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24 - Around The World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne · Adventure Books Library

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