第9章

IN WHICH FIX，THE DETECTIVE，BETRAYS A VERY NATURAL IMPATIENCE.

The circumstances under which this telegraphic despatch about Phileas Fogg was sent were as follows：——

The steamerMongolia'，belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company，built of iron，of two thousand eight hundred tons burden，and five hundred horse-power，was due at eleven o'clock a.m.on Wednesday，the 9th of October，at Suez.TheMongolia'plied regularly between Brindisi and Bombay via the Suez Canal，and was one of the fastest steamers belonging to the company，always making more than ten knots an hour between Brindisi and Suez，and nine and a half between Suez and Bombay.

Two men were promenading up and down the wharves，among the crowd of natives and strangers who were sojourning at this once straggling village-now，thanks to the enterprise of M.Lesseps，a fast-growing town.One was the British consul at Suez，who，despite the prophecies of the English Government，and the unfavourable predictions of Stephenson，was in the habit of seeing，from his office window，English ships daily passing to and fro on the great canal，by which the old roundabout route from England to India by the Cape of Good Hope was abridged by at least a half.The other was a small，slight-built personage，with a nervous，intelligent face，and bright eyes peering out from under eyebrows which he was incessantly twitching.He was just now manifesting unmistakable signs of impatience，nervously pacing up and down，and unable to stand still for a moment.This was Fix，one of the detectives who had been despatched from England in search of the bank robber；it was his task to narrowly watch every passenger who arrived at Suez，and to follow up all who seemed to be suspicious characters，or bore a resemblance to the deion of the criminal，which he had received two days before from the police headquarters at London.The detective was evidently inspired by the hope of obtaining the splendid reward which would be the prize of success，and awaited with a feverish impatience，easy to understand，the arrival of the steamerMongolia'.

So you say，consul，asked he for the twentieth time，that this steamer is never behind time？

No，Mr Fix，replied the consul.She was bespoken yesterday at Port Said，and the rest of the way is of no account to such a craft.I repeat that theMongolia'has been in advance of the time required by the company's regulations，and gained the prize awarded for excess of speed.

Does she come directly from Brindisi？

Directly from Brindisi；she takes on the Indian mails there，and she left there Saturday at five p.m.Have patience，Mr Fix；she will not be late.But really I don't see how，frthe deion you have，you will be able to recognize your man，even if he is on board the'Mongolia。'

A man rather feels the presence of these fellows，consul，than recognizes them.You must have a scent for them，and a scent is like a sixth sense which combines hearing，seeing and smelling.I've arrested more than one of these gentlemen in my time，and if my thief is on board，I'll answer for it，he'll not slip through my fingers.

I hope so，Mr Fix，for it was a heavy robbery.

A magnificent robbery，consul；fifty-five thousand pounds！We don't often have such windfalls.Burglars are getting to be so contemptible nowadays！A fellow gets hung for a handful of shillings！

Mr Fix，said the consul，I like your way of talking，and hope you'll succeed；but I fear you will find it far from easy.Don't you see，the deion which you have there has a singular resemblance to an honest man？