Chapter Three
Across India
It was 4:30 when the Mongolia landed and its passengers went ashore. Fogg ordered Passepartout to be at the train station by 8 p.m. to catch the train to Calcutta.
Then he went to the British consulate to get his passport stampef.
Mr. Fix quickly went to the Bombay police headquarters. There he asked if his arrest warrant had arrived yet. But it hadn’t arrived yet.
Fix realized that he would just have to keep following Fogg and Passepartout until the warrant arrived.
Passepartout decided to look around Bombay. He followed a parade that was marching through the streets. Soon after, the Frenchman entered a beautiful pagoda at the top of Malabar Hill.
He didn’t know Christians couldn’t enter Indian temples or that even Indians must romove their shoes before going inside.
Suddenly, Passepartout was knocked to the floor. He found himself being beaten by three angry priests. They shouted and tore off his shoes. But Passepartout quickly jumped up and ran out of the pagoda as fast as he could.
When Passepartout arrived at the train station, he was shoeless, hatless, and without the package of clothes Fogg had sent him to purchase.
From a hidden corner, Mr. Fix listened to Passepartout tell Phileas Fogg what had happened at the pagoda.
Now Fogg’s servant had committed an offense on Indian land. He would be able to arrest them in Calcutta and hold them until the warrant arrived.
At 8 a.m. on 22nd October, the train stopped 15 miles past Rothal. They were in the middle of a very small village.
“Passengers will get out here,” announced the conductor.
Passepartout rushed out to find out the reason and came back crying, “Monsieur Fogg, the railway has ended!”
They soon learned that the railway wasn’t finished. There was a gap of fifty miles between where the train had stopped and Allahabad, where the line picked up again.
By this time, the other passengers were beginning to leave for Allahabad by wagon, horse, and mule.
Fogg also searched the village for transport but found nothing. Passepartout had mare luck, announcing, “I think I’ve found a way to get to Allahabad. There’s an elephant that belongs to an Indian near here.”
The elephant’s name was Kiouni. Mr.Fogg decided he would rent it. Fogg made several generous offers, but the owner refused them all. Then he offered to buy the animal for 2,000 pounds. It was too much money for the man to refuse.
Fogg then hired a local parsee man to guide them and the elephant to Allahabad.
This part of India was not under British control. They occasionally came across bands of ferocious Indians, who shook their fists and shouted angrily. That night, they stayed in an old cabin on the edge of the jungle.
At six the next morning, they resumed their jouney. At 4 p.m., the elephant stopped moving.
A noise from the jungle was getting closer. They could hear a chorus of human voices accompanied by brass instruments.
Then the guide announced, “It’s a procession of Brahmins coming our way. We must not let them see us!”
They hid behind some trees and were very quiet. The Voices came nearer. Fogg could see priests in long robes surrounded by men, women, and children, who were singing a terrible and sad chant. Behind them was a cart carrying a statue of a woman with four arms and her tongue sticking out.
“Kali, the goddess of love and death,” whispered the guide.
A group of holy men led a beautiful young woman who looked European. She staggered along behind them. She was covered in rich robes, golden jewelry, and gems. Then came another cart, on which was the dead body of a very old man. He was dressed like a king, or as they say in India, a Rajah
“This is a suttee, a human sacrifice. She will be burned tomorrow with her dead husband, who was the Rajah of Bundelcund,” said the guide.
“But why doesn’t she try to escape?” asked Fogg.
“She’s been drugged. They will take her to the pagoda of Pillaji and sacrifice her at dawn.
“We will save her,” said Fogg. “Save the woman?” cried Passepartout. “But the wager…the steamboat in Calcutta.!” “I have twelve hours to spare. We will be on the steamboat to Hong Kong” “Sir, you are a man of heart!” admired Passepartout
They waited in the jungle until night time. The guide told them about the woman. Her name was Aouda. She was an orphan who had received a European education. When she had grown up, the elderly Rajah noticed her beauty. She was forced to marry him against her will.
When dawn came, the Brahmins gathered around the pyre.
Fogg and the guide walked up behind the group. Aouda was placed on the top of the pyre with the old Rajah’s corpse. The Brahmins lit the wood at the bottom of the pyre, and it began to smoke. Then suddenly, the dead Fajah stood up! The Brahmins threw themselves upon the ground. They were afraid to even look at their resurrected master. Then the Rajah picked up the woman and ran down the smoking pyre through the crowd to Fogg. It wasn’t the Rajah, but rather Passepartout in the Fajah’s clouthes! They traveled quickly and escaped.
As they traveled toward Allahabad, the woman, Aouda, was dazed from all the drugs. They reached the train station at Allahabad by ten o’clock.
Once on the train to Calcutta, Aouda became conscious. With tears, she thanked the men for rescuing her. She claimed to have a wealthy uncle in Hong Kong. Fogg decided to take her there.
The train reached Calcutta at 7 a.m. There were five hours until the steamboat Rangoon left for Hong Kong at noon. The two days gained between London and Boombay had been lost, but Phileas Fogg had no regrets.
As Fogg leapt from the train, he was greeted by several policemen. “Mr. Phileas Fogg, is this your servant?” asked the policeman, pointing to Passepartout.
“He is.” “Both of you pleaxe follow us.” The policemen took them before the judge. The judge told Fogg and passepartout that they were being charged with the desecration of a native shrine. He also showed them Passepartout’s shoes as proof.
Fix had used Passepartout’s misunderstanding at the pagoda in Bombay as a way to keep Fogg in Calcutta. Since he was Fogg’s butler, Fogg was guilty, too. The judge sentenced Passepartout to 15 days in prison and Fogg to a week in prison.
Fix rubbed his hands with satisfaction. But Fogg was not worried.
“I offer bail,” he said to the judge. “You have that right,” said the judge.
“I will pay it at once,” said Fogg, pulling the cash from his bankroll.
“This money will be returned to you upon your release from prison,” said the judge.
“At least give me back my shoes!’ cried Passepartout angrily. Mr. Fix followed them and observed them boarding the steamboat Rangoon.
Chapter Four
Clowning Around
The trip from Calcutta to Hong Kong would take them 10 to 12 days. Aouda soon became familiar with her protectors and expressed her gratitude for being rescued over and over again.
The weather on the final days of the voyage became Very bad. The boat moved so slowly that it would reach Hong Kong 20 hours behind schedule. But Phileas Fogg never worried. On the morning of the sixth, land was sighted. Fogg was more than twenty-four hours behind. The steamboat for Yokohama would be missed. But the captain had some good news for them. “The Carnatic had a broken boiler and could not leave yesterday,” said he. “she’ll sail for Yokohama tomorrow at high tide.”
By 1 p.m., the passengers of the Rangoon went ashore. Fogg went to search for Aouda’s uncle, who was a wealthy merchant. He learned that her uncle had made a huge fortune and retired to Holland two years ago. Aouda was disappointed when she heard the news. “What shall I do now?” she asked. “You’ll come around the world and back to Europe with us. Then I can take you to Holland,” replied Fogg.
Fogg sent Passepartout to the Carnatic to buy three tickets to Yokohama. Inside the ship’s office , he learned that the repairs to the Carnatic had been completed ahead of schedule. The ship would be leaving that evening instead of the following morning.
“That’s good news for my master,” said Passepartout.
Passepartout met Mr. Fix in front of the Carnatic. Fix invited him to a tavern for a drink. They ordered two bottles of red wine. When they were drinking, Fix said, “Well, I’m going to tell you everything. I am a police detective. I’m following Fogg. He is the bank robber. you must help me. “This is nonsense,” shouted Passepartout. “I could never betray my master.” “Well,” said Mr.