Round the World in Eighty Days Part 16

for Fogg had an unpleasant habit of jumping from one steamer to another, and might be far away before anything had been settled. The thing to do, therefore, was to give notice to the English authorities, and to signal the _Rangoon_ before she arrived. This was not difficult, as the steamer stopped at Singapore, and he could telegraph thence to Hong Kong.

In any case, before taking decisive action, he determined to question Pa.s.se-partout. He knew it was not difficult to make the lad talk, and Fix decided to make himself known. There was no time to lose, for the steamer would reach Singapore the following day.

That afternoon, therefore. Fix left his cabin, and seeing Pa.s.se-partout on deck, the detective rushed towards him, exclaiming:

"What, you on board the _Rangoon_?"

"Mr. Fix, is it really you?" said Pa.s.se-partout, as he recognised his fellow voyager of the _Mongolia_. "Why, I left you at Bombay, and here you are on the way to Hong Kong. Are you also going round the world?"

"No," replied Fix, "I think of stopping at Hong Kong for a few days, at any rate."

"Ah!" said Pa.s.se-partout, "but how is it I have not seen you on board since we left Calcutta?"

"The fact is I have not been very well, and obliged to stay below. The Bay of Bengal does not suit me as well as the Indian Ocean. And how is your master, Mr. Phileas Fogg?"

"Oh, quite well, and as punctual to his time as ever; but Mr. Fix, you do not know that we have got a young lady with us."

"A young lady?" repeated the detective, who pretended not to understand what was said.

Pa.s.se-partout nodded, and immediately proceeded to give him the history of the business at the paG.o.da, the purchase of the elephant, the suttee, the rescue of Aouda, the judgment of the Calcutta court, and their release on bail. Fix, who was quite familiar with the last incidents, pretended to be ignorant of all, and Pa.s.se-partout was quite delighted to have such an interested listener.

"But," said Fix, when his companion had ceased, "does your master wish to carry this young lady to Europe?"

"By no means, Mr. Fix, by no means. We are simply going to Hong Kong, to place her under the care of a relative of hers, a rich merchant there."

"Nothing to be done on that line," said the detective to himself, as he concealed his disappointment. "Come and have a gla.s.s of gin, monsieur."

"With all my heart, Mr. Fix; the least we can do is to have a friendly gla.s.s to our meeting on board the _Rangoon_."

CHAPTER XVII.

What happened on the Voyage between Singapore and Hong Kong.

After that, Pa.s.se-partout and the detective met frequently, but the latter was very reserved and did not attempt to pump his companion respecting Mr. Fogg. He only encountered that gentleman once or twice, for he kept very much in the cabin, attending on Mrs. Aouda, or engaged in a game of whist.

As for Pa.s.se-partout, he began to meditate very seriously upon the curious chance which had brought Mr. Fix once again on his master's track, and it certainly was somewhat astonishing. How was it that this amiable, good-natured gentleman, whom they had met first at Suez, and on board the _Mongolia_, who had landed at Bombay, where he said he was going to remain, was now on board the _Rangoon_ bound for Hong Kong, and, in a word, following Mr. Fogg step by step--that was the question? It certainly was a most extraordinary coincidence, and what did Fix want? Pa.s.se-partout was ready to wager his Indian shoes, which all this time he had carefully preserved, that this man Fix would leave Hong Kong with them, and probably on board the same steamer.

If Pa.s.se-partout had worried his head for a hundred years, he never would have hit upon the real object of the detective. It would never have occurred to him that Phileas Fogg was being tracked round the globe for a robbery. But as it is only human nature to find some explanation for everything, this is how Pa.s.se-partout interpreted Fix's unremitting attention, and after all it was not an unreasonable conclusion to arrive at. In fact, he made up his mind that Fix was an agent sent after Mr. Fogg by the members of the Reform Club, to see that the conditions of the wager were properly carried out.

"That's it," repeated Pa.s.se-partout to himself, very proud of his shrewdness. "He is a spy these gentlemen have sent out. It is scarcely a gentlemanly thing to do, Mr. Fogg is so honourable and straightforward. Fancy sending a spy after us! Ah, gentlemen of the Reform Club, this shall cost you dearly."

