Around the World in Eighty Days (Part-3)
By - Jules Verne
Around the World in Eighty Days |
The first part of the trip was without incident. Then as they crossed the Tropic of Cancer the sea changed. A typhoon was soon raging. The “Tankadere” was lifted like a feather. Mountains of water surrounded them. The storm raged through the night. Then things became calmer.
Two days of better weather followed. Of course, the storm had slowed them. Just three miles from Shanghai they saw smoke. The American steamship was leaving port.
“Send a signal! Lower the flag to half-mast,” shouted Mr. Fogg. The signals from the ”Tankadere” were spotted. A payment of 550 Pound was made to the boat’s captain John Bunsby. The three than boarded the “General Grant”.
On arrival at Yokohama, Mr. Fogg and Mrs. Aouda went in search of the “Carnatic” and Passepartout. To their joy they discovered he had been on board. He had arrived just as the ship was leaving Hong Kong. They spotted him working for food money. As they hurried back to the “General Grant” he told his tale of woe. Not mentioning Mr. Fix’s part in it. Mr. Fix had headed for the Consulate. The arrest warrant was there. But Mr. Fogg had now left the British soil. It was useless!
So on 14th November, somehow still on schedule, the three of them set off to America. Mr. Fix joined them. The “General Grant” was a huge paddle-steamer. With a combination of steam and sail it moved swiftly. This trip was uneventful from the nautical point of view. But Passepartout had to sort things out. Passepartout still believed in Mr. Fogg. He blamed Mr. Fix for causing trouble for him. Mr. Fogg and Mrs. Aouda were not aware of Mr. Fix’s profession. Nor did they know he was “tailing” Mr. Fogg.