India, she would inevitably fall
again into the hands of her executioners. These fanatics
were scattered throughout the county, and would, despite
the English police, recover their victim at Madras,
Bombay, or Calcutta. She would only be safe by quitting
India for ever.
Phileas Fogg replied that he would reflect upon the
matter.
The station at Allahabad was reached about ten o’clock,
and, the interrupted line of railway being resumed, would
enable them to reach Calcutta in less than twenty-four
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hours. Phileas Fogg would thus be able to arrive in time to
take the steamer which left Calcutta the next day, October
25th, at noon, for Hong Kong.
The young woman was placed in one of the waiting-
rooms of the station, whilst Passepartout was charged with
purchasing for her various articles of toilet, a dress, shawl,
and some furs; for which his master gave him unlimited
credit. Passepartout started off forthwith, and found
himself in the streets of Allahabad, that is, the City of God,
one of the most venerated in India, being built at the
junction of the two sacred rivers, Ganges and Jumna, the
waters of which attract pilgrims from every part of the
peninsula. The Ganges, according to the legends of the
Ramayana, rises in heaven, whence, owing to Brahma’s
agency, it descends to the earth.
Passepartout made it a point, as he made his purchases,
to take a good look at the city. It was formerly defended
by a noble fort, which has since become a state prison; its
commerce has dwindled away, and Passepartout in vain
looked about him for such a bazaar as he used to frequent
in Regent Street. At last he came upon an elderly, crusty
Jew, who sold second-hand articles, and from whom he
purchased a dress of Scotch stuff, a large mantle, and a fine
otter-skin pelisse, for which he did not hesitate to pay
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seventy-five pounds. He then returned triumphantly to
the station.
The influence to which the priests of Pillaji had
subjected Aouda began gradually to yield, and she became
more herself, so that her fine eyes resumed all their soft
Indian expression.
When the poet-king, Ucaf Uddaul, celebrates the
charms of the queen of Ahmehnagara, he speaks thus:
‘Her shining tresses, divided in two parts, encircle the
harmonious contour of her white and delicate cheeks,
brilliant in their glow and freshness. Her ebony brows
have the form and charm of the bow of Kama, the god of
love, and beneath her long silken lashes the purest
reflections and a celestial light swim, as in the sacred lakes
of Himalaya, in the black pupils of her great clear eyes.
Her teeth, fine, equal, and white, glitter between her
smiling lips like dewdrops in a passion-flower’s half-
enveloped breast. Her delicately formed ears, her
vermilion hands, her little feet, curved and tender as the
lotus-bud, glitter with the brilliancy of the loveliest pearls
of Ceylon, the most dazzling diamonds of Golconda. Her
narrow and supple waist, which a hand may clasp around,
sets forth the outline of her rounded figure and the beauty
of her bosom, where youth in its flower displays the
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wealth of its treasures; and beneath the silken folds of her
tunic she seems to have been modelled in pure silver by
the godlike hand of Vicvarcarma, the immortal sculptor.’
It is enough to say, without applying this poetical
rhapsody to Aouda, that she was a charming woman, in all
the European acceptation of the phrase. She spoke English
with great purity, and the guide had not exaggerated in
saying that the young Parsee had been transformed by her
bringing up.
The train was about to start from Allahabad, and Mr.
Fogg proceeded to pay the guide the price agreed upon
for his service, and not a farthing more; which astonished
Passepartout, who remembered all that his master owed to
the guide’s devotion. He had, indeed, risked his life in the
adventure at Pillaji, and, if he should be caught afterwards
by the Indians, he would with difficulty escape their
vengeance. Kiouni, also, must be disposed of. What
should be done with the elephant, which had been so
dearly purchased? Phileas Fogg had already determined this
question.
‘Parsee,’ said he to the guide, ‘you have been
serviceable and devoted. I have paid for your service, but
not for your devotion. Would you like to have this
elephant? He is yours.’
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The guide’s eyes glistened.
‘Your honour is giving me a fortune!’ cried he.
‘Take him, guide,’ returned Mr. Fogg, ‘and I shall still
be your debtor.’
‘Good!’ exclaimed Passepartout. ‘Take him, friend.
Kiouni is a brave and faithful beast.’ And, going up to the
elephant, he gave him several lumps of sugar, saying,
‘Here, Kiouni, here, here.’
The elephant grunted out his satisfaction, and, clasping
Passepartout around the waist with his trunk, lifted him as
high as his head. Passepartout, not in the least alarmed,
caressed the animal, which replaced him gently on the
ground.
Soon after, Phileas Fogg, Sir Francis Cromarty, and
Passepartout, installed in a carriage with Aouda, who had
the best seat, were whirling at full speed towards Benares.
It was a run of eighty miles, and was accomplished in two
hours. During the journey, the young woman fully
recovered her senses. What was her astonishment to find
herself in this carriage, on the railway, dressed in European
habiliments, and with travellers who were quite strangers
to her! Her companions first set about fully reviving her
with a little liquor, and then Sir Francis narrated to her
what had passed, dwelling upon the courage with which
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Phileas Fogg had not hesitated to risk his life to save her,
and recounting the happy sequel of the venture, the result
of Passepartout’s rash idea. Mr. Fogg said nothing; while
Passepartout, abashed, kept repeating that ‘it wasn’t worth
telling.’
Aouda pathetically thanked her deliverers, rather with
tears than words; her fine eyes interpreted her gratitude
better than her lips. Then, as her thoughts strayed back to
the scene of the sacrifice, and recalled the dangers which
still menaced her, she shuddered with terror.
Phileas Fogg understood what was passing in Aouda’s
mind, and offered, in order to reassure her, to escort her
to Hong Kong, where she might remain safely until the
affair was hushed up—an offer which she eagerly and
gratefully accepted. She had, it seems, a Parsee relation,
who was one of the principal merchants of Hong Kong,
which is wholly an English city, though on an island on
the Chinese coast.
At half-past twelve the train stopped at Benares. The
Brahmin legends assert that this city is built on the site of
the ancient Casi, which, like Mahomet’s tomb, was once
suspended between heaven and earth; though the Benares
of to-day, which the Orientalists call the Athens of India,
stands quite unpoetically on the solid earth, Passepartout
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caught glimpses of its brick houses and clay huts, giving an
aspect of desolation to the place, as the train entered it.
Benares was Sir Francis Cromarty’s destination, the
troops he was rejoining being encamped some miles
northward of the city. He bade adieu to Phileas Fogg,
wishing him all success, and expressing the hope that he
would come that way again in a less original but more
profitable fashion. Mr. Fogg lightly pressed him by the
hand. The parting of Aouda, who did not forget what she
owed to Sir Francis, betrayed more warmth; and, as for
Passepartout, he received a hearty shake of the hand from
the gallant general.
The railway, on leaving Benares, passed for a while
along the valley of the Ganges. Through the windows of
their carriage the travellers had glimpses of the diversified
landscape of Behar, with its mountains clothed in verdure,
its fields of barley, wheat, and corn, its jungles peopled
with green alligators, its neat villages, and its still thickly-
leaved forests. Elephants were bathing in the waters of the
sacred river, and groups of Indians, despite the advanced
season and chilly air, were performing solemnly their pious
ablutions. These were fervent Brahmins, the bitterest foes
of Buddhism, their deities being Vishnu, the solar god,
Shiva, the divine impersonation of natural forces, and
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Brahma, the supreme ruler of priests and legislators. What
would these divinities think of India, anglicised as it is to-
day, with steamers whistling and scudding along the
Ganges, frightening the gulls which float upon its surface,
the turtles swarming along its banks, and the faithful
dwelling upon its borders?
The panorama passed before their eyes like a flash, save
when the steam concealed it fitfully from the view; the
travellers could scarcely discern the fort of Chupenie,
twenty miles south-westward from Benares, the ancient
stronghold of the rajahs of Behar; or Ghazipur and its
famous rose-water factories; or the tomb of Lord
Cornwallis, rising on the left bank of the Ganges; the
fortified town of Buxar, or Patna, a large manufacturing
and trading-place, where is held the principal opium
market of India; or Monghir, a more than European town,
for it is as English as Manchester or Birmingham, with its
iron foundries, edgetool factories, and high chimneys
puffing clouds of black smoke heavenward.
Night came on; the train passed on at full speed, in the
midst of the roaring of the tigers, bears, and wolves which
fled before the locomotive; and the marvels of Bengal,
Golconda ruined Gour, Murshedabad, the ancient capital,
Burdwan, Hugly, and the French town of Chandernagor,
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where Passepartout would have been proud to see his
country’s flag flying, were hidden from their view in the
darkness.
Calcutta was reached at seven in the morning, and the
packet left for Hong Kong at noon; so that Phileas Fogg
had five hours before him.
According to his journal, he was due at Calcutta on the
25th of October, and that was the exact date of his actual
arrival. He was therefore neither behind-hand nor ahead
of time. The two days gained between London and
Bombay had been lost, as has been seen, in the journey
across India. But it is not to be supposed that Phileas Fogg
regretted them.
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Chapter XV
IN WHICH THE BAG OF
BANKNOTES DISGORGES
SOME THOUSANDS OF
POUNDS MORE
The train entered the station, and Passepartout jumping
out first, was followed by Mr. Fogg, who assisted his fair
companion to descend. Phileas Fogg intended to proceed
at once to the Hong Kong steamer, in order to get Aouda
comfortably settled for the voyage. He was unwilling to
leave her while they were still on dangerous ground.
Just as he was leaving the station a policeman came up
to him, and said, ‘Mr. Phileas Fogg?’
‘I am he.’
‘Is this man your servant?’ added the policeman,
pointing to Passepartout.
‘Yes.’
‘Be so good, both of you, as to follow me.’
Mr. Fogg betrayed no surprise whatever. The
policeman was a representative of the law, and law is
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sacred to an Englishman. Passepartout tried to reason
about the matter, but the policeman tapped him with his
stick, and Mr. Fogg made him a signal to obey.
‘May this young lady go with us?’ asked he.
‘She may,’ replied the policeman.
Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and Passepartout were conducted to
a palkigahri, a sort of four-wheeled carriage, drawn by two
horses, in which they took their places and were driven
away. No one spoke during the twenty minutes which
elapsed before they reached their destination. They first
passed through the ‘black town,’ with its narrow streets, its
miserable, dirty huts, and squalid population; then through
the ‘European town,’ which presented a relief in its bright
brick mansions, shaded by coconut-trees and bristling with
masts, where, although it was early morning, elegantly
dressed horsemen and handsome equipages were passing
back and forth.
The carriage stopped before a modest-looking house,
which, however, did not have the appearance of a private
mansion. The policeman having requested his prisoners for
so, truly, they might be called-to descend, conducted
them into a room with barred windows, and said: ‘You
will appear before Judge Obadiah at half-past eight.’
He then retired, and closed the door.
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‘Why, we are prisoners!’ exclaimed Passepartout, falling
into a chair.
Aouda, with an emotion she tried to conceal, said to
Mr. Fogg: ‘Sir, you must leave me to my fate! It is on my
account that you receive this treatment, it is for having
saved me!’
Phileas Fogg contented himself with saying that it was
impossible. It was quite unlikely that he should be arrested
for preventing a suttee. The complainants would not dare
present themselves with such a charge. There was some
mistake. Moreover, he would not, in any event, abandon
Aouda, but would escort her to Hong Kong.
‘But the steamer leaves at noon!’ observed Passepartout,
nervously.
‘We shall be on board by noon,’ replied his master,
placidly.
It was said so positively that Passepartout could not
help muttering to himself, ‘Parbleu that’s certain! Before
noon we shall be on board.’ But he was by no means
reassured.
At half-past eight the door opened, the policeman
appeared, and, requesting them to follow him, led the way
to an adjoining hall. It was evidently a court-room, and a
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crowd of Europeans and natives already occupied the rear
of the apartment.
Mr. Fogg and his two companions took their places on
a bench opposite the desks of the magistrate and his clerk.
Immediately after, Judge Obadiah, a fat, round man,
followed by the clerk, entered. He proceeded to take
down a wig which was hanging on a nail, and put it
hurriedly on his head.
‘The first case,’ said he. Then, putting his hand to his
head, he exclaimed, ‘Heh! This is not my wig!’
‘No, your worship,’ returned the clerk, ‘it is mine.’
‘My dear Mr. Oysterpuff, how can a judge give a wise
sentence in a clerk’s wig?’
The wigs were exchanged.
Passepartout was getting nervous, for the hands on the
face of the big clock over the judge seemed to go around
with terrible rapidity.
‘The first case,’ repeated Judge Obadiah.
‘Phileas Fogg?’ demanded Oysterpuff.
‘I am here,’ replied Mr. Fogg.
‘Passepartout?’
‘Present,’ responded Passepartout.
‘Good,’ said the judge. ‘You have been looked for,
prisoners, for two days on the trains from Bombay.’
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‘But of what are we accused?’ asked Passepartout,
impatiently.
‘You are about to be informed.’
‘I am an English subject, sir,’ said Mr. Fogg, ‘and I have
the right—‘
‘Have you been ill-treated?’
‘Not at all.’
‘Very well; let the complainants come in.’
A door was swung open by order of the judge, and
three Indian priests entered.
‘That’s it,’ muttered Passepartout; ‘these are the rogues
who were going to burn our young lady.’
The priests took their places in front of the judge, and
the clerk proceeded to read in a loud voice a complaint of
sacrilege against Phileas Fogg and his servant, who were
accused of having violated a place held consecrated by the
Brahmin religion.
‘You hear the charge?’ asked the judge.
‘Yes, sir,’ replied Mr. Fogg, consulting his watch, ‘and I
admit it.’
‘You admit it?’
‘I admit it, and I wish to hear these priests admit, in
their turn, what they were going to do at the pagoda of
Pillaji.’
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The priests looked at each other; they did not seem to
understand what was said.
‘Yes,’ cried Passepartout, warmly; ‘at the pagoda of
Pillaji, where they were on the point of burning their
victim.’
The judge stared with astonishment, and the priests
were stupefied.
‘What victim?’ said Judge Obadiah. ‘Burn whom? In
Bombay itself?’
‘Bombay?’ cried Passepartout.
‘Certainly. We are not talking of the pagoda of Pillaji,
but of the pagoda of Malabar Hill, at Bombay.’
‘And as a proof,’ added the clerk, ‘here are the
desecrator’s very shoes, which he left behind him.’
Whereupon he placed a pair of shoes on his desk.
‘My shoes!’ cried Passepartout, in his surprise
permitting this imprudent exclamation to escape him.
The confusion of master and man, who had quite
forgotten the affair at Bombay, for which they were now
detained at Calcutta, may be imagined.
Fix the detective, had foreseen the advantage which
Passepartout’s escapade gave him, and, delaying his
departure for twelve hours, had consulted the priests of
Malabar Hill. Knowing that the English authorities dealt
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very severely with this kind of misdemeanour, he
promised them a goodly sum in damages, and sent them
forward to Calcutta by the next train. Owing to the delay
caused by the rescue of the young widow, Fix and the
priests reached the Indian capital before Mr. Fogg and his
servant, the magistrates having been already warned by a
dispatch to arrest them should they arrive. Fix’s
disappointment when he learned that Phileas Fogg had not
made his appearance in Calcutta may be imagined. He
made up his mind that the robber had stopped somewhere
on the route and taken refuge in the southern provinces.
For twenty-four hours Fix watched the station with
feverish anxiety; at last he was rewarded by seeing Mr.
Fogg and Passepartout arrive, accompanied by a young
woman, whose presence he was wholly at a loss to
explain. He hastened for a policeman; and this was how
the party came to be arrested and brought before Judge
Obadiah.
Had Passepartout been a little less preoccupied, he
would have espied the detective ensconced in a corner of
the court-room, watching the proceedings with an interest
easily understood; for the warrant had failed to reach him
at Calcutta, as it had done at Bombay and Suez.
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Judge Obadiah had unfortunately caught Passepartout’s
rash exclamation, which the poor fellow would have given
the world to recall.
‘The facts are admitted?’ asked the judge.
‘Admitted,’ replied Mr. Fogg, coldly.
‘Inasmuch,’ resumed the judge, ‘as the English law
protects equally and sternly the religions of the Indian
people, and as the man Passepartout has admitted that he
violated the sacred pagoda of Malabar Hill, at Bombay, on
the 20th of October, I condemn the said Passepartout to
imprisonment for fifteen days and a fine of three hundred
pounds.’
‘Three hundred pounds!’ cried Passepartout, startled at
the largeness of the sum.
‘Silence!’ shouted the constable.
‘And inasmuch,’ continued the judge, ‘as it is not
proved that the act was not done by the connivance of the
master with the servant, and as the master in any case must
be held responsible for the acts of his paid servant, I
condemn Phileas Fogg to a week’s imprisonment and a
fine of one hundred and fifty pounds.’
Fix rubbed his hands softly with satisfaction; if Phileas
Fogg could be detained in Calcutta a week, it would be
more than time for the warrant to arrive. Passepartout was
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stupefied. This sentence ruined his master. A wager of
twenty thousand pounds lost, because he, like a precious
fool, had gone into that abominable pagoda!
Phileas Fogg, as self-composed as if the judgment did
not in the least concern him, did not even lift his
eyebrows while it was being pronounced. Just as the clerk
was calling the next case, he rose, and said, ‘I offer bail.’
‘You have that right,’ returned the judge.
Fix’s blood ran cold, but he resumed his composure
when he heard the judge announce that the bail required
for each prisoner would be one thousand pounds.
‘I will pay it at once,’ said Mr. Fogg, taking a roll of
bank-bills from the carpet-bag, which Passepartout had by
him, and placing them on the clerk’s desk.
‘This sum will be restored to you upon your release
from prison,’ said the judge. ‘Meanwhile, you are liberated
on bail.’
‘Come!’ said Phileas Fogg to his servant.
‘But let them at least give me back my shoes!’ cried
Passepartout angrily.
‘Ah, these are pretty dear shoes!’ he muttered, as they
were handed to him. ‘More than a thousand pounds
apiece; besides, they pinch my feet.’
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Mr. Fogg, offering his arm to Aouda, then departed,
followed by the crestfallen Passepartout. Fix still nourished
hopes that the robber would not, after all, leave the two
thousand pounds behind him, but would decide to serve
out his week in jail, and issued forth on Mr. Fogg’s traces.
That gentleman took a carriage, and the party were soon
landed on one of the quays.
The Rangoon was moored half a mile off in the
harbour, its signal of departure hoisted at the mast-head.
Eleven o’clock was striking; Mr. Fogg was an hour in
advance of time. Fix saw them leave the carriage and push
off in a boat for the steamer, and stamped his feet with
disappointment.
‘The rascal is off, after all!’ he exclaimed. ‘Two
thousand pounds sacrificed! He’s as prodigal as a thief! I’ll
follow him to the end of the world if necessary; but, at the
rate he is going on, the stolen money will soon be
exhausted.’
The detective was not far wrong in making this
conjecture. Since leaving London, what with travelling
expenses, bribes, the purchase of the elephant, bails, and
fines, Mr. Fogg had already spent more than five thousand
pounds on the way, and the percentage of the sum
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Chapter XVI
IN WHICH FIX DOES NOT
SEEM TO UNDERSTAND IN
THE LEAST WHAT IS SAID TO
HIM
The Rangoon—one of the Peninsular and Oriental
Company’s boats plying in the Chinese and Japanese
seas—was a screw steamer, built of iron, weighing about
seventeen hundred and seventy tons, and with engines of
four hundred horse-power. She was as fast, but not as well
fitted up, as the Mongolia, and Aouda was not as
comfortably provided for on board of her as Phileas Fogg
could have wished. However, the trip from Calcutta to
Hong Kong only comprised some three thousand five
hundred miles, occupying from ten to twelve days, and
the young woman was not difficult to please.
During the first days of the journey Aouda became
better acquainted with her protector, and constantly gave
evidence of her deep gratitude for what he had done. The
phlegmatic gentleman listened to her, apparently at least,
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with coldness, neither his voice nor his manner betraying
the slightest emotion; but he seemed to be always on the
watch that nothing should be wanting to Aouda’s comfort.
He visited her regularly each day at certain hours, not so
much to talk himself, as to sit and hear her talk. He treated
her with the strictest politeness, but with the precision of
an automaton, the movements of which had been
arranged for this purpose. Aouda did not quite know what
to make of him, though Passepartout had given her some
hints of his master’s eccentricity, and made her smile by
telling her of the wager which was sending him round the
world. After all, she owed Phileas Fogg her life, and she
always regarded him through the exalting medium of her
gratitude.
Aouda confirmed the Parsee guide’s narrative of her
touching history. She did, indeed, belong to the highest of
the native races of India. Many of the Parsee merchants
have made great fortunes there by dealing in cotton; and
one of them, Sir Jametsee Jeejeebhoy, was made a baronet
by the English government. Aouda was a relative of this
great man, and it was his cousin, Jeejeeh, whom she hoped
to join at Hong Kong. Whether she would find a
protector in him she could not tell; but Mr. Fogg essayed
to calm her anxieties, and to assure her that everything
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would be mathematically—he used the very word—
arranged. Aouda fastened her great eyes, ‘clear as the
sacred lakes of the Himalaya,’ upon him; but the
intractable Fogg, as reserved as ever, did not seem at all
inclined to throw himself into this lake.
The first few days of the voyage passed prosperously,
amid favourable weather and propitious winds, and they
soon came in sight of the great Andaman, the principal of
the islands in the Bay of Bengal, with its picturesque
Saddle Peak, two thousand four hundred feet high,
looming above the waters. The steamer passed along near
the shores, but the savage Papuans, who are in the lowest
scale of humanity, but are not, as has been asserted,
cannibals, did not make their appearance.
The panorama of the islands, as they steamed by them,
was superb. Vast forests of palms, arecs, bamboo,
teakwood, of the gigantic mimosa, and tree-like ferns
covered the foreground, while behind, the graceful
outlines of the mountains were traced against the sky; and
along the coasts swarmed by thousands the precious
swallows whose nests furnish a luxurious dish to the tables
of the Celestial Empire. The varied landscape afforded by
the Andaman Islands was soon passed, however, and the
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Rangoon rapidly approached the Straits of Malacca, which
gave access to the China seas.
What was detective Fix, so unluckily drawn on from
country to country, doing all this while? He had managed
to embark on the Rangoon at Calcutta without being seen
by Passepartout, after leaving orders that, if the warrant
should arrive, it should be forwarded to him at Hong
Kong; and he hoped to conceal his presence to the end of
the voyage. It would have been difficult to explain why he
was on board without awakening Passepartout’s suspicions,
who thought him still at Bombay. But necessity impelled
him, nevertheless, to renew his acquaintance with the
worthy servant, as will be seen.
All the detective’s hopes and wishes were now centred
on Hong Kong; for the steamer’s stay at Singapore would
be too brief to enable him to take any steps there. The
arrest must be made at Hong Kong, or the robber would
probably escape him for ever. Hong Kong was the last
English ground on which he would set foot; beyond,
China, Japan, America offered to Fogg an almost certain
refuge. If the warrant should at last make its appearance at
Hong Kong, Fix could arrest him and give him into the
hands of the local police, and there would be no further
trouble. But beyond Hong Kong, a simple warrant would
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be of no avail; an extradition warrant would be necessary,
and that would result in delays and obstacles, of which the
rascal would take advantage to elude justice.
Fix thought over these probabilities during the long
hours which he spent in his cabin, and kept repeating to
himself, ‘Now, either the warrant will be at Hong Kong,
in which case I shall arrest my man, or it will not be there;
and this time it is absolutely necessary that I should delay
his departure. I have failed at Bombay, and I have failed at
Calcutta; if I fail at Hong Kong, my reputation is lost:
Cost what it may, I must succeed! But how shall I prevent
his departure, if that should turn out to be my last
resource?’
Fix made up his mind that, if worst came to worst, he
would make a confidant of Passepartout, and tell him what
kind of a fellow his master really was. That Passepartout
was not Fogg’s accomplice, he was very certain. The
servant, enlightened by his disclosure, and afraid of being
himself implicated in the crime, would doubtless become
an ally of the detective. But this method was a dangerous
one, only to be employed when everything else had failed.
A word from Passepartout to his master would ruin all.
The detective was therefore in a sore strait. But suddenly a
new idea struck him. The presence of Aouda on the
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Rangoon, in company with Phileas Fogg, gave him new
material for reflection.
Who was this woman? What combination of events
had made her Fogg’s travelling companion? They had
evidently met somewhere between Bombay and Calcutta;
but where? Had they met accidentally, or had Fogg gone
into the interior purposely in quest of this charming
damsel? Fix was fairly puzzled. He asked himself whether
there had not been a wicked elopement; and this idea so
impressed itself upon his mind that he determined to make
use of the supposed intrigue. Whether the young woman
were married or not, he would be able to create such
difficulties for Mr. Fogg at Hong Kong that he could not
escape by paying any amount of money.
But could he even wait till they reached Hong Kong?
Fogg had an abominable way of jumping from one boat to
another, and, before anything could be effected, might get
full under way again for Yokohama.
Fix decided that he must warn the English authorities,
and signal the Rangoon before her arrival. This was easy
to do, since the steamer stopped at Singapore, whence
there is a telegraphic wire to Hong Kong. He finally
resolved, moreover, before acting more positively, to
question Passepartout. It would not be difficult to make
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him talk; and, as there was no time to lose, Fix prepared to
make himself known.
It was now the 30th of October, and on the following
day the Rangoon was due at Singapore.
Fix emerged from his cabin and went on deck.
Passepartout was promenading up and down in the
forward part of the steamer. The detective rushed forward
with every appearance of extreme surprise, and exclaimed,
‘You here, on the Rangoon?’
‘What, Monsieur Fix, are you on board?’ returned the
really astonished Passepartout, recognising his crony of the
Mongolia. ‘Why, I left you at Bombay, and here you are,
on the way to Hong Kong! Are you going round the
world too?’
‘No, no,’ replied Fix; ‘I shall stop at Hong Kong—at
least for some days.’
‘Hum!’ said Passepartout, who seemed for an instant
perplexed. ‘But how is it I have not seen you on board
since we left Calcutta?’
‘Oh, a trifle of sea-sickness—I’ve been staying in my
berth. The Gulf of Bengal does not agree with me as well
as the Indian Ocean. And how is Mr. Fogg?’
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‘As well and as punctual as ever, not a day behind time!
But, Monsieur Fix, you don’t know that we have a young
lady with us.’
‘A young lady?’ replied the detective, not seeming to
comprehend what was said.
Passepartout thereupon recounted Aouda’s history, the
affair at the Bombay pagoda, the purchase of the elephant
for two thousand pounds, the rescue, the arrest, and
sentence of the Calcutta court, and the restoration of Mr.
Fogg and himself to liberty on bail. Fix, who was familiar
with the last events, seemed to be equally ignorant of all
that Passepartout related; and the later was charmed to find
so interested a listener.
‘But does your master propose to carry this young
woman to Europe?’
‘Not at all. We are simply going to place her under the
protection of one of her relatives, a rich merchant at Hong
Kong.’
‘Nothing to be done there,’ said Fix to himself,
concealing his disappointment. ‘A glass of gin, Mr.
Passepartout?’
‘Willingly, Monsieur Fix. We must at least have a
friendly glass on board the Rangoon.’
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Chapter XVII
SHOWING WHAT
HAPPENED ON THE VOYAGE
FROM SINGAPORE TO HONG
KONG
The detective and Passepartout met often on deck after
this interview, though Fix was reserved, and did not
attempt to induce his companion to divulge any more
facts concerning Mr. Fogg. He caught a glimpse of that
mysterious gentleman once or twice; but Mr. Fogg usually
confined himself to the cabin, where he kept Aouda
company, or, according to his inveterate habit, took a
hand at whist.
