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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 horse-power. She was as fast,
but not as well fitted up, as the Mongolia, and Aouda was not
as comfortably provided for on board of 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; and 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 essayed 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 thee 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 prosperously, amid
favourable weather and propitious winds, and they 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, while behind,
the graceful outlines of the mountains were traced against the
sky; and along the coasts swarmed by thousands 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 gave 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 centred 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 for ever. 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 give him into the hands of the local
police, and there would 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; and 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 travelling 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; and 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 way 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, whence 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; and, 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, recognising 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 sea-sickness--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 later 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."
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