الفصل الفصل 36 · IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG’S NAME IS ONCE MORE AT A PREMIUM ON ’CHANGE

IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG’S NAME IS ONCE MORE AT A PREMIUM ON ’CHANGE

It is time to relate what a change took place in English public opinion

when it transpired that the real bankrobber, a certain James Strand,

had been arrested, on the 17th day of December, at Edinburgh. Three

days before, Phileas Fogg had been a criminal, who was being

desperately followed up by the police; now he was an honourable

gentleman, mathematically pursuing his eccentric journey round the

world.

The papers resumed their discussion about the wager; all those who had

laid bets, for or against him, revived their interest, as if by magic;

the “Phileas Fogg bonds” again became negotiable, and many new wagers

were made. Phileas Fogg’s name was once more at a premium on ’Change.

His five friends of the Reform Club passed these three days in a state

of feverish suspense. Would Phileas Fogg, whom they had forgotten,

reappear before their eyes! Where was he at this moment? The 17th of

December, the day of James Strand’s arrest, was the seventy-sixth since

Phileas Fogg’s departure, and no news of him had been received. Was he

dead? Had he abandoned the effort, or was he continuing his journey

along the route agreed upon? And would he appear on Saturday, the 21st

of December, at a quarter before nine in the evening, on the threshold

of the Reform Club saloon?

The anxiety in which, for three days, London society existed, cannot be

described. Telegrams were sent to America and Asia for news of Phileas

Fogg. Messengers were dispatched to the house in Saville Row morning

and evening. No news. The police were ignorant what had become of the

detective, Fix, who had so unfortunately followed up a false scent.

Bets increased, nevertheless, in number and value. Phileas Fogg, like a

racehorse, was drawing near his last turning-point. The bonds were

quoted, no longer at a hundred below par, but at twenty, at ten, and at

five; and paralytic old Lord Albemarle bet even in his favour.

A great crowd was collected in Pall Mall and the neighbouring streets

on Saturday evening; it seemed like a multitude of brokers permanently

established around the Reform Club. Circulation was impeded, and

everywhere disputes, discussions, and financial transactions were going

on. The police had great difficulty in keeping back the crowd, and as

the hour when Phileas Fogg was due approached, the excitement rose to

its highest pitch.

The five antagonists of Phileas Fogg had met in the great saloon of the

club. John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin, the bankers, Andrew Stuart,

the engineer, Gauthier Ralph, the director of the Bank of England, and

Thomas Flanagan, the brewer, one and all waited anxiously.

When the clock indicated twenty minutes past eight, Andrew Stuart got

up, saying, “Gentlemen, in twenty minutes the time agreed upon between

Mr. Fogg and ourselves will have expired.”

“What time did the last train arrive from Liverpool?” asked Thomas

Flanagan.

“At twenty-three minutes past seven,” replied Gauthier Ralph; “and the

next does not arrive till ten minutes after twelve.”

“Well, gentlemen,” resumed Andrew Stuart, “if Phileas Fogg had come in

the 7:23 train, he would have got here by this time. We can, therefore,

regard the bet as won.”

“Wait; don’t let us be too hasty,” replied Samuel Fallentin. “You know

that Mr. Fogg is very eccentric. His punctuality is well known; he

never arrives too soon, or too late; and I should not be surprised if

he appeared before us at the last minute.”

“Why,” said Andrew Stuart nervously, “if I should see him, I should not

believe it was he.”

“The fact is,” resumed Thomas Flanagan, “Mr. Fogg’s project was

absurdly foolish. Whatever his punctuality, he could not prevent the

delays which were certain to occur; and a delay of only two or three

days would be fatal to his tour.”

“Observe, too,” added John Sullivan, “that we have received no

intelligence from him, though there are telegraphic lines all along his

route.”

“He has lost, gentleman,” said Andrew Stuart, “he has a hundred times

lost! You know, besides, that the ‘China’—the only steamer he could

have taken from New York to get here in time arrived yesterday. I have

seen a list of the passengers, and the name of Phileas Fogg is not

among them. Even if we admit that fortune has favoured him, he can

scarcely have reached America. I think he will be at least twenty days

behind-hand, and that Lord Albemarle will lose a cool five thousand.”

“It is clear,” replied Gauthier Ralph; “and we have nothing to do but

to present Mr. Fogg’s cheque at Barings to-morrow.”

At this moment, the hands of the club clock pointed to twenty minutes

to nine.

“Five minutes more,” said Andrew Stuart.

The five gentlemen looked at each other. Their anxiety was becoming

intense; but, not wishing to betray it, they readily assented to Mr.

Fallentin’s proposal of a rubber.

“I wouldn’t give up my four thousand of the bet,” said Andrew Stuart,

as he took his seat, “for three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.”

The clock indicated eighteen minutes to nine.

The players took up their cards, but could not keep their eyes off the

clock. Certainly, however secure they felt, minutes had never seemed so

long to them!

“Seventeen minutes to nine,” said Thomas Flanagan, as he cut the cards

which Ralph handed to him.

Then there was a moment of silence. The great saloon was perfectly

quiet; but the murmurs of the crowd outside were heard, with now and

then a shrill cry. The pendulum beat the seconds, which each player

eagerly counted, as he listened, with mathematical regularity.

“Sixteen minutes to nine!” said John Sullivan, in a voice which

betrayed his emotion.

One minute more, and the wager would be won. Andrew Stuart and his

partners suspended their game. They left their cards, and counted the

seconds.

At the fortieth second, nothing. At the fiftieth, still nothing.

At the fifty-fifth, a loud cry was heard in the street, followed by

applause, hurrahs, and some fierce growls.

The players rose from their seats.

At the fifty-seventh second the door of the saloon opened; and the

pendulum had not beat the sixtieth second when Phileas Fogg appeared,

followed by an excited crowd who had forced their way through the club

doors, and in his calm voice, said, “Here I am, gentlemen!”