Passepartout began very seriously to conjecture what
strange chance kept Fix still on the route that his master
was pursuing. It was really worth considering why this
certainly very amiable and complacent person, whom he
had first met at Suez, had then encountered on board the
Mongolia, who disembarked at Bombay, which he
announced as his destination, and now turned up so
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unexpectedly on the Rangoon, was following Mr. Fogg’s
tracks step by step. What was Fix’s object? Passepartout
was ready to wager his Indian shoes—which he religiously
preserved—that Fix would also leave Hong Kong at the
same time with them, and probably on the same steamer.
Passepartout might have cudgelled his brain for a
century without hitting upon the real object which the
detective had in view. He never could have imagined that
Phileas Fogg was being tracked as a robber around the
globe. But, as it is in human nature to attempt the solution
of every mystery, Passepartout suddenly discovered an
explanation of Fix’s movements, which was in truth far
from unreasonable. Fix, he thought, could only be an
agent of Mr. Fogg’s friends at the Reform Club, sent to
follow him up, and to ascertain that he really went round
the world as had been agreed upon.
‘It’s clear!’ repeated the worthy servant to himself,
proud of his shrewdness. ‘He’s a spy sent to keep us in
view! That isn’t quite the thing, either, to be spying Mr.
Fogg, who is so honourable a man! Ah, gentlemen of the
Reform, this shall cost you dear!’
Passepartout, enchanted with his discovery, resolved to
say nothing to his master, lest he should be justly offended
at this mistrust on the part of his adversaries. But he
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determined to chaff Fix, when he had the chance, with
mysterious allusions, which, however, need not betray his
real suspicions.
During the afternoon of Wednesday, 30th October, the
Rangoon entered the Strait of Malacca, which separates
the peninsula of that name from Sumatra. The
mountainous and craggy islets intercepted the beauties of
this noble island from the view of the travellers. The
Rangoon weighed anchor at Singapore the next day at
four a.m., to receive coal, having gained half a day on the
prescribed time of her arrival. Phileas Fogg noted this gain
in his journal, and then, accompanied by Aouda, who
betrayed a desire for a walk on shore, disembarked.
Fix, who suspected Mr. Fogg’s every movement,
followed them cautiously, without being himself
perceived; while Passepartout, laughing in his sleeve at
Fix’s manoeuvres, went about his usual errands.
The island of Singapore is not imposing in aspect, for
there are no mountains; yet its appearance is not without
attractions. It is a park checkered by pleasant highways and
avenues. A handsome carriage, drawn by a sleek pair of
New Holland horses, carried Phileas Fogg and Aouda into
the midst of rows of palms with brilliant foliage, and of
clove-trees, whereof the cloves form the heart of a half-
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open flower. Pepper plants replaced the prickly hedges of
European fields; sago-bushes, large ferns with gorgeous
branches, varied the aspect of this tropical clime; while
nutmeg-trees in full foliage filled the air with a penetrating
perfume. Agile and grinning bands of monkeys skipped
about in the trees, nor were tigers wanting in the jungles.
After a drive of two hours through the country, Aouda
and Mr. Fogg returned to the town, which is a vast
collection of heavy-looking, irregular houses, surrounded
by charming gardens rich in tropical fruits and plants; and
at ten o’clock they re-embarked, closely followed by the
detective, who had kept them constantly in sight.
Passepartout, who had been purchasing several dozen
mangoes— a fruit as large as good-sized apples, of a dark-
brown colour outside and a bright red within, and whose
white pulp, melting in the mouth, affords gourmands a
delicious sensation—was waiting for them on deck. He
was only too glad to offer some mangoes to Aouda, who
thanked him very gracefully for them.
At eleven o’clock the Rangoon rode out of Singapore
harbour, and in a few hours the high mountains of
Malacca, with their forests, inhabited by the most
beautifully-furred tigers in the world, were lost to view.
Singapore is distant some thirteen hundred miles from the
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island of Hong Kong, which is a little English colony near
the Chinese coast. Phileas Fogg hoped to accomplish the
journey in six days, so as to be in time for the steamer
which would leave on the 6th of November for
Yokohama, the principal Japanese port.
The Rangoon had a large quota of passengers, many of
whom disembarked at Singapore, among them a number
of Indians, Ceylonese, Chinamen, Malays, and
Portuguese, mostly second-class travellers.
The weather, which had hitherto been fine, changed
with the last quarter of the moon. The sea rolled heavily,
and the wind at intervals rose almost to a storm, but
happily blew from the south-west, and thus aided the
steamer’s progress. The captain as often as possible put up
his sails, and under the double action of steam and sail the
vessel made rapid progress along the coasts of Anam and
Cochin China. Owing to the defective construction of the
Rangoon, however, unusual precautions became necessary
in unfavourable weather; but the loss of time which
resulted from this cause, while it nearly drove Passepartout
out of his senses, did not seem to affect his master in the
least. Passepartout blamed the captain, the engineer, and
the crew, and consigned all who were connected with the
ship to the land where the pepper grows. Perhaps the
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thought of the gas, which was remorselessly burning at his
expense in Saville Row, had something to do with his hot
impatience.
‘You are in a great hurry, then,’ said Fix to him one
day, ‘to reach Hong Kong?’
‘A very great hurry!’
‘Mr. Fogg, I suppose, is anxious to catch the steamer
for Yokohama?’
‘Terribly anxious.’
‘You believe in this journey around the world, then?’
‘Absolutely. Don’t you, Mr. Fix?’
‘I? I don’t believe a word of it.’
‘You’re a sly dog!’ said Passepartout, winking at him.
This expression rather disturbed Fix, without his
knowing why. Had the Frenchman guessed his real
purpose? He knew not what to think. But how could
Passepartout have discovered that he was a detective? Yet,
in speaking as he did, the man evidently meant more than
he expressed.
Passepartout went still further the next day; he could
not hold his tongue.
‘Mr. Fix,’ said he, in a bantering tone, ‘shall we be so
unfortunate as to lose you when we get to Hong Kong?’
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‘Why,’ responded Fix, a little embarrassed, ‘I don’t
know; perhaps—‘
‘Ah, if you would only go on with us! An agent of the
Peninsular Company, you know, can’t stop on the way!
You were only going to Bombay, and here you are in
China. America is not far off, and from America to Europe
is only a step.’
Fix looked intently at his companion, whose
countenance was as serene as possible, and laughed with
him. But Passepartout persisted in chaffing him by asking
him if he made much by his present occupation.
‘Yes, and no,’ returned Fix; ‘there is good and bad luck
in such things. But you must understand that I don’t travel
at my own expense.’
‘Oh, I am quite sure of that!’ cried Passepartout,
laughing heartily.
Fix, fairly puzzled, descended to his cabin and gave
himself up to his reflections. He was evidently suspected;
somehow or other the Frenchman had found out that he
was a detective. But had he told his master? What part was
he playing in all this: was he an accomplice or not? Was
the game, then, up? Fix spent several hours turning these
things over in his mind, sometimes thinking that all was
lost, then persuading himself that Fogg was ignorant of his
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presence, and then undecided what course it was best to
take.
Nevertheless, he preserved his coolness of mind, and at
last resolved to deal plainly with Passepartout. If he did not
find it practicable to arrest Fogg at Hong Kong, and if
Fogg made preparations to leave that last foothold of
English territory, he, Fix, would tell Passepartout all.
Either the servant was the accomplice of his master, and in
this case the master knew of his operations, and he should
fail; or else the servant knew nothing about the robbery,
and then his interest would be to abandon the robber.
Such was the situation between Fix and Passepartout.
Meanwhile Phileas Fogg moved about above them in the
most majestic and unconscious indifference. He was
passing methodically in his orbit around the world,
regardless of the lesser stars which gravitated around him.
Yet there was near by what the astronomers would call a
disturbing star, which might have produced an agitation in
this gentleman’s heart. But no! the charms of Aouda failed
to act, to Passepartout’s great surprise; and the
disturbances, if they existed, would have been more
difficult to calculate than those of Uranus which led to the
discovery of Neptune.
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It was every day an increasing wonder to Passepartout,
who read in Aouda’s eyes the depths of her gratitude to his
master. Phileas Fogg, though brave and gallant, must be,
he thought, quite heartless. As to the sentiment which this
journey might have awakened in him, there was clearly no
trace of such a thing; while poor Passepartout existed in
perpetual reveries.
One day he was leaning on the railing of the engine-
room, and was observing the engine, when a sudden pitch
of the steamer threw the screw out of the water. The
steam came hissing out of the valves; and this made
Passepartout indignant.
‘The valves are not sufficiently charged!’ he exclaimed.
‘We are not going. Oh, these English! If this was an
American craft, we should blow up, perhaps, but we
should at all events go faster!’
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Chapter XVIII
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG,
PASSEPARTOUT, AND FIX GO
EACH ABOUT HIS BUSINESS
The weather was bad during the latter days of the
voyage. The wind, obstinately remaining in the north-
west, blew a gale, and retarded the steamer. The Rangoon
rolled heavily and the passengers became impatient of the
long, monstrous waves which the wind raised before their
path. A sort of tempest arose on the 3rd of November, the
squall knocking the vessel about with fury, and the waves
running high. The Rangoon reefed all her sails, and even
the rigging proved too much, whistling and shaking amid
the squall. The steamer was forced to proceed slowly, and
the captain estimated that she would reach Hong Kong
twenty hours behind time, and more if the storm lasted.
Phileas Fogg gazed at the tempestuous sea, which
seemed to be struggling especially to delay him, with his
habitual tranquillity. He never changed countenance for
an instant, though a delay of twenty hours, by making him
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too late for the Yokohama boat, would almost inevitably
cause the loss of the wager. But this man of nerve
manifested neither impatience nor annoyance; it seemed as
if the storm were a part of his programme, and had been
foreseen. Aouda was amazed to find him as calm as he had
been from the first time she saw him.
Fix did not look at the state of things in the same light.
The storm greatly pleased him. His satisfaction would have
been complete had the Rangoon been forced to retreat
before the violence of wind and waves. Each delay filled
him with hope, for it became more and more probable
that Fogg would be obliged to remain some days at Hong
Kong; and now the heavens themselves became his allies,
with the gusts and squalls. It mattered not that they made
him sea-sick—he made no account of this inconvenience;
and, whilst his body was writhing under their effects, his
spirit bounded with hopeful exultation.
Passepartout was enraged beyond expression by the
unpropitious weather. Everything had gone so well till
now! Earth and sea had seemed to be at his master’s
service; steamers and railways obeyed him; wind and steam
united to speed his journey. Had the hour of adversity
come? Passepartout was as much excited as if the twenty
thousand pounds were to come from his own pocket. The
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storm exasperated him, the gale made him furious, and he
longed to lash the obstinate sea into obedience. Poor
fellow! Fix carefully concealed from him his own
satisfaction, for, had he betrayed it, Passepartout could
scarcely have restrained himself from personal violence.
Passepartout remained on deck as long as the tempest
lasted, being unable to remain quiet below, and taking it
into his head to aid the progress of the ship by lending a
hand with the crew. He overwhelmed the captain,
officers, and sailors, who could not help laughing at his
impatience, with all sorts of questions. He wanted to
know exactly how long the storm was going to last;
whereupon he was referred to the barometer, which
seemed to have no intention of rising. Passepartout shook
it, but with no perceptible effect; for neither shaking nor
maledictions could prevail upon it to change its mind.
On the 4th, however, the sea became more calm, and
the storm lessened its violence; the wind veered
southward, and was once more favourable. Passepartout
cleared up with the weather. Some of the sails were
unfurled, and the Rangoon resumed its most rapid speed.
The time lost could not, however, be regained. Land was
not signalled until five o’clock on the morning of the 6th;
the steamer was due on the 5th. Phileas Fogg was twenty-
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four hours behind-hand, and the Yokohama steamer
would, of course, be missed.
The pilot went on board at six, and took his place on
the bridge, to guide the Rangoon through the channels to
the port of Hong Kong. Passepartout longed to ask him if
the steamer had left for Yokohama; but he dared not, for
he wished to preserve the spark of hope, which still
remained till the last moment. He had confided his anxiety
to Fix who—the sly rascal!—tried to console him by
saying that Mr. Fogg would be in time if he took the next
boat; but this only put Passepartout in a passion.
Mr. Fogg, bolder than his servant, did not hesitate to
approach the pilot, and tranquilly ask him if he knew
when a steamer would leave Hong Kong for Yokohama.
‘At high tide to-morrow morning,’ answered the pilot.
‘Ah!’ said Mr. Fogg, without betraying any
astonishment.
Passepartout, who heard what passed, would willingly
have embraced the pilot, while Fix would have been glad
to twist his neck.
‘What is the steamer’s name?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘The Carnatic.’
‘Ought she not to have gone yesterday?’
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‘Yes, sir; but they had to repair one of her boilers, and
so her departure was postponed till to-morrow.’
‘Thank you,’ returned Mr. Fogg, descending
mathematically to the saloon.
Passepartout clasped the pilot’s hand and shook it
heartily in his delight, exclaiming, ‘Pilot, you are the best
of good fellows!’
The pilot probably does not know to this day why his
responses won him this enthusiastic greeting. He
remounted the bridge, and guided the steamer through the
flotilla of junks, tankas, and fishing boats which crowd the
harbour of Hong Kong.
At one o’clock the Rangoon was at the quay, and the
passengers were going ashore.
Chance had strangely favoured Phileas Fogg, for had
not the Carnatic been forced to lie over for repairing her
boilers, she would have left on the 6th of November, and
the passengers for Japan would have been obliged to await
for a week the sailing of the next steamer. Mr. Fogg was,
it is true, twenty-four hours behind his time; but this
could not seriously imperil the remainder of his tour.
The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama
to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from
Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached
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Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late
on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be
easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across
the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four
hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at
five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in
which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit
Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which
they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for
the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she
wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin
Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel
until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely
alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not
doubt, every one would know so wealthy and
considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting
a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had
left China two years before, and, retiring from business
with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in
Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the
merchants of which country he had principally traded.
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Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s
conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised
her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but
probably in Holland.
Aouda at first said nothing. She passed her hand across
her forehead, and reflected a few moments. Then, in her
sweet, soft voice, she said: ‘What ought I to do, Mr.
Fogg?’
‘It is very simple,’ responded the gentleman. ‘Go on to
Europe.’
‘But I cannot intrude—‘
‘You do not intrude, nor do you in the least embarrass
my project. Passepartout!’
‘Monsieur.’
‘Go to the Carnatic, and engage three cabins.’
Passepartout, delighted that the young woman, who
was very gracious to him, was going to continue the
journey with them, went off at a brisk gait to obey his
master’s order.
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Chapter XIX
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
TAKES A TOO GREAT
INTEREST IN HIS MASTER,
AND WHAT COMES OF IT
Hong Kong is an island which came into the possession
of the English by the Treaty of Nankin, after the war of
1842; and the colonising genius of the English has created
upon it an important city and an excellent port. The island
is situated at the mouth of the Canton River, and is
separated by about sixty miles from the Portuguese town
of Macao, on the opposite coast. Hong Kong has beaten
Macao in the struggle for the Chinese trade, and now the
greater part of the transportation of Chinese goods finds its
depot at the former place. Docks, hospitals, wharves, a
Gothic cathedral, a government house, macadamised
streets, give to Hong Kong the appearance of a town in
Kent or Surrey transferred by some strange magic to the
antipodes.
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Passepartout wandered, with his hands in his pockets,
towards the Victoria port, gazing as he went at the curious
palanquins and other modes of conveyance, and the
groups of Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans who passed to
and fro in the streets. Hong Kong seemed to him not
unlike Bombay, Calcutta, and Singapore, since, like them,
it betrayed everywhere the evidence of English supremacy.
At the Victoria port he found a confused mass of ships of
all nations: English, French, American, and Dutch, men-
of-war and trading vessels, Japanese and Chinese junks,
sempas, tankas, and flower-boats, which formed so many
floating parterres. Passepartout noticed in the crowd a
number of the natives who seemed very old and were
dressed in yellow. On going into a barber’s to get shaved
he learned that these ancient men were all at least eighty
years old, at which age they are permitted to wear yellow,
which is the Imperial colour. Passepartout, without exactly
knowing why, thought this very funny.
On reaching the quay where they were to embark on
the Carnatic, he was not astonished to find Fix walking up
and down. The detective seemed very much disturbed and
disappointed.
‘This is bad,’ muttered Passepartout, ‘for the gentlemen
of the Reform Club!’ He accosted Fix with a merry smile,
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as if he had not perceived that gentleman’s chagrin. The
detective had, indeed, good reasons to inveigh against the
bad luck which pursued him. The warrant had not come!
It was certainly on the way, but as certainly it could not
now reach Hong Kong for several days; and, this being the
last English territory on Mr. Fogg’s route, the robber
would escape, unless he could manage to detain him.
‘Well, Monsieur Fix,’ said Passepartout, ‘have you
decided to go with us so far as America?’
‘Yes,’ returned Fix, through his set teeth.
‘Good!’ exclaimed Passepartout, laughing heartily. ‘I
knew you could not persuade yourself to separate from us.
Come and engage your berth.’
They entered the steamer office and secured cabins for
four persons. The clerk, as he gave them the tickets,
informed them that, the repairs on the Carnatic having
been completed, the steamer would leave that very
evening, and not next morning, as had been announced.
‘That will suit my master all the better,’ said
Passepartout. ‘I will go and let him know.’
Fix now decided to make a bold move; he resolved to
tell Passepartout all. It seemed to be the only possible
means of keeping Phileas Fogg several days longer at Hong
Kong. He accordingly invited his companion into a tavern
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which caught his eye on the quay. On entering, they
found themselves in a large room handsomely decorated,
at the end of which was a large camp-bed furnished with
cushions. Several persons lay upon this bed in a deep sleep.
At the small tables which were arranged about the room
some thirty customers were drinking English beer, porter,
gin, and brandy; smoking, the while, long red clay pipes
stuffed with little balls of opium mingled with essence of
rose. From time to time one of the smokers, overcome
with the narcotic, would slip under the table, whereupon
the waiters, taking him by the head and feet, carried and
laid him upon the bed. The bed already supported twenty
of these stupefied sots.
Fix and Passepartout saw that they were in a smoking-
house haunted by those wretched, cadaverous, idiotic
creatures to whom the English merchants sell every year
the miserable drug called opium, to the amount of one
million four hundred thousand pounds— thousands
devoted to one of the most despicable vices which afflict
humanity! The Chinese government has in vain attempted
to deal with the evil by stringent laws. It passed gradually
from the rich, to whom it was at first exclusively reserved,
to the lower classes, and then its ravages could not be
arrested. Opium is smoked everywhere, at all times, by
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men and women, in the Celestial Empire; and, once
accustomed to it, the victims cannot dispense with it,
except by suffering horrible bodily contortions and
agonies. A great smoker can smoke as many as eight pipes
a day; but he dies in five years. It was in one of these dens
that Fix and Passepartout, in search of a friendly glass,
found themselves. Passepartout had no money, but
willingly accepted Fix’s invitation in the hope of returning
the obligation at some future time.
They ordered two bottles of port, to which the
Frenchman did ample justice, whilst Fix observed him
with close attention. They chatted about the journey, and
Passepartout was especially merry at the idea that Fix was
going to continue it with them. When the bottles were
empty, however, he rose to go and tell his master of the
change in the time of the sailing of the Carnatic.
Fix caught him by the arm, and said, ‘Wait a moment.’
‘What for, Mr. Fix?’
‘I want to have a serious talk with you.’
‘A serious talk!’ cried Passepartout, drinking up the
little wine that was left in the bottom of his glass. ‘Well,
we’ll talk about it to-morrow; I haven’t time now.’
‘Stay! What I have to say concerns your master.’
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Passepartout, at this, looked attentively at his
companion. Fix’s face seemed to have a singular
expression. He resumed his seat.
‘What is it that you have to say?’
Fix placed his hand upon Passepartout’s arm, and,
lowering his voice, said, ‘You have guessed who I am?’
‘Parbleu!’ said Passepartout, smiling.
‘Then I’m going to tell you everything—‘
‘Now that I know everything, my friend! Ah! that’s
very good. But go on, go on. First, though, let me tell you
that those gentlemen have put themselves to a useless
expense.’
‘Useless!’ said Fix. ‘You speak confidently. It’s clear
that you don’t know how large the sum is.’
‘Of course I do,’ returned Passepartout. ‘Twenty
thousand pounds.’
‘Fifty-five thousand!’ answered Fix, pressing his
companion’s hand.
‘What!’ cried the Frenchman. ‘Has Monsieur Fogg
dared— fifty-five thousand pounds! Well, there’s all the
more reason for not losing an instant,’ he continued,
getting up hastily.
Fix pushed Passepartout back in his chair, and resumed:
‘Fifty-five thousand pounds; and if I succeed, I get two
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thousand pounds. If you’ll help me, I’ll let you have five
hundred of them.’
‘Help you?’ cried Passepartout, whose eyes were
standing wide open.
‘Yes; help me keep Mr. Fogg here for two or three
days.’
‘Why, what are you saying? Those gentlemen are not
satisfied with following my master and suspecting his
honour, but they must try to put obstacles in his way! I
blush for them!’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that it is a piece of shameful trickery. They
might as well waylay Mr. Fogg and put his money in their
pockets!’
‘That’s just what we count on doing.’
‘It’s a conspiracy, then,’ cried Passepartout, who
became more and more excited as the liquor mounted in
his head, for he drank without perceiving it. ‘A real
conspiracy! And gentlemen, too. Bah!’
Fix began to be puzzled.
‘Members of the Reform Club!’ continued
Passepartout. ‘You must know, Monsieur Fix, that my
master is an honest man, and that, when he makes a
wager, he tries to win it fairly!’
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‘But who do you think I am?’ asked Fix, looking at
him intently.
‘Parbleu! An agent of the members of the Reform
Club, sent out here to interrupt my master’s journey. But,
though I found you out some time ago, I’ve taken good
care to say nothing about it to Mr. Fogg.’
‘He knows nothing, then?’
‘Nothing,’ replied Passepartout, again emptying his
glass.
The detective passed his hand across his forehead,
hesitating before he spoke again. What should he do?
Passepartout’s mistake seemed sincere, but it made his
design more difficult. It was evident that the servant was
not the master’s accomplice, as Fix had been inclined to
suspect.
‘Well,’ said the detective to himself, ‘as he is not an
accomplice, he will help me.’
He had no time to lose: Fogg must be detained at
Hong Kong, so he resolved to make a clean breast of it.
‘Listen to me,’ said Fix abruptly. ‘I am not, as you
think, an agent of the members of the Reform Club—‘
‘Bah!’ retorted Passepartout, with an air of raillery.
‘I am a police detective, sent out here by the London
office.’
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‘You, a detective?’
‘I will prove it. Here is my commission.’
Passepartout was speechless with astonishment when
Fix displayed this document, the genuineness of which
could not be doubted.
‘Mr. Fogg’s wager,’ resumed Fix, ‘is only a pretext, of
which you and the gentlemen of the Reform are dupes.
He had a motive for securing your innocent complicity.’
‘But why?’
‘Listen. On the 28th of last September a robbery of
fifty-five thousand pounds was committed at the Bank of
England by a person whose description was fortunately
secured. Here is his description; it answers exactly to that
of Mr. Phileas Fogg.’
‘What nonsense!’ cried Passepartout, striking the table
with his fist. ‘My master is the most honourable of men!’
‘How can you tell? You know scarcely anything about
him. You went into his service the day he came away; and
he came away on a foolish pretext, without trunks, and
carrying a large amount in banknotes. And yet you are
bold enough to assert that he is an honest man!’
‘Yes, yes,’ repeated the poor fellow, mechanically.
‘Would you like to be arrested as his accomplice?’
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Passepartout, overcome by what he had heard, held his
head between his hands, and did not dare to look at the
detective. Phileas Fogg, the saviour of Aouda, that brave
and generous man, a robber! And yet how many
presumptions there were against him! Passepartout essayed
to reject the suspicions which forced themselves upon his
mind; he did not wish to believe that his master was
guilty.
‘Well, what do you want of me?’ said he, at last, with
an effort.
‘See here,’ replied Fix; ‘I have tracked Mr. Fogg to this
place, but as yet I have failed to receive the warrant of
arrest for which I sent to London. You must help me to
keep him here in Hong Kong—‘
‘I! But I—‘
‘I will share with you the two thousand pounds reward
offered by the Bank of England.’
‘Never!’ replied Passepartout, who tried to rise, but fell
back, exhausted in mind and body.
‘Mr. Fix,’ he stammered, ‘even should what you say be
true— if my master is really the robber you are seeking
for—which I deny— I have been, am, in his service; I
have seen his generosity and goodness; and I will never
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betray him—not for all the gold in the world. I come
from a village where they don’t eat that kind of bread!’
‘You refuse?’
‘I refuse.’
‘Consider that I’ve said nothing,’ said Fix; ‘and let us
drink.’
‘Yes; let us drink!’
Passepartout felt himself yielding more and more to the
effects of the liquor. Fix, seeing that he must, at all
hazards, be separated from his master, wished to entirely
overcome him. Some pipes full of opium lay upon the
table. Fix slipped one into Passepartout’s hand. He took it,
put it between his lips, lit it, drew several puffs, and his
head, becoming heavy under the influence of the narcotic,
fell upon the table.
‘At last!’ said Fix, seeing Passepartout unconscious. ‘Mr.
Fogg will not be informed of the Carnatic’s departure;
and, if he is, he will have to go without this cursed
Frenchman!’
And, after paying his bill, Fix left the tavern.
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Chapter XX
IN WHICH FIX COMES FACE
TO FACE WITH PHILEAS
FOGG
While these events were passing at the opium-house,
Mr. Fogg, unconscious of the danger he was in of losing
the steamer, was quietly escorting Aouda about the streets
of the English quarter, making the necessary purchases for
the long voyage before them. It was all very well for an
Englishman like Mr. Fogg to make the tour of the world
with a carpet-bag; a lady could not be expected to travel
comfortably under such conditions. He acquitted his task
with characteristic serenity, and invariably replied to the
remonstrances of his fair companion, who was confused by
his patience and generosity:
‘It is in the interest of my journey—a part of my
programme.’
The purchases made, they returned to the hotel, where
they dined at a sumptuously served table-d’hote; after
which Aouda, shaking hands with her protector after the
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English fashion, retired to her room for rest. Mr. Fogg
absorbed himself throughout the evening in the perusal of
The Times and Illustrated London News.
Had he been capable of being astonished at anything, it
would have been not to see his servant return at bedtime.
But, knowing that the steamer was not to leave for
Yokohama until the next morning, he did not disturb
himself about the matter. When Passepartout did not
appear the next morning to answer his master’s bell, Mr.
Fogg, not betraying the least vexation, contented himself
with taking his carpet-bag, calling Aouda, and sending for
a palanquin.
It was then eight o’clock; at half-past nine, it being
then high tide, the Carnatic would leave the harbour. Mr.
Fogg and Aouda got into the palanquin, their luggage
being brought after on a wheelbarrow, and half an hour
later stepped upon the quay whence they were to embark.
Mr. Fogg then learned that the Carnatic had sailed the
evening before. He had expected to find not only the
steamer, but his domestic, and was forced to give up both;
but no sign of disappointment appeared on his face, and he
merely remarked to Aouda, ‘It is an accident, madam;
nothing more.’
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At this moment a man who had been observing him
attentively approached. It was Fix, who, bowing,
addressed Mr. Fogg: ‘Were you not, like me, sir, a
passenger by the Rangoon, which arrived yesterday?’
