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29 - Around The World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty nine, in which certain incidents are narrated which
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  Speaker 1: are only to be met with on American railroads. The
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  Speaker 1: train pursued its course that evening without interruption, passing Fort Saunders,
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  Speaker 1: crossing Cheyenne Pass, and reaching Evans Pass. The road here
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  Speaker 1: attained the highest elevation of the journey, eight thousand and
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  Speaker 1: ninety two feet above the level of the sea. The
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  Speaker 1: travelers had now only to descend to the Atlantic by
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  Speaker 1: limitless plains leveled by nature. A branch of the Grand
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  Speaker 1: Trunk led off southward to Denver, the capital of Colorado.
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  Speaker 1: The country round about is rich in gold and silver,
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  Speaker 1: and more than fifty thousand inhabitants are already settled there.
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  Speaker 1: Thirteen hundred and eighty two miles had been passed over
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  Speaker 1: from San Francisco in three days and three nights. Four
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  Speaker 1: days and four nights more would probably bring them to
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  Speaker 1: New York phileas Fogg was not as yet behind in hand.
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  Speaker 1: During the night camp Wallbach was passed on the left.
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  Speaker 1: Lodge Pole Creek ran parallel with the road, marking the
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  Speaker 1: boundary between the territories of Wyoming and Colorado. They entered
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  Speaker 1: Nebraska at eleven passed near Sedgwick and touched at Jewlesburg
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  Speaker 1: on the southern branch of the Platte River. It was
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  Speaker 1: here that the Union Pacific Railroad was inaugurated on the
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  Speaker 1: twenty third of October eighteen sixty seven by the Chief Engineer,
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  Speaker 1: General Dodge. Two powerful locomotives carrying nine cars of invited guests,
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  Speaker 1: among whom were Thomas C. Durant, vice President of the Road,
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  Speaker 1: stopped at this point. Cheers were given, the Sioux and
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  Speaker 1: Pawnees performed an imitation Indian battle. Fireworks were let off,
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  Speaker 1: and the first number of the railway Pioneer was printed
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  Speaker 1: by a press brought on the train. Thus was celebrated
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  Speaker 1: the inauguration of this great railroad, a mighty instruct men
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  Speaker 1: of progress and civilization, thrown across the desert and destined
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  Speaker 1: to link together cities and towns which do not yet exist.
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  Speaker 1: The whistle of the locomotive, more powerful than Amphion's lyre,
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  Speaker 1: was about to bid them rise from American soil. Fort
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  Speaker 1: mc pherson was left behind at eight in the morning,
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  Speaker 1: and three hundred and fifty seven miles had yet to
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  Speaker 1: be traversed before reaching Omaha. The road followed the capricious
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  Speaker 1: windings of the southern branch of the Platte River on
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  Speaker 1: its left bank. At nine, the train stopped at the
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  Speaker 1: important town of North Platte, built between the two arms
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  Speaker 1: of the river, which rejoin each other around it and
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  Speaker 1: form a single artery, a large tributary whose waters empty
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  Speaker 1: into the Missouri. A little above Omaha, the one hundred
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  Speaker 1: and first meridian was passed. Mister Fogg and his partners
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  Speaker 1: had resumed their game. No one, not even the dummy,
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  Speaker 1: complained of the length of the trip. Vix had begun
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  Speaker 1: by winning several guineas, which he seemed likely to lose,
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  Speaker 1: but he showed himself a not less eager whist player
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  Speaker 1: than mister Fogg. During the morning, chance distinctly favored that
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  Speaker 1: gentleman trumps and honors were showered upon his hands. Once
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  Speaker 1: having resolved on a bold stroke, he was on the
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  Speaker 1: point of playing a spade when a voice behind him said,
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  Speaker 1: I should play a diamond. Mister Fogg aouda and fixed
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  Speaker 1: raised their heads and beheld Colonel Proctor, Stamp Proctor and
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  Speaker 1: Phileas Fogg recognized each other at once. Ah it's you,
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  Speaker 1: is it? Englishman, cried the colonel. It's you who are
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  Speaker 1: going to play a spade? And who plays it? Replied
