登陆注册
22904700000042

第42章

IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT FINDS OUT THAT,EVEN AT THE ANTIPODES,IT IS CONVENIENT TO HAVE SOME MONEY IN ONE'S POCKET.

TheCarnatic',setting sail from Hong Kong at half-past six on the 7th November,directed her course at full steam towards Japan.She carried a large cargo and a well-filled cabin of passengers.Two state-rooms in the rear were,however,unoccupied,-those which had been engaged by Phileas Fogg.

The next day a passenger with a half-stupefied eye,staggering gait,and disordered hair,was seen to emerge from the second cabin,and to totter to a seat on deck.

It was Passepartout;and what had happened to him was as follows:-Shortly after Fix left the opium den,two waiters had lifted the unconscious Passepartout,and had carried him to the bed reserved for the smokers.Three hours later,pursued even in his dreams by a fixed idea,the poor fellow awoke,and struggled against the stupefying influence of the narcotic.The thought of a duty unfulfilled shook off his torpor,and he hurried from the abode of drunkenness.Staggering and holding himself up by keeping against the walls,falling down and creeping up again,and irresistibly impelled by a kind of instinct,he kept crying out,The'Carnatic'!the'Carnatic'!

The steamer lay puffing alongside the quay,on the point of starting.Passepartout had but few steps to go;and,rushing upon the plank,he crossed it,and fell unconscious on the deck,just as theCarnatic'was moving off.Several sailors,who were evidently accustomed to this sort of scene,carried the poor Frenchman down into the second cabin,and Passepartout did not wake until they were one hundred and fifty miles away from China.Thus he found himself the next morning on the deck of theCarnatic',and eagerly inhaling the exhilarating sea-breeze.The pure air sobered him.He began to collect his senses,which he found a difficult task;but at last he recalled the events of the evening before,Fix's revelation,and the opium-house.

It is evident,he said to himself,that I have been abominably drunk!What will Mr Fogg say?At least I have not missed the steamer,which is the most important thing.

Then,as Fix occurred to him:-As for that rascal,I hope we are well rid of him,and that he has not dared,as he proposed,to follow us on board theCarnatic'.A detective on the track of Mr Fogg,accused of robbing the Bank of England!Pshaw!Mr Fogg is no more a robber than I am a murderer.

Should he divulge Fix's real errand to his master?Would it do to tell the part the detective was playing?Would it not be better to wait until Mr Fogg reached London again,and then impart to him that an agent of the metropolitan police had been following him round the world,and have a good laugh over it?No doubt;at least,it was worth considering.The first thing to do was to find Mr Fogg,and apologize for his singular behaviour.

Passepartout got up and proceeded,as well as he could with the rolling of the steamer,to the after-deck.He saw no one who resembled either his master or Aouda.Good!muttered he;Aouda has not got up yet,and Mr Fogg has probably found some partners at whist.

He descended to the saloon.Mr Fogg was not there.Passepartout had only,however,to ask the purser the number of his master's state-room.The purser replied that he did not know any passenger by the name of Fogg.

I beg your pardon,said Passepartout persistently.He is a tall gentleman,quiet and not very talkative,and has with him a young lady——

There is no young lady on board,interrupted the purser.Here is a list of the passengers;you may see for yourself.

Passepartout scanned the list,but his master's name was not upon it.All at once an idea struck him.

Ah!am I on the'Carnatic'?

Yes.

On the way to Yokohama?

Certainly.

Passepartout had for an instant feared that he was on the wrong boat;but,though he was really on theCarnatic',his master was not there.

He fell thunderstruck on a seat.He saw it all now.He remembered that the time of sailing had been changed,that he should have informed his master of that fact,and that he had not done so.It was his fault,then,that Mr Fogg and Aouda had missed the steamer.Yes,but it was still more the fault of the traitor who,in order to separate him from his master,and detain the latter at Hong Kong,had inveigled him into getting drunk!He now saw the detective's trick;and at this moment Mr Fogg was certainly ruined,his bet was lost,and he himself perhaps arrested and imprisoned!At this thought Passepartout tore his hair.Ah,if Fix ever came within his reach,what a settling of accounts there would be!

