In which Fix does not seem to
understand in the least what
is said to him
The Rangoon--one of the Peninsular
and Oriental Company's boats
plying in the Chinese and Japanese
seas--was a screw steamer, built
of iron, weighing about seventeen
hundred and seventy tons, and
with engines of four hundred
horse-power. She was as fast,
but not as well fitted up, as
the Mongolia, and Aouda was not
as comfortably provided for on
board of her as Phileas Fogg
could have wished. However, the
trip from Calcutta to Hong Kong
only comprised some three thousand
five hundred miles, occupying
from ten to twelve days, and
the young woman was not difficult
to please.
During the first days of the
journey Aouda became better acquainted
with her protector, and constantly
gave evidence of her deep gratitude
for what he had done. The phlegmatic
gentleman listened to her, apparently
at least, 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 thee sacred lakes of the Himalaya," upon
him; but the intractable Fogg,
as reserved as ever, did not
seem at all inclined to throw
himself into this lake.
The first few days of the voyage
passed prosperously, amid favourable
weather and propitious winds,
and they soon came in sight of
the great Andaman, the principal
of the islands in the Bay of
Bengal, with its picturesque
Saddle Peak, two thousand four
hundred feet high, looming above
the waters. The steamer passed
along near the shores, but the
savage Papuans, who are in the
lowest scale of humanity, but
are not, as has been asserted,
cannibals, did not make their
appearance.
The panorama of the islands,
as they steamed by them, was
superb. Vast forests of palms,
arecs, bamboo, teakwood, of the
gigantic mimosa, and tree-like
ferns covered the foreground,
while behind, the graceful outlines
of the mountains were traced
against the sky; and along the
coasts swarmed by thousands the
precious swallows whose nests
furnish a luxurious dish to the
tables of the Celestial Empire.
The varied landscape afforded
by the Andaman Islands was soon
passed, however, and the Rangoon
rapidly approached the Straits
of Malacca, which gave access
to the China seas.
What was detective Fix, so
unluckily drawn on from country
to country, doing all this while?
He had managed to embark on the
Rangoon at Calcutta without being
seen by Passepartout, after leaving
orders that, if the warrant should
arrive, it should be forwarded
to him at Hong Kong; and he hoped
to conceal his presence to the
end of the voyage. It would have
been difficult to explain why
he was on board without awakening
Passepartout's suspicions, who
thought him still at Bombay.
But necessity impelled him, nevertheless,
to renew his acquaintance with
the worthy servant, as will be
seen.
All the detective's hopes and
wishes were now centred on Hong
Kong; for the steamer's stay
at Singapore would be too brief
to enable him to take any steps
there. The arrest must be made
at Hong Kong, or the robber would
probably escape him for ever.
Hong Kong was the last English
ground on which he would set
foot; beyond, China, Japan, America
offered to Fogg an almost certain
refuge. If the warrant should
at last make its appearance at
Hong Kong, Fix could arrest him
and give him into the hands of
the local police, and there would
be no further trouble. But beyond
Hong Kong, a simple warrant would
be of no avail; an extradition
warrant would be necessary, and
that would result in delays and
obstacles, of which the rascal
would take advantage to elude
justice.
Fix thought
over these probabilities during
the long hours which he
spent in his cabin, and kept
repeating to himself, "Now, either
the warrant will be at Hong Kong,
in which case I shall arrest
my man, or it will not be there;
and this time it is absolutely
necessary that I should delay
his departure. I have failed
at Bombay, and I have failed
at Calcutta; if I fail at Hong
Kong, my reputation is lost:
Cost what it may, I must succeed!
But how shall I prevent his departure,
if that should turn out to be
my last resource?"
Fix made up his mind that,
if worst came to worst, he would
make a confidant of Passepartout,
and tell him what kind of a fellow
his master really was. That Passepartout
was not Fogg's accomplice, he
was very certain. The servant,
enlightened by his disclosure,
and afraid of being himself implicated
in the crime, would doubtless
become an ally of the detective.
But this method was a dangerous
one, only to be employed when
everything else had failed. A
word from Passepartout to his
master would ruin all. The detective
was therefore in a sore strait.
But suddenly a new idea struck
him. The presence of Aouda on
the Rangoon, in company with
Phileas Fogg, gave him new material
for reflection.
Who was this woman? What combination
of events had made her Fogg's
travelling companion? They had
evidently met somewhere between
Bombay and Calcutta; but where?
Had they met accidentally, or
had Fogg gone into the interior
purposely in quest of this charming
damsel? Fix was fairly puzzled.
He asked himself whether there
had not been a wicked elopement;
and this idea so impressed itself
upon his mind that he determined
to make use of the supposed intrigue.
Whether the young woman were
married or not, he would be able
to create such difficulties for
Mr. Fogg at Hong Kong that he
could not escape by paying any
amount of money.
But could he even wait till
they reached Hong Kong? Fogg
had an abominable way of jumping
from one boat to another, and,
before anything could be effected,
might get full under way again
for Yokohama.
Fix decided that he must warn
the English authorities, and
signal the Rangoon before her
arrival. This was easy to do,
since the steamer stopped at
Singapore, whence there is a
telegraphic wire to Hong Kong.
He finally resolved, moreover,
before acting more positively,
to question Passepartout. It
would not be difficult to make
him talk; and, as there was no
time to lose, Fix prepared to
make himself known.
It was now the 30th of October,
and on the following day the
Rangoon was due at Singapore.
Fix emerged
from his cabin and went on
deck. Passepartout
was promenading up and down in
the forward part of the steamer.
The detective rushed forward
with every appearance of extreme
surprise, and exclaimed, "You
here, on the Rangoon?"
"What, Monsieur Fix, are you
on board?" returned the really
astonished Passepartout, recognising
his crony of the Mongolia. "Why,
I left you at Bombay, and here
you are, on the way to Hong Kong!
Are you going round the world
too?"
"No, no," replied Fix; "I
shall stop at Hong Kong--at
least for
some days."
"Hum!" said Passepartout, who
seemed for an instant perplexed. "But
how is it I have not seen you
on board since we left Calcutta?"
"Oh, a trifle
of sea-sickness--I've been
staying in my berth. The
Gulf of Bengal does not agree
with me as well as the Indian
Ocean. And how is Mr. Fogg?"
"As well and
as punctual as ever, not a
day behind time!
But, Monsieur Fix, you don't
know that we have a young lady
with us."
"A young lady?" replied
the detective, not seeming
to comprehend
what was said.
Passepartout thereupon recounted
Aouda's history, the affair at
the Bombay pagoda, the purchase
of the elephant for two thousand
pounds, the rescue, the arrest,
and sentence of the Calcutta
court, and the restoration of
Mr. Fogg and himself to liberty
on bail. Fix, who was familiar
with the last events, seemed
to be equally ignorant of all
that Passepartout related; and
the later was charmed to find
so interested a listener.
"But does your
master propose to carry this
young woman to
Europe?"
"Not at all.
We are simply going to place
her under the
protection of one of her relatives,
a rich merchant at Hong Kong."
"Nothing to be done there," said
Fix to himself, concealing his
disappointment. "A glass of gin,
Mr. Passepartout?"
"Willingly,
Monsieur Fix. We must at least
have a friendly
glass on board the Rangoon."
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