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 horsepower. She was as fast, but
not as well fitted up, as the Mongolia, and Aouda was not as
comfortably provided for on board 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. 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 tried 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 the 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 happily, amid favorable
weather and propitious winds, and the ship 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. Behind, the
graceful outlines of the mountains were traced against the sky;
and along the coasts swarmed thousands of 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 give 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 centered 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 forever. 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 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. 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 traveling 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. 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 weigh 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, where 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. 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, recognizing 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 seasickness--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 latter
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."