by Verne, Jules, 1828-1905
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As he said " a week" Fix felt his heart leap for joy. Fogg detained at Hong Kong a w'eek ! There would be time for the warrant to arrive, and fortune at last favoured the representative of the law. His horror may be imagined when he heard Mr. Fogg say, in his placid voice,
136 ARorxD Till-: Would ix i-iciirv d.ws.
" But there are other vessels besides the ' Carnatic,' it seems to me, ill tlie harbour of Iloni^ Kong."
And, oflcrinL; his arm to Aouda, he directed his steps toward tlie docks in search of some craft about to start. h'ix, stupefied, followed ; it seemed as if he were attached to ]\Ir. 1h\l;l; by an invisible thread. Chance, however, appeared reall}- to have abandoned the man it had hitherto serv'ed so well. For three hours Phi leas Fogg wandered about the docks, with the determination, if necessary, to charter a vessel to carry him to Yokohama ; but he could only find vessels which were loading or unloading, and which could not therefore set sail. Fix began to hope again.
But Mr. Fogg, far from being discouraged, w^as continuing his search, resolved not to stop if he had to resort to Macao, when he was accosted by a sailor on one of the wharves.
*' Is your honour looking for a boat.''"
*' Have you a boat ready to sail .?"
"Yes, your honour; a pilot-boat?No. 43?the best in the harbour."
" Does she go fast ? "
" Between eight and nine knots the hour. Will you look at her ? "
" Yes."
'' Your honour will be satisfied with her. Is it for a sea excursion.^"
"No ; for a voyage."
"IS TOTJE HONOUE LOOKING FOR A VESSEL?'
" A voyage ?"
" Yes ; will you agree to take me to Yokohama ?"
The sailor leaned on the railing, opened his eyes wide, and said, *' Is your honour joking ?"
''No. I have missed the 'Carnatic,' and I must get to Yokohama by the 14th at the latest, to take the boat for San Francisco."
" I am sorry," said the sailor, '' but it is impossible."
" I offer you a hundred pounds per day, and an additional reward of two hundred pounds if I reach Yokohama in time."
" Are you in earnest .^"
" Very much so."
The pilot walked away a little distance^ and gazed out to sea, evidently struggling between the anxiety to gain a large sum and the fear of venturing so far. Fix was in mortal suspense.
Mr. Fogg turned to Aouda and asked her, *'' You would not be afraid, would you, madam.''"
" Not with you, ]\Ir, Fogg," was her answer.
The pilot now returned, shuffling his hat in his hands.
" Well, pilot .^" said Mr. Fogg.
*' Well, your honour," replied he, " I could not risk myself, my men, or my little boat of scarcely twenty tons on so long a voyage at this time of year. Besides, we could not reach Yokohama in time, for it is sixteen hundred and sixty miles from Hong Kong."
158 AROUND 'inr: world jx kightv days.
*' Only sixteen hundred," said Mr. Fogg.
** It's the same thing."
Fix breathed more freely.
" Ikit," added the pilot, "it might be arranged another Avay."
Fix ceased to breathe at all.
*' How .-*" asked Mr. Fogg,
" By going to Nagasaki, at the extreme south of Japan, or even to Shanghai, which is only eight hundred miles from here. In going to Shanghai we should not be forced to sail wide of the Chinese coast, which would be a great advantage, as the currents run northward, and would aid us."
" Pilot," said Mr. Fogg, " I must take the American steamer at Yokohama, and not at Shanghai or Nagasaki."
"Why not.?" returned the pilot. "The San Francisco steamer does not start from Yokohama. It puts in at Yokohama and Nagasaki, but it starts from Shanghai."
" You are sure of that .^"
" Perfectly."
"And when does the boat leave Shanghai.?"
" On the nth, at seven in the evening. We have, therefore, four days before us, that is ninety-six hours ; and in that time, if we had good luck and a south-west wind, and
the sea was calm, we could make those eight hundred miles to Shanghai,"
" And you could go?"
" In an hour; as soon as provisions could be got aboard and the sails put up."
" It is a bargain. Are you the master of the boat V
