AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS(环游世界80天)-第4章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


‘Here　they　are。'　
‘Good。　Take　this　carpet…bag；'　handing　it　to　Passepartout。　‘Take　good　care　of　it；　for　there　are　twenty　thousand　pounds　in　it。'　
Passepartout　nearly　dropped　the　bag；　as　if　the　twenty　thousand　pounds　were　in　gold；　and　weighted　him　down。　
Master　and　man　then　descended；　the　street…door　was　double…locked；　and　at　the　end　of　Saville　Row　they　took　a　cab　and　drove　rapidly　to　Charing　Cross。　The　cab　stopped　before　the　railway　station　at　twenty　minutes　past　eight。　Passepartout　jumped　off　the　box　and　followed　his　master；　who；　after　paying　the　cabman；　was　about　to　enter　the　station；　when　a　poor　beggar…woman；　with　a　child　in　her　arms；　her　naked　feet　smeared　with　mud；　her　head　covered　with　a　wretched　bonnet；　from　which　hung　a　tattered　feather；　and　her　shoulders　shrouded　in　a　ragged　shawl；　approached；　and　mournfully　asked　for　alms。　
Mr　Fogg　took　out　the　twenty　guineas　he　had　just　won　at　whist；　and　handed　them　to　the　beggar；　saying；　‘Here；　my　good　woman。　I'm　glad　that　I　met　you'；　and　passed　on。　
Passepartout　had　a　moist　sensation　about　the　eyes；　his　masters　action　touched　his　susceptible　heart。　
Two　first…class　tickets　for　Paris　having　been　speedily　purchased；　Mr　Fogg　was　crossing　the　station　to　the　train；　when　he　perceived　his　five　friends　of　the　Reform。　
‘Well；　gentlemen；'　said　he；　‘I'm　off；　you　see；　and　if　you　will　examine　my　passport　when　I　get　back；　you　will　be　able　to　judge　whether　I　have　acomomplished　the　journey　agreed　upon。'　
‘Oh；　that　would　be　quite　unnecessary；　Mr　Fogg；'　said　Ralph　politely。　‘We　will　trust　your　word；　as　a　gentleman　of　honour。'　
‘You　do　not　forget　when　you　are　due　in　London　again？'　asked　Stuart。　
‘In　eighty　days；　on　Saturday；　the　21st　of　December；　1872；　at　a　quarter　before　nine　p。m。　Good…bye；　gentlemen。　
Phileas　Fogg　and　his　servant　seated　themselves　in　a　first…class　carriage　at　twenty　minutes　before　nine；　five　minutes　later　the　whistle　screamed；　and　the　train　slowly　glided　out　of　the　Station。　
The　night　was　dark；　and　a　fine；　steady　rain　was　falling。　Phileas　Fogg；　snugly　ensconced　in　his　corner；　did　not　open　his　lips。　Passepartout；　not　yet　recovered　from　his　stupefaction；　clung　mechanically　to　the　carpet…bag；　with　its　enormous　treasure。　
Just　as　the　train　was　whirling　through　Sydenham；　Passepartout　suddenly　uttered　a　cry　of　despair。　
‘What's　the　matter？'　asked　Mr　Fogg。　
‘Alas！　In　my　hurry　…　I　…　I　forgot……'　
‘What？'　
‘To　turn　off　the　gas　in　my　room！'　
‘Very　well；　young　man；'　returned　Mr　Fogg；　coolly；　‘it　will　burn　…　at　your　expense。'　

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
CHAPTER　V
IN　WHICH　A　NEW　SPECIES　OF　FUNDS；　UNKNOWN　TO　THE　MONEYED　MEN；　APPEARS　ON　'CHANGE。
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Phileas　Fogg　rightly　suspected　that　his　departure　from　London　would　create　a　lively　sensation　at　the　West　End。　The　news　of　the　bet　spread　through　the　Reform　Club；　and　afforded　an　exciting　topic　of　conversation　to　its　members。　From　the　Club　it　soon　got　into　the　papers　throughout　England。　The　boasted　‘tour　of　the　world'　was　talked　about；　disputed；　argued　with　as　much　warmth　as　if　the　subject　were　another　Alabama　claim。　Some　took　sides　with　Phileas　Fogg；　but　the　large　majority　shook　their　heads　and　declared　against　him；　it　was　absurd；　impossible；　they　declared；　that　the　tour　of　the　world　could　be　made；　except　theoretically　and　on　paper；　in　this　minimum　of　time；　and　with　the　existing　means　of　travelling。　The　Times；　Standard；　Morning　Post；　and　Daily　New；　and　twenty　other　highly　respectable　newspapers　scouted　Mr　Fogg's　project　as　madness；　the　Daily　Telegraph　alone　hesitatingly　supported　him。　People　in　general　thought　him　a　lunatic；　and　blamed　his　Reform　Club　friends　for　having　acomepted　a　wager　which　betrayed　the　mental　aberration　of　its　proposer。　