After his first depression,Passepartout became calmer,and began to study hiituation.It was certainly not an enviable one.He found himself on the way to Japan,and what should he do when he got there?His pocket was empty;he had not a solitary shilling-not so much as a penny.His passage had fortunately been paid for in advance;he had five or six days in which to decide upon his future course.He fell to at meals with an appetite,and ate for Mr Fogg,Aouda and himself.He helped himself as generously as if Japan were a desert,where nothing to eat was to be looked for.

At dawn on the 13th theCarnatic'entered the port of Yokohama.This is an important way-station in the Pacific,where all the mail-steamers,and those carrying travellers between North America,China,Japan,and the Oriental islands,put in.It is situated in the bay of Yeddo,and at but a short distance from that second capital of the Japanese Empire,and the residence of the Tycoon,the civil Emperor,before the Mikado,the spiritual Emperor,absorbed his office in his own.TheCarnatic'anchored at the quay near the custom-house,in the midst of a crowd of ships bearing the flags of all nations.

同类推荐
  • 七修续稿

    七修续稿

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 北里志

    北里志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 书旨述

    书旨述

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 侠义英雄传

    侠义英雄传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 算学启蒙总括

    算学启蒙总括

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 生活之雪灵

    生活之雪灵

    一个很理智的人,但是确不知道自己想要什么表面可以说温柔,冷淡,热情各种情绪对待不同的人内心孤僻,想放纵,想尝试不同确仅限于内心对待爱情渴望却冷静估计文会很无聊,慎入
  • 尖叫乐园

    尖叫乐园

    玩游戏就能赚大钱,对于住着十几平米出租屋天天加班顿顿吃泡面的赵庭来说,这可是摆脱穷苦日子发家致富的好机会。不过,这游戏可不是什么普通游戏。这是有死亡危险的恐怖游戏。每通过一关,就能得到一笔奖金,奖金成倍增长,这诱惑不可谓不大。所谓舍不得孩子套不着狼,死,有什么可怕的?再说了,赵庭可是一开始,就入手了特殊道具永生之水的牛逼玩家。随时随地,都在满血复活。
  • 最终异世剑指九天

    最终异世剑指九天

    神秘人穿越前没了一根“软组织”喊出不完整?异世龙族隐藏身份统治人族成就华夏王朝史!九天星河龙族和异位面神秘种族受到降维,真正的神仙打架!主人公特殊身份成就不可能,突破维度限制升维战斗。虚空收容所展上古奇幻,生命异样可能的精彩奇源。
  • 烈如歌

    烈如歌

    一朝醒来,异世为人,生性乖张的如歌,附身柔弱窝囊的待嫁冷妃。好吧,来则来矣,不喜欢悍女争夫的宫斗,大不了跑路,墙外多的是妖孽美男o(# ̄▽ ̄)==O====================吼吼……初来起点,望各路客官走过路过支持个,有票砸票,木票也来兜个圈o(∩_∩)o……
  • 吊桥与街

    吊桥与街

    一个奇幻的开始,有着不平凡的过程,也会有个美妙的结束。
  • 她是希光

    她是希光

    平淡,没有大起大落,没有情节曲折,只是一个女孩子的成长。慢慢等,一切一切都会过去。
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 我是大魔头

    我是大魔头

    “今天很残酷,明天会更残酷,而后天就能看到太阳。然而绝大多数人都死在了明天晚上,他们再也看见不到后天的太阳。这是为什么?”台下围观的一群‘妖魔鬼怪’鸦雀无声的看着台上那犹如打了鸡血一样的演讲。“难道是因为我们没有本事吗?”激情四射地挥舞着双手:“不,绝不是这样!朋友们,这一切的原因都只是因为,时代在变化……”“……一个人打拼这种单打独斗的时代已经过去了,现在要讲究团队……”“一个人可以走得很快,但是只有一个团队才可以走得更远……”台下,一大批‘妖魔鬼怪’响起了雷鸣般的掌声……
  • 丫头!那小子看上你了

    丫头!那小子看上你了

    一次偶然的相遇,让女主的生活变的非常的倒霉,再次相遇,他们俩居然在一起生活了,两个欢喜冤家的爱情就此展开。