The island of Singapore, though not grand or imposing, still has its peculiar beauties. It is a park traversed by pleasant roads. A well-appointed carriage took Phileas Fogg and Aouda through palm-groves and clove-plantations, various tropical plants perfumed the air, while troops of monkeys gambolled in the trees; the woods, also, were not innocent of tigers, and to those travellers who were astonished to learn why these terrible animals were not destroyed in such a small island, the reply would be that they swam across from the mainland. After a couple of hours' drive, Mr. Fogg and Aouda returned to the town and went on board ship again, all the time followed by the detective. Passe-partout was awaiting them on deck; the brave fellow had purchased some beautiful mangoes, and was enabled to offer them to Mrs. Aouda, who received them gracefully. At eleven o'clock the _Rangoon_ resumed her voyage and a few hours later Malacca had sunk below the horizon. They had about thirteen hundred miles to traverse to reach Hong Kong, and Phileas Fogg hoped to get there in six days, so as to be able to catch the steamer for Yokohama on the 6th of November. The weather, which had hitherto been very fine, changed with the last quarter of the moon. There was a high wind, fortunately favourable, and a very heavy sea. The captain set the sails at every opportunity, and the _Rangoon_, under these circumstances, made rapid progress. But in very rough weather extra precautions were necessary, and steam had to be reduced. This delay did not appear to affect Phileas Fogg in the least, but it worried Passe-partout tremendously. He swore at the captain, the engineers, and the company, and consigned all concerned to a warmer climate than Hong Kong. Perhaps the thought of the gas that was still burning in his room in London may have had something to do with his impatience. "You seem in a great hurry to reach Hong Kong," said Fix to him one day. "I am," replied Passe-partout. "You think Mr. Fogg is anxious to catch the steamer for Yokohama?" "Very anxious indeed." "You believe in this journey round the world, then?" "Most decidedly; don't you?" "Not a bit of it." "You are a sly one," replied Passe-partout with a wink. This remark rather disturbed Fix, without his knowing why. Could the Frenchman have discovered who he was? He did not know what to do. But how could Passe-partout have found out his real object? And yet in speaking as he did, Passe-partout must certainly have had some ulterior motive. On a subsequent occasion the valet went still further, and said, half maliciously: "Well, Mr. Fix, shall we be so unfortunate as to lose the pleasure of your society at Hong Kong?" "Well," replied Fix, somewhat embarrassed, "I am not quite sure. You see--"