Reading Help Around the world in eighty days Ch.VII-XIII
an important Nebraska town, Schuyler, and Fremont, to Omaha. `
` It followed throughout the right bank of the Platte River. `
` The sledge, shortening this route, took a chord of the arc `
` described by the railway. Mudge was not afraid of being stopped `
` by the Platte River, because it was frozen. The road, then, was quite `
` clear of obstacles, and Phileas Fogg had but two things to fear-- `
` an accident to the sledge, and a change or calm in the wind. `
` `
` But the breeze, far from lessening its force, blew as if to `
` bend the mast, which, however, the metallic lashings held firmly. `
` These lashings, like the chords of a stringed instrument, `
` resounded as if vibrated by a violin bow. The sledge slid along `
` in the midst of a plaintively intense melody. `
` `
` "Those chords give the fifth and the octave," said Mr. Fogg. `
` `
` These were the only words he uttered during the journey. `
` Aouda, cosily packed in furs and cloaks, was sheltered `
` as much as possible from the attacks of the freezing wind. `
` As for Passepartout, his face was as red as the sun's disc `
` when it sets in the mist, and he laboriously inhaled the biting air. `
` With his natural buoyancy of spirits, he began to hope again. `
` They would reach New York on the evening, if not on the morning, `
` of the 11th, and there was still some chances that it would be before `
` the steamer sailed for Liverpool. `
` `
` Passepartout even felt a strong desire to grasp his ally, Fix, by the hand. `
` He remembered that it was the detective who procured the sledge, `
` the only means of reaching Omaha in time; but, checked by some presentiment, `
` he kept his usual reserve. One thing, however, Passepartout would `
` never forget, and that was the sacrifice which Mr. Fogg had made, `
` without hesitation, to rescue him from the Sioux. Mr. Fogg had risked `
` his fortune and his life. No! His servant would never forget that! `
` `
` While each of the party was absorbed in reflections so different, `
` the sledge flew past over the vast carpet of snow. `
` The creeks it passed over were not perceived. Fields and streams `
` disappeared under the uniform whiteness. The plain was absolutely deserted. `
` Between the Union Pacific road and the branch which unites Kearney `
` with Saint Joseph it formed a great uninhabited island. `
` Neither village, station, nor fort appeared. From time to time `
` they sped by some phantom-like tree, whose white skeleton twisted `
` and rattled in the wind. Sometimes flocks of wild birds rose, `
` or bands of gaunt, famished, ferocious prairie-wolves ran howling `
` after the sledge. Passepartout, revolver in hand, held himself ready `
` to fire on those which came too near. Had an accident then happened `
` to the sledge, the travellers, attacked by these beasts, would have been `
` in the most terrible danger; but it held on its even course, soon gained `
` on the wolves, and ere long left the howling band at a safe distance behind. `
` `
` About noon Mudge perceived by certain landmarks that he was `
` crossing the Platte River. He said nothing, but he felt certain `
` that he was now within twenty miles of Omaha. In less than an `
` hour he left the rudder and furled his sails, whilst the sledge, `
` carried forward by the great impetus the wind had given it, `
` went on half a mile further with its sails unspread. `
` `
` It stopped at last, and Mudge, pointing to a mass of roofs `
` white with snow, said: "We have got there!" `
` `
` Arrived! Arrived at the station which is in daily communication, `
` by numerous trains, with the Atlantic seaboard! `
` `
` Passepartout and Fix jumped off, stretched their stiffened limbs, `
` and aided Mr. Fogg and the young woman to descend from the sledge. `
` Phileas Fogg generously rewarded Mudge, whose hand Passepartout `
` warmly grasped, and the party directed their steps to the Omaha `
` railway station. `
` `
` The Pacific Railroad proper finds its terminus at this `
` important Nebraska town. Omaha is connected with `
` Chicago by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, `
` which runs directly east, and passes fifty stations. `
` `
` A train was ready to start when Mr. Fogg and his party reached `
` the station, and they only had time to get into the cars. `
` They had seen nothing of Omaha; but Passepartout confessed `
` to himself that this was not to be regretted, as they were not `
` travelling to see the sights. `
` `
` The train passed rapidly across the State of Iowa, by Council Bluffs, `
` Des Moines, and Iowa City. During the night it crossed the Mississippi `
` at Davenport, and by Rock Island entered Illinois. The next day, `
` which was the 10th, at four o'clock in the evening, it reached Chicago, `
` already risen from its ruins, and more proudly seated than ever `
` on the borders of its beautiful Lake Michigan. `
` `
