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Around the World in 80 Days
too late for the Yokohama boat, would almost inevitably
cause the loss of the wager. But this man of nerve
manifested neither impatience nor annoyance; it seemed as
if the storm were a part of his programme, and had been
foreseen. Aouda was amazed to find him as calm as he had
been from the first time she saw him.
Fix did not look at the state of things in the same light.
The storm greatly pleased him. His satisfaction would have
been complete had the Rangoon been forced to retreat
before the violence of wind and waves. Each delay filled
him with hope, for it became more and more probable
that Fogg would be obliged to remain some days at Hong
Kong; and now the heavens themselves became his allies,
with the gusts and squalls. It mattered not that they made
him sea-sick—he made no account of this inconvenience;
and, whilst his body was writhing under their effects, his
spirit bounded with hopeful exultation.
Passepartout was enraged beyond expression by the
unpropitious weather. Everything had gone so well till
now! Earth and sea had seemed to be at his master's
service; steamers and railways obeyed him; wind and steam
united to speed his journey. Had the hour of adversity
come? Passepartout was as much excited as if the twenty
thousand pounds were to come from his own pocket. The
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storm exasperated him, the gale made him furious, and he
longed to lash the obstinate sea into obedience. Poor
fellow! Fix carefully concealed from him his own
satisfaction, for, had he betrayed it, Passepartout could
scarcely have restrained himself from personal violence.
Passepartout remained on deck as long as the tempest
lasted, being unable to remain quiet below, and taking it
into his head to aid the progress of the ship by lending a
hand with the crew. He overwhelmed the captain,
officers, and sailors, who could not help laughing at his
impatience, with all sorts of questions. He wanted to
know exactly how long the storm was going to last;
whereupon he was referred to the barometer, which
seemed to have no intention of rising. Passepartout shook
it, but with no perceptible effect; for neither shaking nor
maledictions could prevail upon it to change its mind.
On the 4th, however, the sea became more calm, and
the storm lessened its violence; the wind veered
southward, and was once more favourable. Passepartout
cleared up with the weather. Some of the sails were
unfurled, and the Rangoon resumed its most rapid speed.
The time lost could not, however, be regained. Land was
not signalled until five o'clock on the morning of the 6th;
the steamer was due on the 5th. Phileas Fogg was twenty-
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four hours behind-hand, and the Yokohama steamer
would, of course, be missed.
The pilot went on board at six, and took his place on
the bridge, to guide the Rangoon through the channels to
the port of Hong Kong. Passepartout longed to ask him if
the steamer had left for Yokohama; but he dared not, for
he wished to preserve the spark of hope, which still
remained till the last moment. He had confided his anxiety
to Fix who—the sly rascal!—tried to console him by
saying that Mr. Fogg would be in time if he took the next
boat; but this only put Passepartout in a passion.
Mr. Fogg, bolder than his servant, did not hesitate to
approach the pilot, and tranquilly ask him if he knew
when a steamer would leave Hong Kong for Yokohama.
'At high tide to-morrow morning,' answered the pilot.
'Ah!' said Mr. Fogg, without betraying any
astonishment.
Passepartout, who heard what passed, would willingly
have embraced the pilot, while Fix would have been glad
to twist his neck.
'What is the steamer's name?' asked Mr. Fogg.
'The Carnatic.'
'Ought she not to have gone yesterday?'
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'Yes, sir; but they had to repair one of her boilers, and
so her departure was postponed till to-morrow.'
'Thank you,' returned Mr. Fogg, descending
mathematically to the saloon.
Passepartout clasped the pilot's hand and shook it
heartily in his delight, exclaiming, 'Pilot, you are the best
of good fellows!'
The pilot probably does not know to this day why his
responses won him this enthusiastic greeting. He
remounted the bridge, and guided the steamer through the
flotilla of junks, tankas, and fishing boats which crowd the
harbour of Hong Kong.
At one o'clock the Rangoon was at the quay, and the
passengers were going ashore.
Chance had strangely favoured Phileas Fogg, for had
not the Carnatic been forced to lie over for repairing her
boilers, she would have left on the 6th of November, and
the passengers for Japan would have been obliged to await
for a week the sailing of the next steamer. Mr. Fogg was,
it is true, twenty-four hours behind his time; but this
could not seriously imperil the remainder of his tour.