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  Speaker 1: Phileas Fogg, coolly, throwing down the ten of spades. Well
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  Speaker 1: it pleases me to have it diamonds, replied Colonel Proctor
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  Speaker 1: in an insolent tone. He made a movement as if
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  Speaker 1: to seize the card which had just been played, adding
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  Speaker 1: you don't understand anything about whist Perhaps I do as
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  Speaker 1: well as another, said Phileas Fogg, rising, you have only
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  Speaker 1: to try. Son of John Bull, replied the colonel. I
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  Speaker 1: would have turned pale and her blood ran cold. She
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  Speaker 1: seized mister Fogg's arm and gently pulled him back. Passepartout
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  Speaker 1: was ready to pounce upon the American, who was staring
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  Speaker 1: insolently at his opponent, but Fix got up and, going
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  Speaker 1: to Colonel Proctor, said you forget that it is I
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  Speaker 1: with whom you have to deal, sir, For it was
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  Speaker 1: I whom you not only insulted but struck mister Fix said,
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  Speaker 1: mister Fogg, pardon me, but this affair is mine and
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  Speaker 1: mine only. The Colonel has again insulted me by insisting
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  Speaker 1: that I should not play a spade, and he shall
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  Speaker 1: give me satisfaction for it. When and where you will,
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  Speaker 1: replied the American, and with whatever weapon you choose outa
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  Speaker 1: in vain attempted to retain mister Fogg. As vainly did
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  Speaker 1: the detective endeavor to make the quarrel his past par
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  Speaker 1: two wished to throw the colonel out of the window,
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  Speaker 1: but a sign from his master checked him. Phileas Fogg
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  Speaker 1: left the car and the American followed him upon the platform. Sir,
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  Speaker 1: said mister Fogg to his adversary, I am in a
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  Speaker 1: great hurry to get back to Europe, and any delay
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  Speaker 1: whatever will be greatly to my disadvantage. Well what's that
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  Speaker 1: to me, replied Colonel Proctor, Sir, said mister Fogg very politely.
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  Speaker 1: After our meeting at San Francisco, I determined to return
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  Speaker 1: to America and find you as soon as I had
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  Speaker 1: completed the business which called me to England. Really, will
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  Speaker 1: you appoint a meeting for six months? Hence? Why not
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  Speaker 1: ten years? Hence? I say six months, returned Phileas Fogg,
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  Speaker 1: and I shall be at the place of beating promptly.
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  Speaker 1: All this as an evasion, cried Stamp Proctor. Now or never,
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  Speaker 1: very good. You are going to New York, No to Chicago,
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  Speaker 1: No to Omaha, what difference is it to you? Do
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  Speaker 1: you know plum Creek, No, replied mister Fogg. It's the
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  Speaker 1: next station. The train will be there in an hour
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  Speaker 1: and will stop there ten minutes. In ten minutes, several
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  Speaker 1: revolver shots could be exchanged very well, said mister Fogg.
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  Speaker 1: I will stop at plum Creek, and I guess you'll
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  Speaker 1: stay there too, added the American insolently. Who knows, replied
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  Speaker 1: mister Fogg. Returning to the car as coolly as usual,
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  Speaker 1: he began to reassure Aouda, telling her that blusterers were
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  Speaker 1: never to be feared, and begged Fix to be his
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  Speaker 1: second at the approaching duel, a request which the detective
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  Speaker 1: could not refuse. Mister Fogg resumed the interrupted game with
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  Speaker 1: perfect calmness. At eleven o'clock, the locomotive's whistle announced that
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  Speaker 1: they were approaching plum Creek station. Mister Fogg rose, and,
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  Speaker 1: followed by Fix, went out upon the platform. Passepartout accompanied him,
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  Speaker 1: carrying a pair of revolvers. Aouda remained in the car
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  Speaker 1: as pale as death. The door of the next car
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  Speaker 1: opened and Colonel Proctor appeared on the platform, attended by
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  Speaker 1: a Yankee of his own stamp as his second. But
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  Speaker 1: just as the combatants were about to step from the train,
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  Speaker 1: the conductor hurried up and shouted. You can't get off, gentlemen.
