Chapter XVIII
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG, PASSEPARTOUT, AND FIX GO EACH ABOUT HIS BUSINESS
The weather was bad during the latter days of the voyage. The wind,obstinately remaining in the north-west, blew a gale, and retarded thesteamer. The Rangoon rolled heavily and the passengers becameimpatient of the long, monstrous waves which the wind raised beforetheir path. A sort of tempest arose on the 3rd of November, the squallknocking the vessel about with fury, and the waves running high. TheRangoon reefed all her sails, and even the rigging proved too much,whistling and shaking amid the squall. The steamer was forced toproceed slowly, and the captain estimated that she would reach HongKong twenty hours behind time, and more if the storm lasted.
Phileas Fogg gazed at the tempestuous sea, which seemed to bestruggling especially to delay him, with his habitual tranquillity. Henever changed countenance for an instant, though a delay of twentyhours, by making him too late for the Yokohama boat, would almostinevitably cause the loss of the wager. But this man of nervemanifested neither impatience nor annoyance; it seemed as if the stormwere a part of his programme, and had been foreseen. Aouda was amazedto find him as calm as he had been from the first time she saw him.
Fix did not look at the state of things in the same light. The stormgreatly pleased him. His satisfaction would have been complete had theRangoon been forced to retreat before the violence of wind and waves.Each delay filled him with hope, for it became more and more probablethat Fogg would be obliged to remain some days at Hong Kong; and nowthe heavens themselves became his allies, with the gusts and squalls.It mattered not that they made him sea-sick--he made no account of thisinconvenience; and, whilst his body was writhing under their effects,his spirit bounded with hopeful exultation.
Passepartout was enraged beyond expression by the unpropitious weather.Everything had gone so well till now! Earth and sea had seemed to beat his master's service; steamers and railways obeyed him; wind andsteam united to speed his journey. Had the hour of adversity come?Passepartout was as much excited as if the twenty thousand pounds wereto come from his own pocket. The storm exasperated him, the gale madehim furious, and he longed to lash the obstinate sea into obedience.Poor fellow! Fix carefully concealed from him his own satisfaction,for, had he betrayed it, Passepartout could scarcely have restrainedhimself from personal violence.
Passepartout remained on deck as long as the tempest lasted, beingunable to remain quiet below, and taking it into his head to aid theprogress of the ship by lending a hand with the crew. He overwhelmedthe captain, officers, and sailors, who could not help laughing at hisimpatience, with all sorts of questions. He wanted to know exactly howlong the storm was going to last; whereupon he was referred to thebarometer, which seemed to have no intention of rising. Passepartoutshook it, but with no perceptible effect; for neither shaking normaledictions could prevail upon it to change its mind.
On the 4th, however, the sea became more calm, and the storm lessenedits violence; the wind veered southward, and was once more favourable.Passepartout cleared up with the weather. Some of the sails wereunfurled, and the Rangoon resumed its most rapid speed. The time lostcould not, however, be regained. Land was not signalled until fiveo'clock on the morning of the 6th; the steamer was due on the 5th.Phileas Fogg was twenty-four hours behind-hand, and the Yokohamasteamer would, of course, be missed.
The pilot went on board at six, and took his place on the bridge, toguide the Rangoon through the channels to the port of Hong Kong.Passepartout longed to ask him if the steamer had left for Yokohama;but he dared not, for he wished to preserve the spark of hope, whichstill remained till the last moment. He had confided his anxiety toFix who--the sly rascal!--tried to console him by saying that Mr. Foggwould be in time if he took the next boat; but this only putPassepartout in a passion.
Mr. Fogg, bolder than his servant, did not hesitate to approach thepilot, and tranquilly ask him if he knew when a steamer would leaveHong Kong for Yokohama.
"At high tide to-morrow morning," answered the pilot.
"Ah!" said Mr. Fogg, without betraying any astonishment.
Passepartout, who heard what passed, would willingly have embraced thepilot, while Fix would have been glad to twist his neck.
"What is the steamer's name?" asked Mr. Fogg.
"The Carnatic."
"Ought she not to have gone yesterday?"
"Yes, sir; but they had to repair one of her boilers, and so herdeparture was postponed till to-morrow."
"Thank you," returned Mr. Fogg, descending mathematically to the saloon.
Passepartout clasped the pilot's hand and shook it heartily in hisdelight, exclaiming, "Pilot, you are the best of good fellows!"
The pilot probably does not know to this day why his responses won himthis enthusiastic greeting. He remounted the bridge, and guided thesteamer through the flotilla of junks, tankas, and fishing boats whichcrowd the harbour of Hong Kong.
At one o'clock the Rangoon was at the quay, and the passengers weregoing ashore.
Chance had strangely favoured Phileas Fogg, for had not the Carnaticbeen forced to lie over for repairing her boilers, she would have lefton the 6th of November, and the passengers for Japan would have beenobliged to await for a week the sailing of the next steamer. Mr. Foggwas, it is true, twenty-four hours behind his time; but this could notseriously imperil the remainder of his tour.
The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Franciscomade a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could notsail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-fourhours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easilyregained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He foundhimself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five daysafter leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning.Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there,which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired tothe Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg,after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of hercousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hoteluntil his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every onewould know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parseemerchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeehhad left China two years before, and, retiring from business with animmense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe--in Holland thebroker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principallytraded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment'sconversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her thatJeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
Aouda at first said nothing. She passed her hand across her forehead,and reflected a few moments. Then, in her sweet, soft voice, she said:"What ought I to do, Mr. Fogg?"
"It is very simple," responded the gentleman. "Go on to Europe."
"But I cannot intrude--"
"You do not intrude, nor do you in the least embarrass my project.Passepartout!"
"Monsieur."
"Go to the Carnatic, and engage three cabins."
Passepartout, delighted that the young woman, who was very gracious tohim, was going to continue the journey with them, went off at a briskgait to obey his master's order.