‘I was, sir,’ replied Mr. Fogg coldly. ‘But I have not the
honour—‘
‘Pardon me; I thought I should find your servant here.’
‘Do you know where he is, sir?’ asked Aouda
anxiously.
‘What!’ responded Fix, feigning surprise. ‘Is he not
with you?’
‘No,’ said Aouda. ‘He has not made his appearance
since yesterday. Could he have gone on board the
Carnatic without us?’
‘Without you, madam?’ answered the detective.
‘Excuse me, did you intend to sail in the Carnatic?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘So did I, madam, and I am excessively disappointed.
The Carnatic, its repairs being completed, left Hong Kong
twelve hours before the stated time, without any notice
being given; and we must now wait a week for another
steamer.’
As he said ‘a week’ Fix felt his heart leap for joy. Fogg
detained at Hong Kong for a week! There would be time
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for the warrant to arrive, and fortune at last favoured the
representative of the law. His horror may be imagined
when he heard Mr. Fogg say, in his placid voice, ‘But
there are other vessels besides the Carnatic, it seems to me,
in the harbour of Hong Kong.’
And, offering his arm to Aouda, he directed his steps
toward the docks in search of some craft about to start.
Fix, stupefied, followed; it seemed as if he were attached
to Mr. Fogg by an invisible thread. Chance, however,
appeared really to have abandoned the man it had hitherto
served so well. For three hours Phileas Fogg wandered
about the docks, with the determination, if necessary, to
charter a vessel to carry him to Yokohama; but he could
only find vessels which were loading or unloading, and
which could not therefore set sail. Fix began to hope
again.
But Mr. Fogg, far from being discouraged, was
continuing his search, resolved not to stop if he had to
resort to Macao, when he was accosted by a sailor on one
of the wharves.
‘Is your honour looking for a boat?’
‘Have you a boat ready to sail?’
‘Yes, your honour; a pilot-boat—No. 43—the best in
the harbour.’
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‘Does she go fast?’
‘Between eight and nine knots the hour. Will you look
at her?’
‘Yes.’
‘Your honour will be satisfied with her. Is it for a sea
excursion?’
‘No; for a voyage.’
‘A voyage?’
‘Yes, will you agree to take me to Yokohama?’
The sailor leaned on the railing, opened his eyes wide,
and said, ‘Is your honour joking?’
‘No. I have missed the Carnatic, and I must get to
Yokohama by the 14th at the latest, to take the boat for
San Francisco.’
‘I am sorry,’ said the sailor; ‘but it is impossible.’
‘I offer you a hundred pounds per day, and an
additional reward of two hundred pounds if I reach
Yokohama in time.’
‘Are you in earnest?’
‘Very much so.’
The pilot walked away a little distance, and gazed out
to sea, evidently struggling between the anxiety to gain a
large sum and the fear of venturing so far. Fix was in
mortal suspense.
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Mr. Fogg turned to Aouda and asked her, ‘You would
not be afraid, would you, madam?’
‘Not with you, Mr. Fogg,’ was her answer.
The pilot now returned, shuffling his hat in his hands.
‘Well, pilot?’ said Mr. Fogg.
‘Well, your honour,’ replied he, ‘I could not risk
myself, my men, or my little boat of scarcely twenty tons
on so long a voyage at this time of year. Besides, we could
not reach Yokohama in time, for it is sixteen hundred and
sixty miles from Hong Kong.’
‘Only sixteen hundred,’ said Mr. Fogg.
‘It’s the same thing.’
Fix breathed more freely.
‘But,’ added the pilot, ‘it might be arranged another
way.’
Fix ceased to breathe at all.
‘How?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘By going to Nagasaki, at the extreme south of Japan,
or even to Shanghai, which is only eight hundred miles
from here. In going to Shanghai we should not be forced
to sail wide of the Chinese coast, which would be a great
advantage, as the currents run northward, and would aid
us.
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‘Pilot,’ said Mr. Fogg, ‘I must take the American
steamer at Yokohama, and not at Shanghai or Nagasaki.’
‘Why not?’ returned the pilot. ‘The San Francisco
steamer does not start from Yokohama. It puts in at
Yokohama and Nagasaki, but it starts from Shanghai.’
‘You are sure of that?’
‘Perfectly.’
‘And when does the boat leave Shanghai?’
‘On the 11th, at seven in the evening. We have,
therefore, four days before us, that is ninety-six hours; and
in that time, if we had good luck and a south-west wind,
and the sea was calm, we could make those eight hundred
miles to Shanghai.’
‘And you could go—‘
‘In an hour; as soon as provisions could be got aboard
and the sails put up.’
‘It is a bargain. Are you the master of the boat?’
‘Yes; John Bunsby, master of the Tankadere.’
‘Would you like some earnest-money?’
‘If it would not put your honour out—‘
‘Here are two hundred pounds on account sir,’ added
Phileas Fogg, turning to Fix, ‘if you would like to take
advantage—‘
‘Thanks, sir; I was about to ask the favour.’
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‘Very well. In half an hour we shall go on board.’
‘But poor Passepartout?’ urged Aouda, who was much
disturbed by the servant’s disappearance.
‘I shall do all I can to find him,’ replied Phileas Fogg.
While Fix, in a feverish, nervous state, repaired to the
pilot-boat, the others directed their course to the police-
station at Hong Kong. Phileas Fogg there gave
Passepartout’s description, and left a sum of money to be
spent in the search for him. The same formalities having
been gone through at the French consulate, and the
palanquin having stopped at the hotel for the luggage,
which had been sent back there, they returned to the
wharf.
It was now three o’clock; and pilot-boat No. 43, with
its crew on board, and its provisions stored away, was
ready for departure.
The Tankadere was a neat little craft of twenty tons, as
gracefully built as if she were a racing yacht. Her shining
copper sheathing, her galvanised iron-work, her deck,
white as ivory, betrayed the pride taken by John Bunsby
in making her presentable. Her two masts leaned a trifle
backward; she carried brigantine, foresail, storm-jib, and
standing-jib, and was well rigged for running before the
wind; and she seemed capable of brisk speed, which,
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indeed, she had already proved by gaining several prizes in
pilot-boat races. The crew of the Tankadere was
composed of John Bunsby, the master, and four hardy
mariners, who were familiar with the Chinese seas. John
Bunsby, himself, a man of forty-five or thereabouts,
vigorous, sunburnt, with a sprightly expression of the eye,
and energetic and self-reliant countenance, would have
inspired confidence in the most timid.
Phileas Fogg and Aouda went on board, where they
found Fix already installed. Below deck was a square
cabin, of which the walls bulged out in the form of cots,
above a circular divan; in the centre was a table provided
with a swinging lamp. The accommodation was confined,
but neat.
‘I am sorry to have nothing better to offer you,’ said
Mr. Fogg to Fix, who bowed without responding.
The detective had a feeling akin to humiliation in
profiting by the kindness of Mr. Fogg.
‘It’s certain,’ thought he, ‘though rascal as he is, he is a
polite one!’
The sails and the English flag were hoisted at ten
minutes past three. Mr. Fogg and Aouda, who were seated
on deck, cast a last glance at the quay, in the hope of
espying Passepartout. Fix was not without his fears lest
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chance should direct the steps of the unfortunate servant,
whom he had so badly treated, in this direction; in which
case an explanation the reverse of satisfactory to the
detective must have ensued. But the Frenchman did not
appear, and, without doubt, was still lying under the
stupefying influence of the opium.
John Bunsby, master, at length gave the order to start,
and the Tankadere, taking the wind under her brigantine,
foresail, and standing-jib, bounded briskly forward over
the waves.
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Chapter XXI
IN WHICH THE MASTER OF
THE ‘TANKADERE’ RUNS
GREAT RISK OF LOSING A
REWARD OF TWO HUNDRED
POUNDS
This voyage of eight hundred miles was a perilous
venture on a craft of twenty tons, and at that season of the
year. The Chinese seas are usually boisterous, subject to
terrible gales of wind, and especially during the equinoxes;
and it was now early November.
It would clearly have been to the master’s advantage to
carry his passengers to Yokohama, since he was paid a
certain sum per day; but he would have been rash to
attempt such a voyage, and it was imprudent even to
attempt to reach Shanghai. But John Bunsby believed in
the Tankadere, which rode on the waves like a seagull;
and perhaps he was not wrong.
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Late in the day they passed through the capricious
channels of Hong Kong, and the Tankadere, impelled by
favourable winds, conducted herself admirably.
‘I do not need, pilot,’ said Phileas Fogg, when they got
into the open sea, ‘to advise you to use all possible speed.’
‘Trust me, your honour. We are carrying all the sail the
wind will let us. The poles would add nothing, and are
only used when we are going into port.’
‘Its your trade, not mine, pilot, and I confide in you.’
Phileas Fogg, with body erect and legs wide apart,
standing like a sailor, gazed without staggering at the
swelling waters. The young woman, who was seated aft,
was profoundly affected as she looked out upon the ocean,
darkening now with the twilight, on which she had
ventured in so frail a vessel. Above her head rustled the
white sails, which seemed like great white wings. The
boat, carried forward by the wind, seemed to be flying in
the air.
Night came. The moon was entering her first quarter,
and her insufficient light would soon die out in the mist
on the horizon. Clouds were rising from the east, and
already overcast a part of the heavens.
The pilot had hung out his lights, which was very
necessary in these seas crowded with vessels bound
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landward; for collisions are not uncommon occurrences,
and, at the speed she was going, the least shock would
shatter the gallant little craft.
Fix, seated in the bow, gave himself up to meditation.
He kept apart from his fellow-travellers, knowing Mr.
Fogg’s taciturn tastes; besides, he did not quite like to talk
to the man whose favours he had accepted. He was
thinking, too, of the future. It seemed certain that Fogg
would not stop at Yokohama, but would at once take the
boat for San Francisco; and the vast extent of America
would ensure him impunity and safety. Fogg’s plan
appeared to him the simplest in the world. Instead of
sailing directly from England to the United States, like a
common villain, he had traversed three quarters of the
globe, so as to gain the American continent more surely;
and there, after throwing the police off his track, he would
quietly enjoy himself with the fortune stolen from the
bank. But, once in the United States, what should he, Fix,
do? Should he abandon this man? No, a hundred times
no! Until he had secured his extradition, he would not
lose sight of him for an hour. It was his duty, and he
would fulfil it to the end. At all events, there was one
thing to be thankful for; Passepartout was not with his
master; and it was above all important, after the
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confidences Fix had imparted to him, that the servant
should never have speech with his master.
Phileas Fogg was also thinking of Passepartout, who
had so strangely disappeared. Looking at the matter from
every point of view, it did not seem to him impossible
that, by some mistake, the man might have embarked on
the Carnatic at the last moment; and this was also Aouda’s
opinion, who regretted very much the loss of the worthy
fellow to whom she owed so much. They might then find
him at Yokohama; for, if the Carnatic was carrying him
thither, it would be easy to ascertain if he had been on
board.
A brisk breeze arose about ten o’clock; but, though it
might have been prudent to take in a reef, the pilot, after
carefully examining the heavens, let the craft remain
rigged as before. The Tankadere bore sail admirably, as she
drew a great deal of water, and everything was prepared
for high speed in case of a gale.
Mr. Fogg and Aouda descended into the cabin at
midnight, having been already preceded by Fix, who had
lain down on one of the cots. The pilot and crew
remained on deck all night.
At sunrise the next day, which was 8th November, the
boat had made more than one hundred miles. The log
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indicated a mean speed of between eight and nine miles.
The Tankadere still carried all sail, and was accomplishing
her greatest capacity of speed. If the wind held as it was,
the chances would be in her favour. During the day she
kept along the coast, where the currents were favourable;
the coast, irregular in profile, and visible sometimes across
the clearings, was at most five miles distant. The sea was
less boisterous, since the wind came off land—a fortunate
circumstance for the boat, which would suffer, owing to
its small tonnage, by a heavy surge on the sea.
The breeze subsided a little towards noon, and set in
from the south-west. The pilot put up his poles, but took
them down again within two hours, as the wind freshened
up anew.
Mr. Fogg and Aouda, happily unaffected by the
roughness of the sea, ate with a good appetite, Fix being
invited to share their repast, which he accepted with secret
chagrin. To travel at this man’s expense and live upon his
provisions was not palatable to him. Still, he was obliged
to eat, and so he ate.
When the meal was over, he took Mr. Fogg apart, and
said, ‘sir’—this ‘sir’ scorched his lips, and he had to control
himself to avoid collaring this ‘gentleman’—‘sir, you have
been very kind to give me a passage on this boat. But,
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though my means will not admit of my expending them as
freely as you, I must ask to pay my share—‘
‘Let us not speak of that, sir,’ replied Mr. Fogg.
‘But, if I insist—‘
‘No, sir,’ repeated Mr. Fogg, in a tone which did not
admit of a reply. ‘This enters into my general expenses.’
Fix, as he bowed, had a stifled feeling, and, going
forward, where he ensconced himself, did not open his
mouth for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile they were progressing famously, and John
Bunsby was in high hope. He several times assured Mr.
Fogg that they would reach Shanghai in time; to which
that gentleman responded that he counted upon it. The
crew set to work in good earnest, inspired by the reward
to be gained. There was not a sheet which was not
tightened not a sail which was not vigorously hoisted; not
a lurch could be charged to the man at the helm. They
worked as desperately as if they were contesting in a
Royal yacht regatta.
By evening, the log showed that two hundred and
twenty miles had been accomplished from Hong Kong,
and Mr. Fogg might hope that he would be able to reach
Yokohama without recording any delay in his journal; in
which case, the many misadventures which had overtaken
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him since he left London would not seriously affect his
journey.
The Tankadere entered the Straits of Fo-Kien, which
separate the island of Formosa from the Chinese coast, in
the small hours of the night, and crossed the Tropic of
Cancer. The sea was very rough in the straits, full of
eddies formed by the counter-currents, and the chopping
waves broke her course, whilst it became very difficult to
stand on deck.
At daybreak the wind began to blow hard again, and
the heavens seemed to predict a gale. The barometer
announced a speedy change, the mercury rising and falling
capriciously; the sea also, in the south-east, raised long
surges which indicated a tempest. The sun had set the
evening before in a red mist, in the midst of the
phosphorescent scintillations of the ocean.
John Bunsby long examined the threatening aspect of
the heavens, muttering indistinctly between his teeth. At
last he said in a low voice to Mr. Fogg, ‘Shall I speak out
to your honour?’
‘Of course.’
‘Well, we are going to have a squall.’
‘Is the wind north or south?’ asked Mr. Fogg quietly.
‘South. Look! a typhoon is coming up.’
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‘Glad it’s a typhoon from the south, for it will carry us
forward.’
‘Oh, if you take it that way,’ said John Bunsby, ‘I’ve
nothing more to say.’ John Bunsby’s suspicions were
confirmed. At a less advanced season of the year the
typhoon, according to a famous meteorologist, would
have passed away like a luminous cascade of electric flame;
but in the winter equinox it was to be feared that it would
burst upon them with great violence.
The pilot took his precautions in advance. He reefed all
sail, the pole-masts were dispensed with; all hands went
forward to the bows. A single triangular sail, of strong
canvas, was hoisted as a storm-jib, so as to hold the wind
from behind. Then they waited.
John Bunsby had requested his passengers to go below;
but this imprisonment in so narrow a space, with little air,
and the boat bouncing in the gale, was far from pleasant.
Neither Mr. Fogg, Fix, nor Aouda consented to leave the
deck.
The storm of rain and wind descended upon them
towards eight o’clock. With but its bit of sail, the
Tankadere was lifted like a feather by a wind, an idea of
whose violence can scarcely be given. To compare her
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speed to four times that of a locomotive going on full
steam would be below the truth.
The boat scudded thus northward during the whole
day, borne on by monstrous waves, preserving always,
fortunately, a speed equal to theirs. Twenty times she
seemed almost to be submerged by these mountains of
water which rose behind her; but the adroit management
of the pilot saved her. The passengers were often bathed in
spray, but they submitted to it philosophically. Fix cursed
it, no doubt; but Aouda, with her eyes fastened upon her
protector, whose coolness amazed her, showed herself
worthy of him, and bravely weathered the storm. As for
Phileas Fogg, it seemed just as if the typhoon were a part
of his programme.
Up to this time the Tankadere had always held her
course to the north; but towards evening the wind,
veering three quarters, bore down from the north-west.
The boat, now lying in the trough of the waves, shook
and rolled terribly; the sea struck her with fearful violence.
At night the tempest increased in violence. John Bunsby
saw the approach of darkness and the rising of the storm
with dark misgivings. He thought awhile, and then asked
his crew if it was not time to slacken speed. After a
consultation he approached Mr. Fogg, and said, ‘I think,
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your honour, that we should do well to make for one of
the ports on the coast.’
‘I think so too.’
‘Ah!’ said the pilot. ‘But which one?’
‘I know of but one,’ returned Mr. Fogg tranquilly.
‘And that is—‘
‘Shanghai.’
The pilot, at first, did not seem to comprehend; he
could scarcely realise so much determination and tenacity.
Then he cried, ‘Well—yes! Your honour is right. To
Shanghai!’
So the Tankadere kept steadily on her northward track.
The night was really terrible; it would be a miracle if
the craft did not founder. Twice it could have been all
over with her if the crew had not been constantly on the
watch. Aouda was exhausted, but did not utter a
complaint. More than once Mr. Fogg rushed to protect
her from the violence of the waves.
Day reappeared. The tempest still raged with
undiminished fury; but the wind now returned to the
south-east. It was a favourable change, and the Tankadere
again bounded forward on this mountainous sea, though
the waves crossed each other, and imparted shocks and
counter-shocks which would have crushed a craft less
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solidly built. From time to time the coast was visible
through the broken mist, but no vessel was in sight. The
Tankadere was alone upon the sea.
There were some signs of a calm at noon, and these
became more distinct as the sun descended toward the
horizon. The tempest had been as brief as terrific. The
passengers, thoroughly exhausted, could now eat a little,
and take some repose.
The night was comparatively quiet. Some of the sails
were again hoisted, and the speed of the boat was very
good. The next morning at dawn they espied the coast,
and John Bunsby was able to assert that they were not one
hundred miles from Shanghai. A hundred miles, and only
one day to traverse them! That very evening Mr. Fogg
was due at Shanghai, if he did not wish to miss the steamer
to Yokohama. Had there been no storm, during which
several hours were lost, they would be at this moment
within thirty miles of their destination.
The wind grew decidedly calmer, and happily the sea
fell with it. All sails were now hoisted, and at noon the
Tankadere was within forty-five miles of Shanghai. There
remained yet six hours in which to accomplish that
distance. All on board feared that it could not be done,
and every one—Phileas Fogg, no doubt, excepted—felt
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his heart beat with impatience. The boat must keep up an
average of nine miles an hour, and the wind was
becoming calmer every moment! It was a capricious
breeze, coming from the coast, and after it passed the sea
became smooth. Still, the Tankadere was so light, and her
fine sails caught the fickle zephyrs so well, that, with the
aid of the currents John Bunsby found himself at six
o’clock not more than ten miles from the mouth of
Shanghai River. Shanghai itself is situated at least twelve
miles up the stream. At seven they were still three miles
from Shanghai. The pilot swore an angry oath; the reward
of two hundred pounds was evidently on the point of
escaping him. He looked at Mr. Fogg. Mr. Fogg was
perfectly tranquil; and yet his whole fortune was at this
moment at stake.
At this moment, also, a long black funnel, crowned
with wreaths of smoke, appeared on the edge of the
waters. It was the American steamer, leaving for
Yokohama at the appointed time.
‘Confound her!’ cried John Bunsby, pushing back the
rudder with a desperate jerk.
‘Signal her!’ said Phileas Fogg quietly.
A small brass cannon stood on the forward deck of the
Tankadere, for making signals in the fogs. It was loaded to
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the muzzle; but just as the pilot was about to apply a red-
hot coal to the touchhole, Mr. Fogg said, ‘Hoist your
flag!’
The flag was run up at half-mast, and, this being the
signal of distress, it was hoped that the American steamer,
perceiving it, would change her course a little, so as to
succour the pilot-boat.
‘Fire!’ said Mr. Fogg. And the booming of the little
cannon resounded in the air.
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Chapter XXII
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
FINDS OUT THAT, EVEN AT
THE ANTIPODES, IT IS
CONVENIENT TO HAVE
SOME MONEY IN ONE’S
POCKET
The Carnatic, setting sail from Hong Kong at half-past
six on the 7th of November, directed her course at full
steam towards Japan. She carried a large cargo and a well-
filled cabin of passengers. Two state-rooms in the rear
were, however, unoccupied—those which had been
engaged by Phileas Fogg.
The next day a passenger with a half-stupefied eye,
staggering gait, and disordered hair, was seen to emerge
from the second cabin, and to totter to a seat on deck.
It was Passepartout; and what had happened to him was
as follows: Shortly after Fix left the opium den, two
waiters had lifted the unconscious Passepartout, and had
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carried him to the bed reserved for the smokers. Three
hours later, pursued even in his dreams by a fixed idea, the
poor fellow awoke, and struggled against the stupefying
influence of the narcotic. The thought of a duty unfulfilled
shook off his torpor, and he hurried from the abode of
drunkenness. Staggering and holding himself up by
keeping against the walls, falling down and creeping up
again, and irresistibly impelled by a kind of instinct, he
kept crying out, ‘The Carnatic! the Carnatic!’
The steamer lay puffing alongside the quay, on the
point of starting. Passepartout had but few steps to go; and,
rushing upon the plank, he crossed it, and fell unconscious
on the deck, just as the Carnatic was moving off. Several
sailors, who were evidently accustomed to this sort of
scene, carried the poor Frenchman down into the second
cabin, and Passepartout did not wake until they were one
hundred and fifty miles away from China. Thus he found
himself the next morning on the deck of the Carnatic, and
eagerly inhaling the exhilarating sea-breeze. The pure air
sobered him. He began to collect his sense, which he
found a difficult task; but at last he recalled the events of
the evening before, Fix’s revelation, and the opium-house.
‘It is evident,’ said he to himself, ‘that I have been
abominably drunk! What will Mr. Fogg say? At least I
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have not missed the steamer, which is the most important
thing.’
Then, as Fix occurred to him: ‘As for that rascal, I hope
we are well rid of him, and that he has not dared, as he
proposed, to follow us on board the Carnatic. A detective
on the track of Mr. Fogg, accused of robbing the Bank of
England! Pshaw! Mr. Fogg is no more a robber than I am
a murderer.’
Should he divulge Fix’s real errand to his master?
Would it do to tell the part the detective was playing.
Would it not be better to wait until Mr. Fogg reached
London again, and then impart to him that an agent of the
metropolitan police had been following him round the
world, and have a good laugh over it? No doubt; at least,
it was worth considering. The first thing to do was to find
Mr. Fogg, and apologise for his singular behaviour.
Passepartout got up and proceeded, as well as he could
with the rolling of the steamer, to the after-deck. He saw
no one who resembled either his master or Aouda.
‘Good!’ muttered he; ‘Aouda has not got up yet, and Mr.
Fogg has probably found some partners at whist.’
He descended to the saloon. Mr. Fogg was not there.
Passepartout had only, however, to ask the purser the
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number of his master’s state-room. The purser replied that
he did not know any passenger by the name of Fogg.
‘I beg your pardon,’ said Passepartout persistently. ‘He
is a tall gentleman, quiet, and not very talkative, and has
with him a young lady—‘
‘There is no young lady on board,’ interrupted the
purser. ‘Here is a list of the passengers; you may see for
yourself.’
Passepartout scanned the list, but his master’s name was
not upon it. All at once an idea struck him.
‘Ah! am I on the Carnatic?’
‘Yes.’
‘On the way to Yokohama?’
‘Certainly.’
Passepartout had for an instant feared that he was on
the wrong boat; but, though he was really on the
Carnatic, his master was not there.
He fell thunderstruck on a seat. He saw it all now. He
remembered that the time of sailing had been changed,
that he should have informed his master of that fact, and
that he had not done so. It was his fault, then, that Mr.
Fogg and Aouda had missed the steamer. Yes, but it was
still more the fault of the traitor who, in order to separate
him from his master, and detain the latter at Hong Kong,
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had inveigled him into getting drunk! He now saw the
detective’s trick; and at this moment Mr. Fogg was
certainly ruined, his bet was lost, and he himself perhaps
arrested and imprisoned! At this thought Passepartout tore
his hair. Ah, if Fix ever came within his reach, what a
settling of accounts there would be!
After his first depression, Passepartout became calmer,
and began to study his situation. It was certainly not an
enviable one. He found himself on the way to Japan, and
what should he do when he got there? His pocket was
empty; he had not a solitary shilling, not so much as a
penny. His passage had fortunately been paid for in
advance; and he had five or six days in which to decide
upon his future course. He fell to at meals with an
appetite, and ate for Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and himself. He
helped himself as generously as if Japan were a desert,
where nothing to eat was to be looked for.
At dawn on the 13th the Carnatic entered the port of
Yokohama. This is an important port of call in the Pacific,
where all the mail-steamers, and those carrying travellers
between North America, China, Japan, and the Oriental
islands put in. It is situated in the bay of Yeddo, and at but
a short distance from that second capital of the Japanese
Empire, and the residence of the Tycoon, the civil
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Emperor, before the Mikado, the spiritual Emperor,
absorbed his office in his own. The Carnatic anchored at
the quay near the custom-house, in the midst of a crowd
of ships bearing the flags of all nations.
Passepartout went timidly ashore on this so curious
territory of the Sons of the Sun. He had nothing better to
do than, taking chance for his guide, to wander aimlessly
through the streets of Yokohama. He found himself at first
in a thoroughly European quarter, the houses having low
fronts, and being adorned with verandas, beneath which
he caught glimpses of neat peristyles. This quarter
occupied, with its streets, squares, docks, and warehouses,
all the space between the ‘promontory of the Treaty’ and
the river. Here, as at Hong Kong and Calcutta, were
mixed crowds of all races, Americans and English,
Chinamen and Dutchmen, mostly merchants ready to buy
or sell anything. The Frenchman felt himself as much
alone among them as if he had dropped down in the midst
of Hottentots.
He had, at least, one resource to call on the French and
English consuls at Yokohama for assistance. But he shrank
from telling the story of his adventures, intimately
connected as it was with that of his master; and, before
doing so, he determined to exhaust all other means of aid.
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As chance did not favour him in the European quarter, he
penetrated that inhabited by the native Japanese,
determined, if necessary, to push on to Yeddo.
The Japanese quarter of Yokohama is called Benten,
after the goddess of the sea, who is worshipped on the
islands round about. There Passepartout beheld beautiful
fir and cedar groves, sacred gates of a singular architecture,
bridges half hid in the midst of bamboos and reeds,
temples shaded by immense cedar-trees, holy retreats
where were sheltered Buddhist priests and sectaries of
Confucius, and interminable streets, where a perfect
harvest of rose-tinted and red-cheeked children, who
looked as if they had been cut out of Japanese screens, and
who were playing in the midst of short-legged poodles
and yellowish cats, might have been gathered.
The streets were crowded with people. Priests were
passing in processions, beating their dreary tambourines;
police and custom-house officers with pointed hats
encrusted with lac and carrying two sabres hung to their
waists; soldiers, clad in blue cotton with white stripes, and
bearing guns; the Mikado’s guards, enveloped in silken
doubles, hauberks and coats of mail; and numbers of
military folk of all ranks—for the military profession is as
much respected in Japan as it is despised in China—went
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hither and thither in groups and pairs. Passepartout saw,
too, begging friars, long-robed pilgrims, and simple
civilians, with their warped and jet-black hair, big heads,
long busts, slender legs, short stature, and complexions
varying from copper-colour to a dead white, but never
yellow, like the Chinese, from whom the Japanese widely
differ. He did not fail to observe the curious equipages—
carriages and palanquins, barrows supplied with sails, and
litters made of bamboo; nor the women— whom he
thought not especially handsome—who took little steps
with their little feet, whereon they wore canvas shoes,
straw sandals, and clogs of worked wood, and who
displayed tight-looking eyes, flat chests, teeth fashionably
blackened, and gowns crossed with silken scarfs, tied in an
enormous knot behind an ornament which the modern
Parisian ladies seem to have borrowed from the dames of
Japan.
