Around the World in Eighty Days, Page 4

  Chapter III

  IN WHICH A CONVERSATION TAKES PLACE WHICH SEEMS LIKELY TO COST PHILEASFOGG DEAR

  Phileas Fogg, having shut the door of his house at half-past eleven,and having put his right foot before his left five hundred andseventy-five times, and his left foot before his right five hundred andseventy-six times, reached the Reform Club, an imposing edifice in PallMall, which could not have cost less than three millions. He repairedat once to the dining-room, the nine windows of which open upon atasteful garden, where the trees were already gilded with an autumncolouring; and took his place at the habitual table, the cover of whichhad already been laid for him. His breakfast consisted of a side-dish,a broiled fish with Reading sauce, a scarlet slice of roast beefgarnished with mushrooms, a rhubarb and gooseberry tart, and a morselof Cheshire cheese, the whole being washed down with several cups oftea, for which the Reform is famous. He rose at thirteen minutes toone, and directed his steps towards the large hall, a sumptuousapartment adorned with lavishly-framed paintings. A flunkey handed himan uncut Times, which he proceeded to cut with a skill which betrayedfamiliarity with this delicate operation. The perusal of this paperabsorbed Phileas Fogg until a quarter before four, whilst the Standard,his next task, occupied him till the dinner hour. Dinner passed asbreakfast had done, and Mr. Fogg re-appeared in the reading-room andsat down to the Pall Mall at twenty minutes before six. Half an hourlater several members of the Reform came in and drew up to thefireplace, where a coal fire was steadily burning. They were Mr.Fogg's usual partners at whist: Andrew Stuart, an engineer; JohnSullivan and Samuel Fallentin, bankers; Thomas Flanagan, a brewer; andGauthier Ralph, one of the Directors of the Bank of England--all richand highly respectable personages, even in a club which comprises theprinces of English trade and finance.

  "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 hands on therobber. Skilful detectives have been sent to all the principal portsof America and the Continent, and he'll be a clever fellow if he slipsthrough 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 his newspapers,who made this remark. He bowed to his friends, and entered into theconversation. The affair which formed its subject, and which was towntalk, had occurred three days before at the Bank of England. A packageof banknotes, to the value of fifty-five thousand pounds, had beentaken from the principal cashier's table, that functionary being at themoment engaged in registering the receipt of three shillings andsixpence. Of course, he could not have his eyes everywhere. Let it beobserved that the Bank of England reposes a touching confidence in thehonesty of the public. There are neither guards nor gratings toprotect its treasures; gold, silver, banknotes are freely exposed, atthe mercy of the first comer. A keen observer of English customsrelates that, being in one of the rooms of the Bank one day, he had thecuriosity to examine a gold ingot weighing some seven or eight pounds.He took it up, scrutinised it, passed it to his neighbour, he to thenext man, and so on until the ingot, going from hand to hand, wastransferred to the end of a dark entry; nor did it return to its placefor half an hour. Meanwhile, the cashier had not so much as raised hishead. But in the present instance things had not gone so smoothly.The package of notes not being found when five o'clock sounded from theponderous clock in the "drawing office," the amount was passed to theaccount of profit and loss. As soon as the robbery was discovered,picked detectives hastened off to Liverpool, Glasgow, Havre, Suez,Brindisi, New York, and other ports, inspired by the proffered rewardof two thousand pounds, and five per cent. on the sum that might berecovered. Detectives were also charged with narrowly watching thosewho arrived at or left London by rail, and a judicial examination wasat once entered upon.

  There were real grounds for supposing, as the Daily Telegraph said,that the thief did not belong to a professional band. On the day ofthe robbery a well-dressed gentleman of polished manners, and with awell-to-do air, had been observed going to and fro in the paying roomwhere the crime was committed. A description of him was easilyprocured and sent to the detectives; and some hopeful spirits, of whomRalph was one, did not despair of his apprehension. The papers andclubs were full of the affair, and everywhere people were discussingthe probabilities of a successful pursuit; and the Reform Club wasespecially agitated, several of its members being Bank officials.

