6683 lines
509 KiB
Plaintext
6683 lines
509 KiB
Plaintext
LIBRARY OF THE FUTURE (R) First Edition Ver. 4.02
|
||
Around the World in Eighty Days Verne Jules
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
1873
|
||
|
||
|
||
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS
|
||
|
||
|
||
by Jules Verne
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Electronically Enhanced Text (c) Copyright 1991, World Library, Inc.
|
||
|
||
CH_I
|
||
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 1816. 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 as a polished man 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 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 Artisans '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.
|
||
{CH_I ^paragraph 5}
|
||
He was recommended by the Barings, with whom he had an open
|
||
credit. His checks 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 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 quickly, 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 honored by a better
|
||
acquaintance with him than the rest declared that nobody could pretend
|
||
to have ever 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, harmonized 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 favored 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 lonic 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
|
||
the finest linen; club decanters, of a lost mold, 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.
|
||
{CH_I ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 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.
|
||
Phileas Fogg was seated squarely in his arm-chair, 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.
|
||
{CH_I ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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 new-comer, "Jean
|
||
Passepartout, a surname which has clung to me because I have a natural
|
||
aptness for going out at 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 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 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."
|
||
{CH_I ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Good. What time is it?"
|
||
"Twenty-two minutes after eleven," returned Passepartout, drawing an
|
||
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, October 2nd, you are in my service."
|
||
{CH_I ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_II
|
||
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 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 agitated. He was the most
|
||
deliberate person in the world, yet always reached his at the exact
|
||
moment.
|
||
{CH_II ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 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 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 began 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 recognized 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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_II ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 masters 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 idealized. 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-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 scrutinized 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."
|
||
|
||
CH_III
|
||
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 coloring, 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 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 reappeared
|
||
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 respected 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."
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"The Daily Telegraph says that he is a gentleman."
|
||
It was Phileas Fogg, whose head now emerged from behind his
|
||
newspaper, 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 bank notes, 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 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, bank notes 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,
|
||
scrutinized it, passed it to his neighbor, 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.
|
||
There were real grounds for supposing, as the Daily Telegraph
|
||
said, that the thief did not belong to 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 are in favor of the thief who
|
||
must be a shrewd fellow."
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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.
|
||
"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
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 30}
|
||
via Mont Cenis and Brindisi, by rails and steamboats - 7 days
|
||
Suez to Bombay, by steamer 13
|
||
Bombay to Calcutta, by rail 3
|
||
Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer 13
|
||
Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer 6
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 35}
|
||
Yokohama to San Francisco, by steamer 22
|
||
San Francisco to New York, by rail 7
|
||
New York to London, by steamer and rail 9
|
||
TOTAL 80 days
|
||
-
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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!"
|
||
"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 -"
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"Well, make it, then!"
|
||
"The journey round the world in eighty days?"
|
||
"Yes."
|
||
"I should like nothing better."
|
||
"When?"
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 55}
|
||
"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."
|
||
Stuart took up the pack with a feverish hand; then suddenly put it
|
||
down again.
|
||
"Well, Mr. Fogg," said he, "it shall be so: I will wager the four
|
||
thousand on it."
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 60}
|
||
"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, which you would lose by a single accidental
|
||
delay!"
|
||
"The unforeseen does not exist," quietly replied Phileas Fogg.
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 65}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 70}
|
||
"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 any one 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
|
||
second of October, I shall be due in London, in this very room of
|
||
the Reform Club, on Saturday, the twenty-first 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 check for the amount."
|
||
{CH_III ^paragraph 75}
|
||
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, 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."
|
||
|
||
CH_IV
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"Passepartout!" repeated Mr. Fogg, without raising his voice.
|
||
Passepartout made his appearance.
|
||
"I've called you twice," observed his master.
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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
|
||
astonishment.
|
||
"Round the world!" he murmured.
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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 carpetbag, 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 travelling-cloak, and some
|
||
stout shoes, though we shall do little walking. Make haste!"
|
||
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! 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 hitherto so domestic person!
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
By eight o'clock Passepartout had packed the modest carpetbag,
|
||
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 carpetbag, opened it, 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?"
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"Here they are."
|
||
"Good. Take this carpetbag," 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 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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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 honor."
|
||
"You do not forget when you are due in London again?" asked Stuart.
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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.
|
||
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 carpetbag, 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.
|
||
{CH_IV ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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."
|
||
|
||
CH_V
|
||
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. 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 which was impossible, was absolutely
|
||
necessary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival
|
||
of 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.
|
||
{CH_V ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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
|
||
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 Albermarle, 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 that deprived him
|
||
of backers at any price.
|
||
The commissioner of police was sitting in his office at nine o'clock
|
||
one evening, when the following telegraphic despatch was put into
|
||
his hands: -
|
||
{CH_V ^paragraph 10}
|
||
-
|
||
SUEZ TO LONDON.
|
||
ROWAN, COMMISSIONER OF POLICE,
|
||
SCOTLAND YARD.
|
||
I'VE FOUND THE BANK ROBBER PHILEAS FOGG. SEND
|
||
{CH_V ^paragraph 15}
|
||
WITHOUT DELAY WARRANT OF ARREST TO BOMBAY.
|
||
FIX, DETECTIVE.
|
||
-
|
||
The effect of this despatch 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 of
|
||
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
|
||
no other end in view than to elude the detectives, and throw them
|
||
off his track.
|
||
|
||
CH_VI
|
||
CHAPTER VI
|
||
In which Fix, the detective, betrays a very natural impatience
|
||
-
|
||
The circumstances under which this telegraphic despatch about
|
||
Phileas Fogg was sent were as follows:-
|
||
The steamer Mongolia, belonging to the Peninsula and Oriental
|
||
Company, built of iron, of two thousand eight hundred tons burden, and
|
||
five hundred horsepower, 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
|
||
the prophecies of the English Government, and the unfavorable
|
||
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
|
||
despatched 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?"