Passepartout wandered for several hours in the midst of
this motley crowd, looking in at the windows of the rich
and curious shops, the jewellery establishments glittering
with quaint Japanese ornaments, the restaurants decked
with streamers and banners, the tea-houses, where the
odorous beverage was being drunk with saki, a liquor
concocted from the fermentation of rice, and the
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comfortable smoking-houses, where they were puffing,
not opium, which is almost unknown in Japan, but a very
fine, stringy tobacco. He went on till he found himself in
the fields, in the midst of vast rice plantations. There he
saw dazzling camellias expanding themselves, with flowers
which were giving forth their last colours and perfumes,
not on bushes, but on trees, and within bamboo
enclosures, cherry, plum, and apple trees, which the
Japanese cultivate rather for their blossoms than their fruit,
and which queerly-fashioned, grinning scarecrows
protected from the sparrows, pigeons, ravens, and other
voracious birds. On the branches of the cedars were
perched large eagles; amid the foliage of the weeping
willows were herons, solemnly standing on one leg; and
on every hand were crows, ducks, hawks, wild birds, and a
multitude of cranes, which the Japanese consider sacred,
and which to their minds symbolise long life and
prosperity.
As he was strolling along, Passepartout espied some
violets among the shrubs.
‘Good!’ said he; ‘I’ll have some supper.’
But, on smelling them, he found that they were
odourless.
‘No chance there,’ thought he.
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The worthy fellow had certainly taken good care to eat
as hearty a breakfast as possible before leaving the
Carnatic; but, as he had been walking about all day, the
demands of hunger were becoming importunate. He
observed that the butchers stalls contained neither mutton,
goat, nor pork; and, knowing also that it is a sacrilege to
kill cattle, which are preserved solely for farming, he made
up his mind that meat was far from plentiful in
Yokohama— nor was he mistaken; and, in default of
butcher’s meat, he could have wished for a quarter of wild
boar or deer, a partridge, or some quails, some game or
fish, which, with rice, the Japanese eat almost exclusively.
But he found it necessary to keep up a stout heart, and to
postpone the meal he craved till the following morning.
Night came, and Passepartout re-entered the native
quarter, where he wandered through the streets, lit by
vari-coloured lanterns, looking on at the dancers, who
were executing skilful steps and boundings, and the
astrologers who stood in the open air with their telescopes.
Then he came to the harbour, which was lit up by the
resin torches of the fishermen, who were fishing from
their boats.
The streets at last became quiet, and the patrol, the
officers of which, in their splendid costumes, and
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surrounded by their suites, Passepartout thought seemed
like ambassadors, succeeded the bustling crowd. Each time
a company passed, Passepartout chuckled, and said to
himself: ‘Good! another Japanese embassy departing for
Europe!’
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Chapter XXIII
IN WHICH
PASSEPARTOUT’S NOSE
BECOMES OUTRAGEOUSLY
LONG
The next morning poor, jaded, famished Passepartout
said to himself that he must get something to eat at all
hazards, and the sooner he did so the better. He might,
indeed, sell his watch; but he would have starved first.
Now or never he must use the strong, if not melodious
voice which nature had bestowed upon him. He knew
several French and English songs, and resolved to try them
upon the Japanese, who must be lovers of music, since
they were for ever pounding on their cymbals, tam-tams,
and tambourines, and could not but appreciate European
talent.
It was, perhaps, rather early in the morning to get up a
concert, and the audience prematurely aroused from their
slumbers, might not possibly pay their entertainer with
coin bearing the Mikado’s features. Passepartout therefore
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decided to wait several hours; and, as he was sauntering
along, it occurred to him that he would seem rather too
well dressed for a wandering artist. The idea struck him to
change his garments for clothes more in harmony with his
project; by which he might also get a little money to
satisfy the immediate cravings of hunger. The resolution
taken, it remained to carry it out.
It was only after a long search that Passepartout
discovered a native dealer in old clothes, to whom he
applied for an exchange. The man liked the European
costume, and ere long Passepartout issued from his shop
accoutred in an old Japanese coat, and a sort of one-sided
turban, faded with long use. A few small pieces of silver,
moreover, jingled in his pocket.
Good!’ thought he. ‘I will imagine I am at the
Carnival!’
His first care, after being thus ‘Japanesed,’ was to enter
a tea-house of modest appearance, and, upon half a bird
and a little rice, to breakfast like a man for whom dinner
was as yet a problem to be solved.
‘Now,’ thought he, when he had eaten heartily, ‘I
mustn’t lose my head. I can’t sell this costume again for
one still more Japanese. I must consider how to leave this
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country of the Sun, of which I shall not retain the most
delightful of memories, as quickly as possible.’
It occurred to him to visit the steamers which were
about to leave for America. He would offer himself as a
cook or servant, in payment of his passage and meals.
Once at San Francisco, he would find some means of
going on. The difficulty was, how to traverse the four
thousand seven hundred miles of the Pacific which lay
between Japan and the New World.
Passepartout was not the man to let an idea go begging,
and directed his steps towards the docks. But, as he
approached them, his project, which at first had seemed so
simple, began to grow more and more formidable to his
mind. What need would they have of a cook or servant on
an American steamer, and what confidence would they
put in him, dressed as he was? What references could he
give?
As he was reflecting in this wise, his eyes fell upon an
immense placard which a sort of clown was carrying
through the streets. This placard, which was in English,
read as follows:
ACROBATIC JAPANESE TROUPE,
HONOURABLE WILLIAM BATULCAR,
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PROPRIETOR,
LAST REPRESENTATIONS,
PRIOR TO THEIR DEPARTURE TO THE UNITED
STATES,
OF THE
LONG NOSES! LONG NOSES!
UNDER THE DIRECT PATRONAGE OF THE GOD
TINGOU!
GREAT ATTRACTION!
‘The United States!’ said Passepartout; ‘that’s just what I
want!’
He followed the clown, and soon found himself once
more in the Japanese quarter. A quarter of an hour later he
stopped before a large cabin, adorned with several clusters
of streamers, the exterior walls of which were designed to
represent, in violent colours and without perspective, a
company of jugglers.
This was the Honourable William Batulcar’s
establishment. That gentleman was a sort of Barnum, the
director of a troupe of mountebanks, jugglers, clowns,
acrobats, equilibrists, and gymnasts, who, according to the
placard, was giving his last performances before leaving the
Empire of the Sun for the States of the Union.
Passepartout entered and asked for Mr. Batulcar, who
straightway appeared in person.
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‘What do you want?’ said he to Passepartout, whom he
at first took for a native.
‘Would you like a servant, sir?’ asked Passepartout.
‘A servant!’ cried Mr. Batulcar, caressing the thick grey
beard which hung from his chin. ‘I already have two who
are obedient and faithful, have never left me, and serve me
for their nourishment and here they are,’ added he,
holding out his two robust arms, furrowed with veins as
large as the strings of a bass-viol.
‘So I can be of no use to you?’
‘None.’
‘The devil! I should so like to cross the Pacific with
you!’
‘Ah!’ said the Honourable Mr. Batulcar. ‘You are no
more a Japanese than I am a monkey! Who are you
dressed up in that way?’
‘A man dresses as he can.’
‘That’s true. You are a Frenchman, aren’t you?’
‘Yes; a Parisian of Paris.’
‘Then you ought to know how to make grimaces?’
‘Why,’ replied Passepartout, a little vexed that his
nationality should cause this question, ‘we Frenchmen
know how to make grimaces, it is true but not any better
than the Americans do.’
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‘True. Well, if I can’t take you as a servant, I can as a
clown. You see, my friend, in France they exhibit foreign
clowns, and in foreign parts French clowns.’
‘Ah!’
‘You are pretty strong, eh?’
‘Especially after a good meal.’
‘And you can sing?’
‘Yes,’ returned Passepartout, who had formerly been
wont to sing in the streets.
‘But can you sing standing on your head, with a top
spinning on your left foot, and a sabre balanced on your
right?’
‘Humph! I think so,’ replied Passepartout, recalling the
exercises of his younger days.
‘Well, that’s enough,’ said the Honourable William
Batulcar.
The engagement was concluded there and then.
Passepartout had at last found something to do. He was
engaged to act in the celebrated Japanese troupe. It was
not a very dignified position, but within a week he would
be on his way to San Francisco.
The performance, so noisily announced by the
Honourable Mr. Batulcar, was to commence at three
o’clock, and soon the deafening instruments of a Japanese
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orchestra resounded at the door. Passepartout, though he
had not been able to study or rehearse a part, was
designated to lend the aid of his sturdy shoulders in the
great exhibition of the ‘human pyramid,’ executed by the
Long Noses of the god Tingou. This ‘great attraction’ was
to close the performance.
Before three o’clock the large shed was invaded by the
spectators, comprising Europeans and natives, Chinese and
Japanese, men, women and children, who precipitated
themselves upon the narrow benches and into the boxes
opposite the stage. The musicians took up a position
inside, and were vigorously performing on their gongs,
tam-tams, flutes, bones, tambourines, and immense drums.
The performance was much like all acrobatic displays;
but it must be confessed that the Japanese are the first
equilibrists in the world.
One, with a fan and some bits of paper, performed the
graceful trick of the butterflies and the flowers; another
traced in the air, with the odorous smoke of his pipe, a
series of blue words, which composed a compliment to
the audience; while a third juggled with some lighted
candles, which he extinguished successively as they passed
his lips, and relit again without interrupting for an instant
his juggling. Another reproduced the most singular
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combinations with a spinning-top; in his hands the
revolving tops seemed to be animated with a life of their
own in their interminable whirling; they ran over pipe-
stems, the edges of sabres, wires and even hairs stretched
across the stage; they turned around on the edges of large
glasses, crossed bamboo ladders, dispersed into all the
corners, and produced strange musical effects by the
combination of their various pitches of tone. The jugglers
tossed them in the air, threw them like shuttlecocks with
wooden battledores, and yet they kept on spinning; they
put them into their pockets, and took them out still
whirling as before.
It is useless to describe the astonishing performances of
the acrobats and gymnasts. The turning on ladders, poles,
balls, barrels, &c., was executed with wonderful precision.
But the principal attraction was the exhibition of the
Long Noses, a show to which Europe is as yet a stranger.
The Long Noses form a peculiar company, under the
direct patronage of the god Tingou. Attired after the
fashion of the Middle Ages, they bore upon their
shoulders a splendid pair of wings; but what especially
distinguished them was the long noses which were
fastened to their faces, and the uses which they made of
them. These noses were made of bamboo, and were five,
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six, and even ten feet long, some straight, others curved,
some ribboned, and some having imitation warts upon
them. It was upon these appendages, fixed tightly on their
real noses, that they performed their gymnastic exercises.
A dozen of these sectaries of Tingou lay flat upon their
backs, while others, dressed to represent lightning-rods,
came and frolicked on their noses, jumping from one to
another, and performing the most skilful leapings and
somersaults.
As a last scene, a ‘human pyramid’ had been
announced, in which fifty Long Noses were to represent
the Car of Juggernaut. But, instead of forming a pyramid
by mounting each other’s shoulders, the artists were to
group themselves on top of the noses. It happened that the
performer who had hitherto formed the base of the Car
had quitted the troupe, and as, to fill this part, only
strength and adroitness were necessary, Passepartout had
been chosen to take his place.
The poor fellow really felt sad when—melancholy
reminiscence of his youth!—he donned his costume,
adorned with vari-coloured wings, and fastened to his
natural feature a false nose six feet long. But he cheered up
when he thought that this nose was winning him
something to eat.
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He went upon the stage, and took his place beside the
rest who were to compose the base of the Car of
Juggernaut. They all stretched themselves on the floor,
their noses pointing to the ceiling. A second group of
artists disposed themselves on these long appendages, then
a third above these, then a fourth, until a human
monument reaching to the very cornices of the theatre
soon arose on top of the noses. This elicited loud applause,
in the midst of which the orchestra was just striking up a
deafening air, when the pyramid tottered, the balance was
lost, one of the lower noses vanished from the pyramid,
and the human monument was shattered like a castle built
of cards!
It was Passepartout’s fault. Abandoning his position,
clearing the footlights without the aid of his wings, and,
clambering up to the right-hand gallery, he fell at the feet
of one of the spectators, crying, ‘Ah, my master! my
master!’
‘You here?’
‘Myself.’
‘Very well; then let us go to the steamer, young man!’
Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and Passepartout passed through the
lobby of the theatre to the outside, where they
encountered the Honourable Mr. Batulcar, furious with
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rage. He demanded damages for the ‘breakage’ of the
pyramid; and Phileas Fogg appeased him by giving him a
handful of banknotes.
At half-past six, the very hour of departure, Mr. Fogg
and Aouda, followed by Passepartout, who in his hurry
had retained his wings, and nose six feet long, stepped
upon the American steamer.
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Chapter XXIV
DURING WHICH MR. FOGG
AND PARTY CROSS THE
PACIFIC OCEAN
What happened when the pilot-boat came in sight of
Shanghai will be easily guessed. The signals made by the
Tankadere had been seen by the captain of the Yokohama
steamer, who, espying the flag at half-mast, had directed
his course towards the little craft. Phileas Fogg, after
paying the stipulated price of his passage to John Busby,
and rewarding that worthy with the additional sum of five
hundred and fifty pounds, ascended the steamer with
Aouda and Fix; and they started at once for Nagasaki and
Yokohama.
They reached their destination on the morning of the
14th of November. Phileas Fogg lost no time in going on
board the Carnatic, where he learned, to Aouda’s great
delight—and perhaps to his own, though he betrayed no
emotion—that Passepartout, a Frenchman, had really
arrived on her the day before.
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The San Francisco steamer was announced to leave that
very evening, and it became necessary to find Passepartout,
if possible, without delay. Mr. Fogg applied in vain to the
French and English consuls, and, after wandering through
the streets a long time, began to despair of finding his
missing servant. Chance, or perhaps a kind of
presentiment, at last led him into the Honourable Mr.
Batulcar’s theatre. He certainly would not have recognised
Passepartout in the eccentric mountebank’s costume; but
the latter, lying on his back, perceived his master in the
gallery. He could not help starting, which so changed the
position of his nose as to bring the ‘pyramid’ pell-mell
upon the stage.
All this Passepartout learned from Aouda, who
recounted to him what had taken place on the voyage
from Hong Kong to Shanghai on the Tankadere, in
company with one Mr. Fix.
Passepartout did not change countenance on hearing
this name. He thought that the time had not yet arrived to
divulge to his master what had taken place between the
detective and himself; and, in the account he gave of his
absence, he simply excused himself for having been
overtaken by drunkenness, in smoking opium at a tavern
in Hong Kong.
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Mr. Fogg heard this narrative coldly, without a word;
and then furnished his man with funds necessary to obtain
clothing more in harmony with his position. Within an
hour the Frenchman had cut off his nose and parted with
his wings, and retained nothing about him which recalled
the sectary of the god Tingou.
The steamer which was about to depart from
Yokohama to San Francisco belonged to the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company, and was named the General Grant.
She was a large paddle-wheel steamer of two thousand five
hundred tons; well equipped and very fast. The massive
walking-beam rose and fell above the deck; at one end a
piston-rod worked up and down; and at the other was a
connecting-rod which, in changing the rectilinear motion
to a circular one, was directly connected with the shaft of
the paddles. The General Grant was rigged with three
masts, giving a large capacity for sails, and thus materially
aiding the steam power. By making twelve miles an hour,
she would cross the ocean in twenty-one days. Phileas
Fogg was therefore justified in hoping that he would reach
San Francisco by the 2nd of December, New York by the
11th, and London on the 20th—thus gaining several hours
on the fatal date of the 21st of December.
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There was a full complement of passengers on board,
among them English, many Americans, a large number of
coolies on their way to California, and several East Indian
officers, who were spending their vacation in making the
tour of the world. Nothing of moment happened on the
voyage; the steamer, sustained on its large paddles, rolled
but little, and the Pacific almost justified its name. Mr.
Fogg was as calm and taciturn as ever. His young
companion felt herself more and more attached to him by
other ties than gratitude; his silent but generous nature
impressed her more than she thought; and it was almost
unconsciously that she yielded to emotions which did not
seem to have the least effect upon her protector. Aouda
took the keenest interest in his plans, and became
impatient at any incident which seemed likely to retard his
journey.
She often chatted with Passepartout, who did not fail to
perceive the state of the lady’s heart; and, being the most
faithful of domestics, he never exhausted his eulogies of
Phileas Fogg’s honesty, generosity, and devotion. He took
pains to calm Aouda’s doubts of a successful termination of
the journey, telling her that the most difficult part of it had
passed, that now they were beyond the fantastic countries
of Japan and China, and were fairly on their way to
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civilised places again. A railway train from San Francisco
to New York, and a transatlantic steamer from New York
to Liverpool, would doubtless bring them to the end of
this impossible journey round the world within the period
agreed upon.
On the ninth day after leaving Yokohama, Phileas Fogg
had traversed exactly one half of the terrestrial globe. The
General Grant passed, on the 23rd of November, the one
hundred and eightieth meridian, and was at the very
antipodes of London. Mr. Fogg had, it is true, exhausted
fifty-two of the eighty days in which he was to complete
the tour, and there were only twenty-eight left. But,
though he was only half-way by the difference of
meridians, he had really gone over two-thirds of the
whole journey; for he had been obliged to make long
circuits from London to Aden, from Aden to Bombay,
from Calcutta to Singapore, and from Singapore to
Yokohama. Could he have followed without deviation
the fiftieth parallel, which is that of London, the whole
distance would only have been about twelve thousand
miles; whereas he would be forced, by the irregular
methods of locomotion, to traverse twenty-six thousand,
of which he had, on the 23rd of November, accomplished
seventeen thousand five hundred. And now the course
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was a straight one, and Fix was no longer there to put
obstacles in their way!
It happened also, on the 23rd of November, that
Passepartout made a joyful discovery. It will be
remembered that the obstinate fellow had insisted on
keeping his famous family watch at London time, and on
regarding that of the countries he had passed through as
quite false and unreliable. Now, on this day, though he
had not changed the hands, he found that his watch
exactly agreed with the ship’s chronometers. His triumph
was hilarious. He would have liked to know what Fix
would say if he were aboard!
‘The rogue told me a lot of stories,’ repeated
Passepartout, ‘about the meridians, the sun, and the moon!
Moon, indeed! moonshine more likely! If one listened to
that sort of people, a pretty sort of time one would keep! I
was sure that the sun would some day regulate itself by my
watch!’
Passepartout was ignorant that, if the face of his watch
had been divided into twenty-four hours, like the Italian
clocks, he would have no reason for exultation; for the
hands of his watch would then, instead of as now
indicating nine o’clock in the morning, indicate nine
o’clock in the evening, that is, the twenty-first hour after
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midnight precisely the difference between London time
and that of the one hundred and eightieth meridian. But if
Fix had been able to explain this purely physical effect,
Passepartout would not have admitted, even if he had
comprehended it. Moreover, if the detective had been on
board at that moment, Passepartout would have joined
issue with him on a quite different subject, and in an
entirely different manner.
Where was Fix at that moment?
He was actually on board the General Grant.
On reaching Yokohama, the detective, leaving Mr.
Fogg, whom he expected to meet again during the day,
had repaired at once to the English consulate, where he at
last found the warrant of arrest. It had followed him from
Bombay, and had come by the Carnatic, on which
steamer he himself was supposed to be. Fix’s
disappointment may be imagined when he reflected that
the warrant was now useless. Mr. Fogg had left English
ground, and it was now necessary to procure his
extradition!
‘Well,’ thought Fix, after a moment of anger, ‘my
warrant is not good here, but it will be in England. The
rogue evidently intends to return to his own country,
thinking he has thrown the police off his track. Good! I
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will follow him across the Atlantic. As for the money,
heaven grant there may be some left! But the fellow has
already spent in travelling, rewards, trials, bail, elephants,
and all sorts of charges, more than five thousand pounds.
Yet, after all, the Bank is rich!’
His course decided on, he went on board the General
Grant, and was there when Mr. Fogg and Aouda arrived.
To his utter amazement, he recognised Passepartout,
despite his theatrical disguise. He quickly concealed
himself in his cabin, to avoid an awkward explanation, and
hoped—thanks to the number of passengers—to remain
unperceived by Mr. Fogg’s servant.
On that very day, however, he met Passepartout face to
face on the forward deck. The latter, without a word,
made a rush for him, grasped him by the throat, and,
much to the amusement of a group of Americans, who
immediately began to bet on him, administered to the
detective a perfect volley of blows, which proved the great
superiority of French over English pugilistic skill.
When Passepartout had finished, he found himself
relieved and comforted. Fix got up in a somewhat
rumpled condition, and, looking at his adversary, coldly
said, ‘Have you done?’
‘For this time—yes.’
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‘Then let me have a word with you.’
‘But I—‘
‘In your master’s interests.’
Passepartout seemed to be vanquished by Fix’s
coolness, for he quietly followed him, and they sat down
aside from the rest of the passengers.
‘You have given me a thrashing,’ said Fix. ‘Good, I
expected it. Now, listen to me. Up to this time I have
been Mr. Fogg’s adversary. I am now in his game.’
‘Aha!’ cried Passepartout; ‘you are convinced he is an
honest man?’
‘No,’ replied Fix coldly, ‘I think him a rascal. Sh! don’t
budge, and let me speak. As long as Mr. Fogg was on
English ground, it was for my interest to detain him there
until my warrant of arrest arrived. I did everything I could
to keep him back. I sent the Bombay priests after him, I
got you intoxicated at Hong Kong, I separated you from
him, and I made him miss the Yokohama steamer.’
Passepartout listened, with closed fists.
‘Now,’ resumed Fix, ‘Mr. Fogg seems to be going back
to England. Well, I will follow him there. But hereafter I
will do as much to keep obstacles out of his way as I have
done up to this time to put them in his path. I’ve changed
my game, you see, and simply because it was for my
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interest to change it. Your interest is the same as mine; for
it is only in England that you will ascertain whether you
are in the service of a criminal or an honest man.’
Passepartout listened very attentively to Fix, and was
convinced that he spoke with entire good faith.
‘Are we friends?’ asked the detective.
‘Friends?—no,’ replied Passepartout; ‘but allies,
perhaps. At the least sign of treason, however, I’ll twist
your neck for you.’
‘Agreed,’ said the detective quietly.
Eleven days later, on the 3rd of December, the General
Grant entered the bay of the Golden Gate, and reached
San Francisco.
Mr. Fogg had neither gained nor lost a single day.
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Chapter XXV
IN WHICH A SLIGHT
GLIMPSE IS HAD OF SAN
FRANCISCO
It was seven in the morning when Mr. Fogg, Aouda,
and Passepartout set foot upon the American continent, if
this name can be given to the floating quay upon which
they disembarked. These quays, rising and falling with the
tide, thus facilitate the loading and unloading of vessels.
Alongside them were clippers of all sizes, steamers of all
nationalities, and the steamboats, with several decks rising
one above the other, which ply on the Sacramento and its
tributaries. There were also heaped up the products of a
commerce which extends to Mexico, Chili, Peru, Brazil,
Europe, Asia, and all the Pacific islands.
Passepartout, in his joy on reaching at last the American
continent, thought he would manifest it by executing a
perilous vault in fine style; but, tumbling upon some
worm-eaten planks, he fell through them. Put out of
countenance by the manner in which he thus ‘set foot’
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upon the New World, he uttered a loud cry, which so
frightened the innumerable cormorants and pelicans that
are always perched upon these movable quays, that they
flew noisily away.
Mr. Fogg, on reaching shore, proceeded to find out at
what hour the first train left for New York, and learned
that this was at six o’clock p.m.; he had, therefore, an
entire day to spend in the Californian capital. Taking a
carriage at a charge of three dollars, he and Aouda entered
it, while Passepartout mounted the box beside the driver,
and they set out for the International Hotel.
From his exalted position Passepartout observed with
much curiosity the wide streets, the low, evenly ranged
houses, the Anglo-Saxon Gothic churches, the great
docks, the palatial wooden and brick warehouses, the
numerous conveyances, omnibuses, horse-cars, and upon
the side-walks, not only Americans and Europeans, but
Chinese and Indians. Passepartout was surprised at all he
saw. San Francisco was no longer the legendary city of
1849—a city of banditti, assassins, and incendiaries, who
had flocked hither in crowds in pursuit of plunder; a
paradise of outlaws, where they gambled with gold-dust, a
revolver in one hand and a bowie-knife in the other: it
was now a great commercial emporium.
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The lofty tower of its City Hall overlooked the whole
panorama of the streets and avenues, which cut each other
at right-angles, and in the midst of which appeared
pleasant, verdant squares, while beyond appeared the
Chinese quarter, seemingly imported from the Celestial
Empire in a toy-box. Sombreros and red shirts and plumed
Indians were rarely to be seen; but there were silk hats and
black coats everywhere worn by a multitude of nervously
active, gentlemanly-looking men. Some of the streets—
especially Montgomery Street, which is to San Francisco
what Regent Street is to London, the Boulevard des
Italiens to Paris, and Broadway to New York— were lined
with splendid and spacious stores, which exposed in their
windows the products of the entire world.
When Passepartout reached the International Hotel, it
did not seem to him as if he had left England at all.
The ground floor of the hotel was occupied by a large
bar, a sort of restaurant freely open to all passers-by, who
might partake of dried beef, oyster soup, biscuits, and
cheese, without taking out their purses. Payment was
made only for the ale, porter, or sherry which was drunk.
This seemed ‘very American’ to Passepartout. The hotel
refreshment-rooms were comfortable, and Mr. Fogg and
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Aouda, installing themselves at a table, were abundantly
served on diminutive plates by negroes of darkest hue.
After breakfast, Mr. Fogg, accompanied by Aouda,
started for the English consulate to have his passport
visaed. As he was going out, he met Passepartout, who
asked him if it would not be well, before taking the train,
to purchase some dozens of Enfield rifles and Colt’s
revolvers. He had been listening to stories of attacks upon
the trains by the Sioux and Pawnees. Mr. Fogg thought it
a useless precaution, but told him to do as he thought best,
and went on to the consulate.
He had not proceeded two hundred steps, however,
when, ‘by the greatest chance in the world,’ he met Fix.
The detective seemed wholly taken by surprise. What!
Had Mr. Fogg and himself crossed the Pacific together,
and not met on the steamer! At least Fix felt honoured to
behold once more the gentleman to whom he owed so
much, and, as his business recalled him to Europe, he
should be delighted to continue the journey in such
pleasant company.
Mr. Fogg replied that the honour would be his; and the
detective— who was determined not to lose sight of
him—begged permission to accompany them in their walk
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about San Francisco—a request which Mr. Fogg readily
granted.
They soon found themselves in Montgomery Street,
where a great crowd was collected; the side-walks, street,
horsecar rails, the shop-doors, the windows of the houses,
and even the roofs, were full of people. Men were going
about carrying large posters, and flags and streamers were
floating in the wind; while loud cries were heard on every
hand.
‘Hurrah for Camerfield!’
‘Hurrah for Mandiboy!’
