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10 - Around The World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne · Science Fiction Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter ten, in which passepartout is only too glad to
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  Speaker 1: get off with the loss of his shoes. Everybody knows
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  Speaker 1: that the great reversed triangle of land, with its base
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  Speaker 1: in the north and its apex in the south, which
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  Speaker 1: is called India, embraces fourteen hundred thousand square miles, upon
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  Speaker 1: which is spread unequally a population of one hundred eighty
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  Speaker 1: millions of souls. The British Crown exercises a real and
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  Speaker 1: despotic dominion over the larger portion of this vast country,
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  Speaker 1: and has a Governor General stationed at Calcutta, governors at Madras,
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  Speaker 1: Bombay and m Bengal, and a Lieutenant governor at Agra.
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  Speaker 1: But British India, properly so called, only embraces seven hundred
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  Speaker 1: thousand square miles and a population of from one hundred
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  Speaker 1: to one hundred and ten millions of inhabitants. A considerable
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  Speaker 1: portion of India is still free from British authority, and
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  Speaker 1: there are certain ferocious Rajas in the interior who are
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  Speaker 1: absolutely independent. The celebrated East India Company was all powerful
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  Speaker 1: from seventeen fifty six, when the English first gained a
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  Speaker 1: foothold on the spot where now stands the city of Madras.
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  Speaker 1: Down to the time of the Great Sepoy Insurrection. It
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  Speaker 1: gradually annexed province after province, purchasing them of the native chiefs,
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  Speaker 1: whom its seldom paid, and appointed the Governor General and
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  Speaker 1: his subordinates civil and military. But the East India Company
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  Speaker 1: has now passed away, leaving the British possessions in India
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  Speaker 1: directly under the control of the Crown. The aspect of
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  Speaker 1: the country, as well as the manners and distinctions of race,
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  Speaker 1: is daily changing. Formerly one was obliged to travel in
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  Speaker 1: India by the old cumbrous methods of going on foot
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  Speaker 1: or on horseback in palanquin's or unwieldy coaches. Now, fast
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  Speaker 1: steamboats ply on the Indus and the Ganges, and a
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  Speaker 1: great railway with branch lines joining the main line at
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  Speaker 1: many points on its route, traverses the peninsula from Bombay
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  Speaker 1: to Calcutta in three days. This railway does not run
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  Speaker 1: in a direct line across India. The distance between Bombay
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  Speaker 1: and Klcutta, as the bird flies, is only from one
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  Speaker 1: thousand to eleven hundred miles, but the deflections of the
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  Speaker 1: road increase this distance by more than a third. The
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  Speaker 1: general route of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway is as follows.
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  Speaker 1: Leaving Bombay, it passes through Salsette, crossing to the continent
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  Speaker 1: opposite Tenna, goes over the chain of the Western Gouts,
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  Speaker 1: runs thence northeast as far as Burhampur, skirts the nearly
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  Speaker 1: independent territory of Bundelkund, ascends to Allahabad, turns thence easterly,
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  Speaker 1: meeting the Ganges at Benaris, then departs from the river
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  Speaker 1: a little and descending southeastward by Berdivan and the French
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  Speaker 1: town of Chanternagore has its terminus at Calcutta. The passengers
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  Speaker 1: of the Mongolia went ashore at half past four p m.
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  Speaker 1: At exactly eight, the train would start for Calcutta. Mister Fogg,
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  Speaker 1: after bidding good bye to his whist partners, left the steamer,
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  Speaker 1: gave his servant several errands to do, urged it upon
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  Speaker 1: him to be at the station promptly at eight, and
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  Speaker 1: with his regular step, which beat to the second like
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  Speaker 1: an astronomical clock, directed his steps to the passport office.
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  Speaker 1: As for the wonders of Bombay, its famous city hall,
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  Speaker 1: its splendid library, its forts and docks, its bazaars, mosques, synagogues,
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  Speaker 1: its Armenian churches, and the noble pagoda on Malabar Hill,
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  Speaker 1: with its two polygonal towers. He cared not a straw
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  Speaker 1: to see them. He would not deign to examine even
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  Speaker 1: the masterpieces of Elaphanta, or the mysterious Hypogea concealed southeast
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  Speaker 1: from the docks, or those fine remains of Buddhist architecture,
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  Speaker 1: the Canarian grottos of the island of South Set. Having
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  Speaker 1: transacted his business at the passport office, Phileas Fogg repaired
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  Speaker 1: quietly to the railway station, where he ordered dinner. Among
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  Speaker 1: the dishes served up to him, the landlord especially recommended
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  Speaker 1: a certain giblet of native rabbit, on which he prided himself.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Fogg accordingly tasted the dish, but, despite its spiced sauce,
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  Speaker 1: found it far from palatable. He rang for the landlord,
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  Speaker 1: and on his appearance, said, fixing his clear eyes upon him,
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  Speaker 1: is this rabbit, sir? Yes, my lord. The rogue boldly replied,
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  Speaker 1: rabbit from the jungles. And this rabbit did not mew
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  Speaker 1: when he was killed. Me, Oh, my lord, what a
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  Speaker 1: rabbit muwle I swear to you be so good, Landlord,
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  Speaker 1: as not to swear. But remember this cats were formerly
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  Speaker 1: considered in India as sacred animals. That was a good
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  Speaker 1: time for the cats, my Lord, perhaps for the travelers
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  Speaker 1: as well, after which mister Fogg quietly continued his dinner.
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  Speaker 1: Fix had gone on shore shortly after mister Fogg, and
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  Speaker 1: his first destination was the headquarters of the Bombay Police.