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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 recognize your man, even if he is on board
|
||
the Mongolia."
|
||
"A man rather feels the presence of these fellows, consul, then
|
||
recognizes 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."
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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!"
|
||
"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 be 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 long, 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.
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
As he passed among the busy crowd, Fix, according to habit,
|
||
scrutinized the passers-by with a keen, rapid glance.
|
||
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?"
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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 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.
|
||
"Is this your passport?" asked he.
|
||
"No, it's my master's."
|
||
"And your master is -"
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_VI ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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 I and returned to the steamer.
|
||
|
||
CH_VII
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"To have his passport visaed?"
|
||
"Yes. Passports are only good for annoying honest folks and aiding
|
||
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 lookout. But I cannot-"
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 favor 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."
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"You are from London?"
|
||
"Yes."
|
||
"And you are going-"
|
||
"To Bombay."
|
||
"Very good, sir. You know that a visa is useless, and that no
|
||
passport is required?"
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"Possibly; but that is not the question. Do you think, consul,
|
||
that this phlegmatic 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.
|
||
Meanwhile Mr. Fogg, after leaving the consulate, repaired to the
|
||
quay, gave some orders to Passepartout, went off to the Mongolia in
|
||
boat, in descended to his cabin. He took up his notebook, which
|
||
contained the following memoranda:
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
-
|
||
"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
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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 1/2, or, in days, six days and a half."
|
||
{CH_VII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
-
|
||
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 of each locality. This methodical
|
||
record thus contained an account of everything needed, and Mr. Fogg
|
||
always knew whether he was behindhand or in advance of his time. On
|
||
this Wednesday, 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.
|
||
|
||
CH_VIII
|
||
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?"
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"In Africa."
|
||
"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 carpetbag."
|
||
"I will show you an excellent shop for getting what you want."
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Your watch is slow."
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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."
|
||
"Is he rich?"
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"No doubt, for he is carrying an enormous sum in brand-new bank
|
||
notes 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.
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"Pretty far. It is a ten days' voyage by sea."
|
||
"And in what country is Bombay?"
|
||
"India."
|
||
"In Asia?"
|
||
"Certainly."
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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 sixpence
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"Then he's a sharp fellow," returned the consul, "and counts on
|
||
returning to London after putting the police of the two continents 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?"
|
||
{CH_VIII ^paragraph 55}
|
||
"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 despatch to London for a warrant of arrest to be
|
||
despatched instantly to 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, hence he sent the despatch 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
|
||
moments longer, the notable steamer rode out at full steam upon the
|
||
waters of the Red Sea.
|
||
|
||
CH_IX
|
||
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 Company; for the sub-lieutenants get L280, brigadiers,
|
||
L2400, and generals of division, L4000. 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 whiled 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 fearful ly. 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 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 recognize 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.
|
||
As for Passepartout, he, too, had escaped seasickness, 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.
|
||
{CH_IX ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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 recognize 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?"
|
||
{CH_IX ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"Like you, to Bombay."
|
||
"That's capital! Have you made this trip before?"
|
||
"Several times. I am one of the agents of the Peninsula Company."
|
||
"Then you know India?"
|
||
"Why -yes," replied Fix, who spoke cautiously.
|
||
{CH_IX ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"A curious place, this India?"
|
||
"Oh, very 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."
|
||
{CH_IX ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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 him a glass of whiskey or pale
|
||
ale in the steamer barroom, which Passepartout never failed to
|
||
accept with graceful alacrity, mentally pronouncing Fix the best of
|
||
good fellows.
|
||
{CH_IX ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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, northwest of
|
||
Aden Harbor, to take in coal. This matter of fuelling steamers is a
|
||
serious one at such distances from the coal mines; it costs the
|
||
Peninsula 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 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 Somalis, Banyai, 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 favorable, the wind being in the
|
||
northwest, and all sails aiding the engine. The steamer rolled but
|
||
little, the ladies, in fresh toilets, reappeared on deck, and the
|
||
singing and dancing resumed. The trip 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.
|
||
{CH_IX ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_X
|
||
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 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 unwieldy
|
||
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.
|
||
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 northeast 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 southeastward by Burdivan and
|
||
the French town of Chandernagor, has its terminus at Calcutta.
|
||
{CH_X ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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
|
||
Malebar Hill with its 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 hypogea, concealed southeast 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."
|
||
{CH_X ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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!"
|
||
{CH_X ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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. 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!
|
||
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, Sindis 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, civilized, 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-colored 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 Malebar Hill, and was seized with an 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.
|
||
{CH_X ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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.
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XI
|
||
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, Phileas Fogg,
|
||
who was not travelling, but only describing a circumference, took no
|
||
pains to inquire into these subjects; he was a solid body,
|
||
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 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 open country. At
|
||
Callyan they reached the junction of the branch line which descends
|
||
towards southeastern 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?"
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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 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.