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  Speaker 1: Why not, asked the colonel. We are twenty minutes late
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  Speaker 1: and we shall not stop. But I am going to
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  Speaker 1: fight a duel with this gentleman. I'm sorry, said the conductor,
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  Speaker 1: but we shall be off at once. There's the bell
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  Speaker 1: ringing now the train started. I'm really very sorry, gentlemen,
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  Speaker 1: said the conductor. Under any other circumstances, I should have
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  Speaker 1: been happy to oblige you. But after all, as you
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  Speaker 1: have not had time to fight here, why not fight
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  Speaker 1: as we go along? That wouldn't be convenient perhaps for
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  Speaker 1: this gentleman, said the colonel in a jeering tone. It
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  Speaker 1: would be perfectly so, replied Phileas Fogg. Well we are
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  Speaker 1: really in America, thought passepartout, and the conductor is a
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  Speaker 1: gentleman of the first daughter. So muttering, he followed his master.
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  Speaker 1: The two combatants their seconds, and the conductor passed through
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  Speaker 1: the cars to the rear of the train. The last
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  Speaker 1: car was only occupied by a dozen passengers, whom the
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  Speaker 1: conductor politely asked if they would not be so kind
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  Speaker 1: as to leave it vacant for a few moments, as
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  Speaker 1: two gentlemen had an affair of honor to settle. The
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  Speaker 1: passengers granted the request with alacrity, and straightway disappeared on
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  Speaker 1: the platform. The car, which was some fifty feet long,
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  Speaker 1: was very convenient for their purpose. The adversaries might march
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  Speaker 1: on each other in the aisle and fire at their ease.
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  Speaker 1: Never was dual more easily arranged. Mister Fogg and Colonel Proctor,
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  Speaker 1: each provided with two six barreled revolvers, entered the car.
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  Speaker 1: The seconds remaining outside shut them in. They were to
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  Speaker 1: begin firing at the first whistle of the locomotive. After
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  Speaker 1: an interval of two minutes, what remained of the two
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  Speaker 1: gentlemen would be taken from the car. Nothing could be
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  Speaker 1: more simple. Indeed, it was all so simple that Fix
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  Speaker 1: and passepartout felt their hearts beating as if they would crack.
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  Speaker 1: They were listening for the whistle agreed upon, and suddenly
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  Speaker 1: savage cries resounded in the air, accompanied by reports which
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  Speaker 1: certainly did not issue from the car where the duelists were.
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  Speaker 1: The reports continued in front, and the whole length of
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  Speaker 1: the train. Cries of terror proceeded from the interior of
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  Speaker 1: the cars. Colonel Proctor and mister Fogg, revolvers in hand,
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  Speaker 1: hastily quitted their prison and rushed forward where the noise
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  Speaker 1: was most clamorous. They then perceived that the train was
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  Speaker 1: attacked by a band of Sioux. This was not the
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  Speaker 1: first attempt of these daring Indians, for more than once
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  Speaker 1: they had waylaid trains on the road. A hundred of
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  Speaker 1: them had, according to their habit, jumped upon the steps
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  Speaker 1: without stopping the train, with the ease of a clown
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  Speaker 1: mounting a horse at full gallop. The Sioux were armed
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  Speaker 1: with guns, from which came the reports, to which the passengers,
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  Speaker 1: who were almost all armed, responded by revolver shots. The
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  Speaker 1: Indians had first mounted the engine and half stunned the
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  Speaker 1: engineer and stoker with blows from their muskets. A Sioux chief,
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  Speaker 1: wishing to stop the train, but not knowing how to
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  Speaker 1: work the regulator had opened wide instead of closing the
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  Speaker 1: steam valve, and the locomotive was plunging forward with terrific velocity.
