登陆注册
22898500000028

第28章

Certainly.We are not talking of the pagoda of Pillaji,but of the pagoda of Malabar Hill,at Bombay.

And as a proof,added the clerk,here are the desecrator's very shoes,which he left behind him.

Whereupon he placed a pair of shoes on his desk.

My shoes!cried Passepartout,in his surprise permitting this imprudent exclamation to escape him.

The confusion of master and man,who had quite forgotten the affair at Bombay,for which they were now detained at Calcutta,may be imagined.

Fix,the detective,had foreseen the advantage which Passepartout's escapade gave him,and,delaying his departure for twelve hours,had consulted the priests of Malabar Hill.Knowing that the English authorities dealt very severely with this kind of misdemeanour,he promised them a goodly sum in damages,and sent them forward to Calcutta by the next train.Owing to the delay caused by the rescue of the young widow,Fix and the priests reached the Indian capital before Mr Fogg and his servants,the magistrates having been already warned by a despatch to arrest thgm should they arrive.Fix's disappointment when he learned that Phileas Fogg had not made his appearance in Calcutta,may be imagined.He made up his mind that the robber had stopped somewhere on the route and taken refuge in the southern provinces.For twenty-four hours Fix watched the station with feverish anxiety;at last he was rewarded by seeing Mr Fogg and Passepartout arrive,accompanied by a young woman,whose presence he was wholly at a loss to explain.He hastened for a policeman;and this was how the party came to be arrested and brought before Judge Obadiah.

Had Passepartout been a little less preoccupied,he would have espied the detective ensconced in a corner of the court-room,watching the proceedings with an interest easily understood;for the warrant had failed to reach him at Calcutta,as it had done at Bombay and Suez.

Judge Obadiah had unfortunately caught Passepartout's rash exclamation,which the poor fellow would have given the world to recall.

The facts are admitted?asked the judge.

Admitted,replied Mr Fogg,coldly.

Inasmuch,resumed the judge,as the English law protects equally and sternly the religions of the Indian people,and as the man Passepartout has admitted that he violated the sacred pagoda of Malabar Hill,at Bombay,on the 20th of October,I condemn the said Passepartout to imprisonment for fifteen days and a fine of three hundred pounds.

Three hundred pounds!cried Passepartout,startled at the largeness of the sum.

Silence!shouted the constable.

And inasmuch,continued the judge,as it is not proved that the act was not done by the connivance of the master with the servant,and as the master in any case must be held responsible for the acts of his paid servant,I condemn Phileas Fogg to a week's imprisonment and a fine of one hundred and fifty pounds.

Fix rubbed his hands softly with satisfaction;if Phileas Fogg could be detained in Calcutta a week,it would be more than time for the warrant to arrive.Passepartout was stupefied.This sentence ruined his master.A wager of twenty thousand pounds lost,because he,like a precious fool,had gone into that abominable pagoda!

Phileas Fogg,as self-composed as if the judgment did not in the least concern him,did not even lift his eyebrows while it was being pronounced.Just as the clerk was calling the next case,he rose,and said,I offer bail.

You have that right,returned the judge.

Fix's blood ran cold,but he resumed his composure when he heard the judge announce that the bail required for each prisoner would be one thousand pounds.

I will pay it at once,said Mr Fogg,taking a roll of bank-bills from the carpet-bag,which Passepartout had by him,and placing them on the clerk's desk.

This sum will be restored to you upon your release from prison,said the judge.Meanwhile,you are liberated on bail.

Come!said Phileas Fogg to his servant.

But let them at least give me back my shoes!cried Passepartout,angrily.

Ah,these are pretty dear shoes!he muttered,as they were handed to him.More than a thousand pounds apiece;besides,they pinch my feet.

Mr Fogg,offering his arm to Aouda,then departed,followed by the crestfallen Passepartout.Fix still nourished hopes that the robber would not,after all,leave the two thousand pounds behind him,but would decide to serve out his week in jail,and issued forth on Mr Fogg's traces.That gentleman took a carriage,and the party were soon landed on one of the quays.

TheRangoon'was moored half a mile off in the harbour,its signal of departure hoisted at the mast-head.Eleven o'clock was striking;Mr Fogg was an hour in advance of time.Fix saw them leave the carriage and push off in a boat for the steamer,and stamped his feet with disappointment.

The rascal is off,after all!he exclaimed.Two thousand pounds sacrificed!He's as prodigal as a thief!I'll follow him to the end of the world if necessary;but at the rate he's going on,the stolen money will soon be exhausted.