It was a political meeting; at least so Fix conjectured,
who said to Mr. Fogg, ‘Perhaps we had better not mingle
with the crowd. There may be danger in it.’
‘Yes,’ returned Mr. Fogg; ‘and blows, even if they are
political are still blows.’
Fix smiled at this remark; and, in order to be able to see
without being jostled about, the party took up a position
on the top of a flight of steps situated at the upper end of
Montgomery Street. Opposite them, on the other side of
the street, between a coal wharf and a petroleum
warehouse, a large platform had been erected in the open
air, towards which the current of the crowd seemed to be
directed.
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For what purpose was this meeting? What was the
occasion of this excited assemblage? Phileas Fogg could
not imagine. Was it to nominate some high official—a
governor or member of Congress? It was not improbable,
so agitated was the multitude before them.
Just at this moment there was an unusual stir in the
human mass. All the hands were raised in the air. Some,
tightly closed, seemed to disappear suddenly in the midst
of the cries—an energetic way, no doubt, of casting a
vote. The crowd swayed back, the banners and flags
wavered, disappeared an instant, then reappeared in tatters.
The undulations of the human surge reached the steps,
while all the heads floundered on the surface like a sea
agitated by a squall. Many of the black hats disappeared,
and the greater part of the crowd seemed to have
diminished in height.
‘It is evidently a meeting,’ said Fix, ‘and its object must
be an exciting one. I should not wonder if it were about
the Alabama, despite the fact that that question is settled.’
‘Perhaps,’ replied Mr. Fogg, simply.
‘At least, there are two champions in presence of each
other, the Honourable Mr. Camerfield and the
Honourable Mr. Mandiboy.’
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Aouda, leaning upon Mr. Fogg’s arm, observed the
tumultuous scene with surprise, while Fix asked a man
near him what the cause of it all was. Before the man
could reply, a fresh agitation arose; hurrahs and excited
shouts were heard; the staffs of the banners began to be
used as offensive weapons; and fists flew about in every
direction. Thumps were exchanged from the tops of the
carriages and omnibuses which had been blocked up in the
crowd. Boots and shoes went whirling through the air,
and Mr. Fogg thought he even heard the crack of
revolvers mingling in the din, the rout approached the
stairway, and flowed over the lower step. One of the
parties had evidently been repulsed; but the mere lookers-
on could not tell whether Mandiboy or Camerfield had
gained the upper hand.
‘It would be prudent for us to retire,’ said Fix, who was
anxious that Mr. Fogg should not receive any injury, at
least until they got back to London. ‘If there is any
question about England in all this, and we were
recognised, I fear it would go hard with us.’
‘An English subject—’ began Mr. Fogg.
He did not finish his sentence; for a terrific hubbub
now arose on the terrace behind the flight of steps where
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they stood, and there were frantic shouts of, ‘Hurrah for
Mandiboy! Hip, hip, hurrah!’
It was a band of voters coming to the rescue of their
allies, and taking the Camerfield forces in flank. Mr. Fogg,
Aouda, and Fix found themselves between two fires; it
was too late to escape. The torrent of men, armed with
loaded canes and sticks, was irresistible. Phileas Fogg and
Fix were roughly hustled in their attempts to protect their
fair companion; the former, as cool as ever, tried to defend
himself with the weapons which nature has placed at the
end of every Englishman’s arm, but in vain. A big brawny
fellow with a red beard, flushed face, and broad shoulders,
who seemed to be the chief of the band, raised his
clenched fist to strike Mr. Fogg, whom he would have
given a crushing blow, had not Fix rushed in and received
it in his stead. An enormous bruise immediately made its
appearance under the detective’s silk hat, which was
completely smashed in.
‘Yankee!’ exclaimed Mr. Fogg, darting a contemptuous
look at the ruffian.
‘Englishman!’ returned the other. ‘We will meet again!’
‘When you please.’
‘What is your name?’
‘Phileas Fogg. And yours?’
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‘Colonel Stamp Proctor.’
The human tide now swept by, after overturning Fix,
who speedily got upon his feet again, though with tattered
clothes. Happily, he was not seriously hurt. His travelling
overcoat was divided into two unequal parts, and his
trousers resembled those of certain Indians, which fit less
compactly than they are easy to put on. Aouda had
escaped unharmed, and Fix alone bore marks of the fray in
his black and blue bruise.
‘Thanks,’ said Mr. Fogg to the detective, as soon as
they were out of the crowd.
‘No thanks are necessary,’ replied. Fix; ‘but let us go.’
‘Where?’
‘To a tailor’s.’
Such a visit was, indeed, opportune. The clothing of
both Mr. Fogg and Fix was in rags, as if they had
themselves been actively engaged in the contest between
Camerfield and Mandiboy. An hour after, they were once
more suitably attired, and with Aouda returned to the
International Hotel.
Passepartout was waiting for his master, armed with half
a dozen six-barrelled revolvers. When he perceived Fix,
he knit his brows; but Aouda having, in a few words, told
him of their adventure, his countenance resumed its placid
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expression. Fix evidently was no longer an enemy, but an
ally; he was faithfully keeping his word.
Dinner over, the coach which was to convey the
passengers and their luggage to the station drew up to the
door. As he was getting in, Mr. Fogg said to Fix, ‘You
have not seen this Colonel Proctor again?’
‘No.’
‘I will come back to America to find him,’ said Phileas
Fogg calmly. ‘It would not be right for an Englishman to
permit himself to be treated in that way, without
retaliating.’
The detective smiled, but did not reply. It was clear
that Mr. Fogg was one of those Englishmen who, while
they do not tolerate duelling at home, fight abroad when
their honour is attacked.
At a quarter before six the travellers reached the station,
and found the train ready to depart. As he was about to
enter it, Mr. Fogg called a porter, and said to him: ‘My
friend, was there not some trouble to-day in San
Francisco?’
‘It was a political meeting, sir,’ replied the porter.
‘But I thought there was a great deal of disturbance in
the streets.’
‘It was only a meeting assembled for an election.’
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‘The election of a general-in-chief, no doubt?’ asked
Mr. Fogg.
‘No, sir; of a justice of the peace.’
Phileas Fogg got into the train, which started off at full
speed.
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Chapter XXVI
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
AND PARTY TRAVEL BY THE
PACIFIC RAILROAD
‘From ocean to ocean’—so say the Americans; and
these four words compose the general designation of the
‘great trunk line’ which crosses the entire width of the
United States. The Pacific Railroad is, however, really
divided into two distinct lines: the Central Pacific,
between San Francisco and Ogden, and the Union Pacific,
between Ogden and Omaha. Five main lines connect
Omaha with New York.
New York and San Francisco are thus united by an
uninterrupted metal ribbon, which measures no less than
three thousand seven hundred and eighty-six miles.
Between Omaha and the Pacific the railway crosses a
territory which is still infested by Indians and wild beasts,
and a large tract which the Mormons, after they were
driven from Illinois in 1845, began to colonise.
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The journey from New York to San Francisco
consumed, formerly, under the most favourable
conditions, at least six months. It is now accomplished in
seven days.
It was in 1862 that, in spite of the Southern Members
of Congress, who wished a more southerly route, it was
decided to lay the road between the forty-first and forty-
second parallels. President Lincoln himself fixed the end of
the line at Omaha, in Nebraska. The work was at once
commenced, and pursued with true American energy; nor
did the rapidity with which it went on injuriously affect its
good execution. The road grew, on the prairies, a mile
and a half a day. A locomotive, running on the rails laid
down the evening before, brought the rails to be laid on
the morrow, and advanced upon them as fast as they were
put in position.
The Pacific Railroad is joined by several branches in
Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, and Oregon. On leaving Omaha,
it passes along the left bank of the Platte River as far as the
junction of its northern branch, follows its southern
branch, crosses the Laramie territory and the Wahsatch
Mountains, turns the Great Salt Lake, and reaches Salt
Lake City, the Mormon capital, plunges into the Tuilla
Valley, across the American Desert, Cedar and Humboldt
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Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and descends, via
Sacramento, to the Pacific—its grade, even on the Rocky
Mountains, never exceeding one hundred and twelve feet
to the mile.
Such was the road to be traversed in seven days, which
would enable Phileas Fogg—at least, so he hoped—to take
the Atlantic steamer at New York on the 11th for
Liverpool.
The car which he occupied was a sort of long omnibus
on eight wheels, and with no compartments in the
interior. It was supplied with two rows of seats,
perpendicular to the direction of the train on either side of
an aisle which conducted to the front and rear platforms.
These platforms were found throughout the train, and the
passengers were able to pass from one end of the train to
the other. It was supplied with saloon cars, balcony cars,
restaurants, and smoking-cars; theatre cars alone were
wanting, and they will have these some day.
Book and news dealers, sellers of edibles, drinkables,
and cigars, who seemed to have plenty of customers, were
continually circulating in the aisles.
The train left Oakland station at six o’clock. It was
already night, cold and cheerless, the heavens being
overcast with clouds which seemed to threaten snow. The
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train did not proceed rapidly; counting the stoppages, it
did not run more than twenty miles an hour, which was a
sufficient speed, however, to enable it to reach Omaha
within its designated time.
There was but little conversation in the car, and soon
many of the passengers were overcome with sleep.
Passepartout found himself beside the detective; but he did
not talk to him. After recent events, their relations with
each other had grown somewhat cold; there could no
longer be mutual sympathy or intimacy between them.
Fix’s manner had not changed; but Passepartout was very
reserved, and ready to strangle his former friend on the
slightest provocation.
Snow began to fall an hour after they started, a fine
snow, however, which happily could not obstruct the
train; nothing could be seen from the windows but a vast,
white sheet, against which the smoke of the locomotive
had a greyish aspect.
At eight o’clock a steward entered the car and
announced that the time for going to bed had arrived; and
in a few minutes the car was transformed into a dormitory.
The backs of the seats were thrown back, bedsteads
carefully packed were rolled out by an ingenious system,
berths were suddenly improvised, and each traveller had
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soon at his disposition a comfortable bed, protected from
curious eyes by thick curtains. The sheets were clean and
the pillows soft. It only remained to go to bed and sleep
which everybody did— while the train sped on across the
State of California.
The country between San Francisco and Sacramento is
not very hilly. The Central Pacific, taking Sacramento for
its starting-point, extends eastward to meet the road from
Omaha. The line from San Francisco to Sacramento runs
in a north-easterly direction, along the American River,
which empties into San Pablo Bay. The one hundred and
twenty miles between these cities were accomplished in
six hours, and towards midnight, while fast asleep, the
travellers passed through Sacramento; so that they saw
nothing of that important place, the seat of the State
government, with its fine quays, its broad streets, its noble
hotels, squares, and churches.
The train, on leaving Sacramento, and passing the
junction, Roclin, Auburn, and Colfax, entered the range
of the Sierra Nevada. ‘Cisco was reached at seven in the
morning; and an hour later the dormitory was transformed
into an ordinary car, and the travellers could observe the
picturesque beauties of the mountain region through
which they were steaming. The railway track wound in
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and out among the passes, now approaching the
mountain-sides, now suspended over precipices, avoiding
abrupt angles by bold curves, plunging into narrow defiles,
which seemed to have no outlet. The locomotive, its great
funnel emitting a weird light, with its sharp bell, and its
cow-catcher extended like a spur, mingled its shrieks and
bellowings with the noise of torrents and cascades, and
twined its smoke among the branches of the gigantic
pines.
There were few or no bridges or tunnels on the route.
The railway turned around the sides of the mountains, and
did not attempt to violate nature by taking the shortest cut
from one point to another.
The train entered the State of Nevada through the
Carson Valley about nine o’clock, going always
northeasterly; and at midday reached Reno, where there
was a delay of twenty minutes for breakfast.
From this point the road, running along Humboldt
River, passed northward for several miles by its banks;
then it turned eastward, and kept by the river until it
reached the Humboldt Range, nearly at the extreme
eastern limit of Nevada.
Having breakfasted, Mr. Fogg and his companions
resumed their places in the car, and observed the varied
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landscape which unfolded itself as they passed along the
vast prairies, the mountains lining the horizon, and the
creeks, with their frothy, foaming streams. Sometimes a
great herd of buffaloes, massing together in the distance,
seemed like a moveable dam. These innumerable
multitudes of ruminating beasts often form an
insurmountable obstacle to the passage of the trains;
thousands of them have been seen passing over the track
for hours together, in compact ranks. The locomotive is
then forced to stop and wait till the road is once more
clear.
This happened, indeed, to the train in which Mr. Fogg
was travelling. About twelve o’clock a troop of ten or
twelve thousand head of buffalo encumbered the track.
The locomotive, slackening its speed, tried to clear the
way with its cow-catcher; but the mass of animals was too
great. The buffaloes marched along with a tranquil gait,
uttering now and then deafening bellowings. There was
no use of interrupting them, for, having taken a particular
direction, nothing can moderate and change their course;
it is a torrent of living flesh which no dam could contain.
The travellers gazed on this curious spectacle from the
platforms; but Phileas Fogg, who had the most reason of
all to be in a hurry, remained in his seat, and waited
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philosophically until it should please the buffaloes to get
out of the way.
Passepartout was furious at the delay they occasioned,
and longed to discharge his arsenal of revolvers upon
them.
‘What a country!’ cried he. ‘Mere cattle stop the trains,
and go by in a procession, just as if they were not
impeding travel! Parbleu! I should like to know if Mr.
Fogg foresaw this mishap in his programme! And here’s an
engineer who doesn’t dare to run the locomotive into this
herd of beasts!’
The engineer did not try to overcome the obstacle, and
he was wise. He would have crushed the first buffaloes, no
doubt, with the cow-catcher; but the locomotive,
however powerful, would soon have been checked, the
train would inevitably have been thrown off the track, and
would then have been helpless.
The best course was to wait patiently, and regain the
lost time by greater speed when the obstacle was removed.
The procession of buffaloes lasted three full hours, and it
was night before the track was clear. The last ranks of the
herd were now passing over the rails, while the first had
already disappeared below the southern horizon.
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Chapter XXVII
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
UNDERGOES, AT A SPEED OF
TWENTY MILES AN HOUR, A
COURSE OF MORMON
HISTORY
During the night of the 5th of December, the train ran
south-easterly for about fifty miles; then rose an equal
distance in a north-easterly direction, towards the Great
Salt Lake.
Passepartout, about nine o’clock, went out upon the
platform to take the air. The weather was cold, the
heavens grey, but it was not snowing. The sun’s disc,
enlarged by the mist, seemed an enormous ring of gold,
and Passepartout was amusing himself by calculating its
value in pounds sterling, when he was diverted from this
interesting study by a strange-looking personage who
made his appearance on the platform.
This personage, who had taken the train at Elko, was
tall and dark, with black moustache, black stockings, a
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black silk hat, a black waistcoat, black trousers, a white
cravat, and dogskin gloves. He might have been taken for
a clergyman. He went from one end of the train to the
other, and affixed to the door of each car a notice written
in manuscript.
Passepartout approached and read one of these notices,
which stated that Elder William Hitch, Mormon
missionary, taking advantage of his presence on train No.
48, would deliver a lecture on Mormonism in car No.
117, from eleven to twelve o’clock; and that he invited all
who were desirous of being instructed concerning the
mysteries of the religion of the ‘Latter Day Saints’ to
attend.
‘I’ll go,’ said Passepartout to himself. He knew nothing
of Mormonism except the custom of polygamy, which is
its foundation.
The news quickly spread through the train, which
contained about one hundred passengers, thirty of whom,
at most, attracted by the notice, ensconced themselves in
car No. 117. Passepartout took one of the front seats.
Neither Mr. Fogg nor Fix cared to attend.
At the appointed hour Elder William Hitch rose, and,
in an irritated voice, as if he had already been
contradicted, said, ‘I tell you that Joe Smith is a martyr,
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that his brother Hiram is a martyr, and that the
persecutions of the United States Government against the
prophets will also make a martyr of Brigham Young. Who
dares to say the contrary?’
No one ventured to gainsay the missionary, whose
excited tone contrasted curiously with his naturally calm
visage. No doubt his anger arose from the hardships to
which the Mormons were actually subjected. The
government had just succeeded, with some difficulty, in
reducing these independent fanatics to its rule. It had made
itself master of Utah, and subjected that territory to the
laws of the Union, after imprisoning Brigham Young on a
charge of rebellion and polygamy. The disciples of the
prophet had since redoubled their efforts, and resisted, by
words at least, the authority of Congress. Elder Hitch, as is
seen, was trying to make proselytes on the very railway
trains.
Then, emphasising his words with his loud voice and
frequent gestures, he related the history of the Mormons
from Biblical times: how that, in Israel, a Mormon
prophet of the tribe of Joseph published the annals of the
new religion, and bequeathed them to his son Mormon;
how, many centuries later, a translation of this precious
book, which was written in Egyptian, was made by Joseph
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Smith, junior, a Vermont farmer, who revealed himself as
a mystical prophet in 1825; and how, in short, the celestial
messenger appeared to him in an illuminated forest, and
gave him the annals of the Lord.
Several of the audience, not being much interested in
the missionary’s narrative, here left the car; but Elder
Hitch, continuing his lecture, related how Smith, junior,
with his father, two brothers, and a few disciples, founded
the church of the ‘Latter Day Saints,’ which, adopted not
only in America, but in England, Norway and Sweden,
and Germany, counts many artisans, as well as men
engaged in the liberal professions, among its members;
how a colony was established in Ohio, a temple erected
there at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars, and a
town built at Kirkland; how Smith became an enterprising
banker, and received from a simple mummy showman a
papyrus scroll written by Abraham and several famous
Egyptians.
The Elder’s story became somewhat wearisome, and his
audience grew gradually less, until it was reduced to
twenty passengers. But this did not disconcert the
enthusiast, who proceeded with the story of Joseph
Smith’s bankruptcy in 1837, and how his ruined creditors
gave him a coat of tar and feathers; his reappearance some
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years afterwards, more honourable and honoured than
ever, at Independence, Missouri, the chief of a flourishing
colony of three thousand disciples, and his pursuit thence
by outraged Gentiles, and retirement into the Far West.
Ten hearers only were now left, among them honest
Passepartout, who was listening with all his ears. Thus he
learned that, after long persecutions, Smith reappeared in
Illinois, and in 1839 founded a community at Nauvoo, on
the Mississippi, numbering twenty-five thousand souls, of
which he became mayor, chief justice, and general-in-
chief; that he announced himself, in 1843, as a candidate
for the Presidency of the United States; and that finally,
being drawn into ambuscade at Carthage, he was thrown
into prison, and assassinated by a band of men disguised in
masks.
Passepartout was now the only person left in the car,
and the Elder, looking him full in the face, reminded him
that, two years after the assassination of Joseph Smith, the
inspired prophet, Brigham Young, his successor, left
Nauvoo for the banks of the Great Salt Lake, where, in
the midst of that fertile region, directly on the route of the
emigrants who crossed Utah on their way to California,
the new colony, thanks to the polygamy practised by the
Mormons, had flourished beyond expectations.
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‘And this,’ added Elder William Hitch, ‘this is why the
jealousy of Congress has been aroused against us! Why
have the soldiers of the Union invaded the soil of Utah?
Why has Brigham Young, our chief, been imprisoned, in
contempt of all justice? Shall we yield to force? Never!
Driven from Vermont, driven from Illinois, driven from
Ohio, driven from Missouri, driven from Utah, we shall
yet find some independent territory on which to plant our
tents. And you, my brother,’ continued the Elder, fixing
his angry eyes upon his single auditor, ‘will you not plant
yours there, too, under the shadow of our flag?’
‘No!’ replied Passepartout courageously, in his turn
retiring from the car, and leaving the Elder to preach to
vacancy.
During the lecture the train had been making good
progress, and towards half-past twelve it reached the
northwest border of the Great Salt Lake. Thence the
passengers could observe the vast extent of this interior
sea, which is also called the Dead Sea, and into which
flows an American Jordan. It is a picturesque expanse,
framed in lofty crags in large strata, encrusted with white
salt— a superb sheet of water, which was formerly of
larger extent than now, its shores having encroached with
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the lapse of time, and thus at once reduced its breadth and
increased its depth.
The Salt Lake, seventy miles long and thirty-five wide,
is situated three miles eight hundred feet above the sea.
Quite different from Lake Asphaltite, whose depression is
twelve hundred feet below the sea, it contains considerable
salt, and one quarter of the weight of its water is solid
matter, its specific weight being 1,170, and, after being
distilled, 1,000. Fishes are, of course, unable to live in it,
and those which descend through the Jordan, the Weber,
and other streams soon perish.
The country around the lake was well cultivated, for
the Mormons are mostly farmers; while ranches and pens
for domesticated animals, fields of wheat, corn, and other
cereals, luxuriant prairies, hedges of wild rose, clumps of
acacias and milk-wort, would have been seen six months
later. Now the ground was covered with a thin powdering
of snow.
The train reached Ogden at two o’clock, where it
rested for six hours, Mr. Fogg and his party had time to
pay a visit to Salt Lake City, connected with Ogden by a
branch road; and they spent two hours in this strikingly
American town, built on the pattern of other cities of the
Union, like a checker-board, ‘with the sombre sadness of
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right-angles,’ as Victor Hugo expresses it. The founder of
the City of the Saints could not escape from the taste for
symmetry which distinguishes the Anglo-Saxons. In this
strange country, where the people are certainly not up to
the level of their institutions, everything is done
‘squarely’—cities, houses, and follies.
The travellers, then, were promenading, at three
o’clock, about the streets of the town built between the
banks of the Jordan and the spurs of the Wahsatch Range.
They saw few or no churches, but the prophet’s mansion,
the court-house, and the arsenal, blue-brick houses with
verandas and porches, surrounded by gardens bordered
with acacias, palms, and locusts. A clay and pebble wall,
built in 1853, surrounded the town; and in the principal
street were the market and several hotels adorned with
pavilions. The place did not seem thickly populated. The
streets were almost deserted, except in the vicinity of the
temple, which they only reached after having traversed
several quarters surrounded by palisades. There were many
women, which was easily accounted for by the ‘peculiar
institution’ of the Mormons; but it must not be supposed
that all the Mormons are polygamists. They are free to
marry or not, as they please; but it is worth noting that it
is mainly the female citizens of Utah who are anxious to
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marry, as, according to the Mormon religion, maiden
ladies are not admitted to the possession of its highest joys.
These poor creatures seemed to be neither well off nor
happy. Some—the more well-to-do, no doubt— wore
short, open, black silk dresses, under a hood or modest
shawl; others were habited in Indian fashion.
Passepartout could not behold without a certain fright
these women, charged, in groups, with conferring
happiness on a single Mormon. His common sense pitied,
above all, the husband. It seemed to him a terrible thing to
have to guide so many wives at once across the vicissitudes
of life, and to conduct them, as it were, in a body to the
Mormon paradise with the prospect of seeing them in the
company of the glorious Smith, who doubtless was the
chief ornament of that delightful place, to all eternity. He
felt decidedly repelled from such a vocation, and he
imagined—perhaps he was mistaken— that the fair ones of
Salt Lake City cast rather alarming glances on his person.
Happily, his stay there was but brief. At four the party
found themselves again at the station, took their places in
the train, and the whistle sounded for starting. Just at the
moment, however, that the locomotive wheels began to
move, cries of ‘Stop! stop!’ were heard.
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Trains, like time and tide, stop for no one. The
gentleman who uttered the cries was evidently a belated
Mormon. He was breathless with running. Happily for
him, the station had neither gates nor barriers. He rushed
along the track, jumped on the rear platform of the train,
and fell, exhausted, into one of the seats.
Passepartout, who had been anxiously watching this
amateur gymnast, approached him with lively interest, and
learned that he had taken flight after an unpleasant
domestic scene.
When the Mormon had recovered his breath,
Passepartout ventured to ask him politely how many wives
he had; for, from the manner in which he had decamped,
it might be thought that he had twenty at least.
‘One, sir,’ replied the Mormon, raising his arms
heavenward —‘one, and that was enough!’
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Chapter XXVIII
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
DOES NOT SUCCEED IN
MAKING ANYBODY LISTEN
TO REASON
The train, on leaving Great Salt Lake at Ogden, passed
northward for an hour as far as Weber River, having
completed nearly nine hundred miles from San Francisco.
From this point it took an easterly direction towards the
jagged Wahsatch Mountains. It was in the section included
between this range and the Rocky Mountains that the
American engineers found the most formidable difficulties
in laying the road, and that the government granted a
subsidy of forty-eight thousand dollars per mile, instead of
sixteen thousand allowed for the work done on the plains.
But the engineers, instead of violating nature, avoided its
difficulties by winding around, instead of penetrating the
rocks. One tunnel only, fourteen thousand feet in length,
was pierced in order to arrive at the great basin.
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The track up to this time had reached its highest
elevation at the Great Salt Lake. From this point it
described a long curve, descending towards Bitter Creek
Valley, to rise again to the dividing ridge of the waters
between the Atlantic and the Pacific. There were many
creeks in this mountainous region, and it was necessary to
cross Muddy Creek, Green Creek, and others, upon
culverts.
Passepartout grew more and more impatient as they
went on, while Fix longed to get out of this difficult
region, and was more anxious than Phileas Fogg himself to
be beyond the danger of delays and accidents, and set foot
on English soil.
At ten o’clock at night the train stopped at Fort Bridger
station, and twenty minutes later entered Wyoming
Territory, following the valley of Bitter Creek
throughout. The next day, 7th December, they stopped
for a quarter of an hour at Green River station. Snow had
fallen abundantly during the night, but, being mixed with
rain, it had half melted, and did not interrupt their
progress. The bad weather, however, annoyed
Passepartout; for the accumulation of snow, by blocking
the wheels of the cars, would certainly have been fatal to
Mr. Fogg’s tour.
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‘What an idea!’ he said to himself. ‘Why did my master
make this journey in winter? Couldn’t he have waited for
the good season to increase his chances?’
While the worthy Frenchman was absorbed in the state
of the sky and the depression of the temperature, Aouda
was experiencing fears from a totally different cause.
Several passengers had got off at Green River, and were
walking up and down the platforms; and among these
Aouda recognised Colonel Stamp Proctor, the same who
had so grossly insulted Phileas Fogg at the San Francisco
meeting. Not wishing to be recognised, the young woman
drew back from the window, feeling much alarm at her
discovery. She was attached to the man who, however
coldly, gave her daily evidences of the most absolute
devotion. She did not comprehend, perhaps, the depth of
the sentiment with which her protector inspired her,
which she called gratitude, but which, though she was
unconscious of it, was really more than that. Her heart
sank within her when she recognised the man whom Mr.
Fogg desired, sooner or later, to call to account for his
conduct. Chance alone, it was clear, had brought Colonel
Proctor on this train; but there he was, and it was
necessary, at all hazards, that Phileas Fogg should not
perceive his adversary.
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Aouda seized a moment when Mr. Fogg was asleep to
tell Fix and Passepartout whom she had seen.
‘That Proctor on this train!’ cried Fix. ‘Well, reassure
yourself, madam; before he settles with Mr. Fogg; he has
got to deal with me! It seems to me that I was the more
insulted of the two.’
‘And, besides,’ added Passepartout, ‘I’ll take charge of
him, colonel as he is.’
‘Mr. Fix,’ resumed Aouda, ‘Mr. Fogg will allow no one
to avenge him. He said that he would come back to
America to find this man. Should he perceive Colonel
Proctor, we could not prevent a collision which might
have terrible results. He must not see him.’
‘You are right, madam,’ replied Fix; ‘a meeting
between them might ruin all. Whether he were victorious
or beaten, Mr. Fogg would be delayed, and—‘
‘And,’ added Passepartout, ‘that would play the game of
the gentlemen of the Reform Club. In four days we shall
be in New York. Well, if my master does not leave this
car during those four days, we may hope that chance will
not bring him face to face with this confounded
American. We must, if possible, prevent his stirring out of
it.’