  Ralph would not concede that the work of the detectives was likely tobe in vain, for he thought that the prize offered would greatlystimulate their zeal and activity. But Stuart was far from sharingthis confidence; and, as they placed themselves at the whist-table,they continued to argue the matter. Stuart and Flanagan playedtogether, while Phileas Fogg had Fallentin for his partner. As thegame proceeded the conversation ceased, excepting between the rubbers,when it revived again.

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

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

  "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," he added,handing the cards to Thomas Flanagan.

  The discussion fell during the rubber, after which Stuart took up itsthread.

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

  "Certainly," returned Ralph. "I agree with Mr. Fogg. The world hasgrown smaller, since a man can now go round it ten times more quicklythan a hundred years ago. And that is why the search for this thiefwill 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 hand wasfinished, said eagerly: "You have a strange way, Ralph, of proving thatthe world has grown smaller. So, because you can go round it in threemonths--"

  "In eighty days," interrupted Phileas Fogg.

  "That is true, gentlemen," added John Sullivan. "Only eighty days, nowthat the section between Rothal and Allahabad, on the Great IndianPeninsula Railway, has been opened. Here is the estimate made by theDaily Telegraph:

  From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and Brindisi, by rail and steamboats ................. 7 days From Suez to Bombay, by steamer .................... 13 " From Bombay to Calcutta, by rail ................... 3 " From Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer ............. 13 " From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer ..... 6 " From Yokohama to San Francisco, by steamer ......... 22 " From San Francisco to New York, by rail ............. 7 " From New York to London, by steamer and rail ........ 9 " ------ Total ............................................ 80 days."

  "Yes, in eighty days!" exclaimed Stuart, who in his excitement made afalse deal. "But that doesn't take into account bad weather, contrarywinds, shipwrecks, railway accidents, and so on."

  "All included," returned Phileas Fogg, continuing to play despite thediscussion.

  "But suppose the Hindoos or Indians pull up the rails," replied Stuart;"suppose they stop the trains, pillage the luggage-vans, and scalp thepassengers!"

  "All included," calmly retorted Fogg; adding, as he threw down thecards, "Two trumps."

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

  "Practically also, Mr. Stuart."

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sp; "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 that sucha journey, 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 at thepersistency of his friend. "Come, let's go on with the game."

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

  Stuart took up the pack with a feverish hand; then suddenly put themdown again.

  "Well, Mr. Fogg," said he, "it shall be so: I will wager the fourthousand 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, he continued:"I have a deposit of twenty thousand at Baring's which I will willinglyrisk upon it."

  "Twenty thousand pounds!" cried Sullivan. "Twenty thousand pounds,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 least possibletime in which the journey can be made."

  "A well-used minimum suffices for everything."

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

  "I will jump--mathematically."

  "You are joking."

  "A true Englishman doesn't joke when he is talking about so serious athing as a wager," replied Phileas Fogg, solemnly. "I will bet twentythousand pounds against anyone who wishes that I will make the tour ofthe world in eighty days or less; in nineteen hundred and twenty hours,or a hundred and fifteen thousand two hundred minutes. Do you accept?"

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

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

  "This very evening?" asked Stuart.

  "This very evening," returned Phileas Fogg. He took out and consulteda pocket almanac, and added, "As today is Wednesday, the 2nd ofOctober, I shall be due in London in this very room of the Reform Club,on Saturday, the 21st of December, at a quarter before nine p.m.; orelse the twenty thousand pounds, now deposited in my name at Baring's,will belong to you, in fact and in right, gentlemen. Here is a chequefor the amount."

  A memorandum of the wager was at once drawn up and signed by the sixparties, during which Phileas Fogg preserved a stoical composure. Hecertainly did not bet to win, and had only staked the twenty thousandpounds, half of his fortune, because he foresaw that he might have toexpend the other half to carry out this difficult, not to sayunattainable, project. As for his antagonists, they seemed muchagitated; not so much by the value of their stake, as because they hadsome scruples about betting under conditions so difficult to theirfriend.

  The clock struck seven, and the party offered to suspend the game sothat 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."