Around the World in Eighty Days. Junior Deluxe Edition, Page 4

  Chapter 3

  In Which a Conversation Takes Place Which SeemsLikely to Cost Phileas Fogg Dearly

  Phileas Fogg, having shut the door of his house at half-pasteleven, and having put his right foot before his left fivehundred and seventy-five times, and his left foot before hisright five hundred and seventy-six times, reached the ReformClub, an imposing edifice in Pall Mall, which could not have costless than three millions.

  He repaired at once to the dining-room, the nine windows of whichopened upon a tasteful garden, where the trees were alreadygilded with an autumn coloring; and took his place at thehabitual table, the cover of which had already been laid for him.His breakfast consisted of a side-dish, a broiled fish withReading sauce, a scarlet slice of roast beef garnished withmushrooms, a rhubarb and gooseberry tart, and a morsel ofCheshire cheese, the whole being washed down with several cups oftea, for which the Reform is famous.

  He rose at thirteen minutes to one, and walked towards the largehall, a sumptuous apartment adorned with lavishly framedpaintings. A porter handed him an uncut Times, which he proceededto cut with a skill which betrayed familiarity with this delicateoperation. The reading of this paper absorbed Phileas Fogg untila quarter before four, while the Standard, his next task,occupied him till the dinner hour. Dinner passed as breakfast haddone, and Mr. Fogg reappeared in the reading-room and sat down tothe Pall Mall at twenty minutes before six.

  Half an hour later several members of the Reform Club came in anddrew up to the fireplace, where a coal fire was steadily burning.They were Mr. Fogg's usual partners at whist: Andrew Stuart, anengineer; John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin, bankers; ThomasFlanagan, a brewer; and Gauthier Ralph, one of the Directors ofthe Bank of England--all rich and highly respectable persons,even in a club which comprises the princes of English trade andfinance.

  "Well, Ralph," said Thomas Flanagan, "what about that robbery?"

  "Oh," replied Stuart, "the Bank will lose the money."

  "On the contrary," broke in Ralph, "I hope we may put our handson the robber. Skillful detectives have been sent to all theprincipal ports of America and the Continent, and he'll be aclever fellow if he slips through their fingers."

  "But have you got the robber's description?" asked Stuart.

  "In the first place, he is no robber at all," returned Ralph,positively.

  "What! A fellow who makes off with fifty-five thousand pounds, norobber?"

  "No."

  "Perhaps he's a manufacturer, then."

  "The Daily Telegraph says that he is a gentleman."

  It was Phileas Fogg, whose head now emerged from behind hisnewspapers, who made this remark. He bowed to his friends, andentered into the conversation. The affair which formed itssubject, and which was town talk, had occurred three days beforeat the Bank of England. A package of banknotes, to the value offifty-five thousand pounds, had been taken from the principalcashier's table, while he was engaged in registering the receiptof three shillings and sixpence. Of course, he could not have hiseyes everywhere. Let it be observed that the Bank of England hasa touching confidence in the honesty of the public. There areneither guards nor gratings to protect its treasures; gold,silver, banknotes are freely exposed, at the mercy of the firstcomer. A keen observer of English customs relates that, being inone of the rooms of the Bank one day, he had the curiosity toexamine a gold ingot weighing some seven or eight pounds. He tookit up, scrutinized it, passed it to his neighbor, he to the nextman, and so on until the ingot, going from hand to hand, wastransferred to the end of a dark entry; nor did it return to itsplace for half an hour. Meanwhile, the cashier had not so much asraised his head. But in the present instance things had not goneso smoothly. The package of notes not being found when fiveo'clock sounded from the ponderous clock in the "drawing office,"the amount was passed to the account of profit and loss. As soonas the robbery was discovered, picked detectives hastened off toLiverpool, Glasgow, Havre, Suez, Brindisi, New York and otherports, inspired by the promised reward of two thousand pounds,and five per cent on the sum that might be recovered. Detectiveswere also charged with narrowly watching those who arrived at orleft London by rail, and a judicial examination was at onceentered upon.

  There were real grounds for supposing, as the Daily Telegraphsaid, that the thief did not belong to a professional band. Onthe day of the robbery a well-dressed gentleman of polishedmanners, and with a well-to-do air, had been observed going toand fro in the paying-room, where the crime was committed. Adescription of him was easily procured and sent to thedetectives; and some hopeful spirits, of whom Ralph was one, didnot despair of his apprehension. The papers and clubs were fullof the affair, and everywhere people were discussing theprobabilities of a successful pursuit. The Reform Club wasespecially agitated, several of its members being bankofficials.

  Ralph would not concede that the work of the detectives waslikely to be in vain, for he thought that the prize offered wouldgreatly stimulate their zeal and activity. But Stuart was farfrom sharing this confidence; and, as they placed themselves atthe whist-table, they continued to argue the matter. Stuart andFlanagan played together, while Phileas Fogg had Fallentin forhis partner. As the game proceeded the conversation ceased,excepting between the rubbers, when it revived again.

  "I maintain," said Stuart, "that the chances are in favor of thethief, who must be a shrewd fellow."

  "Well, but where can he fly to?" asked Ralph. "No country is safefor him."

  "Pshaw!"

  "Where could he go, then?"

  "Oh, I don't know that. The world is big enough."

  "It was once," said Phileas Fogg, in a low tone. "Cut, sir," headded, handing the cards to Thomas Flanagan.