Articles　no　less　passionate　than　logical　appeared　on　the　question；　for　geography　is　one　of　the　pet　subjects　of　the　English；　and　the　columns　devoted　to　Phileas　Fogg's　venture　were　eagerly　devoured　by　all　classes　of　readers。　At　first　some　rash　individuals；　principally　of　the　gentler　sex；　espoused　his　cause；　which　became　still　more　popular　when　the　Illustrated　London　News　came　out　with　his　portrait；　copied　from　a　photograph　in　the　Reform　Club。　A　few　readers　of　the　Daily　Telegraph　even　dared　to　say；　‘Why　not；　after　all？　Stranger　things　have　come　to　pass。'　
At　last　a　long　article　appeared；　on　the　7th　of　October；　in　the　bulletin　of　the　Royal　Geographical　Society；　which　treated　the　question　from　every　point　of　view；　and　demonstrated　the　utter　folly　of　the　enterprise。　
Everything；　it　said；　was　against　the　travellers；　every　obstacle　imposed　alike　by　man　and　by　nature。　A　miraculous　agreement　of　the　times　of　departure　and　arrival；　which　was　impossible；　was　absolutely　necessary　to　his　sucomess。　He　might；　perhaps；　reckon　on　the　arrival　of　trains　at　the　designated　hours；　in　Europe；　where　the　distances　were　relatively　moderate；　but　when　he　calculated　upon　crosSing　India　in　three　days；　and　the　United　States　in　seven；　could　he　rely　beyond　misgiving　upon　acomomplishing　his　task？　There　were　acomidents　to　machinery；　the　liability　of　trains　to　run　off　the　line；　collisions；　bad　weather；　the　blocking　up　by　snow；　…　were　not　all　these　against　Phileas　Fogg？　Would　he　not　find　himself；　when　travelling　by　steamer　in　winter；　at　the　merry　of　the　winds　and　fogs？　Is　it　uncommon　for　the　best　ocean　steamers　to　be　two　or　three　days　behind　time？　But　a　single　delay　would　suffice　to　fatally　break　the　chain　of　communication；　should　Phileas　Fogg　once　miss；　even　by　an　hour；　a　steamer；　he　would　have　to　wait　for　the　next；　and　that　would　irrevocably　render　his　attempt　vain。　
This　article　made　a　great　deal　of　noise；　and　being　copied　into　all　the　papers；　seriously　depressed　the　advocates　of　the　rash　tourist。　
Everybody　knows　that　England　is　the　world　of　betting　men；　who　are　of　a　higher　class　than　mere　gamblers；　to　bet　is　in　the　English　temperament。　Not　only　the　members　of　the　Reform；　but　the　general　public；　made　heavy　wagers　for　or　against　Phileas　Fogg；　who　was　set　down　in　the　betting　books　as　if　he　were　a　race…horse。　Bonds　were　issued；　and　made　their　appearance　on　'Change；　‘Phileas　Fogg　bonds'　were　offered　at　par　or　at　a　premium；　and　a　great　business　was　done　in　them。　But　five　days　after　the　article　in　the　bulletin　of　the　Geographical　Society　appeared；　the　demand　began　to　subside：　‘Phileas　Fogg'　declined。　They　were　offered　by　packages；　at　first　of　five；　then　of　ten；　until　at　last　nobody　would　take　less　than　twenty；　fifty；　a　hundred！　
Lord　Albermarle；　an　elderly　paralytic　gentleman；　was　now　the　only　advocate　of　Phileas　Fogg　left。　This　noble　lord；　who　was　fastened　to　his　chair；　would　have　given　his　fortune　to　be　able　to　make　the　tour　of　the　world；　if　it　took　ten　years；　and　bet　five　thousand　pounds　on　Phileas　Fogg。　When　the　folly　as　well　as　the　uselessness　of　the　adventure　was　pointed　out　to　him；　he　contented　himself　with　replying；　‘If　the　thing　is　feasible；　the　first　to　do　it　ought　to　be　an　Englishman。'　
