During Which Mr. Fogg and Party Cross the Pacific Ocean
What happened when the pilot boat came in sight of Shanghai will
be easily guessed. The signals made by the Tankadere had been
seen by the captain of the Yokohama steamer, who, seeing the flag
at half-mast, had directed his course towards the little craft.
Phileas Fogg, after paying the stipulated price of his passage to
John Bunsby, and rewarding that worthy with the additional sum of
five hundred and fifty pounds, boarded the steamer with Aouda and
Fix; and they started at once for Nagasaki and Yokohama.
They reached their destination on the morning of the 14th of
November. Phileas Fogg lost no time in going on board the
Carnatic, where he learned, to Aouda's great delight--and
perhaps to his own, though he betrayed no emotion--that
Passepartout, a Frenchman, had really arrived on her the day
before.
The San Francisco steamer was announced to leave that very
evening, and it became necessary to find Passepartout, if
possible, without delay. Mr. Fogg applied in vain to the French
and English consuls, and, after wandering through the streets a
long time, began to despair of finding his missing servant.
Chance, or perhaps a kind of presentiment, at last led him into
the Honorable Mr. Batulcar's theatre. He certainly would not have
recognized Passepartout in the eccentric mountebank's costume;
but the latter, lying on his back, perceived his master in the
gallery. He could not help starting, which so changed the
position of his nose as to bring the "pyramid" pell-mell upon the
stage.
All this Passepartout learned from Aouda, who told him what had
taken place on the voyage from Hong Kong to Shanghai on the
Tankadere, in company with one Mr. Fix.
Passepartout did not change countenance on hearing this name. He
thought that the time had not yet arrived to divulge to his
master what had taken place between the detective and himself. In
the account he gave of his absence, he simply excused himself for
having become drunk smoking opium at a tavern in Hong Kong.
Mr. Fogg heard this narrative coldly, without a word. Then he
furnished his man with funds necessary to obtain clothing more in
harmony with his position. Within an hour the Frenchman had cut
off his nose and parted with his wings, and retained nothing
about him which recalled the sectary of the god Tingou.
The steamer which was about to depart from Yokohama to San
Francisco belonged to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and
was named the General Grant. She was a large paddle-wheel steamer
of two thousand five hundred tons, well-equipped and very fast.
The massive walking-beam rose and fell above the deck. At one end
a piston-rod worked up and down. At the other was a
connecting-rod which, in changing the rectilinear motion to a
circular one, was directly connected with the shaft of the
paddles. The General Grant was rigged with three masts, giving a
large capacity for sails, and thus materially aiding the steam
power. By making twelve miles an hour, she would cross the ocean
in twenty-one days. Phileas Fogg was therefore justified in
hoping that he would reach San Francisco by the 2nd of December,
New York by the 11th, and London on the 20th--thus gaining
several hours on the fatal date of the 21st of December.
There was a full complement of passengers on board, among them
English, many Americans, a large number of coolies on their way
to California, and several East Indian officers, who were
spending their vacation in making a tour of the world. Nothing of
moment happened on the voyage. The steamer, sustained on its
large paddles, rolled but little, and the Pacific almost
justified its name.
Mr. Fogg was as calm and taciturn as ever. His young companion
felt herself more and more attached to him by other ties than
gratitude. His silent but generous nature impressed her more than
she thought; and it was almost unconsciously that she yielded to
emotions which did not seem to have the least effect upon her
protector. Aouda took the keenest interest in his plans, and
became impatient at any incident which seemed likely to retard
his journey.
She often chatted with Passepartout, who did not fail to perceive
the state of the lady's heart. Being the most faithful of
servants, he never exhausted his eulogies of Phileas Fogg's
honesty, generosity and devotion. He took pains to calm Aouda's
doubts of a successful termination of the journey, telling her
that the most difficult part of it had passed, that now they were
beyond the fantastic countries of Japan and China, and were
fairly on their way to civilized places again. A railway train
from San Francisco to New York, and a transatlantic steamer from
New York to Liverpool, would doubtless bring them to the end of
this impossible journey round the world within the period agreed
upon.
On the ninth day after leaving Yokohama, Phileas Fogg had
traveled exactly one half of the terrestrial globe. The General
Grant passed, on the 23rd of November, the one hundred and
eightieth meridian, and was at the very antipodes of London. Mr.
Fogg had, it is true, exhausted fifty-two of the eighty days in
which he was to complete the tour, and there were only
twenty-eight left. But, though he was only halfway by the
difference of meridians, he had really gone over two-thirds of
the whole journey; for he had been obliged to make long circuits
from London to Aden, from Aden to Bombay, from Calcutta to
Singapore, and from Singapore to Yokohama. Could he have followed
without deviation the fiftieth parallel, which is that of London,
the whole distance would only have been about twelve thousand
miles; whereas he would be forced, by the irregular methods of
locomotion, to travel twenty-six thousand, of which he had, on
the 23rd of November, accomplished seventeen thousand five
hundred. And now the course was a straight one, and Fix was no
longer there to put obstacles in their way!