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
Passepartout, on waking and looking out, could not realize 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 (a sort of
|
||
abandoned monasteries), and marvellous temples enriched by the
|
||
exhaustless ornamentation of Indian architecture. Then they came
|
||
upon vast tracts extending 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 Malligaum, 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 honor 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
|
||
incase his feet. The travellers made a hasty breakfast, and started
|
||
off for 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 recognized 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 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 engineer. The
|
||
worthy fellow was ignorant that, while it was possible by 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!"
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Where are we?" asked Sir Francis.
|
||
"At the hamlet of Kholby."
|
||
"Do we stop here?"
|
||
"Certainly. The railway isn't finished."
|
||
"What! Not finished?"
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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," returned Sir
|
||
Francis, who was growing warm.
|
||
"No doubt," replied the conductor; "but the passengers know that
|
||
they must provide means of transportation for themselves from Kholby
|
||
to Allahabad."
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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 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-"
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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 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.
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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
|
||
pailings, 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 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. At each advance
|
||
Passepartout jumped; 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.
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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 heaven!" 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 his zeal. The elephant was led out and
|
||
equipped. The Parsee, who was an accomplished elephant driver, covered
|
||
his back with a sort of saddlecloth, and attached to his flanks a pair
|
||
of curiously uncomfortable howdahs.
|
||
{CH_XI ^paragraph 50}
|
||
Phileas Fogg paid the Indian with some bank notes which he extracted
|
||
from the famous carpetbag, 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 saddlecloth
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XII
|
||
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, 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 springboard; 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
|
||
neighboring 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.
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 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, 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 and 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.
|
||
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 I he warmth was very grateful. The 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 from 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, 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 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 northeast.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.
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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.
|
||
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,-
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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 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 colored 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, recognizing the statue, whispered, "The goddess Kali;
|
||
the goddess of love and death."
|
||
"Of death, perhaps," murmured back Passepartout, "but of love
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
-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 around 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, 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,
|
||
long damasceened 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."
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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.
|
||
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 tomorrow at
|
||
the dawn of day."
|
||
"Oh, the scoundrels!" cried Passepartout, who could not repress
|
||
his indignation.
|
||
"And the corpse?" asked Mr. Fogg.
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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 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."
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
While Sir Francis was speaking, the guide shook his head several
|
||
times, and now said, "The sacrifice which will take place tomorrow
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"But where are they taking her?"
|
||
"To the pagoda of Pillaji, two miles from here; she will pass the
|
||
night there."
|
||
"And the sacrifice will take place-"
|
||
"Tomorrow, 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."
|
||
{CH_XII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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."
|
||
|
||
CH_XIII
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"Officer," 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.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 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.
|
||
Then they 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
|
||
reconnoissance 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, 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.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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 in 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
|
||
indistinctly. 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 attempted in that direction. They stopped, and
|
||
engaged in a whispered colloquy.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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 assiduously as
|
||
were the soldiers at the door.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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 wall about half-past twelve, without having met any one; here
|
||
there was no guard, nor were there either windows or doors.
|
||
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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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 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 revolving 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.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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 of intoxication to be striving to
|
||
escape from her executioner. Sir Francis' 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 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 semiobscurity they saw the victim, quite
|
||
senseless, stretched out beside her husband's body. Then a torch was
|
||
brought, and the wood, 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 in the midst 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.
|
||
{CH_XIII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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 increased the distance between them, and ere long found
|
||
themselves beyond the reach of the bullets and arrows.
|
||
|
||
CH_XIV
|
||
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 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 country, and would, despite the
|
||
English police, recover their victim at Madras, Bombay, or Calcutta.
|
||
She would only be safe by quitting India forever.
|
||
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 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.
|
||
{CH_XIV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 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
|
||
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 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 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."
|
||
{CH_XIV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 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."
|
||
The guide's eyes glistened.
|
||
"Your honor is giving me a fortune!" cried he.
|
||
{CH_XIV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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 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.
|
||
{CH_XIV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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 ancient Casi,
|
||
which, like Mahomet's tomb, was once suspended between heaven and
|
||
earth; though the Benares of today, which the Orientalists call the
|
||
Athens of India, stands quite unpoetically on the solid earth.
|
||
Passepartout 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 him 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 Brahma, the supreme ruler of priests and
|
||
legislators. What would divinities think of India, anglicized as it is
|
||
today, 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 southwestward from
|
||
Benares, the ancient stronghold of the rajahs of Behar; or Ghazipur
|
||
and its famous rosewater 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, edge tool factories, and high chimneys puffing
|
||
clouds of black smoke heavenward.
|
||
{CH_XIV ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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
|
||
locomotive; and the marvels of Bengal, Golconda, ruined Gour,
|
||
Murshedabad, the ancient capital, Burdwan, Hugly, and the French
|
||
town of Chandernagor, 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 behindhand 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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XV
|
||
CHAPTER XV
|
||
In which the bag of bank notes disgorges some thousands of pounds
|
||
more
|
||
-
|
||
The train entered the station, and Passepartout, jumping out
|
||
first, was followed by Mr. Fog, who assisted his fair companion to
|
||
descend. Phileas Fogg intended to proceed at once to the Hong Kong
|
||
steamer, in order 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.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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 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.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and Passepartout were conducted to a
|
||
"palki-gari," 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 cocoanut 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.
|
||
"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!"
