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During the first days, they went
along smoothly enough. The sea was not very unpropitious, the wind seemed
stationary in the north-east, the sails were hoisted, and the Henrietta
ploughed across the waves like a real trans-Atlantic steamer.
Passepartout was delighted. His master's last exploit,
the consequences of which he ignored, enchanted him. Never had the crew
seen so jolly and dexterous a fellow. He formed warm friendships with the
sailors, and amazed them with his acrobatic feats. He thought they managed
the vessel like gentlemen, and that the stokers fired up like heroes. His
loquacious good-humour infected everyone. He had forgotten the past, its
vexations and delays. He only thought of the end, so nearly accomplished;
and sometimes he boiled over with impatience, as if heated by the furnaces
of the Henrietta. Often, also, the worthy fellow revolved around Fix,
looking at him with a keen, distrustful eye; but he did not speak to him,
for their old intimacy no longer existed.
Fix, it
must be confessed, understood nothing of what was going on. The conquest
of the Henrietta, the bribery of the crew, Fogg managing the boat like a
skilled seaman, amazed and confused him. He did not know what to think.
For, after all, a man who began by stealing fifty-five thousand pounds
might end by stealing a vessel; and Fix was not unnaturally inclined to
conclude that the Henrietta under Fogg's command, was not going to
Liverpool at all, but to some part of the world where the robber, turned
into a pirate, would quietly put himself in safety. The conjecture was at
least a plausible one, and the detective began to seriously regret that he
had embarked on the affair.
As for Captain Speedy, he continued
to howl and growl in his cabin; and Passepartout, whose duty it was to
carry him his meals, courageous as he was, took the greatest precautions.
Mr. Fogg did not seem even to know that there was a captain on
board.
On the 13th they passed the edge of the
Banks of Newfoundland, a dangerous locality; during the winter,
especially, there are frequent fogs and heavy gales of wind. Ever since
the evening before the barometer, suddenly falling, had indicated an
approaching change in the atmosphere; and during the night the temperature
varied, the cold became sharper, and the wind veered to the
south-east.
This was a misfortune. Mr. Fogg, in order not to
deviate from his course, furled his sails and increased the force of the
steam; but the vessel's speed slackened, owing to the state of the sea,
the long waves of which broke against the stern. She pitched violently,
and this retarded her progress. The breeze little by little swelled into a
tempest, and it was to be feared that the Henrietta might not be able to
maintain herself upright on the waves.
poor fellow experienced constant fright. But Phileas Fogg was a bold
mariner, and knew how to maintain headway against the sea; and he kept on
his course, without even decreasing his steam. The Henrietta, when she
could not rise upon the waves, crossed them, swamping her deck, but
passing safely. Sometimes the screw rose out of the water, beating its
protruding end, when a mountain of water raised the stern above the waves;
but the craft always kept straight ahead.
"You're a queer un, Granser, talking about thingsThe wind, however, did not grow as boisterous as
you can't see. If you can't see 'em, how do you know they are? That's what
I want to know. How do you know anything you can't
see?"
might have been feared; it was not one of those tempests which burst, and
rush on with a speed of ninety miles an hour. It continued fresh, but,
unhappily, it remained obstinately in the south-east, rendering the sails
useless.
The 16th of December was the seventy-fifth
day since Phileas Fogg's departure from London, and the Henrietta had not
yet been seriously delayed. Half of the voyage was almost accomplished,
and the worst localities had been passed. In summer, success would have
been well-nigh certain. In winter, they were at the mercy of the bad
season. Passepartout said nothing; but he cherished hope in secret, and
comforted himself with the reflection that, if the wind failed them, they
might still count on the steam.
On this day the
engineer came on deck, went up to Mr. Fogg, and began to speak earnestly
with him. Without knowing why it was a presentiment, perhaps Passepartout
became vaguely uneasy. He would have given one of his ears to hear with
the other what the engineer was saying. He finally managed to catch a few
words, and was sure he heard his master say, "You are certain of what you
tell me?"
[review]
[item
review-value="8"]Hardware[/item]
[item
review-value="7"]Gameplay[/item]
[item
review-value="6"]Graphics[/item]
[item
review-value="9"]Sound[/item]
[content title="Summary"
label="Overall Score"]My fellow Earthicans, as I have explained in my book
Earth in the Balance, and the much more popular Harry Potter and the
Balance of Earth, we need to defend our planet against pollution. Also
dark wizards but I know you in the future back in our
hands.[/content]
[/review]