The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama
to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from
Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached
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Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late
on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be
easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across
the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four
hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at
five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in
which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit
Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which
they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for
the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she
wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin
Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel
until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely
alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not
doubt, every one would know so wealthy and
considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting
a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had
left China two years before, and, retiring from business
with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in
Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the
merchants of which country he had principally traded.
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Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment's
conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised
her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but
probably in Holland.
Aouda at first said nothing. She passed her hand across
her forehead, and reflected a few moments. Then, in her
sweet, soft voice, she said: 'What ought I to do, Mr.
Fogg?'
'It is very simple,' responded the gentleman. 'Go on to
Europe.'
'But I cannot intrude—'
'You do not intrude, nor do you in the least embarrass
my project. Passepartout!'
'Monsieur.'
'Go to the Carnatic, and engage three cabins.'
Passepartout, delighted that the young woman, who
was very gracious to him, was going to continue the
journey with them, went off at a brisk gait to obey his
master's order.
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Chapter XIX
IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT
TAKES A TOO GREAT
INTEREST IN HIS MASTER,
AND WHAT COMES OF IT
Hong Kong is an island which came into the possession
of the English by the Treaty of Nankin, after the war of
1842; and the colonising genius of the English has created
upon it an important city and an excellent port. The island
is situated at the mouth of the Canton River, and is
separated by about sixty miles from the Portuguese town
of Macao, on the opposite coast. Hong Kong has beaten
Macao in the struggle for the Chinese trade, and now the
greater part of the transportation of Chinese goods finds its
depot at the former place. Docks, hospitals, wharves, a
Gothic cathedral, a government house, macadamised
streets, give to Hong Kong the appearance of a town in
Kent or Surrey transferred by some strange magic to the
antipodes.
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Passepartout wandered, with his hands in his pockets,
towards the Victoria port, gazing as he went at the curious
palanquins and other modes of conveyance, and the
groups of Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans who passed to
and fro in the streets. Hong Kong seemed to him not
unlike Bombay, Calcutta, and Singapore, since, like them,
it betrayed everywhere the evidence of English supremacy.
At the Victoria port he found a confused mass of ships of
all nations: English, French, American, and Dutch, men-
of-war and trading vessels, Japanese and Chinese junks,
sempas, tankas, and flower-boats, which formed so many
floating parterres. Passepartout noticed in the crowd a
number of the natives who seemed very old and were
dressed in yellow. On going into a barber's to get shaved
he learned that these ancient men were all at least eighty
years old, at which age they are permitted to wear yellow,
which is the Imperial colour. Passepartout, without exactly
knowing why, thought this very funny.
On reaching the quay where they were to embark on
the Carnatic, he was not astonished to find Fix walking up
and down. The detective seemed very much disturbed and
disappointed.
'This is bad,' muttered Passepartout, 'for the gentlemen
of the Reform Club!' He accosted Fix with a merry smile,
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as if he had not perceived that gentleman's chagrin. The
detective had, indeed, good reasons to inveigh against the
bad luck which pursued him. The warrant had not come!
It was certainly on the way, but as certainly it could not
now reach Hong Kong for several days; and, this being the
last English territory on Mr. Fogg's route, the robber
would escape, unless he could manage to detain him.
'Well, Monsieur Fix,' said Passepartout, 'have you
decided to go with us so far as America?'
'Yes,' returned Fix, through his set teeth.
'Good!' exclaimed Passepartout, laughing heartily. 'I
knew you could not persuade yourself to separate from us.
Come and engage your berth.'
They entered the steamer office and secured cabins for
four persons. The clerk, as he gave them the tickets,
informed them that, the repairs on the Carnatic having
been completed, the steamer would leave that very
evening, and not next morning, as had been announced.
'That will suit my master all the better,' said
Passepartout. 'I will go and let him know.'
Fix now decided to make a bold move; he resolved to
tell Passepartout all. It seemed to be the only possible
means of keeping Phileas Fogg several days longer at Hong
Kong. He accordingly invited his companion into a tavern
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which caught his eye on the quay. On entering, they
found themselves in a large room handsomely decorated,
at the end of which was a large camp-bed furnished with
cushions. Several persons lay upon this bed in a deep sleep.