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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 courtroom, and a crowd of Europeans and natives
|
||
already occupied the rear of the apartment.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 25}
|
||
Passepartout was getting nervous, for the hands on the face of the
|
||
big clock over the judge seemed to go round with terrible rapidity.
|
||
"The first case," repeated Judge Obadiah.
|
||
"Phileas Fogg?" demanded Oysterpuff.
|
||
"I am here," replied Mr. Fogg.
|
||
"Passepartout?"
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"Present!" responded Passepartout.
|
||
"Good," said the judge. "You have been looked for, prisoners, for
|
||
two days on the trains from Bombay."
|
||
"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-"
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"Certainly. We are not talking of the pagoda of Pillaji, but of
|
||
the pagoda of Malebar 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.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 55}
|
||
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 Malebar Hill. Knowing
|
||
that the English authorities dealt very severely with this kind of
|
||
misdemeanor, 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 despatch 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 courtroom,
|
||
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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 60}
|
||
"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
|
||
Malebar 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 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!
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 65}
|
||
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 carpetbag, 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."
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 70}
|
||
"Come!" said Phileas Fogg to his servant.
|
||
"But let them at least give me back my shoes!" cried Passepartout,
|
||
angrily.
|
||
"Ah, these are pretty shoes!" he muttered, as they were handed to
|
||
him. "More than a thousand pounds apiece; besides, they pinch my
|
||
feet."
|
||
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 harbor, its signal
|
||
of departure hoisted at the masthead. 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 in
|
||
disappointment.
|
||
{CH_XV ^paragraph 75}
|
||
"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
|
||
recovered from the bank robber, promised to the detectives, was
|
||
rapidly diminishing.
|
||
|
||
CH_XVI
|
||
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 horsepower. 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, 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XVI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
The first few days of the voyage passed prosperously, amid favorable
|
||
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 Rangoon rapidly approached the Straits
|
||
of Malacca, which give 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 awaking 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 centered 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 forever. 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 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?"
|
||
{CH_XVI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 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 was 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XVI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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, recognizing 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?"
|
||
{CH_XVI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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 latter 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."
|
||
{CH_XVI ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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."
|
||
|
||
CH_XVII
|
||
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 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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 honorable 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 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, October 30th, 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-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 grinning bands of
|
||
monkeys skipped about in the trees, nor were tigers wanting in the
|
||
jungles.
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
After a drive of two hours through the country, Aouda and Mr. Fogg
|
||
returned to the to 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 color outside and a
|
||
bright red within, and whose white pulp, melting in the mouth, affords
|
||
gourmands a delicious sensation -was 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 harbor, and in
|
||
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 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 southwest, 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 unfavorable 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 thought of the gas, which was
|
||
remorselessly burning at his expense in Saville Row, had something
|
||
to do with his hot impatience.
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"Mr. Fix," said he, in a bantering tone; "shall we be so unfortunate
|
||
as to lose you when we get to Hong Kong ?"
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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 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 of 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 Neptune.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XVII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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!"
|
||
|
||
CH_XVIII
|
||
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 northwest, 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 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 day 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 seasick-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 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.
|
||
{CH_XVIII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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
|
||
favorable. 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-four hours behindhand, 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 tomorrow morning," answered the pilot.
|
||
{CH_XVIII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XVIII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"Yes, sir; but they had to repair one of her boilers, and so her
|
||
departure was postponed till tomorrow."
|
||
"Thank you," returned Mr. Fogg, descending mathematically to the
|
||
saloon.
|
||
Passepartout clasped the polot'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 harbor of Hong Kong. At one o'clock the Rangoon was at
|
||
the quay, and the passengers were going ashore.
|
||
Chance had strangely favored 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.
|
||
{CH_XVIII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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 Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was
|
||
twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no
|
||
doubt be easily regained in the voyage twenty-two days across the
|
||
Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behindhand,
|
||
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 Jejeeh. 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, everyone
|
||
would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee
|
||
merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that
|
||
Jejeeh 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. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a
|
||
moment's conversation with Aouda, and, without more ado, apprised
|
||
her that Jejeeh 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?"
|
||
{CH_XVIII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XVIII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XIX
|
||
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 Nanking, after the war of 1842; and the colonizing
|
||
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 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, macadamized streets
|
||
give to Hong Kong the appearance of a town in Kent or Surrey
|
||
transferred by some strange magic to the antipodes.
|
||
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 color.
|
||
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, 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.
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"Well, Monsieur Fix," said Passepartout, "have you decided to go
|
||
on with us as 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."
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 10}
|
||
-
|
||
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 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 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."
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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
|
||
tomorrow; I haven't time now."
|
||
"Stay! What I have to say concerns your master."
|
||
Passepartout, at this, looked attentively at his companion. Fix's
|
||
face seemed to have a singular expression. He resumed his seat.
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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 thousand
|
||
pounds. If you'll help me, I'll let you have five hundred of them."
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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 honor, 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!"
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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!"
|
||
"But who do you think I am?" asked Fix, looking at him intently.
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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, 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 here by the London office."
|
||
"You, a detective?"
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"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 this description; it
|
||
answers exactly to that of Mr. Phileas Fogg."
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 55}
|
||
"What nonsense!" cried Passepartout, striking the table with his
|
||
fist. "My master is the most honorable 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 bank notes.
|
||
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?"
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 60}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 65}
|
||
"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 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!"
|
||
{CH_XIX ^paragraph 70}
|
||
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 time 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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XX
|
||
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 carpetbag; 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 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 bed time. 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
|
||
carpetbag, calling Aouda, and sending for a palanquin.
