The Rangoon, a British steamer serving the Chinese and Japanese routes, was a solid iron ship powered by a 400-horsepower engine. She was reasonably fast, though not as comfortable as the Mongolia.
Aouda had a less comfortable cabin than Phileas Fogg would have liked, but she was easy to please. The journey from Calcutta to Hong Kong was about 3,500 miles and would take ten to twelve days.
During the first few days at sea, Aouda grew closer to Fogg. She often thanked him for saving her life.
“Mr. Fogg, I can never repay you for what you have done.”
“You owe me nothing, madam.”
“But you risked everything to save me.”
“It was the necessary thing to do.”
Fogg spoke calmly, showing almost no emotion. Yet he carefully watched over her comfort. Every day, he visited her at the same time.
He rarely talked much himself. Instead, he sat quietly and listened while Aouda spoke.
His manners were perfectly polite, but everything about him was precise, almost mechanical.
Aouda found him difficult to understand. Passepartout had already told her about his master’s unusual personality, including the incredible wager that had sent him around the world.
Still, she could never forget that Phileas Fogg had saved her life. Her gratitude made her see him in a very special light.
Aouda also confirmed the Parsee guide’s story about her family. She came from one of the highest-ranking Parsee families in India. Many Parsee merchants had become extremely wealthy through the cotton trade.
One of them, Sir Jametsee Jeejeebhoy, had even been made a baronet by the British government.
Aouda was related to him. In Hong Kong, she hoped to find her cousin Jeejeeh.
“I hope my cousin will take me in,” she said. “But I do not know what will happen if I cannot find him.”
“You need not worry,” Fogg replied. “Everything will be arranged mathematically.”
Aouda looked at him with her large, clear eyes.
Fogg, however, remained completely unmoved. He seemed no more interested in falling into those beautiful eyes than in falling into a lake.
The first days of the voyage went smoothly. The weather was good, and favorable winds pushed the Rangoon steadily eastward.
Soon they reached the Andaman Islands.
The great island of Andaman rose from the Bay of Bengal, with Saddle Peak towering nearly 2,400 feet above the sea.
The Rangoon sailed close to the shore, but none of the local Papuan inhabitants appeared.
The islands presented a magnificent sight.
Huge forests of palm, areca, bamboo, teak, mimosa, and tree ferns covered the land. Behind them, mountains rose gracefully against the sky.
Along the coast, thousands of swallows flew about. Their nests were collected and used to prepare an expensive delicacy much prized in China.
But the beautiful islands soon disappeared behind them.
The Rangoon continued rapidly toward the Strait of Malacca, the gateway to the China seas.
Meanwhile, Detective Fix had secretly boarded the ship at Calcutta.
Passepartout had not seen him.
Fix had also arranged for the warrant to be forwarded to him at Hong Kong if it arrived in time.
He intended to remain hidden until they reached their destination.
It would have been difficult to explain his presence on the Rangoon. Passepartout still believed that Fix was back in Bombay.
But Fix now had no choice. He needed to speak to the servant again.
Everything depended on Hong Kong.
The stop at Singapore would be too short for him to make an arrest. Hong Kong was his last real chance.
If the warrant arrived there, Fix could arrest Fogg and hand him over to the local authorities.
But once Fogg left Hong Kong, the situation would become much harder.
China, Japan, and America could all provide Fogg with places to escape. A simple British warrant would no longer be enough. Fix would need an extradition order, which would take time and involve complicated legal procedures.
During the long hours in his cabin, Fix kept thinking about it.
“Either the warrant will reach Hong Kong, and I will arrest him, or it will not.”
“I failed at Bombay. I failed at Calcutta.”
“If I fail at Hong Kong too, my career is ruined.”
“I must succeed, whatever it costs me.”
“But if the warrant does not arrive, how can I stop Fogg from leaving?”
Fix considered one desperate plan.
He could tell Passepartout the truth about his master.
He was certain that Passepartout was not Fogg’s accomplice. Once the servant learned that his master was wanted for robbery, Fix believed he would be frightened of becoming involved in the crime and would help the detective.
But it was a dangerous plan.
If Passepartout warned Fogg, everything would be ruined.
Fix was still thinking about this problem when another idea suddenly occurred to him.
Aouda.
Who exactly was this woman?
Why was she traveling with Fogg?
They had clearly met somewhere between Bombay and Calcutta.
But where?
Had they met by chance?
Or had Fogg deliberately gone into the interior to find her?
Fix became deeply suspicious.
“Perhaps there was some kind of secret elopement,” he thought.
The idea immediately interested him.
Whether Aouda was married or unmarried, Fix believed he might be able to use the situation against Fogg in Hong Kong.
He could create legal trouble for Fogg and force him to remain there, no matter how much money it cost.
But another problem remained.
Could Fix even wait until Hong Kong?
Fogg had already shown that he could leave one ship and board another almost without warning.
He might arrive at Hong Kong and immediately sail for Yokohama before Fix had time to act.
Fix decided that he needed to warn the British authorities before the Rangoon reached Hong Kong.
Fortunately, the ship would stop at Singapore, and Singapore had a telegraph connection with Hong Kong.
Before doing anything else, Fix decided to question Passepartout.
He knew the talkative servant would be easy to make speak.
There was no time to waste.
Fix would have to reveal himself.
It was October 30. The Rangoon was expected to reach Singapore the next day.
Fix left his cabin and went onto the deck.
Passepartout was walking back and forth near the front of the ship.
Fix hurried toward him, pretending to be extremely surprised.
“You here, on the Rangoon?”
Passepartout turned around and stared at him.
“Monsieur Fix! You’re on board?”
He was genuinely astonished to see his old companion from the Mongolia.
“I thought I left you in Bombay. And now you’re here, heading for Hong Kong!”
“Are you traveling around the world too?”
“No, no,” Fix replied. “I will stop at Hong Kong, at least for a few days.”
“Hmm.”
Passepartout looked puzzled for a moment.
“But how come I haven’t seen you since we left Calcutta?”
“Oh, nothing serious. I’ve been seasick and stayed in my cabin. The Bay of Bengal doesn’t agree with me as well as the Indian Ocean.”
“And how is Mr. Fogg?”
“As well and as punctual as ever. Not a single day behind schedule.”
Passepartout suddenly remembered something.
“But, Monsieur Fix, you don’t know that we have a young lady traveling with us.”
“A young lady?”
Fix looked genuinely confused.
Passepartout began telling him the whole story.
He explained how Aouda had been involved in the affair at the Bombay pagoda.
He told him about the elephant they had bought for two thousand pounds.
He described the rescue, their arrest, and the sentence handed down by the Calcutta court.
Finally, he explained how Fogg and he had regained their freedom after being released on bail.
Fix already knew about the most recent events, but he pretended to know nothing.
Passepartout was delighted to have such an attentive listener.
“But does your master intend to take this young woman all the way to Europe?” Fix asked.
“Not at all.”
Passepartout smiled.
“We’re only taking her to Hong Kong. There, we will leave her with one of her relatives, a wealthy merchant.”
Fix immediately felt disappointed.
“So there’s nothing I can use against him there,” he thought.
Then he forced a smile.
“How about a glass of gin, Mr. Passepartout?”
“Gladly, Monsieur Fix.”
Passepartout grinned.
“After all, we should at least have a friendly drink together here on the Rangoon.”