At the small tables which were arranged about the room
some thirty customers were drinking English beer, porter,
gin, and brandy; smoking, the while, long red clay pipes
stuffed with little balls of opium mingled with essence of
rose. From time to time one of the smokers, overcome
with the narcotic, would slip under the table, whereupon
the waiters, taking him by the head and feet, carried and
laid him upon the bed. The bed already supported twenty
of these stupefied sots.
Fix and Passepartout saw that they were in a smoking-
house haunted by those wretched, cadaverous, idiotic
creatures to whom the English merchants sell every year
the miserable drug called opium, to the amount of one
million four hundred thousand pounds— thousands
devoted to one of the most despicable vices which afflict
humanity! The Chinese government has in vain attempted
to deal with the evil by stringent laws. It passed gradually
from the rich, to whom it was at first exclusively reserved,
to the lower classes, and then its ravages could not be
arrested. Opium is smoked everywhere, at all times, by
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men and women, in the Celestial Empire; and, once
accustomed to it, the victims cannot dispense with it,
except by suffering horrible bodily contortions and
agonies. A great smoker can smoke as many as eight pipes
a day; but he dies in five years. It was in one of these dens
that Fix and Passepartout, in search of a friendly glass,
found themselves. Passepartout had no money, but
willingly accepted Fix's invitation in the hope of returning
the obligation at some future time.
They ordered two bottles of port, to which the
Frenchman did ample justice, whilst Fix observed him
with close attention. They chatted about the journey, and
Passepartout was especially merry at the idea that Fix was
going to continue it with them. When the bottles were
empty, however, he rose to go and tell his master of the
change in the time of the sailing of the Carnatic.
Fix caught him by the arm, and said, 'Wait a moment.'
'What for, Mr. Fix?'
'I want to have a serious talk with you.'
'A serious talk!' cried Passepartout, drinking up the
little wine that was left in the bottom of his glass. 'Well,
we'll talk about it to-morrow; I haven't time now.'
'Stay! What I have to say concerns your master.'
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Passepartout, at this, looked attentively at his
companion. Fix's face seemed to have a singular
expression. He resumed his seat.
'What is it that you have to say?'
Fix placed his hand upon Passepartout's arm, and,
lowering his voice, said, 'You have guessed who I am?'
'Parbleu!' said Passepartout, smiling.
'Then I'm going to tell you everything—'
'Now that I know everything, my friend! Ah! that's
very good. But go on, go on. First, though, let me tell you
that those gentlemen have put themselves to a useless
expense.'
'Useless!' said Fix. 'You speak confidently. It's clear
that you don't know how large the sum is.'
'Of course I do,' returned Passepartout. 'Twenty
thousand pounds.'
'Fifty-five thousand!' answered Fix, pressing his
companion's hand.
'What!' cried the Frenchman. 'Has Monsieur Fogg
dared— fifty-five thousand pounds! Well, there's all the
more reason for not losing an instant,' he continued,
getting up hastily.
Fix pushed Passepartout back in his chair, and resumed:
'Fifty-five thousand pounds; and if I succeed, I get two
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Around the World in 80 Days
thousand pounds. If you'll help me, I'll let you have five
hundred of them.'
'Help you?' cried Passepartout, whose eyes were
standing wide open.
'Yes; help me keep Mr. Fogg here for two or three
days.'
'Why, what are you saying? Those gentlemen are not
satisfied with following my master and suspecting his
honour, but they must try to put obstacles in his way! I
blush for them!'
'What do you mean?'
'I mean that it is a piece of shameful trickery. They
might as well waylay Mr. Fogg and put his money in their
pockets!'
'That's just what we count on doing.'
'It's a conspiracy, then,' cried Passepartout, who
became more and more excited as the liquor mounted in
his head, for he drank without perceiving it. 'A real
conspiracy! And gentlemen, too. Bah!'
Fix began to be puzzled.
'Members of the Reform Club!' continued
Passepartout. 'You must know, Monsieur Fix, that my
master is an honest man, and that, when he makes a
wager, he tries to win it fairly!'
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'But who do you think I am?' asked Fix, looking at
him intently.
'Parbleu! An agent of the members of the Reform
Club, sent out here to interrupt my master's journey. But,
though I found you out some time ago, I've taken good
care to say nothing about it to Mr. Fogg.'