` Nine hundred miles separated Chicago from New York; but trains `
` are not wanting at Chicago. Mr. Fogg passed at once from one `
` to the other, and the locomotive of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, `
` and Chicago Railway left at full speed, as if it fully comprehended `
` that that gentleman had no time to lose. It traversed Indiana, `
` Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey like a flash, rushing through `
` towns with antique names, some of which had streets and car-tracks, `
` but as yet no houses. At last the Hudson came into view; and, `
` at a quarter-past eleven in the evening of the 11th, `
` the train stopped in the station on the right bank of the river, `
` before the very pier of the Cunard line. `
` `
` The China, for Liverpool, had started three-quarters of an hour before! `
` `
` `
` `
` `
` Chapter XXXII `
` `
` IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG ENGAGES IN A DIRECT STRUGGLE WITH BAD FORTUNE `
` `
` `
` The China, in leaving, seemed to have carried off Phileas Fogg's `
` last hope. None of the other steamers were able to serve his projects. `
` The Pereire, of the French Transatlantic Company, whose admirable steamers `
` are equal to any in speed and comfort, did not leave until the 14th; `
` the Hamburg boats did not go directly to Liverpool or London, but to Havre; `
` and the additional trip from Havre to Southampton would render Phileas Fogg's `
` last efforts of no avail. The Inman steamer did not depart till the next day, `
` and could not cross the Atlantic in time to save the wager. `
` `
` Mr. Fogg learned all this in consulting his Bradshaw, `
` which gave him the daily movements of the trans-Atlantic steamers. `
` `
` Passepartout was crushed; it overwhelmed him to lose the boat `
` by three-quarters of an hour. It was his fault, for, `
` instead of helping his master, he had not ceased putting obstacles `
` in his path! And when he recalled all the incidents of the tour, `
` when he counted up the sums expended in pure loss and on his own account, `
` when he thought that the immense stake, added to the heavy charges `
` of this useless journey, would completely ruin Mr. Fogg, `
` he overwhelmed himself with bitter self-accusations. Mr. Fogg, `
` however, did not reproach him; and, on leaving the Cunard pier, `
` only said: "We will consult about what is best to-morrow. Come." `
` `
` The party crossed the Hudson in the Jersey City ferryboat, `
` and drove in a carriage to the St. Nicholas Hotel, on Broadway. `
` Rooms were engaged, and the night passed, briefly to Phileas Fogg, `
` who slept profoundly, but very long to Aouda and the others, `
` whose agitation did not permit them to rest. `
` `
` The next day was the 12th of December. From seven in the morning `
` of the 12th to a quarter before nine in the evening of the 21st `
` there were nine days, thirteen hours, and forty-five minutes. `
` If Phileas Fogg had left in the China, one of the fastest steamers `
` on the Atlantic, he would have reached Liverpool, and then London, `
` within the period agreed upon. `
` `
` Mr. Fogg left the hotel alone, after giving Passepartout instructions `
` to await his return, and inform Aouda to be ready at an instant's notice. `
` He proceeded to the banks of the Hudson, and looked about among the vessels `
` moored or anchored in the river, for any that were about to depart. `
` Several had departure signals, and were preparing to put to sea `
` at morning tide; for in this immense and admirable port there is not one day `
` in a hundred that vessels do not set out for every quarter of the globe. `
` But they were mostly sailing vessels, of which, of course, Phileas Fogg `
` could make no use. `
` `
` He seemed about to give up all hope, when he espied, anchored at the Battery, `
` a cable's length off at most, a trading vessel, with a screw, well-shaped, `
` whose funnel, puffing a cloud of smoke, indicated that she was getting ready `
` for departure. `
` `
` Phileas Fogg hailed a boat, got into it, and soon found himself on board `
` the Henrietta, iron-hulled, wood-built above. He ascended to the deck, `
` and asked for the captain, who forthwith presented himself. He was a man `
` of fifty, a sort of sea-wolf, with big eyes, a complexion of oxidised copper, `
` red hair and thick neck, and a growling voice. `
` `
` "The captain?" asked Mr. Fogg. `
` `
` "I am the captain." `
` `
` "I am Phileas Fogg, of London." `
` `
` "And I am Andrew Speedy, of Cardiff." `
` `
` "You are going to put to sea?" `
` `
` "In an hour." `
` `
` "You are bound for--" `
` `
` "Bordeaux." `
` `
` "And your cargo?" `
` `
` "No freight. Going in ballast." `
` `
` "Have you any passengers?" `
` `
` "No passengers. Never have passengers. Too much in the way." `
` `
` "Is your vessel a swift one?" `
` `
` "Between eleven and twelve knots. The Henrietta, well known." `
` `
` "Will you carry me and three other persons to Liverpool?" `
` `
` "To Liverpool? Why not to China?" `