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 5}
|
||
It was then eight o'clock; at half-past nine, it being then high
|
||
tide, the Carnatic would leave the harbor. 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."
|
||
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 honor-"
|
||
"Pardon me; I thought I should find your servant here."
|
||
"Do you know where he is, sir?" asked Aouda anxiously.
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 15}
|
||
As he said "a week" Fix felt his heart leap for joy. Fogg detained
|
||
at Hong Kong a week! There would be time for the warrant to arrive,
|
||
and fortune at last favored 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 harbor 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 honor looking for a boat?"
|
||
"Have you a boat ready to sail?"
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Yes, your honor; a pilot boat -No. 43 -the best in the harbor."
|
||
"Does she go fast?"
|
||
"Between eight and nine knots the hour. Will you look at her?"
|
||
"Yes."
|
||
"Your honor will be satisfied with her. Is it for a sea excursion?"
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"No; for 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 honor 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."
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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 honor," 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 sixy miles from Hong Kong."
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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."
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"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 southwest 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."
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 55}
|
||
"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 honor 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 favor."
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 60}
|
||
"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
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 65}
|
||
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 galvanized 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,
|
||
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 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 center 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!"
|
||
{CH_XX ^paragraph 70}
|
||
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 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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXI
|
||
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 we 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 sea gull;
|
||
and perhaps he was not wrong.
|
||
Late in the day they passed through the capricious channels of
|
||
Hong Kong, and the Tankadere, impelled by favorable 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."
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"Trust me, your honor. 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."
|
||
"It's 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 landward; for collisions are not
|
||
uncommon occurrences, and, at the speed she was going, the least shock
|
||
would shatter the gallant little craft.
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 favors 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 insure
|
||
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 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 November 8th, the boat had made
|
||
more than one hundred miles. The log 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 favor. During the day she kept
|
||
along the coast, where the currents were favorable; the coast,
|
||
irregular in profile, and visible sometimes 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.
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
The breeze subsided a little towards noon, and set in from the
|
||
southwest. 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, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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, off 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 the 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 only misadventure which had overtaken
|
||
him since he left London would not seriously affect his journey.
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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, 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
|
||
southeast, 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 honor?"
|
||
"Of course."
|
||
"Well, we are going to have a squall."
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"Is the wind north or south?" asked Mr. Fogg quietly.
|
||
"South. Look! a typhoon is coming up."
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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 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 northwest. 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, your honor, that we should do well to make for one
|
||
of the ports on the coast."
|
||
"I think so too."
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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
|
||
realize so much determination and tenacity. Then he cried, "Well -yes!
|
||
Your honor is right. To Shanghai."
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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 would 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 with with undiminished fury; but
|
||
the wind now returned to the southeast. It was a favorable 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 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 50}
|
||
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 Shanghai. There remained yet six hours in which to
|
||
accomplish that distance. All on board feared that it could not be
|
||
done; and everyone-Phileas Fogg, no doubt, excepted -felt 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
|
||
current, 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 the muzzle; but just as
|
||
the pilot was about to apply a red-hot coal to the touchhole, Mr. Fogg
|
||
said, "Hoist your flag!"
|
||
{CH_XXI ^paragraph 55}
|
||
The flag was run up at halfmast, 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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXII
|
||
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
|
||
staterooms 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 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 !"
|
||
{CH_XXII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 senses, 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 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
|
||
apologize for his singular behavior.
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XXII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
He descended to the saloon. Mr. Fogg was not there. Passepartout had
|
||
only, however, to ask the purser the number of his master's stateroom.
|
||
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, his master's name was not upon it.
|
||
All at once an idea struck him.
|
||
"Ah! am I on the Carnatic?"
|
||
{CH_XXII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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,
|
||
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!
|
||
{CH_XXII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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 way-station 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
|
||
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. As chance did not favor 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.
|
||
{CH_XXII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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
|
||
doublets, 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 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 color to a dead white, but never yellow, like 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 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 colors 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 symbolize 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 odorless.
|
||
{CH_XXII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"No chance there," thought he. 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 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-colored 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 harbor, which was lit up by the
|
||
rosin 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 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!"
|
||
|
||
CH_XXIII
|
||
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 utilize 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
|
||
forever 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 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 in 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!"
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 country of the Sun, of which 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:
|
||
|
||
(See illustration.)
|
||
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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 colors and
|
||
without perspective, a company of jugglers.
|
||
This was the Honorable 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.
|
||
"What do you want want?" said he to Passepartout, whom he at first
|
||
took for a native.
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"Would you like a servant, sir?" asked Passepartout.
|
||
"A servant!" cried Mr. Batulcar, caressing the thick gray 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! should so like to cross the Pacific with you!"
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Ah!" said the Honorable Mr. Batulcar. "You are no more a Japanese
|
||
than I am a monkey! Why 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?"
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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."
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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 Honorable William Batulcar.
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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 Honorable Mr. Batulcar,
|
||
was to commence at three o'clock, and soon the deafening instruments
|
||
of a Japanese 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, tambourines, bones, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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 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 pipestems, 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, etc., 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, 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 happened 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
The poor fellow really felt sad when -melancholy reminiscence of his
|
||
youth! -he donned his costume, adorned with vari-colored 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.
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XXIII ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"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 Honorable Mr.
|
||
Batulcar, furious with rage. He demanded damages for the "breakage" of
|
||
the pyramid; and Phileas Fogg appeased him by giving him a handful
|
||
of bank notes.