'He knows nothing, then?'
'Nothing,' replied Passepartout, again emptying his
glass.
The detective passed his hand across his forehead,
hesitating before he spoke again. What should he do?
Passepartout's mistake seemed sincere, but it made his
design more difficult. It was evident that the servant was
not the master's accomplice, as Fix had been inclined to
suspect.
'Well,' said the detective to himself, 'as he is not an
accomplice, he will help me.'
He had no time to lose: Fogg must be detained at
Hong Kong, so he resolved to make a clean breast of it.
'Listen to me,' said Fix abruptly. 'I am not, as you
think, an agent of the members of the Reform Club—'
'Bah!' retorted Passepartout, with an air of raillery.
'I am a police detective, sent out here by the London
office.'
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'You, a detective?'
'I will prove it. Here is my commission.'
Passepartout was speechless with astonishment when
Fix displayed this document, the genuineness of which
could not be doubted.
'Mr. Fogg's wager,' resumed Fix, 'is only a pretext, of
which you and the gentlemen of the Reform are dupes.
He had a motive for securing your innocent complicity.'
'But why?'
'Listen. On the 28th of last September a robbery of
fifty-five thousand pounds was committed at the Bank of
England by a person whose description was fortunately
secured. Here is his description; it answers exactly to that
of Mr. Phileas Fogg.'
'What nonsense!' cried Passepartout, striking the table
with his fist. 'My master is the most honourable of men!'
'How can you tell? You know scarcely anything about
him. You went into his service the day he came away; and
he came away on a foolish pretext, without trunks, and
carrying a large amount in banknotes. And yet you are
bold enough to assert that he is an honest man!'
'Yes, yes,' repeated the poor fellow, mechanically.
'Would you like to be arrested as his accomplice?'
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Passepartout, overcome by what he had heard, held his
head between his hands, and did not dare to look at the
detective. Phileas Fogg, the saviour of Aouda, that brave
and generous man, a robber! And yet how many
presumptions there were against him! Passepartout essayed
to reject the suspicions which forced themselves upon his
mind; he did not wish to believe that his master was
guilty.
'Well, what do you want of me?' said he, at last, with
an effort.
'See here,' replied Fix; 'I have tracked Mr. Fogg to this
place, but as yet I have failed to receive the warrant of
arrest for which I sent to London. You must help me to
keep him here in Hong Kong—'
'I! But I—'
'I will share with you the two thousand pounds reward
offered by the Bank of England.'
'Never!' replied Passepartout, who tried to rise, but fell
back, exhausted in mind and body.
'Mr. Fix,' he stammered, 'even should what you say be
true— if my master is really the robber you are seeking
for—which I deny— I have been, am, in his service; I
have seen his generosity and goodness; and I will never
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betray him—not for all the gold in the world. I come
from a village where they don't eat that kind of bread!'
'You refuse?'
'I refuse.'
'Consider that I've said nothing,' said Fix; 'and let us
drink.'
'Yes; let us drink!'
Passepartout felt himself yielding more and more to the
effects of the liquor. Fix, seeing that he must, at all
hazards, be separated from his master, wished to entirely
overcome him. Some pipes full of opium lay upon the
table. Fix slipped one into Passepartout's hand. He took it,
put it between his lips, lit it, drew several puffs, and his
head, becoming heavy under the influence of the narcotic,
fell upon the table.
'At last!' said Fix, seeing Passepartout unconscious. 'Mr.
Fogg will not be informed of the Carnatic's departure;
and, if he is, he will have to go without this cursed
Frenchman!'
And, after paying his bill, Fix left the tavern.
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Chapter XX
IN WHICH FIX COMES FACE
TO FACE WITH PHILEAS
FOGG
While these events were passing at the opium-house,
Mr. Fogg, unconscious of the danger he was in of losing
the steamer, was quietly escorting Aouda about the streets
of the English quarter, making the necessary purchases for
the long voyage before them. It was all very well for an
Englishman like Mr. Fogg to make the tour of the world
with a carpet-bag; a lady could not be expected to travel
comfortably under such conditions. He acquitted his task
with characteristic serenity, and invariably replied to the
remonstrances of his fair companion, who was confused by
his patience and generosity:
'It is in the interest of my journey—a part of my
programme.'