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The conversation dropped. Mr. Fogg had just woke up,
and was looking out of the window. Soon after
Passepartout, without being heard by his master or Aouda,
whispered to the detective, ‘Would you really fight for
him?’
‘I would do anything,’ replied Fix, in a tone which
betrayed determined will, ‘to get him back living to
Europe!’
Passepartout felt something like a shudder shoot
through his frame, but his confidence in his master
remained unbroken.
Was there any means of detaining Mr. Fogg in the car,
to avoid a meeting between him and the colonel? It ought
not to be a difficult task, since that gentleman was
naturally sedentary and little curious. The detective, at
least, seemed to have found a way; for, after a few
moments, he said to Mr. Fogg, ‘These are long and slow
hours, sir, that we are passing on the railway.’
‘Yes,’ replied Mr. Fogg; ‘but they pass.’
‘You were in the habit of playing whist,’ resumed Fix,
‘on the steamers.’
‘Yes; but it would be difficult to do so here. I have
neither cards nor partners.’
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‘Oh, but we can easily buy some cards, for they are sold
on all the American trains. And as for partners, if madam
plays—‘
‘Certainly, sir,’ Aouda quickly replied; ‘I understand
whist. It is part of an English education.’
‘I myself have some pretensions to playing a good
game. Well, here are three of us, and a dummy—‘
‘As you please, sir,’ replied Phileas Fogg, heartily glad
to resume his favourite pastime even on the railway.
Passepartout was dispatched in search of the steward,
and soon returned with two packs of cards, some pins,
counters, and a shelf covered with cloth.
The game commenced. Aouda understood whist
sufficiently well, and even received some compliments on
her playing from Mr. Fogg. As for the detective, he was
simply an adept, and worthy of being matched against his
present opponent.
‘Now,’ thought Passepartout, ‘we’ve got him. He
won’t budge.’
At eleven in the morning the train had reached the
dividing ridge of the waters at Bridger Pass, seven
thousand five hundred and twenty-four feet above the
level of the sea, one of the highest points attained by the
track in crossing the Rocky Mountains. After going about
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two hundred miles, the travellers at last found themselves
on one of those vast plains which extend to the Atlantic,
and which nature has made so propitious for laying the
iron road.
On the declivity of the Atlantic basin the first streams,
branches of the North Platte River, already appeared. The
whole northern and eastern horizon was bounded by the
immense semi-circular curtain which is formed by the
southern portion of the Rocky Mountains, the highest
being Laramie Peak. Between this and the railway
extended vast plains, plentifully irrigated. On the right rose
the lower spurs of the mountainous mass which extends
southward to the sources of the Arkansas River, one of the
great tributaries of the Missouri.
At half-past twelve the travellers caught sight for an
instant of Fort Halleck, which commands that section; and
in a few more hours the Rocky Mountains were crossed.
There was reason to hope, then, that no accident would
mark the journey through this difficult country. The snow
had ceased falling, and the air became crisp and cold. Large
birds, frightened by the locomotive, rose and flew off in
the distance. No wild beast appeared on the plain. It was a
desert in its vast nakedness.
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After a comfortable breakfast, served in the car, Mr.
Fogg and his partners had just resumed whist, when a
violent whistling was heard, and the train stopped.
Passepartout put his head out of the door, but saw nothing
to cause the delay; no station was in view.
Aouda and Fix feared that Mr. Fogg might take it into
his head to get out; but that gentleman contented himself
with saying to his servant, ‘See what is the matter.’
Passepartout rushed out of the car. Thirty or forty
passengers had already descended, amongst them Colonel
Stamp Proctor.
The train had stopped before a red signal which
blocked the way. The engineer and conductor were
talking excitedly with a signal-man, whom the station-
master at Medicine Bow, the next stopping place, had sent
on before. The passengers drew around and took part in
the discussion, in which Colonel Proctor, with his insolent
manner, was conspicuous.
Passepartout, joining the group, heard the signal-man
say, ‘No! you can’t pass. The bridge at Medicine Bow is
shaky, and would not bear the weight of the train.’
This was a suspension-bridge thrown over some rapids,
about a mile from the place where they now were.
According to the signal-man, it was in a ruinous
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condition, several of the iron wires being broken; and it
was impossible to risk the passage. He did not in any way
exaggerate the condition of the bridge. It may be taken for
granted that, rash as the Americans usually are, when they
are prudent there is good reason for it.
Passepartout, not daring to apprise his master of what
he heard, listened with set teeth, immovable as a statue.
‘Hum!’ cried Colonel Proctor; ‘but we are not going to
stay here, I imagine, and take root in the snow?’
‘Colonel,’ replied the conductor, ‘we have telegraphed
to Omaha for a train, but it is not likely that it will reach
Medicine Bow is less than six hours.’
‘Six hours!’ cried Passepartout.
‘Certainly,’ returned the conductor, ‘besides, it will
take us as long as that to reach Medicine Bow on foot.’
‘But it is only a mile from here,’ said one of the
passengers.
‘Yes, but it’s on the other side of the river.’
‘And can’t we cross that in a boat?’ asked the colonel.
‘That’s impossible. The creek is swelled by the rains. It
is a rapid, and we shall have to make a circuit of ten miles
to the north to find a ford.’
The colonel launched a volley of oaths, denouncing the
railway company and the conductor; and Passepartout,
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who was furious, was not disinclined to make common
cause with him. Here was an obstacle, indeed, which all
his master’s banknotes could not remove.
There was a general disappointment among the
passengers, who, without reckoning the delay, saw
themselves compelled to trudge fifteen miles over a plain
covered with snow. They grumbled and protested, and
would certainly have thus attracted Phileas Fogg’s
attention if he had not been completely absorbed in his
game.
Passepartout found that he could not avoid telling his
master what had occurred, and, with hanging head, he was
turning towards the car, when the engineer, a true
Yankee, named Forster called out, ‘Gentlemen, perhaps
there is a way, after all, to get over.’
‘On the bridge?’ asked a passenger.
‘On the bridge.’
‘With our train?’
‘With our train.’
Passepartout stopped short, and eagerly listened to the
engineer.
‘But the bridge is unsafe,’ urged the conductor.
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‘No matter,’ replied Forster; ‘I think that by putting on
the very highest speed we might have a chance of getting
over.’
‘The devil!’ muttered Passepartout.
But a number of the passengers were at once attracted
by the engineer’s proposal, and Colonel Proctor was
especially delighted, and found the plan a very feasible
one. He told stories about engineers leaping their trains
over rivers without bridges, by putting on full steam; and
many of those present avowed themselves of the
engineer’s mind.
‘We have fifty chances out of a hundred of getting
over,’ said one.
‘Eighty! ninety!’
Passepartout was astounded, and, though ready to
attempt anything to get over Medicine Creek, thought the
experiment proposed a little too American. ‘Besides,’
thought he, ‘there’s a still more simple way, and it does
not even occur to any of these people! Sir,’ said he aloud
to one of the passengers, ‘the engineer’s plan seems to me
a little dangerous, but—‘
‘Eighty chances!’ replied the passenger, turning his back
on him.
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‘I know it,’ said Passepartout, turning to another
passenger, ‘but a simple idea—‘
‘Ideas are no use,’ returned the American, shrugging his
shoulders, ‘as the engineer assures us that we can pass.’
‘Doubtless,’ urged Passepartout, ‘we can pass, but
perhaps it would be more prudent—‘
‘What! Prudent!’ cried Colonel Proctor, whom this
word seemed to excite prodigiously. ‘At full speed, don’t
you see, at full speed!’
‘I know—I see,’ repeated Passepartout; ‘but it would
be, if not more prudent, since that word displeases you, at
least more natural—‘
‘Who! What! What’s the matter with this fellow?’ cried
several.
The poor fellow did not know to whom to address
himself.
‘Are you afraid?’ asked Colonel Proctor.
‘I afraid? Very well; I will show these people that a
Frenchman can be as American as they!’
‘All aboard!’ cried the conductor.
‘Yes, all aboard!’ repeated Passepartout, and
immediately. ‘But they can’t prevent me from thinking
that it would be more natural for us to cross the bridge on
foot, and let the train come after!’
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But no one heard this sage reflection, nor would
anyone have acknowledged its justice. The passengers
resumed their places in the cars. Passepartout took his seat
without telling what had passed. The whist-players were
quite absorbed in their game.
The locomotive whistled vigorously; the engineer,
reversing the steam, backed the train for nearly a mile—
retiring, like a jumper, in order to take a longer leap.
Then, with another whistle, he began to move forward;
the train increased its speed, and soon its rapidity became
frightful; a prolonged screech issued from the locomotive;
the piston worked up and down twenty strokes to the
second. They perceived that the whole train, rushing on at
the rate of a hundred miles an hour, hardly bore upon the
rails at all.
And they passed over! It was like a flash. No one saw
the bridge. The train leaped, so to speak, from one bank
to the other, and the engineer could not stop it until it had
gone five miles beyond the station. But scarcely had the
train passed the river, when the bridge, completely ruined,
fell with a crash into the rapids of Medicine Bow.
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Chapter XXIX
IN WHICH CERTAIN
INCIDENTS ARE NARRATED
WHICH ARE ONLY TO BE
MET WITH ON AMERICAN
RAILROADS
The train pursued its course, that evening, without
interruption, passing Fort Saunders, crossing Cheyne Pass,
and reaching Evans Pass. The road here attained the
highest elevation of the journey, eight thousand and
ninety-two feet above the level of the sea. The travellers
had now only to descend to the Atlantic by limitless
plains, levelled by nature. A branch of the ‘grand trunk’
led off southward to Denver, the capital of Colorado. The
country round about is rich in gold and silver, and more
than fifty thousand inhabitants are already settled there.
Thirteen hundred and eighty-two miles had been
passed over from San Francisco, in three days and three
nights; four days and nights more would probably bring
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them to New York. Phileas Fogg was not as yet behind-
hand.
During the night Camp Walbach was passed on the
left; Lodge Pole Creek ran parallel with the road, marking
the boundary between the territories of Wyoming and
Colorado. They entered Nebraska at eleven, passed near
Sedgwick, and touched at Julesburg, on the southern
branch of the Platte River.
It was here that the Union Pacific Railroad was
inaugurated on the 23rd of October, 1867, by the chief
engineer, General Dodge. Two powerful locomotives,
carrying nine cars of invited guests, amongst whom was
Thomas C. Durant, vice-president of the road, stopped at
this point; cheers were given, the Sioux and Pawnees
performed an imitation Indian battle, fireworks were let
off, and the first number of the Railway Pioneer was
printed by a press brought on the train. Thus was
celebrated the inauguration of this great railroad, a mighty
instrument of progress and civilisation, thrown across the
desert, and destined to link together cities and towns
which do not yet exist. The whistle of the locomotive,
more powerful than Amphion’s lyre, was about to bid
them rise from American soil.
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Fort McPherson was left behind at eight in the
morning, and three hundred and fifty-seven miles had yet
to be traversed before reaching Omaha. The road followed
the capricious windings of the southern branch of the
Platte River, on its left bank. At nine the train stopped at
the important town of North Platte, built between the
two arms of the river, which rejoin each other around it
and form a single artery, a large tributary, whose waters
empty into the Missouri a little above Omaha.
The one hundred and first meridian was passed.
Mr. Fogg and his partners had resumed their game; no
one—not even the dummy— complained of the length of
the trip. Fix had begun by winning several guineas, which
he seemed likely to lose; but he showed himself a not less
eager whist-player than Mr. Fogg. During the morning,
chance distinctly favoured that gentleman. Trumps and
honours were showered upon his hands.
Once, having resolved on a bold stroke, he was on the
point of playing a spade, when a voice behind him said, ‘I
should play a diamond.’
Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and Fix raised their heads, and
beheld Colonel Proctor.
Stamp Proctor and Phileas Fogg recognised each other
at once.
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‘Ah! it’s you, is it, Englishman?’ cried the colonel; ‘it’s
you who are going to play a spade!’
‘And who plays it,’ replied Phileas Fogg coolly,
throwing down the ten of spades.
‘Well, it pleases me to have it diamonds,’ replied
Colonel Proctor, in an insolent tone.
He made a movement as if to seize the card which had
just been played, adding, ‘You don’t understand anything
about whist.’
‘Perhaps I do, as well as another,’ said Phileas Fogg,
rising.
‘You have only to try, son of John Bull,’ replied the
colonel.
Aouda turned pale, and her blood ran cold. She seized
Mr. Fogg’s arm and gently pulled him back. Passepartout
was ready to pounce upon the American, who was staring
insolently at his opponent. But Fix got up, and, going to
Colonel Proctor said, ‘You forget that it is I with whom
you have to deal, sir; for it was I whom you not only
insulted, but struck!’
‘Mr. Fix,’ said Mr. Fogg, ‘pardon me, but this affair is
mine, and mine only. The colonel has again insulted me,
by insisting that I should not play a spade, and he shall give
me satisfaction for it.’
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‘When and where you will,’ replied the American, ‘and
with whatever weapon you choose.’
Aouda in vain attempted to retain Mr. Fogg; as vainly
did the detective endeavour to make the quarrel his.
Passepartout wished to throw the colonel out of the
window, but a sign from his master checked him. Phileas
Fogg left the car, and the American followed him upon
the platform. ‘Sir,’ said Mr. Fogg to his adversary, ‘I am in
a great hurry to get back to Europe, and any delay
whatever will be greatly to my disadvantage.’
‘Well, what’s that to me?’ replied Colonel Proctor.
‘Sir,’ said Mr. Fogg, very politely, ‘after our meeting at
San Francisco, I determined to return to America and find
you as soon as I had completed the business which called
me to England.’
‘Really!’
‘Will you appoint a meeting for six months hence?’
‘Why not ten years hence?’
‘I say six months,’ returned Phileas Fogg; ‘and I shall be
at the place of meeting promptly.’
‘All this is an evasion,’ cried Stamp Proctor. ‘Now or
never!’
‘Very good. You are going to New York?’
‘No.’
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‘To Chicago?’
‘No.’
‘To Omaha?’
‘What difference is it to you? Do you know Plum
Creek?’
‘No,’ replied Mr. Fogg.
‘It’s the next station. The train will be there in an hour,
and will stop there ten minutes. In ten minutes several
revolver-shots could be exchanged.’
‘Very well,’ said Mr. Fogg. ‘I will stop at Plum Creek.’
‘And I guess you’ll stay there too,’ added the American
insolently.
‘Who knows?’ replied Mr. Fogg, returning to the car as
coolly as usual. He began to reassure Aouda, telling her
that blusterers were never to be feared, and begged Fix to
be his second at the approaching duel, a request which the
detective could not refuse. Mr. Fogg resumed the
interrupted game with perfect calmness.
At eleven o’clock the locomotive’s whistle announced
that they were approaching Plum Creek station. Mr. Fogg
rose, and, followed by Fix, went out upon the platform.
Passepartout accompanied him, carrying a pair of
revolvers. Aouda remained in the car, as pale as death.
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The door of the next car opened, and Colonel Proctor
appeared on the platform, attended by a Yankee of his
own stamp as his second. But just as the combatants were
about to step from the train, the conductor hurried up,
and shouted, ‘You can’t get off, gentlemen!’
‘Why not?’ asked the colonel.
‘We are twenty minutes late, and we shall not stop.’
‘But I am going to fight a duel with this gentleman.’
‘I am sorry,’ said the conductor; ‘but we shall be off at
once. There’s the bell ringing now.’
The train started.
‘I’m really very sorry, gentlemen,’ said the conductor.
‘Under any other circumstances I should have been happy
to oblige you. But, after all, as you have not had time to
fight here, why not fight as we go along?
‘That wouldn’t be convenient, perhaps, for this
gentleman,’ said the colonel, in a jeering tone.
‘It would be perfectly so,’ replied Phileas Fogg.
‘Well, we are really in America,’ thought Passepartout,
‘and the conductor is a gentleman of the first order!’
So muttering, he followed his master.
The two combatants, their seconds, and the conductor
passed through the cars to the rear of the train. The last car
was only occupied by a dozen passengers, whom the
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conductor politely asked if they would not be so kind as to
leave it vacant for a few moments, as two gentlemen had
an affair of honour to settle. The passengers granted the
request with alacrity, and straightway disappeared on the
platform.
The car, which was some fifty feet long, was very
convenient for their purpose. The adversaries might march
on each other in the aisle, and fire at their ease. Never was
duel more easily arranged. Mr. Fogg and Colonel Proctor,
each provided with two six-barrelled revolvers, entered
the car. The seconds, remaining outside, shut them in.
They were to begin firing at the first whistle of the
locomotive. After an interval of two minutes, what
remained of the two gentlemen would be taken from the
car.
Nothing could be more simple. Indeed, it was all so
simple that Fix and Passepartout felt their hearts beating as
if they would crack. They were listening for the whistle
agreed upon, when suddenly savage cries resounded in the
air, accompanied by reports which certainly did not issue
from the car where the duellists were. The reports
continued in front and the whole length of the train. Cries
of terror proceeded from the interior of the cars.
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Colonel Proctor and Mr. Fogg, revolvers in hand,
hastily quitted their prison, and rushed forward where the
noise was most clamorous. They then perceived that the
train was attacked by a band of Sioux.
This was not the first attempt of these daring Indians,
for more than once they had waylaid trains on the road. A
hundred of them had, according to their habit, jumped
upon the steps without stopping the train, with the ease of
a clown mounting a horse at full gallop.
The Sioux were armed with guns, from which came
the reports, to which the passengers, who were almost all
armed, responded by revolver-shots.
The Indians had first mounted the engine, and half
stunned the engineer and stoker with blows from their
muskets. A Sioux chief, wishing to stop the train, but not
knowing how to work the regulator, had opened wide
instead of closing the steam-valve, and the locomotive was
plunging forward with terrific velocity.
The Sioux had at the same time invaded the cars,
skipping like enraged monkeys over the roofs, thrusting
open the doors, and fighting hand to hand with the
passengers. Penetrating the baggage-car, they pillaged it,
throwing the trunks out of the train. The cries and shots
were constant. The travellers defended themselves bravely;
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some of the cars were barricaded, and sustained a siege,
like moving forts, carried along at a speed of a hundred
miles an hour.
Aouda behaved courageously from the first. She
defended herself like a true heroine with a revolver, which
she shot through the broken windows whenever a savage
made his appearance. Twenty Sioux had fallen mortally
wounded to the ground, and the wheels crushed those
who fell upon the rails as if they had been worms. Several
passengers, shot or stunned, lay on the seats.
It was necessary to put an end to the struggle, which
had lasted for ten minutes, and which would result in the
triumph of the Sioux if the train was not stopped. Fort
Kearney station, where there was a garrison, was only two
miles distant; but, that once passed, the Sioux would be
masters of the train between Fort Kearney and the station
beyond.
The conductor was fighting beside Mr. Fogg, when he
was shot and fell. At the same moment he cried, ‘Unless
the train is stopped in five minutes, we are lost!’
‘It shall be stopped,’ said Phileas Fogg, preparing to
rush from the car.
‘Stay, monsieur,’ cried Passepartout; ‘I will go.’
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Mr. Fogg had not time to stop the brave fellow, who,
opening a door unperceived by the Indians, succeeded in
slipping under the car; and while the struggle continued
and the balls whizzed across each other over his head, he
made use of his old acrobatic experience, and with
amazing agility worked his way under the cars, holding on
to the chains, aiding himself by the brakes and edges of the
sashes, creeping from one car to another with marvellous
skill, and thus gaining the forward end of the train.
There, suspended by one hand between the baggage-
car and the tender, with the other he loosened the safety
chains; but, owing to the traction, he would never have
succeeded in unscrewing the yoking-bar, had not a violent
concussion jolted this bar out. The train, now detached
from the engine, remained a little behind, whilst the
locomotive rushed forward with increased speed.
Carried on by the force already acquired, the train still
moved for several minutes; but the brakes were worked
and at last they stopped, less than a hundred feet from
Kearney station.
The soldiers of the fort, attracted by the shots, hurried
up; the Sioux had not expected them, and decamped in a
body before the train entirely stopped.
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But when the passengers counted each other on the
station platform several were found missing; among others
the courageous Frenchman, whose devotion had just saved
them.
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Chapter XXX
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
SIMPLY DOES HIS DUTY
Three passengers including Passepartout had
disappeared. Had they been killed in the struggle? Were
they taken prisoners by the Sioux? It was impossible to
tell.
There were many wounded, but none mortally.
Colonel Proctor was one of the most seriously hurt; he
had fought bravely, and a ball had entered his groin. He
was carried into the station with the other wounded
passengers, to receive such attention as could be of avail.
Aouda was safe; and Phileas Fogg, who had been in the
thickest of the fight, had not received a scratch. Fix was
slightly wounded in the arm. But Passepartout was not to
be found, and tears coursed down Aouda’s cheeks.
All the passengers had got out of the train, the wheels
of which were stained with blood. From the tyres and
spokes hung ragged pieces of flesh. As far as the eye could
reach on the white plain behind, red trails were visible.
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The last Sioux were disappearing in the south, along the
banks of Republican River.
Mr. Fogg, with folded arms, remained motionless. He
had a serious decision to make. Aouda, standing near him,
looked at him without speaking, and he understood her
look. If his servant was a prisoner, ought he not to risk
everything to rescue him from the Indians? ‘I will find
him, living or dead,’ said he quietly to Aouda.
‘Ah, Mr.—Mr. Fogg!’ cried she, clasping his hands and
covering them with tears.
‘Living,’ added Mr. Fogg, ‘if we do not lose a
moment.’
Phileas Fogg, by this resolution, inevitably sacrificed
himself; he pronounced his own doom. The delay of a
single day would make him lose the steamer at New York,
and his bet would be certainly lost. But as he thought, ‘It
is my duty,’ he did not hesitate.
The commanding officer of Fort Kearney was there. A
hundred of his soldiers had placed themselves in a position
to defend the station, should the Sioux attack it.
‘Sir,’ said Mr. Fogg to the captain, ‘three passengers
have disappeared.’
‘Dead?’ asked the captain.
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‘Dead or prisoners; that is the uncertainty which must
be solved. Do you propose to pursue the Sioux?’
‘That’s a serious thing to do, sir,’ returned the captain.
‘These Indians may retreat beyond the Arkansas, and I
cannot leave the fort unprotected.’
‘The lives of three men are in question, sir,’ said Phileas
Fogg.
‘Doubtless; but can I risk the lives of fifty men to save
three?’
‘I don’t know whether you can, sir; but you ought to
do so.’
‘Nobody here,’ returned the other, ‘has a right to teach
me my duty.’
‘Very well,’ said Mr. Fogg, coldly. ‘I will go alone.’
‘You, sir!’ cried Fix, coming up; ‘you go alone in
pursuit of the Indians?’
‘Would you have me leave this poor fellow to perish—
him to whom every one present owes his life? I shall go.’
‘No, sir, you shall not go alone,’ cried the captain,
touched in spite of himself. ‘No! you are a brave man.
Thirty volunteers!’ he added, turning to the soldiers.
The whole company started forward at once. The
captain had only to pick his men. Thirty were chosen, and
an old sergeant placed at their head.
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‘Thanks, captain,’ said Mr. Fogg.
‘Will you let me go with you?’ asked Fix.
‘Do as you please, sir. But if you wish to do me a
favour, you will remain with Aouda. In case anything
should happen to me—‘
A sudden pallor overspread the detective’s face.
Separate himself from the man whom he had so
persistently followed step by step! Leave him to wander
about in this desert! Fix gazed attentively at Mr. Fogg,
and, despite his suspicions and of the struggle which was
going on within him, he lowered his eyes before that calm
and frank look.
‘I will stay,’ said he.
A few moments after, Mr. Fogg pressed the young
woman’s hand, and, having confided to her his precious
carpet-bag, went off with the sergeant and his little squad.
But, before going, he had said to the soldiers, ‘My friends,
I will divide five thousand dollars among you, if we save
the prisoners.’
It was then a little past noon.
Aouda retired to a waiting-room, and there she waited
alone, thinking of the simple and noble generosity, the
tranquil courage of Phileas Fogg. He had sacrificed his
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fortune, and was now risking his life, all without
hesitation, from duty, in silence.
Fix did not have the same thoughts, and could scarcely
conceal his agitation. He walked feverishly up and down
the platform, but soon resumed his outward composure.
He now saw the folly of which he had been guilty in
letting Fogg go alone. What! This man, whom he had just
followed around the world, was permitted now to separate
himself from him! He began to accuse and abuse himself,
and, as if he were director of police, administered to
himself a sound lecture for his greenness.
‘I have been an idiot!’ he thought, ‘and this man will
see it. He has gone, and won’t come back! But how is it
that I, Fix, who have in my pocket a warrant for his arrest,
have been so fascinated by him? Decidedly, I am nothing
but an ass!’
So reasoned the detective, while the hours crept by all
too slowly. He did not know what to do. Sometimes he
was tempted to tell Aouda all; but he could not doubt
how the young woman would receive his confidences.
What course should he take? He thought of pursuing Fogg
across the vast white plains; it did not seem impossible that
he might overtake him. Footsteps were easily printed on
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the snow! But soon, under a new sheet, every imprint
would be effaced.
Fix became discouraged. He felt a sort of
insurmountable longing to abandon the game altogether.
He could now leave Fort Kearney station, and pursue his
journey homeward in peace.
Towards two o’clock in the afternoon, while it was
snowing hard, long whistles were heard approaching from
the east. A great shadow, preceded by a wild light, slowly
advanced, appearing still larger through the mist, which
gave it a fantastic aspect. No train was expected from the
east, neither had there been time for the succour asked for
by telegraph to arrive; the train from Omaha to San
Francisco was not due till the next day. The mystery was
soon explained.
The locomotive, which was slowly approaching with
deafening whistles, was that which, having been detached
from the train, had continued its route with such terrific
rapidity, carrying off the unconscious engineer and stoker.
It had run several miles, when, the fire becoming low for
want of fuel, the steam had slackened; and it had finally
stopped an hour after, some twenty miles beyond Fort
Kearney. Neither the engineer nor the stoker was dead,
and, after remaining for some time in their swoon, had
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come to themselves. The train had then stopped. The
engineer, when he found himself in the desert, and the
locomotive without cars, understood what had happened.
He could not imagine how the locomotive had become
separated from the train; but he did not doubt that the
train left behind was in distress.
He did not hesitate what to do. It would be prudent to
continue on to Omaha, for it would be dangerous to
return to the train, which the Indians might still be
engaged in pillaging. Nevertheless, he began to rebuild the
fire in the furnace; the pressure again mounted, and the
locomotive returned, running backwards to Fort Kearney.
This it was which was whistling in the mist.
The travellers were glad to see the locomotive resume
its place at the head of the train. They could now
continue the journey so terribly interrupted.
Aouda, on seeing the locomotive come up, hurried out
of the station, and asked the conductor, ‘Are you going to
start?’
‘At once, madam.’
‘But the prisoners, our unfortunate fellow-travellers—‘
‘I cannot interrupt the trip,’ replied the conductor. ‘We
are already three hours behind time.’
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‘And when will another train pass here from San
Francisco?’
‘To-morrow evening, madam.’
‘To-morrow evening! But then it will be too late! We
must wait—‘
‘It is impossible,’ responded the conductor. ‘If you wish
to go, please get in.’
‘I will not go,’ said Aouda.
Fix had heard this conversation. A little while before,
when there was no prospect of proceeding on the journey,
he had made up his mind to leave Fort Kearney; but now
that the train was there, ready to start, and he had only to
take his seat in the car, an irresistible influence held him
back. The station platform burned his feet, and he could
not stir. The conflict in his mind again began; anger and
failure stifled him. He wished to struggle on to the end.