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  Speaker 1: The Sioux had at the same time invaded the cars,
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  Speaker 1: skipping like enraged monkeys over the roofs, thrusting open the
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  Speaker 1: doors and fighting hand to hand with the passengers. Penetrating
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  Speaker 1: the baggage car, they pillaged it, throwing the trunks out
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  Speaker 1: of the train. The cries and shots were constant. The
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  Speaker 1: travelers defended themselves bravely. Some of the cars were barricaded
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  Speaker 1: and sustained a siege. Like moving forts carried along at
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  Speaker 1: a speed of one hundred miles an hour. Aouda behaved
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  Speaker 1: courageously from the first. She defended herself like a true heroine,
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  Speaker 1: with a revolver, which she shot through the broken windows
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  Speaker 1: whenever a savage made his appearance. Twenty Sioux had fallen
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  Speaker 1: mortally wounded to the ground, and the wheels crushed them,
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  Speaker 1: who fell upon the rails as if they had been worms.
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  Speaker 1: Several passengers shot or stunned, lay on the seats. It
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  Speaker 1: was necessary to put an end to the struggle, which
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  Speaker 1: had lasted for ten minutes, and which would result in
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  Speaker 1: the triumph of the Sioux if the train was not stopped.
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  Speaker 1: Fort Kearney's station, where there was a garrison, was only
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  Speaker 1: two miles distant, but that once passed, the Sioux would
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  Speaker 1: be masters of the train between Fort Kearney and the
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  Speaker 1: station beyond. The conductor was fighting beside mister Fogg when
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  Speaker 1: he was shot and fell. At the same moment. He cried,
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  Speaker 1: unless the train is stopped in five minutes, we are lost.
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  Speaker 1: It shall be stopped, said Phileas Fogg, preparing to rush
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  Speaker 1: from the car. Stay, Monsieur cried, passepartout, I will go.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Fogg had not time to stop. The brave fellow,
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  Speaker 1: who opening a door unperceived by the Indians, succeeded in
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  Speaker 1: slipping under the car, and while the struggle continued in
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  Speaker 1: the ball's whizz to cross each other over his head,
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  Speaker 1: he made use of his old acrobatic experience, and with
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  Speaker 1: amazing agility, worked his way under the cars, holding on
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  Speaker 1: to the chains, aiding himself by the brakes and the
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  Speaker 1: edges of the sashes, creeping from one car to another
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  Speaker 1: with marvelous skill, and thus gaining the forward end of
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  Speaker 1: the train. There suspended by one hand between the baggage
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  Speaker 1: car and the tender. With the other he loosened the
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  Speaker 1: safety chains, but owing to the traction, he would never
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  Speaker 1: have succeeded in unscrewing the yoking bar. Had not a
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  Speaker 1: violent concussion jolded this bar out. The train, now detached
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  Speaker 1: from the engine, remained a little behind, whilst the locomotive
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  Speaker 1: rushed forward with increased speed, carried on by the force
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  Speaker 1: already acquired. The trains still moved for several minutes, but
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  Speaker 1: the brakes were worked, and at last they stopped less
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  Speaker 1: than an hundred feet from Kearney station. The soldiers of
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  Speaker 1: the fort, attracted by the shots, hurried up. The Sioux
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  Speaker 1: had not expected them, and decamped in a body before
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  Speaker 1: the train entirely stopped. But when the passengers counted each
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  Speaker 1: other on the station platform, several were found missing, among
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  Speaker 1: others the courageous Frenchman whose devotion had just saved them.
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  Speaker 1: End of chapter