It happened also, on the 23rd of November, that Passepartout made
a joyful discovery. It will be remembered that the obstinate
fellow had insisted on keeping his famous family watch at London
time, and on regarding that of the countries he had passed
through as quite false and unreliable. Now, on this day, though
he had not changed the hands, he found that his watch exactly
agreed with the ship's chronometers. His triumph was hilarious.
He would have liked to know what Fix would say if he were aboard!
"The rogue told me a lot of stories," repeated Passepartout,
"about the meridians, the sun, and the moon! Moon, indeed!
Moonshine more likely! If one listened to that sort of people, a
pretty sort of time one would keep! I was sure that the sun would
some day regulate itself by my watch!"
Passepartout was ignorant that, if the face of his watch had been
divided into twenty-four hours, like the Italian clocks, he would
have no reason for exultation; for the hands of his watch would
then, instead of as now indicating nine o'clock in the morning,
indicate nine o'clock in the evening. That is, it would have
shown the twenty-first hour after midnight--precisely the
difference between London time and that of the one hundred and
eightieth meridian. But if Fix had been able to explain this
purely physical effect, Passepartout would not have admitted it,
even if he had comprehended it. Moreover, if the detective had
been on board at that moment, Passepartout would have joined
issue with him on a quite different subject, and in an entirely
different manner.
Where was Fix at that moment?
He was actually on board the General Grant.
On reaching Yokohama, the detective, leaving Mr. Fogg, whom he
expected to meet again during the day, had repaired at once to
the English consulate, where he at last found the warrant of
arrest. It had followed him from Bombay, and had come by the
Carnatic, on which steamer he himself was supposed to be. Fix's
disappointment may be imagined when he reflected that the warrant
was now useless. Mr. Fogg had left English ground, and it was now
necessary to procure his extradition!
"Well," thought Fix, after a moment of anger, "my warrant is not
good here, but it will be in England. The rogue evidently intends
to return to his own country, thinking he has thrown the police
off his track. Good! I will follow him across the Atlantic. As
for the money, heaven grant there may be some left! But the
fellow has already spent in traveling, rewards, trials, bail,
elephants and all sorts of charges, more than five thousand
pounds. Yet, after all, the bank is rich!"
His course decided on, he went on board the General Grant, and
was there when Mr. Fogg and Aouda arrived. To his utter
amazement, he recognized Passepartout, despite his theatrical
disguise. He quickly concealed himself in his cabin, to avoid an
awkward explanation, and hoped--thanks to the number of
passengers--to remain unperceived by Mr. Fogg's servant.
On that very day, however, he met Passepartout face to face on
the forward deck. The latter, without a word, made a rush for
him, grasped him by the throat, and, much to the amusement of a
group of Americans, who immediately began to bet on him,
administered to the detective a perfect volley of blows, which
proved the great superiority of French over English pugilistic
skill.
When Passepartout had finished, he found himself relieved and
comforted. Fix got up in a somewhat rumpled condition, and,
looking at his adversary, coldly said, "Have you done?"
"For this time--yes."
"Then let me have a word with you."
"But I--"
"In your master's interests."
Passepartout seemed to be vanquished by Fix's coolness, for he
quietly followed him, and they sat down aside from the rest of
the passengers.
"You have given me a thrashing," said Fix. "Good, I expected it.
Now, listen to me. Up to this time I have been Mr. Fogg's
adversary. I am now in his game."
"Aha!" cried Passepartout. "You are convinced he is an honest
man?"
"No," replied Fix coldly, "I think him a rascal. Sh! don't budge,
and let me speak. As long as Mr. Fogg was on English ground, it
was for my interest to detain him there until my warrant of
arrest arrived. I did everything I could to keep him back. I sent
the Bombay priests after him. I got you intoxicated at Hong Kong.
I separated you from him, and I made him miss the Yokohama
steamer."
Passepartout listened, with closed fists.
"Now," resumed Fix, "Mr. Fogg seems to be going back to England.
Well, I will follow him there. But hereafter I will do as much to
keep obstacles out of his way as I have done up to this time to
put them in his path. I've changed my game, you see, and simply
because it was in my interest to change it. Your interest is the
same as mine, for it is only in England that you will know
whether you are in the service of a criminal or an honest man."
Passepartout listened very attentively to Fix, and was convinced
that he spoke with entire good faith.
"Are we friends?" asked the detective.
"Friends? No," replied Passepartout. "But allies, perhaps. At the
least sign of treason, however, I'll twist your neck for you.
"Agreed," said the detective quietly.
Eleven days later, on the 3rd of December, the General Grant
entered the bay of the Golden Gate, and reached San Francisco.
Mr. Fogg had neither gained nor lost a single day.