ROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS – BY JULES VERNE – PART III Suddenly all the noise stopped. On top of the pile, the prince stood up! The priests and the other people fell on their knees. None of them dared to look. The dead prince stepped down from the fire, with the young woman in his arms. He walked towards Fogg. “Quick!” he said. “To the elephant! We must go before they dare to look.” The voice was Passepartout’s! On the way to Allahabad, Passepartout told them: “I climbed on the wood pile before the sun came up. I changed clothes with the prince, and then I waited. The sun came up, and the priests set fire to the wood. That’s when I stood up.” For a time, the young woman was unconscious. But at last she woke up. Her name was Aouda. She was very beautiful. At Allahabad they bought clothes and other things for her. Fogg said goodbye to the Indian man. “You are a good friend and a brave man,” he said. “Please keep the elephant as a present.” In the train to Calcutta, Aouda wanted to thank the men who saved her. “She isn’t safe yet,” the Englishman said. “She will be in danger everywhere in India. The prince’s people will try to find her.” “the will you leave India with us, Aouda?” Fogg said calmly. “We are going by ship from Calcutta to Hong Kong.” “Oh, thank you, thank you, you brave, kind people!” the lovely girl said. There were tears in her eyes. But they were not sad tears. The Englishman got off the train at Benares. Fogg, Aouda and Passepartout stayed in it for another night. They reached Calcutta at seven o’clock in the morning. “The ship for Hong Kong leaves at twelve,” Fogg said. “We have five hours.” But there was a policeman at Calcutta station. He took Phileas Fogg and Passepartout to the police court. Aouda went with them. In the court they saw Fix and three priests from the Bombay Temple – with Passepartout’s shoes! “You went into a holy place with shoes on your feet,” the judge said to Passepartout. “I must send you to prison. And you,” he said to Fogg, “are his master. You must go to prison too. Do you agree?” Fix was happy. “While he’s in prison,” he thought, “I’ll get the warrat. Then I can arrest him.” Phileas Fogg said: “We need a lawyer. He will tell us about the law. While we are getting a lawyer, we can have bail, can’t we?” “Yes,” the judge said, “you can have bail. But it will cost you £1,000 each.” Fogg told Passepartout to pay the £2,000. They were free to leave the court. If they didn’t go back, they lost the money. They didn’t go back! The Rangoon sailed from Calcutta at twelve. Fogg, Aouda and Paseepartout were on it. They sailed to Hong Kong. From there, Fogg wanted to sail to Yokohama, in Japan, on the Carnatic. Then from Yokohama they could sail to San Francisco on an American ship, the General Grant. “Go to the Carnatic, Passepartout,” Fogg said. “Buy three tickets to Yokohama. And find out when the ship will sail.” Passepartout got the tickets. Near the ship, he saw Fix. Fix said, “The Carnatic won’t sail until the morning. We’ll know the exact time in one hour. Come and have a drink with me.” Passepartout didn’t like Fix, but he went with him. Fix knew that the Carnatic was nearly ready to sail. He put something into Passepartout’s drink. Then he went away. (to be continued…)
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 01:51:42 +0000
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