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXIV
|
||
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
|
||
halfmast, had directed his course towards the little craft. Phileas
|
||
Fogg, after paying the stipulated price of his passage to John Bunsby,
|
||
and rewarding that worthy with the additional sum of five hundred
|
||
and fifty pounds, ascended the steamer with 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.
|
||
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 Honorable Mr. Batulcar's
|
||
theatre. He certainly would not have recognized 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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.
|
||
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
|
||
Pacific in twenty 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.
|
||
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 civilized 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 halfway 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 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
|
||
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?
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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 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
|
||
recognized 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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."
|
||
"Then let me have a word with you."
|
||
"But I-"
|
||
"In your master's interest."
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIV ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXV
|
||
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,
|
||
Chile, 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 wormeaten planks, he fell through them.
|
||
Put out of countenance by the manner in which he thus "set foot"
|
||
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, 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
|
||
California 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,
|
||
horsecars, and upon the sidewalks, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 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
|
||
honored 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 in such pleasant company.
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
Mr. Fogg replied that the honor would be his; and the detective -who
|
||
was determined not to lose sight of him -begged permission to
|
||
accompany them in their walk about San Francisco -a request which
|
||
Mr. Fogg readily granted.
|
||
They soon found themselves in Montgomery Street, where a great crowd
|
||
was collected; the sidewalks, 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. the crowd.
|
||
There may be danger in it."
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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.
|
||
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 is settled."
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Perhaps," replied Mr. Fogg simply.
|
||
"At least, there are two champions in presence of each other, the
|
||
Honorable Mr. Camerfield and the Honorable Mr. Mandiboy."
|
||
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 recognized, I fear it would go hard with us."
|
||
"An English subject-" began Mr. Fogg.
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 25}
|
||
He did not finish his sentence; for a terrific hubbub now arose on
|
||
the terrace behind the flight of steps where 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."
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"What is your name?"
|
||
"Phileas Fogg. And yours?"
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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 expression. Fix evidently was no longer
|
||
an enemy, but an ally; he was faithfully keeping his word.
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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 honor 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 today in San Francisco?"
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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."
|
||
"The election of a general-in-chief, no doubt?" asked Mr.Fogg.
|
||
"No, sir; of a justice of the peace."
|
||
{CH_XXV ^paragraph 50}
|
||
Phileas Fogg got into the train, which started off at full speed.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXVI
|
||
CHAPTER XXVI
|
||
In which Phileas Fogg and party travel by the Pacific Railroad
|
||
-
|
||
"From Ocean to Ocean" -so say the Amerians; 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 Uion 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 colonize.
|
||
The journey from New York to San Francisco consumed, formerly, under
|
||
the most favorable 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
The Pacific Railroad is joined by several branches in lowa,
|
||
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 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 coul 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 grayish 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 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 northeasterly 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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 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 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 movable 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 philosophically until it should
|
||
please the buffaloes to get out of the way.
|
||
{CH_XXVI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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.
|
||
It was eight o'clock when the train passed through the defiles of
|
||
the Humboldt Range, and half-past nine when it penetrated Utah, the
|
||
region of the Great Salt Lake, the singular colony of the Mormons.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXVII
|
||
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 southeasterly
|
||
for about fifty: miles; then rose an equal distance in a northeasterly
|
||
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 gray, 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 moustaches, black stockings, a 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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, 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, emphasizing 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
|
||
Morom; how, many centuries later, a translation of this precious book,
|
||
which was written in Egyptian, was made by Joseph Smith, Junior, a
|
||
Vermont farmer, who revealed himself as a mystical prophet in and how,
|
||
in short, the celestial messenger appeared to him in an illuminated
|
||
forest, and gave him the annals of the Lord.
|
||
{CH_XXVII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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" which,
|
||
adopted not only in America, but in England, Norway 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 years
|
||
afterwards, more and honored 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 1839 in 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, 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
|
||
expectation.
|
||
"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 eye upon his single
|
||
auditor, "will you not plant yours there, too, under the shadow of our
|
||
flag?"
|
||
{CH_XXVII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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 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 1170,
|
||
and, after being distilled, 1000. 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 milkwort, 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 checkerboard, "with the sombre
|
||
sadness of 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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 courthouse, 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
|
||
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 one(
|
||
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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXVII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"One, sir," replied the Mormon, raising his arms heavenward,-
|
||
"one, and that was enough!"
|
||
|
||
CH_XXVIII
|
||
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.
|
||
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, December 7th, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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 recognized Colonel Stamp
|
||
Proctor, the same who had so grossly insulted Phileas Fogg at the
|
||
San Francisco meeting. Not wishing to be recognized, 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 recognized 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.
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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
|
||
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."
|
||
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?"
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"Yes; but it would be difficult to do so here. I have neither
|
||
cards nor partners."
|
||
"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 know 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 favorite pastime, -even on the railway.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
Passepartout was despatched 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 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 semicircular curtain
|
||
which is formed by the southern portion of the Rocky Mountains, the
|
||
highest being Laramie Peak. Between it 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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.
|
||
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 signalman, whom the
|
||
stationmaster 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 signalman 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 signalman, it was
|
||
a ruinous condition, several of the iron wires being broken; and it
|
||
was impossible to risk the passage. He did not in an 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.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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 in
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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, who was furious, was
|
||
not disinclined to make common cause with him. Here was an obstacle,
|
||
indeed, which all his master's bank could not remove.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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?"