The detective was not far wrong in ****** this conjecture.Since leaving London,what with travelling expenses,bribes,the purchase of the elephant,bails and fines,Mr Fogg had already spent more than five thousand pounds on the way,and the percentage of the sum recovered from the bank robber,promised to the detectives,was rapidly diminishing.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 苍鸟传说

    苍鸟传说

    我们没有历史。我们中第一个想记录历史的人能也没有记录到最初的事情。他记下了一个传说,在我们的族人间口耳相传。据说,当有一只苍鸟从北极飞来,划过北半球的天空,让所有人都看见。我们的命运就将彻底改变。
  • 陌路遇见你

    陌路遇见你

    相遇总是点点头,想说总是难开口,视线相交的一瞬间,我已感觉到你的温柔。水彩笔画不出真正的彩虹,布娃娃代替不了真实的你。——王源
  • 泅渡轮回,执此不相负

    泅渡轮回,执此不相负

    他是九重之巅的翎皇,一袭白衣诠释绝代风华,问鼎天下。他是上皇不闻的弃子,一颗赤诚甘愿献出光阴,永世长寂。一纸禅位诏书,他一朝问鼎笑傲山河。登基称帝,帝号翎皇。废祖制,除佞臣。自此神族一统,九重安宁。只因温柔絮语,他甘愿放弃永世自由。踏入夕谷,守护灵石。静修心,止如水。一改夕谷颓然,重现生机。本以为再无交集,阴差阳错下却又惺惺相惜。身世之谜、不伦之恋、轮回之恸……究竟谁尊谁卑,谁弃谁爱?愿有岁月可回首,且以深情共白头。
  • 三界往生之黑界

    三界往生之黑界

    一只破毛笔故事。笔中之屋,屋中之魂,魂之何人?
  • 冷眼观

    冷眼观

    《冷眼观》是晚清时期颇为著名的谴责小说之一。作者通过描写那奇奇怪怪的现状,给我们描绘了一幅行将崩溃的晚清帝国的图卷。《冷眼观》在写作方面也是颇有成就的。结构比较完整,情节曲折,故事通俗生动。作者文笔老到,与内容相适应,全书呈现一种凄凉悲怆的情调。
  • 如何回答孩子的刁钻提问

    如何回答孩子的刁钻提问

    本书针对孩子提出问题的背景,将问题分为十几类,以大量极具代表性的孩子的问题为实例,对很多社会敏感、热点话题进行了探讨。
  • 无限恐慌游戏

    无限恐慌游戏

    这是一个游戏,一个魔鬼设计的游戏,生死恐慌之间,你会发现,你的生死,在魔鬼们眼里,不过是一场玩笑!
  • 神禁道

    神禁道

    从地摊儿上买来的破烂手镯,竟然是一把打开墟神界的钥匙!从此,齐風的人生注定不再平凡,恐怖的虫族文明,奇异的卡晶世界,酷炫的机甲科技……醉卧美人膝,醒掌天下权,齐風一路披荆斩棘,开始了不一样的争霸人生。
  • 毒妃养成之祭祀大人辛苦追妻女

    毒妃养成之祭祀大人辛苦追妻女

    某闫:听说二皇子那闹鬼了,身为驱魔人,我觉得应该去看看「一个黑影飞过抱住了某闫」某闫:Σ(☉▽☉"a王爷你怎么回来了【慌张脸】某王爷:嗯?王妃你觉得要去看看【蜜汁微笑】丨∑( ̄□ ̄;)王爷你要干嘛丨°Д°ノ)ノ啊啊啊王爷你淡定丨Д°;)っ小云快来救我小云:阿嚏,谁在叫我【懵逼脸】丨?)?小云你给我等着...咳咳,以上纯属逗比她生活在驱魔世家,是个驱魔人,有一天,她误闯禁地,不小心穿越到了异世,可在异世的每件事都与驱魔挂钩,当零零碎碎的线索拼接起来,当一切看似单纯的事物背后的用意被揭晓,她伤心欲裂。——九可,对不起
  • 蒙学故事(上册)

    蒙学故事(上册)

    《蒙学故事(上册)》本书囊括《三字经》、《百家姓》、《千字文》、《弟子规》、《名物蒙求》、《幼学琼林》、《龙文鞭影》等十多种经典蒙学读物之精华,以故事的形式展现出来,让小读者在读故事的过程中便能了解有关品德、修养、志向、求知、为人处事和人文方面的知识,在阅读的过程中受到潜移默化的教育。