Meanwhile the passengers and some of the wounded,
among them Colonel Proctor, whose injuries were
serious, had taken their places in the train. The buzzing of
the over-heated boiler was heard, and the steam was
escaping from the valves. The engineer whistled, the train
started, and soon disappeared, mingling its white smoke
with the eddies of the densely falling snow.
The detective had remained behind.
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Several hours passed. The weather was dismal, and it
was very cold. Fix sat motionless on a bench in the station;
he might have been thought asleep. Aouda, despite the
storm, kept coming out of the waiting-room, going to the
end of the platform, and peering through the tempest of
snow, as if to pierce the mist which narrowed the horizon
around her, and to hear, if possible, some welcome sound.
She heard and saw nothing. Then she would return,
chilled through, to issue out again after the lapse of a few
moments, but always in vain.
Evening came, and the little band had not returned.
Where could they be? Had they found the Indians, and
were they having a conflict with them, or were they still
wandering amid the mist? The commander of the fort was
anxious, though he tried to conceal his apprehensions. As
night approached, the snow fell less plentifully, but it
became intensely cold. Absolute silence rested on the
plains. Neither flight of bird nor passing of beast troubled
the perfect calm.
Throughout the night Aouda, full of sad forebodings,
her heart stifled with anguish, wandered about on the
verge of the plains. Her imagination carried her far off,
and showed her innumerable dangers. What she suffered
through the long hours it would be impossible to describe.
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Fix remained stationary in the same place, but did not
sleep. Once a man approached and spoke to him, and the
detective merely replied by shaking his head.
Thus the night passed. At dawn, the half-extinguished
disc of the sun rose above a misty horizon ; but it was now
possible to recognise objects two miles off. Phileas Fogg
and the squad had gone southward; in the south all was
still vacancy. It was then seven o’clock.
The captain, who was really alarmed, did not know
what course to take.
Should he send another detachment to the rescue of
the first? Should he sacrifice more men, with so few
chances of saving those already sacrificed? His hesitation
did not last long, however. Calling one of his lieutenants,
he was on the point of ordering a reconnaissance, when
gunshots were heard. Was it a signal? The soldiers rushed
out of the fort, and half a mile off they perceived a little
band returning in good order.
Mr. Fogg was marching at their head, and just behind
him were Passepartout and the other two travellers,
rescued from the Sioux.
They had met and fought the Indians ten miles south of
Fort Kearney. Shortly before the detachment arrived,
Passepartout and his companions had begun to struggle
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with their captors, three of whom the Frenchman had
felled with his fists, when his master and the soldiers
hastened up to their relief.
All were welcomed with joyful cries. Phileas Fogg
distributed the reward he had promised to the soldiers,
while Passepartout, not without reason, muttered to
himself, ‘It must certainly be confessed that I cost my
master dear!’
Fix, without saying a word, looked at Mr. Fogg, and it
would have been difficult to analyse the thoughts which
struggled within him. As for Aouda, she took her
protector’s hand and pressed it in her own, too much
moved to speak.
Meanwhile, Passepartout was looking about for the
train; he thought he should find it there, ready to start for
Omaha, and he hoped that the time lost might be
regained.
‘The train! the train!’ cried he.
‘Gone,’ replied Fix.
‘And when does the next train pass here?’ said Phileas
Fogg.
‘Not till this evening.’
‘Ah!’ returned the impassible gentleman quietly.
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Chapter XXXI
IN WHICH FIX, THE
DETECTIVE, CONSIDERABLY
FURTHERS THE INTERESTS
OF PHILEAS FOGG
Phileas Fogg found himself twenty hours behind time.
Passepartout, the involuntary cause of this delay, was
desperate. He had ruined his master!
At this moment the detective approached Mr. Fogg,
and, looking him intently in the face, said:
‘Seriously, sir, are you in great haste?’
‘Quite seriously.’
‘I have a purpose in asking,’ resumed Fix. ‘Is it
absolutely necessary that you should be in New York on
the 11th, before nine o’clock in the evening, the time that
the steamer leaves for Liverpool?’
‘It is absolutely necessary.’
‘And, if your journey had not been interrupted by these
Indians, you would have reached New York on the
morning of the 11th?’
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‘Yes; with eleven hours to spare before the steamer
left.’
‘Good! you are therefore twenty hours behind. Twelve
from twenty leaves eight. You must regain eight hours.
Do you wish to try to do so?’
‘On foot?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘No; on a sledge,’ replied Fix. ‘On a sledge with sails. A
man has proposed such a method to me.’
It was the man who had spoken to Fix during the
night, and whose offer he had refused.
Phileas Fogg did not reply at once; but Fix, having
pointed out the man, who was walking up and down in
front of the station, Mr. Fogg went up to him. An instant
after, Mr. Fogg and the American, whose name was
Mudge, entered a hut built just below the fort.
There Mr. Fogg examined a curious vehicle, a kind of
frame on two long beams, a little raised in front like the
runners of a sledge, and upon which there was room for
five or six persons. A high mast was fixed on the frame,
held firmly by metallic lashings, to which was attached a
large brigantine sail. This mast held an iron stay upon
which to hoist a jib-sail. Behind, a sort of rudder served to
guide the vehicle. It was, in short, a sledge rigged like a
sloop. During the winter, when the trains are blocked up
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by the snow, these sledges make extremely rapid journeys
across the frozen plains from one station to another.
Provided with more sails than a cutter, and with the wind
behind them, they slip over the surface of the prairies with
a speed equal if not superior to that of the express trains.
Mr. Fogg readily made a bargain with the owner of this
land-craft. The wind was favourable, being fresh, and
blowing from the west. The snow had hardened, and
Mudge was very confident of being able to transport Mr.
Fogg in a few hours to Omaha. Thence the trains eastward
run frequently to Chicago and New York. It was not
impossible that the lost time might yet be recovered; and
such an opportunity was not to be rejected.
Not wishing to expose Aouda to the discomforts of
travelling in the open air, Mr. Fogg proposed to leave her
with Passepartout at Fort Kearney, the servant taking upon
himself to escort her to Europe by a better route and
under more favourable conditions. But Aouda refused to
separate from Mr. Fogg, and Passepartout was delighted
with her decision; for nothing could induce him to leave
his master while Fix was with him.
It would be difficult to guess the detective’s thoughts.
Was this conviction shaken by Phileas Fogg’s return, or
did he still regard him as an exceedingly shrewd rascal,
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who, his journey round the world completed, would
think himself absolutely safe in England? Perhaps Fix’s
opinion of Phileas Fogg was somewhat modified; but he
was nevertheless resolved to do his duty, and to hasten the
return of the whole party to England as much as possible.
At eight o’clock the sledge was ready to start. The
passengers took their places on it, and wrapped themselves
up closely in their travelling-cloaks. The two great sails
were hoisted, and under the pressure of the wind the
sledge slid over the hardened snow with a velocity of forty
miles an hour.
The distance between Fort Kearney and Omaha, as the
birds fly, is at most two hundred miles. If the wind held
good, the distance might be traversed in five hours; if no
accident happened the sledge might reach Omaha by one
o’clock.
What a journey! The travellers, huddled close together,
could not speak for the cold, intensified by the rapidity at
which they were going. The sledge sped on as lightly as a
boat over the waves. When the breeze came skimming the
earth the sledge seemed to be lifted off the ground by its
sails. Mudge, who was at the rudder, kept in a straight
line, and by a turn of his hand checked the lurches which
the vehicle had a tendency to make. All the sails were up,
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and the jib was so arranged as not to screen the brigantine.
A top-mast was hoisted, and another jib, held out to the
wind, added its force to the other sails. Although the speed
could not be exactly estimated, the sledge could not be
going at less than forty miles an hour.
‘If nothing breaks,’ said Mudge, ‘we shall get there!’
Mr. Fogg had made it for Mudge’s interest to reach
Omaha within the time agreed on, by the offer of a
handsome reward.
The prairie, across which the sledge was moving in a
straight line, was as flat as a sea. It seemed like a vast frozen
lake. The railroad which ran through this section ascended
from the south-west to the north-west by Great Island,
Columbus, an important Nebraska town, Schuyler, and
Fremont, to Omaha. It followed throughout the right
bank of the Platte River. The sledge, shortening this
route, took a chord of the arc described by the railway.
Mudge was not afraid of being stopped by the Platte
River, because it was frozen. The road, then, was quite
clear of obstacles, and Phileas Fogg had but two things to
fear— an accident to the sledge, and a change or calm in
the wind.
But the breeze, far from lessening its force, blew as if to
bend the mast, which, however, the metallic lashings held
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firmly. These lashings, like the chords of a stringed
instrument, resounded as if vibrated by a violin bow. The
sledge slid along in the midst of a plaintively intense
melody.
‘Those chords give the fifth and the octave,’ said Mr.
Fogg.
These were the only words he uttered during the
journey. Aouda, cosily packed in furs and cloaks, was
sheltered as much as possible from the attacks of the
freezing wind. As for Passepartout, his face was as red as
the sun’s disc when it sets in the mist, and he laboriously
inhaled the biting air. With his natural buoyancy of spirits,
he began to hope again. They would reach New York on
the evening, if not on the morning, of the 11th, and there
was still some chances that it would be before the steamer
sailed for Liverpool.
Passepartout even felt a strong desire to grasp his ally,
Fix, by the hand. He remembered that it was the detective
who procured the sledge, the only means of reaching
Omaha in time; but, checked by some presentiment, he
kept his usual reserve. One thing, however, Passepartout
would never forget, and that was the sacrifice which Mr.
Fogg had made, without hesitation, to rescue him from
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the Sioux. Mr. Fogg had risked his fortune and his life.
No! His servant would never forget that!
While each of the party was absorbed in reflections so
different, the sledge flew past over the vast carpet of snow.
The creeks it passed over were not perceived. Fields and
streams disappeared under the uniform whiteness. The
plain was absolutely deserted. Between the Union Pacific
road and the branch which unites Kearney with Saint
Joseph it formed a great uninhabited island. Neither
village, station, nor fort appeared. From time to time they
sped by some phantom-like tree, whose white skeleton
twisted and rattled in the wind. Sometimes flocks of wild
birds rose, or bands of gaunt, famished, ferocious prairie-
wolves ran howling after the sledge. Passepartout, revolver
in hand, held himself ready to fire on those which came
too near. Had an accident then happened to the sledge,
the travellers, attacked by these beasts, would have been in
the most terrible danger; but it held on its even course,
soon gained on the wolves, and ere long left the howling
band at a safe distance behind.
About noon Mudge perceived by certain landmarks
that he was crossing the Platte River. He said nothing, but
he felt certain that he was now within twenty miles of
Omaha. In less than an hour he left the rudder and furled
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his sails, whilst the sledge, carried forward by the great
impetus the wind had given it, went on half a mile further
with its sails unspread.
It stopped at last, and Mudge, pointing to a mass of
roofs white with snow, said: ‘We have got there!’
Arrived! Arrived at the station which is in daily
communication, by numerous trains, with the Atlantic
seaboard!
Passepartout and Fix jumped off, stretched their
stiffened limbs, and aided Mr. Fogg and the young woman
to descend from the sledge. Phileas Fogg generously
rewarded Mudge, whose hand Passepartout warmly
grasped, and the party directed their steps to the Omaha
railway station.
The Pacific Railroad proper finds its terminus at this
important Nebraska town. Omaha is connected with
Chicago by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, which
runs directly east, and passes fifty stations.
A train was ready to start when Mr. Fogg and his party
reached the station, and they only had time to get into the
cars. They had seen nothing of Omaha; but Passepartout
confessed to himself that this was not to be regretted, as
they were not travelling to see the sights.
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The train passed rapidly across the State of Iowa, by
Council Bluffs, Des Moines, and Iowa City. During the
night it crossed the Mississippi at Davenport, and by Rock
Island entered Illinois. The next day, which was the 10th,
at four o’clock in the evening, it reached Chicago, already
risen from its ruins, and more proudly seated than ever on
the borders of its beautiful Lake Michigan.
Nine hundred miles separated Chicago from New
York; but trains are not wanting at Chicago. Mr. Fogg
passed at once from one to the other, and the locomotive
of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway left
at full speed, as if it fully comprehended that that
gentleman had no time to lose. It traversed Indiana, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey like a flash, rushing through
towns with antique names, some of which had streets and
car-tracks, but as yet no houses. At last the Hudson came
into view; and, at a quarter-past eleven in the evening of
the 11th, the train stopped in the station on the right bank
of the river, before the very pier of the Cunard line.
The China, for Liverpool, had started three-quarters of
an hour before!
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Chapter XXXII
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
ENGAGES IN A DIRECT
STRUGGLE WITH BAD
FORTUNE
The China, in leaving, seemed to have carried off
Phileas Fogg’s last hope. None of the other steamers were
able to serve his projects. The Pereire, of the French
Transatlantic Company, whose admirable steamers are
equal to any in speed and comfort, did not leave until the
14th; the Hamburg boats did not go directly to Liverpool
or London, but to Havre; and the additional trip from
Havre to Southampton would render Phileas Fogg’s last
efforts of no avail. The Inman steamer did not depart till
the next day, and could not cross the Atlantic in time to
save the wager.
Mr. Fogg learned all this in consulting his Bradshaw,
which gave him the daily movements of the trans-Atlantic
steamers.
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Passepartout was crushed; it overwhelmed him to lose
the boat by three-quarters of an hour. It was his fault, for,
instead of helping his master, he had not ceased putting
obstacles in his path! And when he recalled all the
incidents of the tour, when he counted up the sums
expended in pure loss and on his own account, when he
thought that the immense stake, added to the heavy
charges of this useless journey, would completely ruin Mr.
Fogg, he overwhelmed himself with bitter self-accusations.
Mr. Fogg, however, did not reproach him; and, on
leaving the Cunard pier, only said: ‘We will consult about
what is best to-morrow. Come.’
The party crossed the Hudson in the Jersey City
ferryboat, and drove in a carriage to the St. Nicholas
Hotel, on Broadway. Rooms were engaged, and the night
passed, briefly to Phileas Fogg, who slept profoundly, but
very long to Aouda and the others, whose agitation did
not permit them to rest.
The next day was the 12th of December. From seven
in the morning of the 12th to a quarter before nine in the
evening of the 21st there were nine days, thirteen hours,
and forty-five minutes. If Phileas Fogg had left in the
China, one of the fastest steamers on the Atlantic, he
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would have reached Liverpool, and then London, within
the period agreed upon.
Mr. Fogg left the hotel alone, after giving Passepartout
instructions to await his return, and inform Aouda to be
ready at an instant’s notice. He proceeded to the banks of
the Hudson, and looked about among the vessels moored
or anchored in the river, for any that were about to
depart. Several had departure signals, and were preparing
to put to sea at morning tide; for in this immense and
admirable port there is not one day in a hundred that
vessels do not set out for every quarter of the globe. But
they were mostly sailing vessels, of which, of course,
Phileas Fogg could make no use.
He seemed about to give up all hope, when he espied,
anchored at the Battery, a cable’s length off at most, a
trading vessel, with a screw, well-shaped, whose funnel,
puffing a cloud of smoke, indicated that she was getting
ready for departure.
Phileas Fogg hailed a boat, got into it, and soon found
himself on board the Henrietta, iron-hulled, wood-built
above. He ascended to the deck, and asked for the captain,
who forthwith presented himself. He was a man of fifty, a
sort of sea-wolf, with big eyes, a complexion of oxidised
copper, red hair and thick neck, and a growling voice.
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‘The captain?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘I am the captain.’
‘I am Phileas Fogg, of London.’
‘And I am Andrew Speedy, of Cardiff.’
‘You are going to put to sea?’
‘In an hour.’
‘You are bound for—‘
‘Bordeaux.’
‘And your cargo?’
‘No freight. Going in ballast.’
‘Have you any passengers?’
‘No passengers. Never have passengers. Too much in
the way.’
‘Is your vessel a swift one?’
‘Between eleven and twelve knots. The Henrietta, well
known.’
‘Will you carry me and three other persons to
Liverpool?’
‘To Liverpool? Why not to China?’
‘I said Liverpool.’
‘No!’
‘No?’
‘No. I am setting out for Bordeaux, and shall go to
Bordeaux.’
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‘Money is no object?’
‘None.’
The captain spoke in a tone which did not admit of a
reply.
‘But the owners of the Henrietta—’ resumed Phileas
Fogg.
‘The owners are myself,’ replied the captain. ‘The
vessel belongs to me.’
‘I will freight it for you.’
‘No.’
‘I will buy it of you.’
‘No.’
Phileas Fogg did not betray the least disappointment;
but the situation was a grave one. It was not at New York
as at Hong Kong, nor with the captain of the Henrietta as
with the captain of the Tankadere. Up to this time money
had smoothed away every obstacle. Now money failed.
Still, some means must be found to cross the Atlantic
on a boat, unless by balloon—which would have been
venturesome, besides not being capable of being put in
practice. It seemed that Phileas Fogg had an idea, for he
said to the captain, ‘Well, will you carry me to Bordeaux?’
‘No, not if you paid me two hundred dollars.’
‘I offer you two thousand.’
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‘Apiece?’
‘Apiece.’
‘And there are four of you?’
‘Four.’
Captain Speedy began to scratch his head. There were
eight thousand dollars to gain, without changing his route;
for which it was well worth conquering the repugnance
he had for all kinds of passengers. Besides, passenger’s at
two thousand dollars are no longer passengers, but valuable
merchandise. ‘I start at nine o’clock,’ said Captain Speedy,
simply. ‘Are you and your party ready?’
‘We will be on board at nine o’clock,’ replied, no less
simply, Mr. Fogg.
It was half-past eight. To disembark from the
Henrietta, jump into a hack, hurry to the St. Nicholas, and
return with Aouda, Passepartout, and even the inseparable
Fix was the work of a brief time, and was performed by
Mr. Fogg with the coolness which never abandoned him.
They were on board when the Henrietta made ready to
weigh anchor.
When Passepartout heard what this last voyage was
going to cost, he uttered a prolonged ‘Oh!’ which
extended throughout his vocal gamut.
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As for Fix, he said to himself that the Bank of England
would certainly not come out of this affair well
indemnified. When they reached England, even if Mr.
Fogg did not throw some handfuls of bank-bills into the
sea, more than seven thousand pounds would have been
spent!
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Chapter XXXIII
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
SHOWS HIMSELF EQUAL TO
THE OCCASION
An hour after, the Henrietta passed the lighthouse
which marks the entrance of the Hudson, turned the point
of Sandy Hook, and put to sea. During the day she skirted
Long Island, passed Fire Island, and directed her course
rapidly eastward.
At noon the next day, a man mounted the bridge to
ascertain the vessel’s position. It might be thought that this
was Captain Speedy. Not the least in the world. It was
Phileas Fogg, Esquire. As for Captain Speedy, he was shut
up in his cabin under lock and key, and was uttering loud
cries, which signified an anger at once pardonable and
excessive.
What had happened was very simple. Phileas Fogg
wished to go to Liverpool, but the captain would not
carry him there. Then Phileas Fogg had taken passage for
Bordeaux, and, during the thirty hours he had been on
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board, had so shrewdly managed with his banknotes that
the sailors and stokers, who were only an occasional crew,
and were not on the best terms with the captain, went
over to him in a body. This was why Phileas Fogg was in
command instead of Captain Speedy; why the captain was
a prisoner in his cabin; and why, in short, the Henrietta
was directing her course towards Liverpool. It was very
clear, to see Mr. Fogg manage the craft, that he had been a
sailor.
How the adventure ended will be seen anon. Aouda
was anxious, though she said nothing. As for Passepartout,
he thought Mr. Fogg’s manoeuvre simply glorious. The
captain had said ‘between eleven and twelve knots,’ and
the Henrietta confirmed his prediction.
If, then—for there were ‘ifs’ still—the sea did not
become too boisterous, if the wind did not veer round to
the east, if no accident happened to the boat or its
machinery, the Henrietta might cross the three thousand
miles from New York to Liverpool in the nine days,
between the 12th and the 21st of December. It is true
that, once arrived, the affair on board the Henrietta, added
to that of the Bank of England, might create more
difficulties for Mr. Fogg than he imagined or could desire.
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During the first days, they went along smoothly
enough. The sea was not very unpropitious, the wind
seemed stationary in the north-east, the sails were hoisted,
and the Henrietta ploughed across the waves like a real
trans-Atlantic steamer.
Passepartout was delighted. His master’s last exploit, the
consequences of which he ignored, enchanted him. Never
had the crew seen so jolly and dexterous a fellow. He
formed warm friendships with the sailors, and amazed
them with his acrobatic feats. He thought they managed
the vessel like gentlemen, and that the stokers fired up like
heroes. His loquacious good-humour infected everyone.
He had forgotten the past, its vexations and delays. He
only thought of the end, so nearly accomplished; and
sometimes he boiled over with impatience, as if heated by
the furnaces of the Henrietta. Often, also, the worthy
fellow revolved around Fix, looking at him with a keen,
distrustful eye; but he did not speak to him, for their old
intimacy no longer existed.
Fix, it must be confessed, understood nothing of what
was going on. The conquest of the Henrietta, the bribery
of the crew, Fogg managing the boat like a skilled seaman,
amazed and confused him. He did not know what to
think. For, after all, a man who began by stealing fifty-five
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thousand pounds might end by stealing a vessel; and Fix
was not unnaturally inclined to conclude that the
Henrietta under Fogg’s command, was not going to
Liverpool at all, but to some part of the world where the
robber, turned into a pirate, would quietly put himself in
safety. The conjecture was at least a plausible one, and the
detective began to seriously regret that he had embarked
on the affair.
As for Captain Speedy, he continued to howl and
growl in his cabin; and Passepartout, whose duty it was to
carry him his meals, courageous as he was, took the
greatest precautions. Mr. Fogg did not seem even to know
that there was a captain on board.
On the 13th they passed the edge of the Banks of
Newfoundland, a dangerous locality; during the winter,
especially, there are frequent fogs and heavy gales of wind.
Ever since the evening before the barometer, suddenly
falling, had indicated an approaching change in the
atmosphere; and during the night the temperature varied,
the cold became sharper, and the wind veered to the
south-east.
This was a misfortune. Mr. Fogg, in order not to
deviate from his course, furled his sails and increased the
force of the steam; but the vessel’s speed slackened, owing
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to the state of the sea, the long waves of which broke
against the stern. She pitched violently, and this retarded
her progress. The breeze little by little swelled into a
tempest, and it was to be feared that the Henrietta might
not be able to maintain herself upright on the waves.
Passepartout’s visage darkened with the skies, and for
two days the poor fellow experienced constant fright. But
Phileas Fogg was a bold mariner, and knew how to
maintain headway against the sea; and he kept on his
course, without even decreasing his steam. The Henrietta,
when she could not rise upon the waves, crossed them,
swamping her deck, but passing safely. Sometinies the
screw rose out of the water, beating its protruding end,
when a mountain of water raised the stern above the
waves; but the craft always kept straight ahead.
The wind, however, did not grow as boisterous as
might have been feared; it was not one of those tempests
which burst, and rush on with a speed of ninety miles an
hour. It continued fresh, but, unhappily, it remained
obstinately in the south-east, rendering the sails useless.
The 16th of December was the seventy-fifth day since
Phileas Fogg’s departure from London, and the Henrietta
had not yet been seriously delayed. Half of the voyage was
almost accomplished, and the worst localities had been
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passed. In summer, success would have been well-nigh
certain. In winter, they were at the mercy of the bad
season. Passepartout said nothing; but he cherished hope
in secret, and comforted himself with the reflection that, if
the wind failed them, they might still count on the steam.
On this day the engineer came on deck, went up to
Mr. Fogg, and began to speak earnestly with him.
Without knowing why it was a presentiment, perhaps
Passepartout became vaguely uneasy. He would have
given one of his ears to hear with the other what the
engineer was saying. He finally managed to catch a few
words, and was sure he heard his master say, ‘You are
certain of what you tell me?’
‘Certain, sir,’ replied the engineer. ‘You must
remember that, since we started, we have kept up hot fires
in all our furnaces, and, though we had coal enough to go
on short steam from New York to Bordeaux, we haven’t
enough to go with all steam from New York to
Liverpool.’ ‘I will consider,’ replied Mr. Fogg.
Passepartout understood it all; he was seized with
mortal anxiety. The coal was giving out! ‘Ah, if my master
can get over that,’ muttered he, ‘he’ll be a famous man!’
He could not help imparting to Fix what he had
overheard.
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‘Then you believe that we really are going to
Liverpool?’
‘Of course.’
‘Ass!’ replied the detective, shrugging his shoulders and
turning on his heel.
Passepartout was on the point of vigorously resenting
the epithet, the reason of which he could not for the life
of him comprehend; but he reflected that the unfortunate
Fix was probably very much disappointed and humiliated
in his self-esteem, after having so awkwardly followed a
false scent around the world, and refrained.
And now what course would Phileas Fogg adopt? It
was difficult to imagine. Nevertheless he seemed to have
decided upon one, for that evening he sent for the
engineer, and said to him, ‘Feed all the fires until the coal
is exhausted.’
A few moments after, the funnel of the Henrietta
vomited forth torrents of smoke. The vessel continued to
proceed with all steam on; but on the 18th, the engineer,
as he had predicted, announced that the coal would give
out in the course of the day.
‘Do not let the fires go down,’ replied Mr. Fogg. ‘Keep
them up to the last. Let the valves be filled.’
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Towards noon Phileas Fogg, having ascertained their
position, called Passepartout, and ordered him to go for
Captain Speedy. It was as if the honest fellow had been
commanded to unchain a tiger. He went to the poop,
saying to himself, ‘He will be like a madman!’
In a few moments, with cries and oaths, a bomb
appeared on the poop-deck. The bomb was Captain
Speedy. It was clear that he was on the point of bursting.
‘Where are we?’ were the first words his anger permitted
him to utter. Had the poor man be an apoplectic, he could
never have recovered from his paroxysm of wrath.
‘Where are we?’ he repeated, with purple face.
‘Seven hundred and seven miles from Liverpool,’
replied Mr. Fogg, with imperturbable calmness.
‘Pirate!’ cried Captain Speedy.
‘I have sent for you, sir—‘
‘Pickaroon!’
‘—sir,’ continued Mr. Fogg, ‘to ask you to sell me your
vessel.’
‘No! By all the devils, no!’
‘But I shall be obliged to burn her.’
‘Burn the Henrietta!’
‘Yes; at least the upper part of her. The coal has given
out.’
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‘Burn my vessel!’ cried Captain Speedy, who could
scarcely pronounce the words. ‘A vessel worth fifty
thousand dollars!’
‘Here are sixty thousand,’ replied Phileas Fogg, handing
the captain a roll of bank-bills. This had a prodigious effect
on Andrew Speedy. An American can scarcely remain
unmoved at the sight of sixty thousand dollars. The
captain forgot in an instant his anger, his imprisonment,
and all his grudges against his passenger. The Henrietta
was twenty years old; it was a great bargain. The bomb
would not go off after all. Mr. Fogg had taken away the
match.
‘And I shall still have the iron hull,’ said the captain in a
softer tone.
‘The iron hull and the engine. Is it agreed?’
‘Agreed.’
And Andrew Speedy, seizing the banknotes, counted
them and consigned them to his pocket.
During this colloquy, Passepartout was as white as a
sheet, and Fix seemed on the point of having an apoplectic
fit. Nearly twenty thousand pounds had been expended,
and Fogg left the hull and engine to the captain, that is,
near the whole value of the craft! It was true, however,
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that fifty-five thousand pounds had been stolen from the
Bank.