The　Fogg　party　dwindled　more　and　more；　everybody　was　going　against　him；　and　the　bets　stood　a　hundred　and　fifty　and　two　hundred　to　one；　and　a　week　after　his　departure　an　incident　ocomurred　which　deprived　him　of　backers　at　any　price。　
The　commissioner　of　police　was　sitting　in　his　office　at　nine　o'clock　one　evening；　when　the　following　telegraphic　despatch　was　put　into　his　hands：……　
Suez　to　London。　ROWAN；　COMMISSIONER　OF　POLICE；　SCOTLAND　YARD：　
I've　found　the　bank　robber；　Phileas　Fogg。　Send　without　delay　warrant　of　arrest　to　Bombay。　
FIX；　Detective。
The　effect　of　this　despatch　was　instantaneous。　The　polished　gentleman　disappeared　to　give　place　to　the　bank　robber。　His　photograph；　which　was　hung　with　those　of　the　rest　of　the　members　at　the　Reform　Club；　was　minutely　examined；　and　it　betrayed；　feature　by　feature；　the　description　of　the　robber　which　had　been　provided　to　the　police。　The　mysterious　habits　of　Phileas　Fogg　were　recalled；　his　solitary　ways；　his　sudden　departure；　and　it　seemed　clear　that；　in　undertaking　a　tour　round　the　world　on　the　pretext　of　a　wager；　he　had　had　no　other　end　in　view　than　to　elude　the　detectives；　and　throw　them　off　his　track。　
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
CHAPTER　VI
IN　WHICH　FIX；　THE　DETECTIVE；　BETRAYS　A　VERY　NATURAL　IMPATIENCE。
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The　circumstances　under　which　this　telegraphic　despatch　about　Phileas　Fogg　was　sent　were　as　follows：……　
The　steamer　‘Mongolia'；　belonging　to　the　Peninsular　and　Oriental　Company；　built　of　iron；　of　two　thousand　eight　hundred　tons　burden；　and　five　hundred　horse　…　power；　was　due　at　eleven　o'clock　a。m。　on　Wednesday；　the　9th　of　October；　at　Suez。　The　‘Mongolia'　plied　regularly　between　Brindisi　and　Bombay　via　the　Suez　Canal；　and　was　one　of　the　fastest　steamers　belonging　to　the　company；　always　making　more　than　ten　knots　an　hour　between　Brindisi　and　Suez；　and　nine　and　a　half　between　Suez　and　Bombay。　
Two　men　were　promenading　up　and　down　the　wharves；　among　the　crowd　of　natives　and　strangers　who　were　sojourning　at　this　once　straggling　village　…　now；　thanks　to　the　enterprise　of　M。　Lesseps；　a　fast…growing　town。　One　was　the　British　consul　at　Suez；　who；　despite　the　prophecies　of　the　English　Government；　and　the　unfavourable　predictions　of　Stephenson；　was　in　the　habit　of　seeing；　from　his　office　window；　English　ships　daily　passing　to　and　fro　on　the　great　canal；　by　which　the　old　roundabout　route　from　England　to　India　by　the　Cape　of　Good　Hope　was　abridged　by　at　least　a　half。　The　other　was　a　small；　slight…built　personage；　with　a　nervous；　intelligent　face；　and　bright　eyes　peering　out　from　under　eyebrows　which　he　was　incessantly　twitching。　He　was　just　now　manifesting　unmistakable　signs　of　impatience；　nervously　pacing　up　and　down；　and　unable　to　stand　still　for　a　moment。　This　was　Fix；　one　of　the　detectives　who　had　been　despatched　from　England　in　search　of　the　bank　robber；　it　was　his　task　to　narrowly　watch　every　passenger　who　arrived　at　Suez；　and　to　follow　up　all　who　seemed　to　be　suspicious　characters；　or　bore　a　resemblance　to　the　description　of　the　criminal；　which　he　had　received　two　days　before　from　the　police　headquarters　at　London。　The　detective　was　evid