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  Speaker 1: He made himself known as a London detective, told his
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  Speaker 1: business at Bombay and the position of affairs relative to
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  Speaker 1: the supposed robber, and nervously asked if a warrant had
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  Speaker 1: arrived from London, it had not reached the office. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: there had not yet been time for it to arrive.
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  Speaker 1: Fix was sorely disappointed and tried to obtain an order
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  Speaker 1: of arrest from the Director of the Bombay Police. This
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  Speaker 1: the director refused, as the matter concerned the London office,
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  Speaker 1: which alone could legally deliver the warrant. Fix did not
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  Speaker 1: insist and was fain to resign himself to await the
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  Speaker 1: arrival of the important document. But he was determined not
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  Speaker 1: to lose sight of the mysterious rogue as long as
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  Speaker 1: he stayed in Bombay. He did not doubt for a
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  Speaker 1: moment any more than Passepartout that Phileas Fogg would remain there,
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  Speaker 1: at least until it was time for the warrant to arrive.
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  Speaker 1: Passe Partout, however, had no sooner heard his master's orders
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  Speaker 1: on leaving the Mongolia than he saw at once that
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  Speaker 1: they were to leave Bombay as they had done Suez
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  Speaker 1: in Paris, and that the journey would be extended at
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  Speaker 1: least as far as Calcutta, and perhaps beyond that place.
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  Speaker 1: He began to ask himself if this bet that mister
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  Speaker 1: Fogg talked to was not really in good earnest, and
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  Speaker 1: whether his fate was not in truth forcing him, despite
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  Speaker 1: his love of repose around the world in eighty days,
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  Speaker 1: having purchased the usual quota of shirts and shoes, he
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  Speaker 1: took a leisurely promenade about the streets where crowds of
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  Speaker 1: people of many nationalities Europeans, Persians with pointed caps, Banyas
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  Speaker 1: with round turbans, Cindhis with square bonnets, Parsis with black miters,
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  Speaker 1: and long robed Armenians were collected. It happened to be
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  Speaker 1: a day of a Parsi festival. These descendants of the
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  Speaker 1: sect of Zoroaster, the most thrifty, civilized, intelligent, and austere
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  Speaker 1: of the East Indians, among whom are counted the richest
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  Speaker 1: native merchants of Bombay, were celebrating a sort of religious carnival,
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  Speaker 1: with processions and shows, in the midst of which Indian
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  Speaker 1: dancing girls, clothed in rose colored gauze, looped up with
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  Speaker 1: gold and silver, danced airily but with perfect modesty, to
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  Speaker 1: the sound of viols and the clanging of tambourines. It
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  Speaker 1: is needless to say that Passepartout watched these curious ceremonies
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  Speaker 1: with staring eyes and gaping mouth, and that his countenance
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  Speaker 1: was that of the greenest booby imaginable. Unhappily, for his
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  Speaker 1: master as well as himself, his curiosity drew him unconsciously
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  Speaker 1: farther off than he intended to go. At last, having
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  Speaker 1: seen the Parsi carnival wind away in the distance, he
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  Speaker 1: was turning his steps towards the station when he happened
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  Speaker 1: to a spy the splendid pagoda on Malabar Hill, and
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  Speaker 1: was seized with an irresistible desire to see its interior.
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  Speaker 1: He was quite ignorant that it was forbidden to Christians
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  Speaker 1: to enter certain Indian temples, and that even the faithful
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  Speaker 1: must not go in without first leaving their shoes outside
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  Speaker 1: the door. It may be said here that the wise
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  Speaker 1: policy of the British government severely punishes a disregard of
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  Speaker 1: the practices of the native religions. Passpartiu, however, thinking no harm,
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  Speaker 1: went in like a simple tourist, and was soon lost
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  Speaker 1: in admiration of the splendid Brahmin ornamentation which everywhere met
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  Speaker 1: his eyes, when all of a sudden he found himself
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  Speaker 1: sprawling on the sacred flagging. He looked up to behold
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  Speaker 1: three enraged priests, who forthwith fell upon him, tore off
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  Speaker 1: his shoes and began to beat him with loud, savage exclamations.
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  Speaker 1: The agile Frenchman was soon upon his feet again and
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  Speaker 1: lost no time in knocking down two of his long
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  Speaker 1: gowned adversaries with his fists and a vigorous application of
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  Speaker 1: his toes. Then rushing out of the pagoda as fast
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  Speaker 1: as his legs could carry him, he soon escaped the
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  Speaker 1: third priest by mingling with the crowd in the streets.
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  Speaker 1: At five minutes before eight pass PARTI two hatless, shoeless,
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  Speaker 1: and having in the squabble lost his package of shirts
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  Speaker 1: and shoes, rushed breathlessly into the station. Fix, who had
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  Speaker 1: followed mister Fogg to the station and saw that he
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  Speaker 1: was really going to leave Bombay, was there upon the platform.
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  Speaker 1: He had resolved to follow the supposed robber to Calcutta
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  Speaker 1: and farther if necessary. Passe Partout did not observe the detective,
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  Speaker 1: who stood in an obscure corner, but Fix heard him
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  Speaker 1: relate his adventures in a few words to mister Fogg.
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  Speaker 1: I hope this will not happen again, said Phileas Fogg coldly.
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  Speaker 1: As he got into the train. Poor Passepartout, quite crestfallen,
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  Speaker 1: followed his master without a word. Fix was on the
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  Speaker 1: point of entering another carriage when an idea struck him,
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  Speaker 1: which induced him to alter his plan. No, I'll stay,
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  Speaker 1: muttered he an A fence has been committed on Indian soil.
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  Speaker 1: I've got my man. Just then the locomotive gave a
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  Speaker 1: sharp screech, and the train passed out into the darkness
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  Speaker 1: of the night. End of chapter