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"With our train."
|
||
Passepartout stopped short, and eagerly listened to the engineer.
|
||
"But the bridge is unsafe," urged the conductor.
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 55}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 60}
|
||
"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-"
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 65}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXVIII ^paragraph 70}
|
||
"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!"
|
||
But no one heard this sage reflection, nor would any one 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.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXIX
|
||
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 Cheyenne Pass, and reaching Evans
|
||
Pass.The road here attained the highest elevation of the journey,
|
||
eight thousand and ninety-one 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 them to New York. Phileas Fogg was not as
|
||
yet behindhand.
|
||
During the night Camp Walbach was passed on the left; Lodge Pole
|
||
Creek ran parallel with the road, marking the boundary between the
|
||
territories 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 civilization, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 favored that gentleman. Trumps and honors
|
||
were showered up 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
|
||
diamond."
|
||
Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and Fix raised their heads, and beheld Colonel
|
||
Proctor.
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 10}
|
||
Stamp Proctor and Phileas Fogg recognized each other at once.
|
||
"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 been played,
|
||
adding, "You don't understand anything about whist."
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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 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."
|
||
"When and where you will," replied the American, "and with
|
||
whatever weapon you choose."
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 20}
|
||
Aouda in vain attempted retain Mr. Fogg; as vainly did the detective
|
||
endeavor 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 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!"
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"No."
|
||
"To Chicago?"
|
||
"No."
|
||
"To Omaha?"
|
||
"What difference is it to you? Do you know Plum Creek?"
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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.
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"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 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 honor 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.
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 55}
|
||
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; some of the cars were
|
||
barricaded, and sustained a siege, like moving forts, carried along at
|
||
a speed of a hundred miles an hour.
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 60}
|
||
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."
|
||
{CH_XXIX ^paragraph 65}
|
||
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.
|
||
But when the passengers counted each other on the station platform
|
||
several were found missing; among others the courageous Frenchman,
|
||
whose devotion had ust saved them.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXX
|
||
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 men 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 tires and spokes hung ragged
|
||
pieces of flesh. As far as the eye could reach on the white plain
|
||
behind, red trails were visible. The last Sioux were disappearing in
|
||
the south, along the banks of Republican River.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"Sir," said Mr. Fogg to the captain, "three passengers have
|
||
disappeared."
|
||
"Dead?" asked the captain.
|
||
"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 question, sir," said Phileas Fogg.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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. "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 favor, you will
|
||
remain in with Aouda. In case anything should happen to me-"
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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 carpetbag, 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 fortune, and was now risking his
|
||
life, all without hesitation, from duty, in silence.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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 plain; it did not seem impossible that he
|
||
might overtake him. Footsteps were easily printed on 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 succor
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 35}
|
||
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 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 engineer, "Are you going to start?"
|
||
"At once, madam."
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"But the prisoners -our unfortunate fellow travellers-"
|
||
"I cannot interrupt the trip," replied the engineer. "We are already
|
||
three hours behind time."
|
||
"And when will another train pass here from San Francisco?"
|
||
"Tomorrow evening, madam."
|
||
"Tomorrow evening! But then it will be too late! We must wait-"
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"It is impossible," responded the engineer. "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 overheated 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.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 50}
|
||
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.
|
||
Through 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.
|
||
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 disk of the
|
||
sun rose above a misty horizon; but it was now possible to recognize
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 55}
|
||
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
|
||
reconnoissance, 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 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 analyze 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 should find it there, ready to start for Omaha, and he hoped
|
||
that the time lost might be regained.
|
||
{CH_XXX ^paragraph 60}
|
||
"The train! the train!" cried he.
|
||
"Gone," replied Fix.
|
||
"And when does the next train pass here?" asked Phileas Fogg.
|
||
"Not till this evening."
|
||
"Ah!" returned the impassible gentleman quietly.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXI
|
||
CHAPTER XXXI
|
||
In which Fix the defective 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."
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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 by the snow, these
|
||
sledges make extremely rapid journeys across the frozen plains from
|
||
one station to another. Provided with more sail 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
Mr. Fogg readily made a bargain with the owner of this landcraft.
|
||
The wind was favorable, 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 favorable 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 his
|
||
conviction shaken by Phileas Fogg's return, or did he still regard him
|
||
as an exceedingly shrewd rascal, 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 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 re 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
|
||
traversed in five hours; if no accident happened, the sledge might
|
||
reach Omaha by one o'clock.
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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, and the jib was
|
||
so arranged as not to screen the brigantine. A topmast 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 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 southwest to
|
||
the northwest 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 the 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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 disk 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 and there were 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 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 fast 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
|
||
phantomlike 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, 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXXI ^paragraph 35}
|
||
The train passed rapidly across the State of lowa, by Council
|
||
Bluffs, Des Moines, and lowa 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 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!
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXII
|
||
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 transatlantic steamers.
|
||
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 tomorrow. 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 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
|
||
oxidized copper, red hair and thick neck, and a growling voice.
|
||
"The captain?" asked Mr. Fogg.
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"You are bound for-"
|
||
"Bordeaux."
|
||
"And your cargo?"
|
||
"No freight. Going in ballast."
|
||
"Have you any passengers?"
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"I said Liverpool."
|
||
"No!"
|
||
"No?"
|
||
"No. I am setting out for Bordeaux, and shall go to Bordeaux."
|
||
"Money is no object?"
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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?"
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"No, not if you paid me two hundred dollars."
|
||
"I offer you two thousand."
|
||
"Apiece?"
|
||
"Apiece."
|
||
"And there are four of you?"
