Around the World in Eighty Days. Junior Deluxe EditionVerne, Jules
General
Around the World in Eighty Days. Junior Deluxe Edition
Verne, Jules
Adventure stories; Voyages around the world -- Fiction
The weather was bad during the latter days of the voyage. The
wind, obstinately remaining in the northwest, blew a gale, and
retarded the steamer. The Rangoon rolled heavily and the
passengers became impatient of the long, monstrous waves which
the wind raised before their path. A sort of tempest arose on the
3rd of November, the squall knocking the vessel about with fury,
and the waves running high. The Rangoon reefed all her sails, and
even the rigging proved too much, whistling and shaking amid the
squall. The steamer was forced to proceed slowly, and the captain
estimated that she would reach Hong Kong twenty hours behind
time, and more if the storm lasted.
Phileas Fogg gazed at the tempestuous sea, which seemed to be
struggling especially to delay him, with his habitual
tranquillity. He never changed countenance for an instant, though
a delay of twenty hours, by making him too late for the Yokohama
boat, would almost inevitably cause the loss of the wager. But
this man of nerve manifested neither impatience nor annoyance. It
seemed as if the storm were a part of his program, and had been
foreseen. Aouda was amazed to find him as calm as he had been
from the first time she saw him.
Fix did not look at the state of things in the same light. The
storm greatly pleased him. His satisfaction would have been
complete had the Rangoon been forced to retreat before the
violence of wind and waves. Each delay filled him with hope, for
it became more and more probable that Fogg would be obliged to
remain some days at Hong Kong; and now the heavens themselves
became his allies, with the gusts and squalls. It mattered not
that they made him seasick--he made nothing of this
inconvenience; and, while his body was writhing under their
effects, his spirit bounded with hopeful joy.
Passepartout was enraged beyond expression by the unpropitious
weather. Everything had gone so well till now! Earth and sea had
seemed to be at his master's service. Steamers and railways
obeyed him. Wind and steam united to speed his journey. Had the
hour of adversity come? Passepartout was as much excited as if
the twenty thousand pounds were to come from his own pocket. The
storm exasperated him, the gale made him furious, and he longed
to lash the obstinate sea into obedience. Poor fellow! Fix
carefully concealed from him his own satisfaction, for, had he
betrayed it, Passepartout could scarcely have restrained himself
from personal violence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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