第32章

TheRangoon'had a large quota of passengers，many of whom disembarked at Singapore，among them a number of Indians，Ceylonese，Chinamen，Malays and Portuguese，mostly second-class travellers.

The weather，which had hitherto been fine，changed with the last quarter of the moon.The sea rolled heavily，and the wind at intervals rose almost to a storm，but happily blew from the south-west，and thus aided the steamer's progress.The captain as often as possible put up his sails，and under the double action of steam and sail the vessel made rapid progress along the coasts of Anam and Cochin China.Owing to the defective construction of theRangoon'，however，unusual precautions became necessary in unfavourable weather；but the loss of time which resulted from this cause，while it nearly drove Passepartout out of his senses，did not seem to affect his master in the least.Passepartout blamed the captain，the engineer and the crew，and consigned all who were connected with the ship to the land where the pepper grows.Perhaps the thought of the gas，which was remorselessly burning at his expense in Saville Row，had something to do with his hot impatience.

You are in a great hurry，then，said Fix to him one day，to reach Hong Kong？

A very great hurry！

Mr Fogg，I suppose，is anxious to catch the steamer for Yokohama？

Terribly anxious.

You believe in this journey around the world，then？

Absolutely.Don't you，Mr Fix？

I？I don't believe a word of it.

You're a sly dog！said Passepartout，winking at him.

This expression rather disturbed Fix，without his knowing why.Had the Frenchman guessed his real purpose？He knew not what to think.But how could Passepartout have discovered that he was a detective？Yet，in speaking as he did，the man evidently meant more than he expressed.

Passepartout went still further the next day；he could not hold his tongue.

Mr Fix，said he，in a bantering tone；shall we be so unfortunate as to lose you when we get to Hong Kong？

Why，responded Fix，a little embarrassed，I don't know；perhaps——

Ah，if you would only go on with us！An agent of the Peninsular Company，you know，can't stop on the way！You were only going to Bombay，and here you are in China.America is not far off，and from America to Europe is only a step.

Fix looked intently at his companion，whose countenance was as serene as possible，and laughed with him.But Passepartout persisted in chaffing him by asking him if he made much by his present occupation.

Yes，and no，returned Fix；there is good and bad luck in such things.But you must understand that I don't travel at my own expense.

Oh，I am quite sure of that！cried Passepartout，laughing heartily.

Fix，fairly puzzled，descended to his cabin and gave himself up to his reflections.He was evidently suspected；somehow or other the Frenchman had found out that he was a detective.But had he told his master？What part was he playing in all this：was he an accomplice or not？Was the game，then，up？Fix spent several hours turning these things over in his mind，sometimes thinking that all was lost，then persuading himself that Fogg was ignorant of his presence，and then undecided what course it was best to take.

Nevertheless，he preserved his coolness of mind，and at last resolved to deal plainly with Passepartout.If he did not find it practicable to arrest Fogg at Hong Kong，and if Fogg made preparations to leave that last foothold of English territory，he，Fix，would tell Passepartout all.Either the servant was the accomplice of his master，and in this case the master knew of his operations，and he should fail；or else the servant knew nothing about the robbery，and then his interest would be to abandon the robber.

Such was the situation between Fix and Passepartout.Meanwhile Phileas Fogg moved about above them in the most majestic and unconscious indifference.He was passing methodically in his orbit around the world，regardless of the lesser stars which gravitated around him.Yet there was near by what the astronomers would call a disturbing star，which might have produced an agitation in this gentleman's heart.But no！the charms of Aouda failed to act，to Passepartout's great surprise；and the disturbances，if they existed，would have been more difficult to calculate than those of Uranus which led to the discovery of Neptune.

It was every day an increasing wonder to Passepartout，who read in Aouda's eyes the depths of her gratitude to his master.Phileas Fogg，though brave and gallant，must be，he thought，quite heartless.As to the sentiment which this journey might have awakened in him，there was clearly no trace of such a thing；while poor Passepartout existed in perpetual reveries.

One day he was leaning on the railing of the engine-room，and was observing the engine，when a sudden pitch of the steamer threw the screw out of the water.The steam came hissing out of the valves；and this made Passepartout indignant.

The valves are not sufficiently charged！he exclaimed.We are not going.Oh，these English！If this was an American craft，we should blow up，perhaps，but we should at all events go faster！