Chapter 2
At 7:25, Phileas Fogg gathered up his winnings from whist and left the Reform Club. Imagine Passepartout’s amazement when his master arrived home long before his usual midnight hour.
“We’re leaving for Dover, England, Calais and France in ten minutes!” Fogg declared.
“Are you leaving home, sir?”
“Yes. We’re going around the world—we have to be back in 80 days! There’s no time to lose!”
Passepartout was speechless. Finally, he asked, “What about the suitcases?”
“There’s no time to get suitcases. Just pack a bag with two shirts and three pairs of socks for each of us. Bring my coat, raincoat , and some walking shoes too. And hurry!”
The servant was flabbergasted! Surely this was a joke! Just when he was ready to settle down to a quiet life, this had to happen! However, he packed a bag as he was told. Fogg added a railroad and steamboat timetable and a large roll of banknotes to the clothes in the bag.
“Take good care of this bag,” Fogg warned.
“There are 20,000 pounds in banknotes inside!”
Phileas Fogg and Passepartout hailed a taxi and reached the railroad station at 8:20. A beggar woman holding a baby approached them for money. Fogg gave her everything that he had just won at whist. Master and servant then bought first-class tickets for France. The train pulled out at exactly 8:45. Suddenly, Passepartout cried out, “Master, in my hurry I forgot to turn off the gas burner in my room!”
“Very well, young man,” Fogg replied.
“Your gas bill be awaiting you when we return.”
Then the news of Phileas Fogg’s wager spread like wildfire all over England, and it was printed in all the newspapers. The people of England, who love to place bets, gambled on Fogg’s chances to make the trip in 80 days. Some thought it could indeed be done, but most believed Fogg was crazy and had been conned by his ‘friends’at the Reform Club.
So-called ‘Phileas Fogg bonds’ were sold everywhere— but their value fell sharply with the rumour that Fogg was the gentleman who had robbed the Bank of England.
It was a certain Detective Fix who ‘discovered’ Phileas Fogg’s true identity. The London police chief sent him to Suez, in Egypt, to look for the robber and promised to send an arrest warrant after him. Egypt was then part of the British Empire, and the Suez Canal had been built as a short cut for ships travelling between England and India, which was also part of the Empire.
When they heard the rumours that Fogg was the bank robber, people suddenly recalled his strange habits and his desire to be alone most of the time. They viewed his around-the-world trip as an excuse for him to leave London before the police could arrest him. Why else would he lay a large sum like 20,000 pounds on the line?
At 11:00 on October 9, the English steamer Mongolia was due in Suez. Detective Fix waited nervously on the dock.
“How will you recognize the robber even if he’s on board?” asked the English consul, or government representative. “From the way the London police describe him, he looks like an honest man.”
“Don’t worry, consul. I’ve arrested plenty of robbers. I’ll know this one if I see him. He won’t get away!”
“I hope you’re right, Mr. Fix!”
“The robber would be foolish to travel on to India, wouldn’t he?” Fix asked.
“Maybe not,” replied the consul, “If he’s smart, he’ll go to India because he knows the police wouldn’t expect him to!”
The Mongolia arrived right on time. One of the passengers approached Fix to ask where the consul’s office was. The consul was supposed to stamp his passport, or travel book, with a visa to show that he had stopped at Suez.
Fix looked at the passport. Inside was a picture that matched exactly the description of the London bank robber!
“Is this your passport?” the detective asked.
“No, it belongs to my master.”
“He must appear before the consul in person in order to get a visa,” said Fix.