` `
` "I said Liverpool." `
` `
` "No!" `
`
` It followed throughout the right bank of the Platte River. `
` The sledge, shortening this route, took a chord of the arc `
` described by the railway. Mudge was not afraid of being stopped `
` by the Platte River, because it was frozen. The road, then, was quite `
` clear of obstacles, and Phileas Fogg had but two things to fear-- `
` an accident to the sledge, and a change or calm in the wind. `
` `
` But the breeze, far from lessening its force, blew as if to `
` bend the mast, which, however, the metallic lashings held firmly. `
` These lashings, like the chords of a stringed instrument, `
` resounded as if vibrated by a violin bow. The sledge slid along `
` in the midst of a plaintively intense melody. `
` `
` "Those chords give the fifth and the octave," said Mr. Fogg. `
` `
` These were the only words he uttered during the journey. `
` Aouda, cosily packed in furs and cloaks, was sheltered `
` as much as possible from the attacks of the freezing wind. `
` As for Passepartout, his face was as red as the sun's disc `
` when it sets in the mist, and he laboriously inhaled the biting air. `
` With his natural buoyancy of spirits, he began to hope again. `
` They would reach New York on the evening, if not on the morning, `
` of the 11th, and there was still some chances that it would be before `
` the steamer sailed for Liverpool. `
` `
` Passepartout even felt a strong desire to grasp his ally, Fix, by the hand. `
` He remembered that it was the detective who procured the sledge, `
` the only means of reaching Omaha in time; but, checked by some presentiment, `
` he kept his usual reserve. One thing, however, Passepartout would `
` never forget, and that was the sacrifice which Mr. Fogg had made, `
` without hesitation, to rescue him from the Sioux. Mr. Fogg had risked `
` his fortune and his life. No! His servant would never forget that! `
` `
` While each of the party was absorbed in reflections so different, `
` the sledge flew past over the vast carpet of snow. `
` The creeks it passed over were not perceived. Fields and streams `
` disappeared under the uniform whiteness. The plain was absolutely deserted. `
` Between the Union Pacific road and the branch which unites Kearney `
` with Saint Joseph it formed a great uninhabited island. `
` Neither village, station, nor fort appeared. From time to time `
` they sped by some phantom-like tree, whose white skeleton twisted `
` and rattled in the wind. Sometimes flocks of wild birds rose, `
` or bands of gaunt, famished, ferocious prairie-wolves ran howling `
` after the sledge. Passepartout, revolver in hand, held himself ready `
` to fire on those which came too near. Had an accident then happened `
` to the sledge, the travellers, attacked by these beasts, would have been `
` in the most terrible danger; but it held on its even course, soon gained `
` on the wolves, and ere long left the howling band at a safe distance behind. `
` `
` About noon Mudge perceived by certain landmarks that he was `
` crossing the Platte River. He said nothing, but he felt certain `
` that he was now within twenty miles of Omaha. In less than an `
` hour he left the rudder and furled his sails, whilst the sledge, `
` carried forward by the great impetus the wind had given it, `
` went on half a mile further with its sails unspread. `
` `
` It stopped at last, and Mudge, pointing to a mass of roofs `
` white with snow, said: "We have got there!" `
` `
` Arrived! Arrived at the station which is in daily communication, `
` by numerous trains, with the Atlantic seaboard! `
` `
` Passepartout and Fix jumped off, stretched their stiffened limbs, `
` and aided Mr. Fogg and the young woman to descend from the sledge. `
` Phileas Fogg generously rewarded Mudge, whose hand Passepartout `
` warmly grasped, and the party directed their steps to the Omaha `
` railway station. `
` `
` The Pacific Railroad proper finds its terminus at this `
` important Nebraska town. Omaha is connected with `
` Chicago by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, `
` which runs directly east, and passes fifty stations. `
` `
` A train was ready to start when Mr. Fogg and his party reached `
` the station, and they only had time to get into the cars. `
` They had seen nothing of Omaha; but Passepartout confessed `
` to himself that this was not to be regretted, as they were not `
` travelling to see the sights. `
` `
` The train passed rapidly across the State of Iowa, by Council Bluffs, `
` Des Moines, and Iowa City. During the night it crossed the Mississippi `
` at Davenport, and by Rock Island entered Illinois. The next day, `
` which was the 10th, at four o'clock in the evening, it reached Chicago, `
` already risen from its ruins, and more proudly seated than ever `
` on the borders of its beautiful Lake Michigan. `
` `
` Nine hundred miles separated Chicago from New York; but trains `
