In which Phileas Fogg, Passe-partout, and Fix severally go each about
his own business.
During the latter part of the voyage the weather was very bad; the
wind was blowing freshly--almost a gale--right in the teeth of the
_Rangoon_, which rolled considerably, and disturbed the passengers
very much.
In fact, on the 3rd and 4th of November there was quite a tempest, and
the _Rangoon_ was obliged to proceed slowly. All the sails were
furled, and the captain was of opinion that they would be twenty hours
late at Hong Kong, or perhaps more, if the storm lasted.
Phileas Fogg gazed at the turbulent sea as coolly as ever; he betrayed
no impatience, even though twenty hours' delay would upset his
calculations, by causing him to lose the Yokohama steamer. It seemed
almost as if the storm were part of his programme, and Mrs. Aouda, who
sympathised with him, was surprised to find him quite unmoved.
But Fix did not look upon these things with unconcern; he was very
glad that the storm had happened, and would have been delighted if the
_Rangoon_ had been obliged to scud before the tempest. All these
delays were in his favour, because they tended towards detaining Mr.
Fogg at Hong Kong; he did not mind the sea-sickness he suffered, and
while his body was tortured, his spirit was exultant.
But Passe-partout was very much annoyed by this bad weather. All had
gone well till now. Everything had appeared to favour his master,
hitherto. Steamers and railways obeyed him; wind and steam had united
to assist him. Was it possible that the hour of misfortune had struck?
Passe-partout felt as if the wager of twenty thousand pounds was to
come out of his own purse. The storm exasperated him, the wind made
him furious, and he would liked to have whipped this disobedient sea.
Poor fellow! Fix all the time carefully concealed his personal
satisfaction, for had Passe-partout perceived it, Fix would have had a
bad time.
Passe-partout remained on deck as long as the storm lasted, for it was
quite impossible for him to go down below. He assisted the crew in
every way in his power, and astonished the sailors by his activity. He
questioned the captain, the officers, and the men hundreds of times as
to their progress, and got laughed at for his pains. He wanted to know
how long the tempest would last, and was referred to the barometer,
which had evidently not made up its mind to rise; even when
Passe-partout shook it, it would not change its mind.
At last the storm subsided, and the wind veered round to the south,
which was in their favour. Passe-partout regained his serenity as the
weather improved. Sails were once more set on the _Rangoon_ and she
resumed her route at great speed, but she could not make up for lost
time. It could not be helped, however, and land was not signalled till
five o'clock on the morning of the 6th of November. The itinerary of
Phileas Fogg showed that they ought to have arrived the day before, so
they were twenty-four hours behindhand, and the Yokohama steamer would
be missed.
At six o'clock the pilot came on board. Passe-partout longed to ask
the man if the Yokohama steamer had sailed, but he preferred to nurse
his hopes till the last moment. He had confided his troubles to Fix,
who, sly fellow as he was, pretended to sympathise with him, and told
him he would be in time if his master took the next steamer, a remark
which put Passe-partout into a violent rage.
But if he did not like to ask the pilot, Mr. Fogg, having consulted
his Bradshaw, did not hesitate to inquire when the steamer left for
Yokohama.
"To-morrow, at the morning's flood-tide," replied the pilot.
"Ah, indeed," said Mr. Fogg, without manifesting any emotion.
Passe-partout could have embraced the pilot for this information,
while Fix would gladly have twisted his neck.
"What is the name of the steamer?" asked Mr. Fogg.
"The _Carnatic_," replied the pilot.
"Ought she not to have sailed yesterday?"
"Yes; but one of her boilers required repairing, so she will not start
till to-morrow."
"Thank you," replied Mr. Fogg, as he descended quietly to the cabin.
Passe-partout wrung the pilot's hand, exclaiming, "Well, you are a
good fellow."
Probably to this day the pilot has not the slightest idea of what
Passe-partout was driving at. He merely whistled, and went back to his
station on the bridge to guide the steamer through a flotilla of
junks, tankas, and fishing-boats, and a crowd of other vessels which
encumbered the waters of Hong Kong.
At one o'clock the steamer was alongside the quay, and the passengers
went ashore.
On this occasion it must be confessed that fortune had singularly
favoured Phileas Fogg. But for the necessary repairs to her boilers,
the _Carnatic_ would have sailed on the 5th, and the travellers bound
for Japan would have been obliged to wait for eight days for the next
steamer. Mr. Fogg, it is true, was twenty-four hours behindhand, but
this would not seriously affect his journey.
In fact, the steamer which plied from Yokohama to San Francisco was
connected with the Hong Kong boat, and would not start till the
arrival of the latter; so, if he were twenty-four hours late at
Yokohama, he would make it up in crossing the Pacific. At present,
however, Phileas Fogg found himself twenty-four hours late during the
thirty-five days since he quitted London.
The _Carnatic_ would sail the next morning at five o'clock, so Mr.
Fogg had still sixteen hours to devote to Mrs. Aouda. He landed with
the young lady upon his arm, and conducted her to the Club-house
Hotel, where apartments were engaged for her accommodation. Mr. Fogg
then went in search of her relatives, telling Passe-partout to remain
until his return, so that the young lady might not feel herself quite
alone.
Mr. Fogg made his way to the exchange, for he rightly conjectured that
such a rich man as Jejeeb would be most likely heard of in that
direction.
The broker to whom Mr. Fogg addressed himself knew the man for whom he
was inquiring, but he had left China two years before, and gone to
live in Holland, he thought; for he had principally traded with Dutch
merchants.
Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, and informed Mrs. Aouda that her
cousin had left Hong Kong, and had gone to live in Holland.
Mrs. Aouda made no reply for a moment; she passed her hand across her
brow, and appeared lost in thought. At length, in a gentle voice, she
said, "What ought I to do, Mr. Fogg?"
"Your course is simple enough," he replied; "come on to Europe."
"But I cannot intrude upon you."
"You do not intrude in the least. Passe-partout."
"Sir."
"Go to the _Carnatic_ and secure three berths."
Passe-partout was delighted to think that the young lady was going to
continue her journey with them, for she had been very kind to him. He
accordingly quitted the hotel to execute his master's orders
cheerfully.