  The discussion fell during the rubber, after which Stuart took upits thread.

  "What do you mean by 'once'? Has the world grown smaller?"

  "Certainly," returned Ralph. "I agree with Mr. Fogg. The worldhas grown smaller, since a man can now go round it ten times morequickly than a hundred years ago. And that is why the search forthis thief will be more likely to succeed."

  "And also why the thief can get away more easily."

  "Be so good as to play, Mr. Stuart," said Phileas Fogg.

  But the incredulous Stuart was not convinced, and when the handwas finished, he said eagerly: "You have a strange way, Ralph, ofproving that the world has grown smaller. So, because you can goround it in three months--"

  "In eighty days," interrupted Phileas Fogg.

  "That is true, gentlemen," added John Sullivan. "Only eightydays, now that the section between Rothal and Allahabad, on theGreat Indian Peninsula Railway, has been opened. Here is theestimate made by the Daily Telegraph:

  From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and Brindisi by rail and steamboats, 7 days From Suez to Bombay, by steamer, 13 days From Bombay to Calcutta, by rail, 3 days From Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer, 13 days From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer, 6 days From Yokohama to San Francisco, by steamer, 22 days From San Francisco to New York, by rail, 7 days From New York to London, by steamer and rail, 9 days

  Total: 80 days"

  "Yes, in eighty days!" exclaimed Stuart, who in his excitementmade a false deal. "But that doesn't take into account badweather, contrary winds, shipwrecks, railway accidents, and soon."

  "All included," returned Phileas Fogg, continuing to play despitethe discussion.

  "But suppose the Hindoos or Indians pull up the rails," repliedStuart. "Suppose they stop the trains, pillage the luggage vans,and scalp the passengers!"

  "All included," calmly retorted Fogg; adding, as he threw downthe cards, "Two trumps."

  Stuart, whose turn it was to deal, gathered them up, and went on:"You are right, theoretically, Mr. Fogg, but practically--"

  "Practically also, Mr. Stuart."

  "I'd like to see you do it in eighty days."

  "It depends on you. Shall we go?"

  "Heaven preserve me! But I would wager four thousand pounds thatsuch a jo
urney, made under these conditions, is impossible."

  "Quite possible, on the contrary," returned Mr. Fogg.

  "Well, make it, then!"

  "The journey round the world in eighty days?"

  "Yes."

  "I should like nothing better."

  "When?"

  "At once. Only I warn you that I shall do it at your expense.

  "It's absurd!" cried Stuart, who was beginning to be annoyed atthe persistency of his friend. "Come, let's go on with the game."

  "Deal over again, then," said Phileas Fogg. "There's a falsedeal."

  Stuart took up the pack with a feverish hand. Then he suddenlyput them down again.

  "Well, Mr. Fogg," said he, "it shall be so. I will wager thefour thousand on it."

  "Calm yourself, my dear Stuart," said Fallentin. "It's only a joke."

  "When I say I'll wager," returned Stuart, "I mean it."

  "All right," said Mr. Fogg; and, turning to the others, hecontinued: "I have a deposit of twenty thousand at Baring's whichI will willingly risk upon it."

  "Twenty thousand pounds!" cried Sullivan. "Twenty thousandpounds, which you would lose by a single accidental delay!"

  "The unforeseen does not exist," quietly replied Phileas Fogg.

  "But, Mr. Fogg, eighty days are only the estimate of the leastpossible time in which the journey can be made."

  "A well-used minimum suffices for everything."

  "But, in order not to exceed it, you must jump mathematicallyfrom the trains upon the steamers, and from the steamers upon thetrains again."

  "I will jump--mathematically."

  "You are joking."

  "A true Englishman doesn't joke when he is talking about soserious a thing as a wager," replied Phileas Fogg, solemnly. "Iwill bet twenty thousand pounds against anyone who wishes that Iwill make the tour of the world in eighty days or less; innineteen hundred and twenty hours, or a hundred and fifteenthousand two hundred minutes. Do you accept?"

  "We accept," replied Messrs. Stuart, Fallentin, Sullivan,Flanagan and Ralph, after consulting each other.

  "Good," said Mr. Fogg. "The train leaves for Dover at a quarterbefore nine. I will take it."

  "This very evening?" asked Stuart.

  "This very evening," returned Phileas Fogg. He took out andconsulted a pocket almanac, and added, "As today is Wednesday,the 2nd of October, I shall be due in London, in this very roomof the Reform Club, on Saturday, the 21st of December, at aquarter before nine P.M.; or else the twenty thousand pounds, nowdeposited in my name at Baring's, will belong to you, in fact andin right, gentlemen. Here is a check for the amount."

  A memorandum of the wager was at once drawn up and signed by thesix parties, during which Phileas Fogg preserved a stoicalcomposure. He certainly did not bet to win, and had only stakedthe twenty thousand pounds, half of his fortune, because heforesaw that he might have to expend the other half to carry outthis difficult, not to say unattainable, project. As for hisantagonists, they seemed much agitated; not so much by the valueof their stake, as because they had some scruples about bettingunder conditions so difficult to their friend.

  The clock struck seven, and the party offered to suspend the gameso that Mr. Fogg might make his preparations for departure.

  "I am quite ready now," was his tranquil response. "Diamonds aretrumps. Be so good as to play, gentlemen."