` are not wanting at Chicago. Mr. Fogg passed at once from one `
` to the other, and the locomotive of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, `
` and Chicago Railway left at full speed, as if it fully comprehended `
` that that gentleman had no time to lose. It traversed Indiana, `
` Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey like a flash, rushing through `
` towns with antique names, some of which had streets and car-tracks, `
` but as yet no houses. At last the Hudson came into view; and, `
` at a quarter-past eleven in the evening of the 11th, `
` the train stopped in the station on the right bank of the river, `
` before the very pier of the Cunard line. `
` `
` The China, for Liverpool, had started three-quarters of an hour before! `
` `
` `
` `
` `
` Chapter XXXII `
` `
` IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG ENGAGES IN A DIRECT STRUGGLE WITH BAD FORTUNE `
` `
` `
` The China, in leaving, seemed to have carried off Phileas Fogg's `
` last hope. None of the other steamers were able to serve his projects. `
` The Pereire, of the French Transatlantic Company, whose admirable steamers `
` are equal to any in speed and comfort, did not leave until the 14th; `
` the Hamburg boats did not go directly to Liverpool or London, but to Havre; `
` and the additional trip from Havre to Southampton would render Phileas Fogg's `
` last efforts of no avail. The Inman steamer did not depart till the next day, `
` and could not cross the Atlantic in time to save the wager. `
` `
` Mr. Fogg learned all this in consulting his Bradshaw, `
` which gave him the daily movements of the trans-Atlantic steamers. `
` `
` Passepartout was crushed; it overwhelmed him to lose the boat `
` by three-quarters of an hour. It was his fault, for, `
` instead of helping his master, he had not ceased putting obstacles `
` in his path! And when he recalled all the incidents of the tour, `
` when he counted up the sums expended in pure loss and on his own account, `
` when he thought that the immense stake, added to the heavy charges `
` of this useless journey, would completely ruin Mr. Fogg, `
` he overwhelmed himself with bitter self-accusations. Mr. Fogg, `
` however, did not reproach him; and, on leaving the Cunard pier, `
` only said: "We will consult about what is best to-morrow. Come." `
` `
` The party crossed the Hudson in the Jersey City ferryboat, `
` and drove in a carriage to the St. Nicholas Hotel, on Broadway. `
` Rooms were engaged, and the night passed, briefly to Phileas Fogg, `
` who slept profoundly, but very long to Aouda and the others, `
` whose agitation did not permit them to rest. `
` `
` The next day was the 12th of December. From seven in the morning `
` of the 12th to a quarter before nine in the evening of the 21st `
` there were nine days, thirteen hours, and forty-five minutes. `
` If Phileas Fogg had left in the China, one of the fastest steamers `
` on the Atlantic, he would have reached Liverpool, and then London, `
` within the period agreed upon. `
` `
` Mr. Fogg left the hotel alone, after giving Passepartout instructions `
` to await his return, and inform Aouda to be ready at an instant's notice. `
` He proceeded to the banks of the Hudson, and looked about among the vessels `
` moored or anchored in the river, for any that were about to depart. `
` Several had departure signals, and were preparing to put to sea `
` at morning tide; for in this immense and admirable port there is not one day `
` in a hundred that vessels do not set out for every quarter of the globe. `
` But they were mostly sailing vessels, of which, of course, Phileas Fogg `
` could make no use. `
` `
` He seemed about to give up all hope, when he espied, anchored at the Battery, `
` a cable's length off at most, a trading vessel, with a screw, well-shaped, `
` whose funnel, puffing a cloud of smoke, indicated that she was getting ready `
` for departure. `
` `
` Phileas Fogg hailed a boat, got into it, and soon found himself on board `
` the Henrietta, iron-hulled, wood-built above. He ascended to the deck, `
` and asked for the captain, who forthwith presented himself. He was a man `
` of fifty, a sort of sea-wolf, with big eyes, a complexion of oxidised copper, `
` red hair and thick neck, and a growling voice. `
` `
` "The captain?" asked Mr. Fogg. `
` `
` "I am the captain." `
` `
` "I am Phileas Fogg, of London." `
` `
` "And I am Andrew Speedy, of Cardiff." `
` `
` "You are going to put to sea?" `
` `
` "In an hour." `
` `
` "You are bound for--" `
` `
` "Bordeaux." `
` `
` "And your cargo?" `
` `
` "No freight. Going in ballast." `
` `
` "Have you any passengers?" `
` `
` "No passengers. Never have passengers. Too much in the way." `
` `
` "Is your vessel a swift one?" `
` `
` "Between eleven and twelve knots. The Henrietta, well known." `
` `
` "Will you carry me and three other persons to Liverpool?" `
` `
` "To Liverpool? Why not to China?" `
` `
` "I said Liverpool." `
` `
` "No!" `
`