Chapter 10
On December 7, the train stopped at the Green River station, and Aouda saw Colonel Stamp Proctor on the platform.
“We must keep this man away from Mr. Fogg!” she whispered to Passepartout and Fix.
“Don’t worry,” said Fix, “Before he settles with Mr. Fogg, he must settle with me. It was I that he knocked down.”
“Mr. Fix,” said Aouda, “Mr. Fogg will not let anyone else fight for him. He said that he would return to America just to find the colonel. If they meet now, something terrible might happen!”
“Listen!” said Passepartout, “Let’s just make sure that Mr. Fogg doesn’t leave his car until we reach New York. That way, he won’t see Colonel Proctor. The best way to keep him in his car is to get him into a game of whist. Luckily, both Aouda and Fix knew how to play whist. Passepartout got two decks of cards.
Suddenly, a loud whistle blew, and the train came to a screeching stop. Fogg sent Passepartout to find out what was wrong. The engineer explained that the bridge at Medicine Bow, Wyoming, was not strong enough for the train to cross.
“We have wired Omaha, Nebraska, for a train,” the engineer added, “but it won’t reach Medicine Bow for at least six hours. It will take us that long to walk to Medicine Bow anyhow.”
“But Medicine Bow is only a mile from here,” said Colonel Proctor.
“Yes,” replied the engineer, “but it’s on the other side of the river!”
“Can’t we cross by boat?” asked Passepartout.
“That’s impossible. The rains have flooded the river.
We’d have to go ten miles to find a ford for crossing.”
This would cause a delay. And all of Phileas Fogg’s banknotes could do nothing about it! Fogg, however, was too busy playing whist to notice what had happened.
“Gentlemen, there may be way to cross the bridge after all,” said the engineer.
“But the bridge is not safe,” said Passepartout.
“It doesn’t matter. If we run the train at top speed, we’ll have a chance to get across.”
Passepartout thought it was too risky.
“At least we might cross the bridge on foot and let the train follow us,” he muttered, But no one was listening.
“Don’t be afraid!” said Colonel Proctor.
“All aboard!” shouted the conductor.
Phileas Fogg never even lifted his head from the card table.
The engineer backed up the train for almost a mile in order to get a good start. Then the train moved forward again, picking up speed until it reached 100 miles an hour.
Suddenly, like a flash, the train leaped over the bridge! It went five miles further on the other side before the engineer could slow it down. The passengers were safe, but as soon as the train had passed, the bridge fell with a loud crash into the river below.
Phileas Fogg’s journey from San Francisco to New York was almost half over. The train had gone 1,382 miles in three days. In another four days, it would be in New York. Mr. Fogg was exactly on time.
Fogg and Detective Fix were so busy playing whist that they didn’t hear a man coming up behind them.
“I would play a diamond, Englishman!” said Colonel Stamp Proctor.
Phileas Fogg laid the ten of spades on the table.
“I would rather have diamonds played than spades,”
the colonel insisted, moving towards Fogg as if to grab the card, “You really don’t know how to play whist.”
Suddenly, Detective Fix stood up.
“You forget, Colonel Proctor, that you must deal with me, for you struck and insulted me in San Francisco.”
“No, Mr. Fix,” said Phileas Fogg, “This is my affair and I’ll handle it. The colonel has insisted that I play a spade. He won’t get away with it!”
“No, Mr. Fix,” said Phileas Fogg, “This is my affair and I’ll handle it. The colonel has insisted that I play a spade. He won’t get away with it!”
Phileas Fogg went out to the platform, followed by the American.
“Sir, I am in a great hurry to get back to Europe,” Fogg explained, “I cannot allow anything to delay me. Will you meet me here in six months?”
“You’re just looking for an excuse not to fight. It’s now or never!”
“All right,” said Fogg, “Are you going to New York?”
“No. I’m going to Plum Creek,” said Proctor.
“That’s the next station. The train will stop there for ten minutes. That will give us time to exchange a few shots.”
“Very well,” said Fogg, “I’ll stop at Plum Creek.” He returned to his car to finish the game of whist.
He returned to his car to finish the game of whist.
When the train reched Plum Creek station, the conductor shouted, “Gentlemen, you can’t get off! We’re 20 minutes late and can’t stop here!”
“But we must fight a duel!” cried Fogg.
“How about fighting as we move along?” asked the conductor, and the two men agreed.
The last car of the train was chosen for the duel. Phileas Fogg and Colonel Proctor were to march towards each other from opposite ends of the car and then fire their revolvers.
As the countdown began, gunfire was heard from the front end of the train. A band of Sioux Indians had attacked! They ran through the cars, fighting hand to hand with the screaming passengers. Then they climbed into the engine and tried to stop the train. Instead of closing the steam valve, however, they opened it wide, causing the train to rush forward at top speed.
“Unless the train is stopped in five minutes, we’ll all be lost!” shouted the conductor, “Fort Kearney is only two miles away, and the soldiers there can help us!”
“The train will be stopped!” said Passepartout. Before Phileas Fogg could stop him, he opened a door and slipped under the car. A few minutes later, the train came to a stop a few feet from Kearney station.
By holding onto the metal chains under the cars, Passepartout had managed to swing from the back end of the train to the front. He loosened the safety chain that joined the engine to the other cars, and the jolts of the swiftly moving train broke the engine loose. When the train came to a stop by Fort Kearney, however, Passepartout and two other passengers were missing.
The Indians, who fled at the first sight of the soldiers, had taken the three as prisoners!
“I will find Passepartout, dead or alive!” declared Phileas Fogg to Aouda.
This decision might well cost Fogg his 20,000-pound bet. He could not afford to lose a single day, but he could not abandon his faithful servant.
“Three passengers have been taken prisoner,” said Fogg to the commander at Fort Kearney, “Will you go after the Sioux?’
“I can’t do that, sir. I must protect the fort from Indian attacks.”
“The lives of three men are at stake,” Fogg insisted.
“That may be true, but I cannot risk the lives of 50 or 100 men to save three.”
“Very well, then; I will go alone!”
“You can’t handle the Indians alone!”
“Do you expect me to let Passepartout die after he had saved all of our lives?” asked Fogg.
“You are a brave man. I will send 30 men to help you,” said the commander. Fogg promised to divide 5,000 dollars among them if they brought the prisoners back alive.
Aouda and Fix waited anxiously for Fogg to return. Fix feared that the ‘robber’ might escape for good with the stolen money.
Suddenly, a whistle sounded. The engineer was running the locomotive back to join the stranded train.
“We must start at once,” said the conductor, “We’re way behind schedule!”
“What about the prisoners?” Aouda asked.
“It is impossible to wait for them!”
“Then I will stay behind,” she said.
The train sped off into the distance. Night came, and there was still no sign of Phileas Fogg and the soldiers. At dawn, the fort commander was ready to give up his soldiers as lost. Suddenly they appeared in the distance, along with the prisoners.
