In which the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean favour the Projects of
Phileas Fogg.
The distance between Suez and Aden is exactly three hundred and ten
miles, and the steamers are allowed one hundred and thirty-eight hours
to do it in. The _Mongolia_, however, was going at a speed which
seemed likely to bring her to her destination considerably before
time.
The majority of the passengers from Brindisi were bound for India,
some for Calcutta, some for Bombay; and since the railway crosses the
peninsula it is not necessary to go round by Ceylon.
Amongst the passengers were many military officers and civil servants
of every degree. The former included officers of the regular as well
as the Indian army, holding lucrative appointments, for the
sub-lieutenants get two hundred and eighty; brigadiers, two thousand
four hundred; and generals, four thousand pounds a year.
Society, therefore, on board the _Mongolia_ was very pleasant. The
purser feasted them sumptuously every day. They had early breakfast,
then tiffin at two o'clock, dinner at half-past five, and supper at
eight; and the tables groaned beneath the variety of dishes. The
ladies on board changed their toilettes twice a day, and there was
music and dancing when the weather was sufficiently favourable to
admit of those amusements.
But the Red Sea is very capricious; it is frequently very rough, like
all long and narrow gulfs. When the wind blew broadside on, the
_Mongolia_ rolled fearfully. At these times the ladies went below, the
pianos were silent, singing and dancing ceased. But notwithstanding
the wind and the sea, the vessel, urged by her powerful screw, dashed
onward to the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb.
And what was Phileas Fogg doing all this time? Perhaps it may be
supposed that he was anxious and restless, thinking of the contrary
winds and the speed of the ship, which was likely to be retarded by
the storm, and so compromise the success of his undertaking. At any
rate, whether he did or did not concern himself with these things, he
never betrayed the least anxiety on the subject. He was as taciturn
and impassible as ever; a man whom no eventuality could surprise. He
did not appear to be any more interested than one of the ship's
chronometers. He was rarely seen on deck. He troubled himself very
little about the Red Sea, so full of interest, the scene of some of
the greatest incidents in the history of mankind. He never cared to
look at the towns standing out in relief against the sky. He had no
fear of the dangers of the Arabian Gulf, of which ancient writers,
Strabo, Arian, Artemidorus, etc., have always written with horror, and
upon which sailors of those days never dared to venture without first
making a propitiatory sacrifice.
How then did this eccentric gentleman occupy his time, cooped up in
his cabin? In the first place he regularly ate his four meals a day,
for neither pitching nor rolling had the least effect upon his
appetite. And he played whist, for he had made the acquaintance of
some lovers of the game as enthusiastic as himself, a collector of
revenue _en route_ to Goa, a clergyman, the Rev. Decimus Smith,
returning to Bombay, and an English general officer bound for Benares.
These three were as madly devoted to whist as Mr. Fogg himself, and
they spent whole days silently enjoying it.
As for Passe-partout, he had also escaped sea-sickness, and ate his
meals with pleasing regularity and in a conscientious manner, worthy
of imitation. The voyage after all did not displease him; he had made
up his mind; he gazed at the scenery as he went along, enjoyed his
meals, and was fully persuaded that all this absurd business would
come to an end at Bombay.
The day after their departure from Suez, viz. the 10th of October,
Passe-partout was by no means ill-pleased to meet upon deck the person
who had been so civil to him in Egypt.
"I'm sure I cannot be mistaken," he said. "Have I not the pleasure of
meeting the gentleman who was so polite to me at Suez?"
"Ah yes, I remember you now. You are the servant of that eccentric
Englishman."
"Exactly. Mr.--"
"Fix," replied the detective.
"Mr. Fix," continued Passe-partout, "I am delighted to find you on
board. Whither are you bound?"
"Like yourself, to Bombay."
"All the better. Have you ever made this voyage before?"
"Frequently. I am an agent of the P. and O. Company."
"Oh, then you know India very well, no doubt?"
"Well, yes," replied Fix, who did not wish to commit himself.
"It is a curious part of the world, isn't it?"
"Very much so. There are mosques, minarets, temples, fakirs, pagodas,
tigers, serpents, and dancing-girls. It is to be hoped that you will
have time to see the country."
