She constantly
gave
evidence
of her deep
gratitude |
he
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 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 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." |