Pa.s.se-partout, quite delighted with the discovery, determined to say nothing to his master on the subject, lest he should be very justly offended at his opponents' distrust, but he determined to chaff Fix at every opportunity without betraying himself.

On Wednesday, the 30th of October, the _Rangoon_ entered the Straits of Malacca, which separate that peninsula from Sumatra, and at four o'clock the next morning the _Rangoon_, having gained half a day in advance of time, anch.o.r.ed at Singapore to coal.

Phileas Fogg having noted the gain in his book, went ash.o.r.e accompanied by Mrs. Aouda, who expressed a wish to land for a few hours.

Fix, who was very suspicious of Fogg's movements, followed without being noticed; and Pa.s.se-partout, who was secretly amused at the detective's manoeuvres, went about his usual business.

The island of Singapore, though not grand or imposing, still has its peculiar beauties. It is a park traversed by pleasant roads. A well-appointed carriage took Phileas Fogg and Aouda through palm-groves and clove-plantations, various tropical plants perfumed the air, while troops of monkeys gambolled in the trees; the woods, also, were not innocent of tigers, and to those travellers who were astonished to learn why these terrible animals were not destroyed in such a small island, the reply would be that they swam across from the mainland.

After a couple of hours' drive, Mr. Fogg and Aouda returned to the town and went on board ship again, all the time followed by the detective. Pa.s.se-partout was awaiting them on deck; the brave fellow had purchased some beautiful mangoes, and was enabled to offer them to Mrs. Aouda, who received them gracefully.

At eleven o'clock the _Rangoon_ resumed her voyage and a few hours later Malacca had sunk below the horizon. They had about thirteen hundred miles to traverse to reach Hong Kong, and Phileas Fogg hoped to get there in six days, so as to be able to catch the steamer for Yokohama on the 6th of November.

The weather, which had hitherto been very fine, changed with the last quarter of the moon. There was a high wind, fortunately favourable, and a very heavy sea.

The captain set the sails at every opportunity, and the _Rangoon_, under these circ.u.mstances, made rapid progress. But in very rough weather extra precautions were necessary, and steam had to be reduced.

This delay did not appear to affect Phileas Fogg in the least, but it worried Pa.s.se-partout tremendously. He swore at the captain, the engineers, and the company, and consigned all concerned to a warmer climate than Hong Kong. Perhaps the thought of the gas that was still burning in his room in London may have had something to do with his impatience.

"You seem in a great hurry to reach Hong Kong," said Fix to him one day.

"I am," replied Pa.s.se-partout. "You think Mr. Fogg is anxious to catch the steamer for Yokohama?"

"Very anxious indeed."

"You believe in this journey round the world, then?"

"Most decidedly; don't you?"

"Not a bit of it."

"You are a sly one," replied Pa.s.se-partout with a wink.

This remark rather disturbed Fix, without his knowing why. Could the Frenchman have discovered who he was? He did not know what to do. But how could Pa.s.se-partout have found out his real object? And yet in speaking as he did, Pa.s.se-partout must certainly have had some ulterior motive.

On a subsequent occasion the valet went still further, and said, half maliciously:

"Well, Mr. Fix, shall we be so unfortunate as to lose the pleasure of your society at Hong Kong?"

"Well," replied Fix, somewhat embarra.s.sed, "I am not quite sure. You see--"

"Ah," said Pa.s.se-partout, "if you would only come with us I should be so delighted. An agent of the company cannot stop halfway, you know.

You were only going to Bombay, and here you are almost in China.

America is not far off, and from America to Europe is but a step."

Fix looked very hard at his companion, whose face was perfectly innocent, and laughed too. But Pa.s.se-partout was in the humour for quizzing, and asked him if he made much by his present business.

"Yes and no," replied Fix, without flinching. "We have our good and bad times, but of course I do not travel at my own expense."

"Of that I am quite sure," said Pa.s.se-partout, laughing.

Fix then returned to his cabin, where he remained deep in thought.