The purchases made, they returned to the hotel, where
they dined at a sumptuously served table-d'hote; after
which Aouda, shaking hands with her protector after the
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English fashion, retired to her room for rest. Mr. Fogg
absorbed himself throughout the evening in the perusal of
The Times and Illustrated London News.
Had he been capable of being astonished at anything, it
would have been not to see his servant return at bedtime.
But, knowing that the steamer was not to leave for
Yokohama until the next morning, he did not disturb
himself about the matter. When Passepartout did not
appear the next morning to answer his master's bell, Mr.
Fogg, not betraying the least vexation, contented himself
with taking his carpet-bag, calling Aouda, and sending for
a palanquin.
It was then eight o'clock; at half-past nine, it being
then high tide, the Carnatic would leave the harbour. Mr.
Fogg and Aouda got into the palanquin, their luggage
being brought after on a wheelbarrow, and half an hour
later stepped upon the quay whence they were to embark.
Mr. Fogg then learned that the Carnatic had sailed the
evening before. He had expected to find not only the
steamer, but his domestic, and was forced to give up both;
but no sign of disappointment appeared on his face, and he
merely remarked to Aouda, 'It is an accident, madam;
nothing more.'
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At this moment a man who had been observing him
attentively approached. It was Fix, who, bowing,
addressed Mr. Fogg: 'Were you not, like me, sir, a
passenger by the Rangoon, which arrived yesterday?'
'I was, sir,' replied Mr. Fogg coldly. 'But I have not the
honour—'
'Pardon me; I thought I should find your servant here.'
'Do you know where he is, sir?' asked Aouda
anxiously.
'What!' responded Fix, feigning surprise. 'Is he not
with you?'
'No,' said Aouda. 'He has not made his appearance
since yesterday. Could he have gone on board the
Carnatic without us?'
'Without you, madam?' answered the detective.
'Excuse me, did you intend to sail in the Carnatic?'
'Yes, sir.'
'So did I, madam, and I am excessively disappointed.
The Carnatic, its repairs being completed, left Hong Kong
twelve hours before the stated time, without any notice
being given; and we must now wait a week for another
steamer.'
As he said 'a week' Fix felt his heart leap for joy. Fogg
detained at Hong Kong for a week! There would be time
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for the warrant to arrive, and fortune at last favoured the
representative of the law. His horror may be imagined
when he heard Mr. Fogg say, in his placid voice, 'But
there are other vessels besides the Carnatic, it seems to me,
in the harbour of Hong Kong.'
And, offering his arm to Aouda, he directed his steps
toward the docks in search of some craft about to start.
Fix, stupefied, followed; it seemed as if he were attached
to Mr. Fogg by an invisible thread. Chance, however,
appeared really to have abandoned the man it had hitherto
served so well. For three hours Phileas Fogg wandered
about the docks, with the determination, if necessary, to
charter a vessel to carry him to Yokohama; but he could
only find vessels which were loading or unloading, and
which could not therefore set sail. Fix began to hope
again.
But Mr. Fogg, far from being discouraged, was
continuing his search, resolved not to stop if he had to
resort to Macao, when he was accosted by a sailor on one
of the wharves.
'Is your honour looking for a boat?'
'Have you a boat ready to sail?'
'Yes, your honour; a pilot-boat—No. 43—the best in
the harbour.'
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'Does she go fast?'
'Between eight and nine knots the hour. Will you look
at her?'
'Yes.'
'Your honour will be satisfied with her. Is it for a sea
excursion?'
'No; for a voyage.'
'A voyage?'
'Yes, will you agree to take me to Yokohama?'
The sailor leaned on the railing, opened his eyes wide,
and said, 'Is your honour joking?'
'No. I have missed the Carnatic, and I must get to
Yokohama by the 14th at the latest, to take the boat for
San Francisco.'
'I am sorry,' said the sailor; 'but it is impossible.'
'I offer you a hundred pounds per day, and an
additional reward of two hundred pounds if I reach
Yokohama in time.'
'Are you in earnest?'
'Very much so.'
The pilot walked away a little distance, and gazed out
to sea, evidently struggling between the anxiety to gain a
large sum and the fear of venturing so far. Fix was in
mortal suspense.
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Mr. Fogg turned to Aouda and asked her, 'You would
not be afraid, would you, madam?'