"I hope so too, Mr. Fix. You must be aware that a man can hardly be
expected to pass his whole existence in jumping from the deck of a
steamer into a train, and from the train to another steamer, under the
pretence of going round the world in eighty days. No; all these
gymnastics will end at Bombay, I trust."
"Is Mr. Fogg quite well?" asked Fix, politely.
"Quite well, thank you. So am I. I eat like an ogre. I suppose that is
the effect of the sea-air."
"I never see your master on deck."
"No, he has no curiosity whatever."
"Do you know, Mr. Passe-partout, that I fancy this pretended journey
round the world in eighty days is only a cover for a more important
object, a diplomatic mission perhaps?"
"Upon my word, Mr. Fix, I know nothing about it, I declare; and what
is more, I would not give half-a-crown to know!"
After this, Passe-partout and Fix frequently chatted together; the
detective doing all in his power to draw the valet out, whenever
possible. He would offer the Frenchman a glass of whisky or bitter
beer, which the latter accepted without ceremony, and pronounced Fix a
perfect gentleman.
Meantime the steamer plunged and ploughed on her way rapidly. Mocha
was sighted on the 13th, surrounded by its ruined walls, above which
some date-palms reared their heads. Beyond extended immense coffee
plantations. Passe-partout was delighted to gaze upon this celebrated
town, and fancied that it and its ruined walls bore a great
resemblance to a gigantic cup and saucer.
During the following night the _Mongolia_ cleared the strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb, which means the Gate of Tears, and the following day
they came to Steamer Point, to the N.W. of Aden harbour, where the
supply of coal was to be shipped.
It is no light task to provide the steamers with coal at such a
distance from the mines, and the P. and O. Company expend annually no
less a sum than eight hundred thousand pounds on this service. Depots
have to be established at distant ports, and the coal costs more than
three pounds a ton.
The _Mongolia_ had still sixteen hundred and fifty miles to run before
she could reach Bombay, and she was therefore obliged to remain four
hours at Steamer Point to complete her coaling. But this delay was not
at all detrimental to the plans of Phileas Fogg. It had been foreseen.
Besides, the _Mongolia_, instead of reaching Aden on the 15th, had
made that port on the evening of the 14th, so there was a gain of
about fifteen hours.
Mr. Fogg and his servant went ashore. The former wished to have his
passport _viséd_. Fix followed him unnoticed. The formality of the
_visé_ having been accomplished, Phileas Fogg returned on board to his
game of whist.
Passe-partout, as usual, lounged about amongst the mixed races which
make up the inhabitants of Aden. He admired the fortifications of this
eastern Gibraltar, and the splendid tanks at which the British
engineers were still at work, two thousand years after Solomon's
craftsmen.
"Very curious, very curious indeed," thought Passe-partout, as he
returned on board. "It is worth travelling if one can see something
new each time."
At six p.m. the _Mongolia_ weighed anchor, and made her way across the
Indian Ocean. She had now one hundred and sixty-eight hours in which
to make the passage to Bombay. The weather was good, with a pleasant
nor'-west wind; so the sails were hoisted to aid the screw.
The ship being thus steadied, the lady passengers took the opportunity
to reappear in fresh toilettes, and dancing and singing were again
indulged in. The voyage continued under most favourable conditions.
Passe-partout was delighted that he had such a pleasant companion as
Fix.
On Sunday, the 20th of October, about mid-day, they sighted the coast
of Hindostan. Two hours later the pilot came on board. A long range of
hills cut the sky-line, and soon palm-trees began to show themselves.
The mail steamer ran into the roadstead formed between the islands of
Salsette, Colaba, Elephanta, and Butcher, and at half-past four
o'clock the vessel came alongside the quay.
Phileas Fogg was just finishing his thirty-third rubber for that day.
His partner and he had succeeded in scoring a "treble," and thus
terminated the voyage with a stroke of luck.
The _Mongolia_ was not due at Bombay until the 22nd of October; she
had actually arrived on the 20th; so Mr. Fogg had really gained two
days upon the estimated period, and he entered the "profit"
accordingly in the column of his diary set apart for that purpose.