The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-03
TOUR OF THE WORLD
EIGHTY DAYS.
JULES VERNEs GREAT STORY.
CHAPTER XI.

CHATTER Al.
IN WHICH PHILEAs Foaa BUYS A CONVEYANCE
AT A FABULOUS PRICE.
The train had started on time. 1t
carried certain number of travellers,
some officers, civil officials, and opium
and indigo merchants, whose business
called them to the eastern part of the
peninsula.
Passepartout occupied the same COM
partment as his master. A third tray
eler was in the opposite corner.
1t was the Brigadier- General, Sir
Francis Cromarty. one of the partners
of Mr.. Fogg curing the trip from Suez
to Bombay, who was rejoining his
troops stationed near Benares. He was
well-posted man, who would have
been glad to give information as to the
manners, the history, the organization
of this Indian country, if Phileas Fogg
had been the man to ask for such things.
But this gentleman was not asking any
thing. lie was not travelling, he was
describing circumference. He was q
heavy body, traversing an orbit around
the terrestrial globe, according to the
laws of rational mechanics. At this
moment he was going over in his mind
the calculations of the hours consumed
since his departure from London, and
he would have rubbed his hands, if it
had been in his nature to make n useless
movement.
Sir Francis Cromarty had recognized
the originality of mis- travelling compan-
ion, although he had only studied him
with his cards in his hands. and be-
tween two rubberS He was ready to
ask whether human heart beat be-
meath this cold exterior, whether Phil
cas- Fogg had a soul alive to the beau
ties OF nature and to moral aspirations.
That was the question for him.. OF all
the oddities the General had met, none
were to be compared to this product OF
the exact sciences. Phileas Fogg had
| not kept secret from Sir Francis Gro
marty his plan for a tour around the
world, nor the conditions under which
he was carrying it out. The General
saw in this bet only an eccentricity
without a useful aim, and which was
wanting necessarily in the trdnsire ben
etdciendO which ought to guide every
reasonable man.
From time to time Sir Francis Gro.
marty and Phileas Fogg exchanged q
few words, and at this moment the
General, recommending conversation
which frequently Jagged, said:
"A few years ago, Mr.. Fogg, you
would have experienced at this point q
delay which would havesprobably inter
rupted your Journey"
"Why so, Sir Francis?"
Because the railway stopped at the
base of these mountains, which had tc
be crossed in palanquin or on pony's
back as far as the station of Kandallah
on the opposite slope"
THAT delay, would not have de,
ranged my programme" replied Mr.
Fogg. II would have foreseen the
probability of certain obstacles"
But, Mr.. Fogg," replied the Gen.
eral, ''you are in danger of having Q
bad business on your hands with this
Young mans adventure.
Passepartout, with his feet wrapped
up in his cloak, was sleeping soundly
and did not dream that they were talk.
ing about him.
1.-The English Government is ex
tremely severe, and rightly, for thi!
kind of trespass," replied Sir Franci.
Cromarty. sit insists. above al
things, that the religious customs o
the Hindoos shall be respected, and i
your servant had been taken"
YES, If he had been taken. Sill
Francis" replied Mr.. Fogg, "he woult
have been sentenced, he would have
undergone his punishment, and then hi
would have quietly returned to Europe
l do not see how this matter could have
delayed his masterr'
And, thereupon, the conversation
stopped again. During the night thu
train crossed the Ghauts, passed on Il
Nassik, and the next day, the 21st o
October, it was hurrying across a com
i, paratively fiat country, formed by tn
Khandeish territory.
Passepartout having walked up, locke,
around, and could not believe that h,
was crossing the country of the Hindoo
in train of the Great Peninsular Rail
way. 1t appeared improbable to him
And yet there was nothing more real
During the morning, beyond the sta
ton of Ma1igaum, the travellers travers
ed that fatal territory, which was s
frequently drenched with blood by tn
sectaries of the goddess Kali. Not fla
off rose Ellora and its splendid pagOdas
and the celebrated Aurungabad, tn
capital of the ferocious Aureng Zet
5 now simply the principal place of on
! of the provinces detached from tn
e kingdom of Nizam.
! At half-past twelve, the train stoppe
e at the station at Burhampour, an
Passepartout was able to Obtain 1C
gold pair of Indian slippers, orn'
mented with false pearls, which he pl
on with an evident show of VANITY
The travellers took a hastY breakfas
and started again for Assurghur, afte
+ having for a moment stopped upon til
shore of the Tapty, asmall river emptl
D ing into the Gulf of Candy, near Sura
II is opportune to mention tt
thoughts with which Passepartout W,
busted. Until his arrival at Bomba,
S he had thought that matters would g
: no farther. But now that he was hurrl
! ing at full speed across India. his min
a had undergone change. His natur
d feelings came back to him with rusl
s He felt again the fanciful ideas of h
e youth, he took seriously his master
e plans, he believed in the reality of tt
!, bet, and, consequently, in this tour of tt
s world, and in this maximum of tin
$ which conld4not be exceeded. Alread
it he was disturbed at the possible delay
u the accidents which might occur upC
Y tine route. He felt interested in Il
wager, and trembled at the though
that he might have compromised it Il
= evening before by his unpardonab
}, foolishness, so that much less phlel
e matte than Mr. Fogg, he was muC
y more uneasy. He counted and r
d counted the days that had passe'
6 cursed the stopping of the train, a
cused it OF slowness, and blamed M
Fogg IN petto for not having promised
reward to the engineer. The good fe