'Not with you, Mr. Fogg,' was her answer.
The pilot now returned, shuffling his hat in his hands.
'Well, pilot?' said Mr. Fogg.
'Well, your honour,' replied he, 'I could not risk
myself, my men, or my little boat of scarcely twenty tons
on so long a voyage at this time of year. Besides, we could
not reach Yokohama in time, for it is sixteen hundred and
sixty miles from Hong Kong.'
'Only sixteen hundred,' said Mr. Fogg.
'It's the same thing.'
Fix breathed more freely.
'But,' added the pilot, 'it might be arranged another
way.'
Fix ceased to breathe at all.
'How?' asked Mr. Fogg.
'By going to Nagasaki, at the extreme south of Japan,
or even to Shanghai, which is only eight hundred miles
from here. In going to Shanghai we should not be forced
to sail wide of the Chinese coast, which would be a great
advantage, as the currents run northward, and would aid
us.
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'Pilot,' said Mr. Fogg, 'I must take the American
steamer at Yokohama, and not at Shanghai or Nagasaki.'
'Why not?' returned the pilot. 'The San Francisco
steamer does not start from Yokohama. It puts in at
Yokohama and Nagasaki, but it starts from Shanghai.'
'You are sure of that?'
'Perfectly.'
'And when does the boat leave Shanghai?'
'On the 11th, at seven in the evening. We have,
therefore, four days before us, that is ninety-six hours; and
in that time, if we had good luck and a south-west wind,
and the sea was calm, we could make those eight hundred
miles to Shanghai.'
'And you could go—'
'In an hour; as soon as provisions could be got aboard
and the sails put up.'
'It is a bargain. Are you the master of the boat?'
'Yes; John Bunsby, master of the Tankadere.'
'Would you like some earnest-money?'
'If it would not put your honour out—'
'Here are two hundred pounds on account sir,' added
Phileas Fogg, turning to Fix, 'if you would like to take
advantage—'
'Thanks, sir; I was about to ask the favour.'
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'Very well. In half an hour we shall go on board.'
'But poor Passepartout?' urged Aouda, who was much
disturbed by the servant's disappearance.
'I shall do all I can to find him,' replied Phileas Fogg.
While Fix, in a feverish, nervous state, repaired to the
pilot-boat, the others directed their course to the police-
station at Hong Kong. Phileas Fogg there gave
Passepartout's description, and left a sum of money to be
spent in the search for him. The same formalities having
been gone through at the French consulate, and the
palanquin having stopped at the hotel for the luggage,
which had been sent back there, they returned to the
wharf.
It was now three o'clock; and pilot-boat No. 43, with
its crew on board, and its provisions stored away, was
ready for departure.
The Tankadere was a neat little craft of twenty tons, as
gracefully built as if she were a racing yacht. Her shining
copper sheathing, her galvanised iron-work, her deck,
white as ivory, betrayed the pride taken by John Bunsby
in making her presentable. Her two masts leaned a trifle
backward; she carried brigantine, foresail, storm-jib, and
standing-jib, and was well rigged for running before the
wind; and she seemed capable of brisk speed, which,
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Around the World in 80 Days
indeed, she had already proved by gaining several prizes in
pilot-boat races. The crew of the Tankadere was
composed of John Bunsby, the master, and four hardy
mariners, who were familiar with the Chinese seas. John
Bunsby, himself, a man of forty-five or thereabouts,
vigorous, sunburnt, with a sprightly expression of the eye,
and energetic and self-reliant countenance, would have
inspired confidence in the most timid.
Phileas Fogg and Aouda went on board, where they
found Fix already installed. Below deck was a square
cabin, of which the walls bulged out in the form of cots,
above a circular divan; in the centre was a table provided
with a swinging lamp. The accommodation was confined,
but neat.
'I am sorry to have nothing better to offer you,' said
Mr. Fogg to Fix, who bowed without responding.
The detective had a feeling akin to humiliation in
profiting by the kindness of Mr. Fogg.
'It's certain,' thought he, 'though rascal as he is, he is a
polite one!'
The sails and the English flag were hoisted at ten
minutes past three. Mr. Fogg and Aouda, who were seated
on deck, cast a last glance at the quay, in the hope of
espying Passepartout. Fix was not without his fears lest
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