《Around the World In 80 Days》 CHAPTER17
by Jules Verne
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 a 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 explanationhufry!'
`Mr Fogg, I suppose, is anxious to catch the steamer for Yokohama?'
`Terribly anxious.'
`You believe in this journey around the world, then?'
`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.
`￡÷úàt he determined to chaff Fix, w!!! ò?eeàQ??(á?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 lookedned 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 and grinning bands of monkeys skipped about in the trees, nor
were tigers wanting in the jungles.
After a drive of two hours through the country, Aouda and Mr Fogg returned
to the 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 colour outside and a
bright red within, and whose white pulp, melting in the mouth, affords
gourmands a delicious sensation - 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 harbour, and
in a vewbeen more difficult to calculate than those of Uranus which
led to the discovery of 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 reveri ù~àoon' had a large quota of p]!!! òee?P??(á?es.
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 fction 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 unfavourable 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.
`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?'
`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.
`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.'
`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 about 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 of 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.
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!'
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