When Andrew Speedy had pocketed the money, Mr.
Fogg said to him, ‘Don’t let this astonish you, sir. You
must know that I shall lose twenty thousand pounds,
unless I arrive in London by a quarter before nine on the
evening of the 21st of December. I missed the steamer at
New York, and as you refused to take me to Liverpool—‘
‘And I did well!’ cried Andrew Speedy; ‘for I have
gained at least forty thousand dollars by it!’ He added,
more sedately, ‘Do you know one thing, Captain—‘
‘Fogg.’
‘Captain Fogg, you’ve got something of the Yankee
about you.’
And, having paid his passenger what he considered a
high compliment, he was going away, when Mr. Fogg
said, ‘The vessel now belongs to me?’
‘Certainly, from the keel to the truck of the masts—all
the wood, that is.’
‘Very well. Have the interior seats, bunks, and frames
pulled down, and burn them.’
It was necessary to have dry wood to keep the steam up
to the adequate pressure, and on that day the poop, cabins,
bunks, and the spare deck were sacrificed. On the next
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day, the 19th of December, the masts, rafts, and spars were
burned; the crew worked lustily, keeping up the fires.
Passepartout hewed, cut, and sawed away with all his
might. There was a perfect rage for demolition.
The railings, fittings, the greater part of the deck, and
top sides disappeared on the 20th, and the Henrietta was
now only a flat hulk. But on this day they sighted the Irish
coast and Fastnet Light. By ten in the evening they were
passing Queenstown. Phileas Fogg had only twenty-four
hours more in which to get to London; that length of time
was necessary to reach Liverpool, with all steam on. And
the steam was about to give out altogether!
‘Sir,’ said Captain Speedy, who was now deeply
interested in Mr. Fogg’s project, ‘I really commiserate you.
Everything is against you. We are only opposite
Queenstown.’
‘Ah,’ said Mr. Fogg, ‘is that place where we see the
lights Queenstown?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can we enter the harbour?’
‘Not under three hours. Only at high tide.’
‘Stay,’ replied Mr. Fogg calmly, without betraying in
his features that by a supreme inspiration he was about to
attempt once more to conquer ill-fortune.
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Queenstown is the Irish port at which the trans-
Atlantic steamers stop to put off the mails. These mails are
carried to Dublin by express trains always held in readiness
to start; from Dublin they are sent on to Liverpool by the
most rapid boats, and thus gain twelve hours on the
Atlantic steamers.
Phileas Fogg counted on gaining twelve hours in the
same way. Instead of arriving at Liverpool the next
evening by the Henrietta, he would be there by noon, and
would therefore have time to reach London before a
quarter before nine in the evening.
The Henrietta entered Queenstown Harbour at one
o’clock in the morning, it then being high tide; and
Phileas Fogg, after being grasped heartily by the hand by
Captain Speedy, left that gentleman on the levelled hulk
of his craft, which was still worth half what he had sold it
for.
The party went on shore at once. Fix was greatly
tempted to arrest Mr. Fogg on the spot; but he did not.
Why? What struggle was going on within him? Had he
changed his mind about ‘his man’? Did he understand that
he had made a grave mistake? He did not, however,
abandon Mr. Fogg. They all got upon the train, which
was just ready to start, at half-past one; at dawn of day
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they were in Dublin; and they lost no time in embarking
on a steamer which, disdaining to rise upon the waves,
invariably cut through them.
Phileas Fogg at last disembarked on the Liverpool quay,
at twenty minutes before twelve, 21st December. He was
only six hours distant from London.
But at this moment Fix came up, put his hand upon
Mr. Fogg’s shoulder, and, showing his warrant, said, ‘You
are really Phileas Fogg?’
‘I am.’
‘I arrest you in the Queen’s name!’
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Chapter XXXIV
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
AT LAST REACHES LONDON
Phileas Fogg was in prison. He had been shut up in the
Custom House, and he was to be transferred to London
the next day.
Passepartout, when he saw his master arrested, would
have fallen upon Fix had he not been held back by some
policemen. Aouda was thunderstruck at the suddenness of
an event which she could not understand. Passepartout
explained to her how it was that the honest and
courageous Fogg was arrested as a robber. The young
woman’s heart revolted against so heinous a charge, and
when she saw that she could attempt to do nothing to save
her protector, she wept bitterly.
As for Fix, he had arrested Mr. Fogg because it was his
duty, whether Mr. Fogg were guilty or not.
The thought then struck Passepartout, that he was the
cause of this new misfortune! Had he not concealed Fix’s
errand from his master? When Fix revealed his true
character and purpose, why had he not told Mr. Fogg? If
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the latter had been warned, he would no doubt have given
Fix proof of his innocence, and satisfied him of his
mistake; at least, Fix would not have continued his
journey at the expense and on the heels of his master, only
to arrest him the moment he set foot on English soil.
Passepartout wept till he was blind, and felt like blowing
his brains out.
Aouda and he had remained, despite the cold, under
the portico of the Custom House. Neither wished to leave
the place; both were anxious to see Mr. Fogg again.
That gentleman was really ruined, and that at the
moment when he was about to attain his end. This arrest
was fatal. Having arrived at Liverpool at twenty minutes
before twelve on the 21st of December, he had till a
quarter before nine that evening to reach the Reform
Club, that is, nine hours and a quarter; the journey from
Liverpool to London was six hours.
If anyone, at this moment, had entered the Custom
House, he would have found Mr. Fogg seated, motionless,
calm, and without apparent anger, upon a wooden bench.
He was not, it is true, resigned; but this last blow failed to
force him into an outward betrayal of any emotion. Was
he being devoured by one of those secret rages, all the
more terrible because contained, and which only burst
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forth, with an irresistible force, at the last moment? No
one could tell. There he sat, calmly waiting—for what?
Did he still cherish hope? Did he still believe, now that
the door of this prison was closed upon him, that he
would succeed?
However that may have been, Mr. Fogg carefully put
his watch upon the table, and observed its advancing
hands. Not a word escaped his lips, but his look was
singularly set and stern. The situation, in any event, was a
terrible one, and might be thus stated: if Phileas Fogg was
honest he was ruined; if he was a knave, he was caught.
Did escape occur to him? Did he examine to see if
there were any practicable outlet from his prison? Did he
think of escaping from it? Possibly; for once he walked
slowly around the room. But the door was locked, and the
window heavily barred with iron rods. He sat down again,
and drew his journal from his pocket. On the line where
these words were written, ‘21st December, Saturday,
Liverpool,’ he added, ‘80th day, 11.40 a.m.,’ and waited.
The Custom House clock struck one. Mr. Fogg
observed that his watch was two hours too fast.
Two hours! Admitting that he was at this moment
taking an express train, he could reach London and the
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Reform Club by a quarter before nine, p.m. His forehead
slightly wrinkled.
At thirty-three minutes past two he heard a singular
noise outside, then a hasty opening of doors. Passepartout’s
voice was audible, and immediately after that of Fix.
Phileas Fogg’s eyes brightened for an instant.
The door swung open, and he saw Passepartout,
Aouda, and Fix, who hurried towards him.
Fix was out of breath, and his hair was in disorder. He
could not speak. ‘Sir,’ he stammered, ‘sir—forgive me—
most— unfortunate resemblance— robber arrested three
days ago—you are free!’
Phileas Fogg was free! He walked to the detective,
looked him steadily in the face, and with the only rapid
motion he had ever made in his life, or which he ever
would make, drew back his arms, and with the precision
of a machine knocked Fix down.
‘Well hit!’ cried Passepartout, ‘Parbleu! that’s what you
might call a good application of English fists!’
Fix, who found himself on the floor, did not utter a
word. He had only received his deserts. Mr. Fogg, Aouda,
and Passepartout left the Custom House without delay,
got into a cab, and in a few moments descended at the
station.
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Phileas Fogg asked if there was an express train about to
leave for London. It was forty minutes past two. The
express train had left thirty-five minutes before. Phileas
Fogg then ordered a special train.
There were several rapid locomotives on hand; but the
railway arrangements did not permit the special train to
leave until three o’clock.
At that hour Phileas Fogg, having stimulated the
engineer by the offer of a generous reward, at last set out
towards London with Aouda and his faithful servant.
It was necessary to make the journey in five hours and
a half; and this would have been easy on a clear road
throughout. But there were forced delays, and when Mr.
Fogg stepped from the train at the terminus, all the clocks
in London were striking ten minutes before nine.’
Having made the tour of the world, he was behind-
hand five minutes. He had lost the wager!
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Chapter XXXV
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG
DOES NOT HAVE TO REPEAT
HIS ORDERS TO
PASSEPARTOUT TWICE
The dwellers in Saville Row would have been
surprised the next day, if they had been told that Phileas
Fogg had returned home. His doors and windows were
still closed, no appearance of change was visible.
After leaving the station, Mr. Fogg gave Passepartout
instructions to purchase some provisions, and quietly went
to his domicile.
He bore his misfortune with his habitual tranquillity.
Ruined! And by the blundering of the detective! After
having steadily traversed that long journey, overcome a
hundred obstacles, braved many dangers, and still found
time to do some good on his way, to fail near the goal by
a sudden event which he could not have foreseen, and
against which he was unarmed; it was terrible! But a few
pounds were left of the large sum he had carried with him.
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There only remained of his fortune the twenty thousand
pounds deposited at Barings, and this amount he owed to
his friends of the Reform Club. So great had been the
expense of his tour that, even had he won, it would not
have enriched him; and it is probable that he had not
sought to enrich himself, being a man who rather laid
wagers for honour’s sake than for the stake proposed. But
this wager totally ruined him.
Mr. Fogg’s course, however, was fully decided upon;
he knew what remained for him to do.
A room in the house in Saville Row was set apart for
Aouda, who was overwhelmed with grief at her
protector’s misfortune. From the words which Mr. Fogg
dropped, she saw that he was meditating some serious
project.
Knowing that Englishmen governed by a fixed idea
sometimes resort to the desperate expedient of suicide,
Passepartout kept a narrow watch upon his master, though
he carefully concealed the appearance of so doing.
First of all, the worthy fellow had gone up to his room,
and had extinguished the gas burner, which had been
burning for eighty days. He had found in the letter-box a
bill from the gas company, and he thought it more than
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time to put a stop to this expense, which he had been
doomed to bear.
The night passed. Mr. Fogg went to bed, but did he
sleep? Aouda did not once close her eyes. Passepartout
watched all night, like a faithful dog, at his master’s door.
Mr. Fogg called him in the morning, and told him to
get Aouda’s breakfast, and a cup of tea and a chop for
himself. He desired Aouda to excuse him from breakfast
and dinner, as his time would be absorbed all day in
putting his affairs to rights. In the evening he would ask
permission to have a few moment’s conversation with the
young lady.
Passepartout, having received his orders, had nothing to
do but obey them. He looked at his imperturbable master,
and could scarcely bring his mind to leave him. His heart
was full, and his conscience tortured by remorse; for he
accused himself more bitterly than ever of being the cause
of the irretrievable disaster. Yes! if he had warned Mr.
Fogg, and had betrayed Fix’s projects to him, his master
would certainly not have given the detective passage to
Liverpool, and then—
Passepartout could hold in no longer.
‘My master! Mr. Fogg!’ he cried, ‘why do you not
curse me? It was my fault that—‘
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‘I blame no one,’ returned Phileas Fogg, with perfect
calmness. ‘Go!’
Passepartout left the room, and went to find Aouda, to
whom he delivered his master’s message.
‘Madam,’ he added, ‘I can do nothing myself—
nothing! I have no influence over my master; but you,
perhaps—‘
‘What influence could I have?’ replied Aouda. ‘Mr.
Fogg is influenced by no one. Has he ever understood that
my gratitude to him is overflowing? Has he ever read my
heart? My friend, he must not be left alone an instant! You
say he is going to speak with me this evening?’
‘Yes, madam; probably to arrange for your protection
and comfort in England.’
‘We shall see,’ replied Aouda, becoming suddenly
pensive.
Throughout this day (Sunday) the house in Saville
Row was as if uninhabited, and Phileas Fogg, for the first
time since he had lived in that house, did not set out for
his club when Westminster clock struck half-past eleven.
Why should he present himself at the Reform? His
friends no longer expected him there. As Phileas Fogg had
not appeared in the saloon on the evening before
(Saturday, the 21st of December, at a quarter before nine),
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he had lost his wager. It was not even necessary that he
should go to his bankers for the twenty thousand pounds;
for his antagonists already had his cheque in their hands,
and they had only to fill it out and send it to the Barings
to have the amount transferred to their credit.
Mr. Fogg, therefore, had no reason for going out, and
so he remained at home. He shut himself up in his room,
and busied himself putting his affairs in order. Passepartout
continually ascended and descended the stairs. The hours
were long for him. He listened at his master’s door, and
looked through the keyhole, as if he had a perfect right so
to do, and as if he feared that something terrible might
happen at any moment. Sometimes he thought of Fix, but
no longer in anger. Fix, like all the world, had been
mistaken in Phileas Fogg, and had only done his duty in
tracking and arresting him; while he, Passepartout…. This
thought haunted him, and he never ceased cursing his
miserable folly.
Finding himself too wretched to remain alone, he
knocked at Aouda’s door, went into her room, seated
himself, without speaking, in a corner, and looked ruefully
at the young woman. Aouda was still pensive.
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About half-past seven in the evening Mr. Fogg sent to
know if Aouda would receive him, and in a few moments
he found himself alone with her.
Phileas Fogg took a chair, and sat down near the
fireplace, opposite Aouda. No emotion was visible on his
face. Fogg returned was exactly the Fogg who had gone
away; there was the same calm, the same impassibility.
He sat several minutes without speaking; then, bending
his eyes on Aouda, ‘Madam,’ said he, ‘will you pardon me
for bringing you to England?’
‘I, Mr. Fogg!’ replied Aouda, checking the pulsations of
her heart.
‘Please let me finish,’ returned Mr. Fogg. ‘When I
decided to bring you far away from the country which
was so unsafe for you, I was rich, and counted on putting
a portion of my fortune at your disposal; then your
existence would have been free and happy. But now I am
ruined.’
‘I know it, Mr. Fogg,’ replied Aouda; ‘and I ask you in
my turn, will you forgive me for having followed you,
and—who knows?—for having, perhaps, delayed you, and
thus contributed to your ruin?’
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‘Madam, you could not remain in India, and your
safety could only be assured by bringing you to such a
distance that your persecutors could not take you.’
‘So, Mr. Fogg,’ resumed Aouda, ‘not content with
rescuing me from a terrible death, you thought yourself
bound to secure my comfort in a foreign land?’
‘Yes, madam; but circumstances have been against me.
Still, I beg to place the little I have left at your service.’
‘But what will become of you, Mr. Fogg?’
‘As for me, madam,’ replied the gentleman, coldly, ‘I
have need of nothing.’
‘But how do you look upon the fate, sir, which awaits
you?’
‘As I am in the habit of doing.’
‘At least,’ said Aouda, ‘want should not overtake a man
like you. Your friends—‘
‘I have no friends, madam.’
‘Your relatives—‘
‘I have no longer any relatives.’
‘I pity you, then, Mr. Fogg, for solitude is a sad thing,
with no heart to which to confide your griefs. They say,
though, that misery itself, shared by two sympathetic souls,
may be borne with patience.’
‘They say so, madam.’
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‘Mr. Fogg,’ said Aouda, rising and seizing his hand, ‘do
you wish at once a kinswoman and friend? Will you have
me for your wife?’
Mr. Fogg, at this, rose in his turn. There was an
unwonted light in his eyes, and a slight trembling of his
lips. Aouda looked into his face. The sincerity, rectitude,
firmness, and sweetness of this soft glance of a noble
woman, who could dare all to save him to whom she
owed all, at first astonished, then penetrated him. He shut
his eyes for an instant, as if to avoid her look. When he
opened them again, ‘I love you!’ he said, simply. ‘Yes, by
all that is holiest, I love you, and I am entirely yours!’
‘Ah!’ cried Aouda, pressing his hand to her heart.
Passepartout was summoned and appeared immediately.
Mr. Fogg still held Aouda’s hand in his own; Passepartout
understood, and his big, round face became as radiant as
the tropical sun at its zenith.
Mr. Fogg asked him if it was not too late to notify the
Reverend Samuel Wilson, of Marylebone parish, that
evening.
Passepartout smiled his most genial smile, and said,
‘Never too late.’
It was five minutes past eight.
‘Will it be for to-morrow, Monday?’
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‘For to-morrow, Monday,’ said Mr. Fogg, turning to
Aouda.
‘Yes; for to-morrow, Monday,’ she replied.
Passepartout hurried off as fast as his legs could carry
him.
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Chapter XXXVI
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG’S
NAME IS ONCE MORE AT A
PREMIUM ON ‘CHANGE
It is time to relate what a change took place in English
public opinion when it transpired that the real bankrobber,
a certain James Strand, had been arrested, on the 17th day
of December, at Edinburgh. Three days before, Phileas
Fogg had been a criminal, who was being desperately
followed up by the police; now he was an honourable
gentleman, mathematically pursuing his eccentric journey
round the world.
The papers resumed their discussion about the wager;
all those who had laid bets, for or against him, revived
their interest, as if by magic; the ‘Phileas Fogg bonds’
again became negotiable, and many new wagers were
made. Phileas Fogg’s name was once more at a premium
on ‘Change.
His five friends of the Reform Club passed these three
days in a state of feverish suspense. Would Phileas Fogg,
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whom they had forgotten, reappear before their eyes!
Where was he at this moment? The 17th of December,
the day of James Strand’s arrest, was the seventy-sixth
since Phileas Fogg’s departure, and no news of him had
been received. Was he dead? Had he abandoned the effort,
or was he continuing his journey along the route agreed
upon? And would he appear on Saturday, the 21st of
December, at a quarter before nine in the evening, on the
threshold of the Reform Club saloon?
The anxiety in which, for three days, London society
existed, cannot be described. Telegrams were sent to
America and Asia for news of Phileas Fogg. Messengers
were dispatched to the house in Saville Row morning and
evening. No news. The police were ignorant what had
become of the detective, Fix, who had so unfortunately
followed up a false scent. Bets increased, nevertheless, in
number and value. Phileas Fogg, like a racehorse, was
drawing near his last turning-point. The bonds were
quoted, no longer at a hundred below par, but at twenty,
at ten, and at five; and paralytic old Lord Albemarle bet
even in his favour.
A great crowd was collected in Pall Mall and the
neighbouring streets on Saturday evening; it seemed like a
multitude of brokers permanently established around the
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Reform Club. Circulation was impeded, and everywhere
disputes, discussions, and financial transactions were going
on. The police had great difficulty in keeping back the
crowd, and as the hour when Phileas Fogg was due
approached, the excitement rose to its highest pitch.
The five antagonists of Phileas Fogg had met in the
great saloon of the club. John Sullivan and Samuel
Fallentin, the bankers, Andrew Stuart, the engineer,
Gauthier Ralph, the director of the Bank of England, and
Thomas Flanagan, the brewer, one and all waited
anxiously.
When the clock indicated twenty minutes past eight,
Andrew Stuart got up, saying, ‘Gentlemen, in twenty
minutes the time agreed upon between Mr. Fogg and
ourselves will have expired.’
‘What time did the last train arrive from Liverpool?’
asked Thomas Flanagan.
‘At twenty-three minutes past seven,’ replied Gauthier
Ralph; ‘and the next does not arrive till ten minutes after
twelve.’
‘Well, gentlemen,’ resumed Andrew Stuart, ‘if Phileas
Fogg had come in the 7:23 train, he would have got here
by this time. We can, therefore, regard the bet as won.’
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‘Wait; don’t let us be too hasty,’ replied Samuel
Fallentin. ‘You know that Mr. Fogg is very eccentric. His
punctuality is well known; he never arrives too soon, or
too late; and I should not be surprised if he appeared
before us at the last minute.’
‘Why,’ said Andrew Stuart nervously, ‘if I should see
him, I should not believe it was he.’
‘The fact is,’ resumed Thomas Flanagan, ‘Mr. Fogg’s
project was absurdly foolish. Whatever his punctuality, he
could not prevent the delays which were certain to occur;
and a delay of only two or three days would be fatal to his
tour.’
‘Observe, too,’ added John Sullivan, ‘that we have
received no intelligence from him, though there are
telegraphic lines all along is route.’
‘He has lost, gentleman,’ said Andrew Stuart, ‘he has a
hundred times lost! You know, besides, that the China the
only steamer he could have taken from New York to get
here in time arrived yesterday. I have seen a list of the
passengers, and the name of Phileas Fogg is not among
them. Even if we admit that fortune has favoured him, he
can scarcely have reached America. I think he will be at
least twenty days behind-hand, and that Lord Albemarle
will lose a cool five thousand.’
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‘It is clear,’ replied Gauthier Ralph; ‘and we have
nothing to do but to present Mr. Fogg’s cheque at Barings
to-morrow.’
At this moment, the hands of the club clock pointed to
twenty minutes to nine.
‘Five minutes more,’ said Andrew Stuart.
The five gentlemen looked at each other. Their anxiety
was becoming intense; but, not wishing to betray it, they
readily assented to Mr. Fallentin’s proposal of a rubber.
‘I wouldn’t give up my four thousand of the bet,’ said
Andrew Stuart, as he took his seat, ‘for three thousand
nine hundred and ninety-nine.’
The clock indicated eighteen minutes to nine.
The players took up their cards, but could not keep
their eyes off the clock. Certainly, however secure they
felt, minutes had never seemed so long to them!
‘Seventeen minutes to nine,’ said Thomas Flanagan, as
he cut the cards which Ralph handed to him.
Then there was a moment of silence. The great saloon
was perfectly quiet; but the murmurs of the crowd outside
were heard, with now and then a shrill cry. The
pendulum beat the seconds, which each player eagerly
counted, as he listened, with mathematical regularity.
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‘Sixteen minutes to nine!’ said John Sullivan, in a voice
which betrayed his emotion.
One minute more, and the wager would be won.
Andrew Stuart and his partners suspended their game.
They left their cards, and counted the seconds.
At the fortieth second, nothing. At the fiftieth, still
nothing.
At the fifty-fifth, a loud cry was heard in the street,
followed by applause, hurrahs, and some fierce growls.
The players rose from their seats.
At the fifty-seventh second the door of the saloon
opened; and the pendulum had not beat the sixtieth
second when Phileas Fogg appeared, followed by an
excited crowd who had forced their way through the club
doors, and in his calm voice, said, ‘Here I am, gentlemen!’
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Chapter XXXVII
IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN
THAT PHILEAS FOGG GAINED
NOTHING BY HIS TOUR
AROUND THE WORLD,
UNLESS IT WERE HAPPINESS
Yes; Phileas Fogg in person.
The reader will remember that at five minutes past
eight in the evening— about five and twenty hours after
the arrival of the travellers in London— Passepartout had
been sent by his master to engage the services of the
Reverend Samuel Wilson in a certain marriage ceremony,
which was to take place the next day.
Passepartout went on his errand enchanted. He soon
reached the clergyman’s house, but found him not at
home. Passepartout waited a good twenty minutes, and
when he left the reverend gentleman, it was thirty-five
minutes past eight. But in what a state he was! With his
hair in disorder, and without his hat, he ran along the
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street as never man was seen to run before, overturning
passers-by, rushing over the sidewalk like a waterspout.
In three minutes he was in Saville Row again, and
staggered back into Mr. Fogg’s room.
He could not speak.
‘What is the matter?’ asked Mr. Fogg.
‘My master!’ gasped Passepartout—‘marriage—
impossible—‘
‘Impossible?’
‘Impossible—for to-morrow.’
‘Why so?’
‘Because to-morrow—is Sunday!’
‘Monday,’ replied Mr. Fogg.
‘No—to-day is Saturday.’
‘Saturday? Impossible!’
‘Yes, yes, yes, yes!’ cried Passepartout. ‘You have made
a mistake of one day! We arrived twenty-four hours ahead
of time; but there are only ten minutes left!’
Passepartout had seized his master by the collar, and
was dragging him along with irresistible force.
Phileas Fogg, thus kidnapped, without having time to
think, left his house, jumped into a cab, promised a
hundred pounds to the cabman, and, having run over two
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dogs and overturned five carriages, reached the Reform
Club.
The clock indicated a quarter before nine when he
appeared in the great saloon.
Phileas Fogg had accomplished the journey round the
world in eighty days!
Phileas Fogg had won his wager of twenty thousand
pounds!
How was it that a man so exact and fastidious could
have made this error of a day? How came he to think that
he had arrived in London on Saturday, the twenty-first
day of December, when it was really Friday, the
twentieth, the seventy-ninth day only from his departure?
The cause of the error is very simple.
Phileas Fogg had, without suspecting it, gained one day
on his journey, and this merely because he had travelled
constantly eastward; he would, on the contrary, have lost a
day had he gone in the opposite direction, that is,
westward.
In journeying eastward he had gone towards the sun,
and the days therefore diminished for him as many times
four minutes as he crossed degrees in this direction. There
are three hundred and sixty degrees on the circumference
of the earth; and these three hundred and sixty degrees,
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multiplied by four minutes, gives precisely twenty-four
hours—that is, the day unconsciously gained. In other
words, while Phileas Fogg, going eastward, saw the sun
pass the meridian eighty times, his friends in London only
saw it pass the meridian seventy-nine times. This is why
they awaited him at the Reform Club on Saturday, and
not Sunday, as Mr. Fogg thought.
And Passepartout’s famous family watch, which had
always kept London time, would have betrayed this fact, if
it had marked the days as well as the hours and the
minutes!
Phileas Fogg, then, had won the twenty thousand
pounds; but, as he had spent nearly nineteen thousand on
the way, the pecuniary gain was small. His object was,
however, to be victorious, and not to win money. He
divided the one thousand pounds that remained between
Passepartout and the unfortunate Fix, against whom he
cherished no grudge. He deducted, however, from
Passepartout’s share the cost of the gas which had burned
in his room for nineteen hundred and twenty hours, for
the sake of regularity.
That evening, Mr. Fogg, as tranquil and phlegmatic as
ever, said to Aouda: ‘Is our marriage still agreeable to
you?’
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‘Mr. Fogg,’ replied she, ‘it is for me to ask that
question. You were ruined, but now you are rich again.’
‘Pardon me, madam; my fortune belongs to you. If you
had not suggested our marriage, my servant would not
have gone to the Reverend Samuel Wilson’s, I should not
have been apprised of my error, and—‘
‘Dear Mr. Fogg!’ said the young woman.
‘Dear Aouda!’ replied Phileas Fogg.
It need not be said that the marriage took place forty-
eight hours after, and that Passepartout, glowing and
dazzling, gave the bride away. Had he not saved her, and
was he not entitled to this honour?
The next day, as soon as it was light, Passepartout
rapped vigorously at his master’s door. Mr. Fogg opened
it, and asked, ‘What’s the matter, Passepartout?’
‘What is it, sir? Why, I’ve just this instant found out—‘
‘What?’
‘That we might have made the tour of the world in
only seventy-eight days.’
‘No doubt,’ returned Mr. Fogg, ‘by not crossing India.
But if I had not crossed India, I should not have saved
Aouda; she would not have been my wife, and—‘
Mr. Fogg quietly shut the door.
Around the World in 80 Days
339 of 339
Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his
journey around the world in eighty days. To do this he
had employed every means of conveyance—steamers,
railways, carriages, yachts, trading-vessels, sledges,
elephants. The eccentric gentleman had throughout
displayed all his marvellous qualities of coolness and
exactitude. But what then? What had he really gained by
all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long
and weary journey?
Nothing, say you? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming
woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the
happiest of men!
Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour
around the world?
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