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."
"To have his
passport visaed?"
"Yes. Passports
are only good for annoying
honest folks, and
aiding in the flight of rogues.
I assure you it will be quite
the thing for him to do; but
I hope you will not visa the
passport."
"Why not? If
the passport is genuine I have
no right to refuse."
"Still, I must
keep this man here until I
can get a warrant
to arrest him from London."
"Ah, that's
your look-out. But I cannot--"
The consul did not finish his
sentence, for as he spoke a knock
was heard at the door, and two
strangers entered, one of whom
was the servant whom Fix had
met on the quay. The other, who
was his master, held out his
passport with the request that
the consul would do him the favour
to visa it. The consul took the
document and carefully read it,
whilst Fix observed, or rather
devoured, the stranger with his
eyes from a corner of the room.
"You are Mr. Phileas Fogg?" said
the consul, after reading the
passport.
"I am."
"And this man
is your servant?"
"He is: a Frenchman,
named Passepartout."
"You are from
London?"
"Yes."
"And you are
going--"
"To Bombay."
"Very good,
sir. You know that a visa is
useless, and that no
passport is required?"
"I know it, sir," replied Phileas
Fogg; "but I wish to prove, by
your visa, that I came by Suez."
"Very well,
sir."
The consul proceeded to sign
and date the passport, after
which he added his official seal.
Mr. Fogg paid the customary fee,
coldly bowed, and went out, followed
by his servant.
"Well?" queried
the detective.
"Well, he looks and acts like
a perfectly honest man," replied
the consul.
"Possibly;
but that is not the question.
Do you think, consul,
that this phelgmatic gentleman
resembles, feature by feature,
the robber whose description
I have received?"
"I concede
that; but then, you know, all
descriptions--"
"I'll make certain of it," interrupted
Fix. "The servant seems to me
less mysterious than the master;
besides, he's a Frenchman, and
can't help talking. Excuse me
for a little while, consul."
Fix started off in search of
Passepartout.
Meanwhile Mr. Fogg, after leaving
the consulate, repaired to the
quay, gave some orders to Passepartout,
went off to the Mongolia in a
boat, and descended to his cabin.
He took up his note-book, which
contained the following memoranda:
"Left London, Wednesday, October
2nd, at 8.45 p.m. "Reached Paris,
Thursday, October 3rd, at 7.20
a.m. "Left Paris, Thursday, at
8.40 a.m. "Reached Turin by Mont
Cenis, Friday, October 4th, at
6.35 a.m. "Left Turin, Friday,
at 7.20 a.m. "Arrived at Brindisi,
Saturday, October 5th, at 4 p.m. "Sailed
on the Mongolia, Saturday, at
5 p.m. "Reached Suez, Wednesday,
October 9th, at 11 a.m. "Total
of hours spent, 158+; or, in
days, six days and a half."
These dates were inscribed
in an itinerary divided into
columns, indicating the month,
the day of the month, and the
day for the stipulated and actual
arrivals at each principal point
Paris, Brindisi, Suez, Bombay,
Calcutta, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Yokohama, San Francisco, New
York, and London--from the 2nd
of October to the 21st of December;
and giving a space for setting
down the gain made or the loss
suffered on arrival at each locality.
This methodical record thus contained
an account of everything needed,
and Mr. Fogg always knew whether
he was behind-hand or in advance
of his time. On this Friday,
October 9th, he noted his arrival
at Suez, and observed that he
had as yet neither gained nor
lost. He sat down quietly to
breakfast in his cabin, never
once thinking of inspecting the
town, being one of those Englishmen
who are wont to see foreign countries
through the eyes of their domestics.
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