They were in some trees when suddenly the elephant
stopped. They heard the sound of singing and loud music. The
guide drove the elephant into the thickest trees.
'It is a dead man,' said the guide, quietly.' They are taking a
dead man to a temple. Tomorrow they will start a fire and put
the dead man on the fire.' Through the trees, they saw a lot of people. Some men wore
the same orange clothes as the three men at the Malabar temple.
Some men played music. Some women and children walked
behind them. Then they saw a young woman. Some men pushed
her in front of them. She was very beautiful, but she was very
weak. She couldn't walk very well. Men at the back carried a
dead man in fine clothes. 'The dead man was important,' said the guide. ' The young
woman was his wife, and they will put her on the fire tomorrow
with her dead husband.'
'What?' said Phileas Fogg. 'Are you saying that this woman
wants to die with her husband ?'
'Sometimes a wife wants to die when her husband dies,'
answered the guide. 'But this young woman does not want to
die. Those people, the people in the orange clothes, say she has
to do it.' 'No!' said Passepartout.' But can't she get away from them?' 'They put something in her food,' the guide said.' Look — she
is very tired. Then she will sleep.'
'We'll get her out of here,' said Phileas Fogg.
'Please think before you try that,' said the guide. 'These
people are dangerous.'
'But, Mr. Fogg, the bet ...' said Passepartout.
Phileas Fogg looked at the timetable. ‘I am one day early.
We can use the day well, and get the young woman away from
here.' 'Well,' said the guide. 'We can follow them, but we cannot go
too near. They are going to a temple about two miles from here.
I know about the young wife, too. Her name is Aouda. Her
father had a big company in Bombay. But her father and mother
died and she had to marry that old man. We cannot do anything
now. But I will help you when it gets dark.'