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
"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, passengers 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXII ^paragraph 50}
|
||
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!
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXIII
|
||
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 vessel's
|
||
position. It might be thought that this was 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 board, had so shrewdly managed with his bank notes 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 thou sand 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.
|
||
During the first days, they went along smoothly enough. The sea
|
||
was not very unpropitious, the wind seemed stationary in the
|
||
northeast, the sails were hoisted, and the Henrietta ploughed across
|
||
the waves like a real transatlantic 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 humor infected every one. He had
|
||
forgotten the past, its vexations and delays. He only thought of the
|
||
end, so nearly accomplished; and sometimes he boiled 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 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 in 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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 southeast.
|
||
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 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.
|
||
Passenpartout'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. Sometimes 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 southeast, 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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.
|
||
"Then you believe that we really are going to Liverpool?"
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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 vomitted 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"Do not let the fires go down," replied Mr. Fogg. "Keep them up to
|
||
the last. Let the valves be filled."
|
||
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 been apoplectic, he
|
||
could never have recovered from his paroxysm of wrath.
|
||
"Where are we we?" he repeated, with purple face.
|
||
"Seven hundred and seventy miles to Liverpool," replied Mr. Fogg,
|
||
with imperturbable calmness.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"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!"
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"But I shall be obliged to burn her."
|
||
"Burn the Henrietta!"
|
||
"Yes; at least the upper part of her. The coal has given out."
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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 bank notes, 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 is
|
||
true, however, that fifty-five thousand pounds had been stolen from
|
||
the bank.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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?"
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"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 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 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."
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 55}
|
||
"Ah," said Mr. Fogg, "is that place where we see the lights
|
||
Queenstown?"
|
||
"Yes."
|
||
"Can we enter the harbor?"
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 60}
|
||
Queenstown is the Irish port at which the transatlantic 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 harbor 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 halfpast one; at dawn of day 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, December 21st. He was only six hours distant
|
||
from London.
|
||
{CH_XXXIII ^paragraph 65}
|
||
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!"
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXIV
|
||
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 policeman. 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 or do
|
||
nothing to save her protector, 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 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 any one, 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 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
|
||
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, "December 21, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
Two hours! Admitting that he was at this moment taking an express
|
||
train, he could reach London and the 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 -a 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXXIV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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 behindhand five minutes.
|
||
He had lost the wager!
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXV
|
||
CHAPTER XXXV
|
||
In which Phileas Fogg does not have fo 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 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. 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 honor'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.
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 5}
|
||
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 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 moments' conversation with the young
|
||
lady.
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 10}
|
||
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-"
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 20}
|
||
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), 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 check 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.
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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?"
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"So, Mr. Fogg," resumed Aouda, "not content with rescuing me 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 which awaits you?"
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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."
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 40}
|
||
"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."
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 45}
|
||
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 tomorrow, Monday?"
|
||
{CH_XXXV ^paragraph 50}
|
||
"For Monday," said Mr. Fogg, turning to Aouda.
|
||
"Yes; for Monday," she replied.
|
||
Passepartout hurried off as fast as his legs could carry him.
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXVI
|
||
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 bank robber, a certain James
|
||
Strand, had been arrested, on the 17th 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 honorable
|
||
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, 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 despatched 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
|
||
favor.
|
||
{CH_XXXVI ^paragraph 5}
|
||
A great crowd was collected in Pall Mall and the neighboring streets
|
||
on Saturday evening; it seemed like a multitude of brokers permanently
|
||
established around the 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."
|
||
{CH_XXXVI ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"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."
|
||
"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
|
||
his route."
|
||
{CH_XXXVI ^paragraph 15}
|
||
"He has lost, gentlemen," 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 favored him, he
|
||
can scarcely have reached America. I think he will be at least
|
||
twenty days behindhand, and that Lord Albemarle will lose a cool
|
||
five thousand."
|
||
"It is clear," replied Gauthier Ralph; "and we have nothing to do
|
||
but to present Mr. Fogg's check at Barings tomorrow."
|
||
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.
|
||
{CH_XXXVI ^paragraph 20}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXVI ^paragraph 25}
|
||
"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.
|
||
{CH_XXXVI ^paragraph 30}
|
||
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!"
|
||
|
||
CH_XXXVII
|
||
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 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
|
||
breathless into Mr. Fogg's room.
|
||
He could not speak.
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 5}
|
||
"What is the matter?" asked Mr. Fogg.
|
||
"My master!" gasped Passepartout, -"marriage -impossible-"
|
||
"Impossible?"
|
||
"Impossible -for tomorrow."
|
||
"Why so?"
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 10}
|
||
"Because tomorrow -is Sunday!"
|
||
"Monday," replied Mr. Fogg.
|
||
"No -today -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!"
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 15}
|
||
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 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!
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 20}
|
||
How was 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 lie 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, 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.
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 25}
|
||
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 minutes!
|
||
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?"
|
||
"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-"
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 30}
|
||
"Dear Mr. Fogg!" said the young woman.
|
||
"Dear Aouda!" replied Phileas Fogg.
|
||
It need not be said that 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 honor?
|
||
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-"
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 35}
|
||
"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.
|
||
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?
|
||
{CH_XXXVII ^paragraph 40}
|
||
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?
|
||
-
|
||
-
|
||
-THE END-
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Electronically Enhanced Text (C) Copyright 1991, 1992, World Library, Inc.
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|