The circumstances under which
this telegraphic dispatch about
Phileas Fogg was sent were as
follows:
The steamer Mongolia, belonging
to the Peninsular and Oriental
Company, built of iron, of two
thousand eight hundred tons burden,
and five hundred horse-power,
was due at eleven o'clock a.m.
on Wednesday, the 9th of October,
at Suez. The Mongolia plied regularly
between Brindisi and Bombay via
the Suez Canal, and was one of
the fastest steamers belonging
to the company, always making
more than ten knots an hour between
Brindisi and Suez, and nine and
a half between Suez and Bombay.
Two men were promenading up
and down the wharves, among the
crowd of natives and strangers
who were sojourning at this once
straggling village-- now, thanks
to the enterprise of M. Lesseps,
a fast-growing town. One was
the British consul at Suez, who,
despite the prophecies of the
English Government, and the unfavourable
predictions of Stephenson, was
in the habit of seeing, from
his office window, English ships
daily passing to and fro on the
great canal, by which the old
roundabout route from England
to India by the Cape of Good
Hope was abridged by at least
a half. The other was a small,
slight-built personage, with
a nervous, intelligent face,
and bright eyes peering out from
under eyebrows which he was incessantly
twitching. He was just now manifesting
unmistakable signs of impatience,
nervously pacing up and down,
and unable to stand still for
a moment. This was Fix, one of
the detectives who had been dispatched
from England in search of the
bank robber; it was his task
to narrowly watch every passenger
who arrived at Suez, and to follow
up all who seemed to be suspicious
characters, or bore a resemblance
to the description of the criminal,
which he had received two days
before from the police headquarters
at London. The detective was
evidently inspired by the hope
of obtaining the splendid reward
which would be the prize of success,
and awaited with a feverish impatience,
easy to understand, the arrival
of the steamer Mongolia.
"So you say, consul," asked
he for the twentieth time, "that
this steamer is never behind
time?"
"No, Mr. Fix," replied the
consul. "She was bespoken yesterday
at Port Said, and the rest of
the way is of no account to such
a craft. I repeat that the Mongolia
has been in advance of the time
required by the company's regulations,
and gained the prize awarded
for excess of speed."
"Does she come
directly from Brindisi?"
"Directly from
Brindisi; she takes on the
Indian mails there,
and she left there Saturday at
five p.m. Have patience, Mr.
Fix; she will not be late. But
really, I don't see how, from
the description you have, you
will be able to recognise your
man, even if he is on board the
Mongolia."
"A man rather
feels the presence of these
fellows, consul, than
recognises them. You must have
a scent for them, and a scent
is like a sixth sense which combines
hearing, seeing, and smelling.
I've arrested more than one of
these gentlemen in my time, and,
if my thief is on board, I'll
answer for it; he'll not slip
through my fingers."
"I hope so,
Mr. Fix, for it was a heavy
robbery."
"A magnificent
robbery, consul; fifty-five
thousand pounds! We
don't often have such windfalls.
Burglars are getting to be so
contemptible nowadays! A fellow
gets hung for a handful of shillings!"
"Mr. Fix," said the consul, "I
like your way of talking, and
hope you'll succeed; but I fear
you will find it far from easy.
Don't you see, the description
which you have there has a singular
resemblance to an honest man?"
"Consul," remarked the detective,
dogmatically, "great robbers
always resemble honest folks.
Fellows who have rascally faces
have only one course to take,
and that is to remain honest;
otherwise they would be arrested
off-hand. The artistic thing
is, to unmask honest countenances;
it's no light task, I admit,
but a real art."
Mr. Fix evidently was not wanting
in a tinge of self-conceit.
Little by little the scene
on the quay became more animated;
sailors of various nations, merchants,
ship-brokers, porters, fellahs,
bustled to and fro as if the
steamer were immediately expected.
The weather was clear, and slightly
chilly. The minarets of the town
loomed above the houses in the
pale rays of the sun. A jetty
pier, some two thousand yards
along, extended into the roadstead.
A number of fishing-smacks and
coasting boats, some retaining
the fantastic fashion of ancient
galleys, were discernible on
the Red Sea.
As he passed among the busy
crowd, Fix, according to habit,
scrutinised the passers-by with
a keen, rapid glance.
It was now half-past ten.
"The steamer doesn't come!" he
exclaimed, as the port clock
struck.
"She can't be far off now," returned
his companion.
"How long will
she stop at Suez?"
"Four hours;
long enough to get in her coal.
It is thirteen
hundred and ten miles from Suez
to Aden, at the other end of
the Red Sea, and she has to take
in a fresh coal supply."
"And does she
go from Suez directly to Bombay?"
"Without putting
in anywhere."
"Good!" said Fix. "If
the robber is on board he will
no doubt
get off at Suez, so as to reach
the Dutch or French colonies
in Asia by some other route.
He ought to know that he would
not be safe an hour in India,
which is English soil."
"Unless," objected the consul, "he
is exceptionally shrewd. An English
criminal, you know, is always
better concealed n London than
anywhere else."
This observation furnished
the detective food for thought,
and meanwhile the consul went
away to his office. Fix, left
alone, was more impatient than
ever, having a presentiment that
the robber was on board the Mongolia.
If he had indeed left London
intending to reach 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--"
"He stayed
on board."
"But he must
go to the consul's in person,
so as to establish
his identity."
"Oh, is that
necessary?"
"Quite indispensable."
"And where
is the consulate?"
"There, on the corner of the
square," said Fix, pointing to
a house two hundred steps off.
"I'll go and
fetch my master, who won't
be much pleased, however,
to be disturbed."
The passenger bowed to Fix,
and returned to the steamer.
|