Page 141 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

Around the World in 80 Days

open flower. Pepper plants replaced the prickly hedges of
European fields; sago-bushes, large ferns with gorgeous
branches, varied the aspect of this tropical clime; while
nutmeg-trees in full foliage filled the air with a penetrating

perfume. Agile and grinning bands of monkeys skipped
about in the trees, nor were tigers wanting in the jungles.
After a drive of two hours through the country, Aouda
and Mr. Fogg returned to the town, which is a vast
collection of heavy-looking, irregular houses, surrounded
by charming gardens rich in tropical fruits and plants; and
at ten o’clock they re-embarked, closely followed by the
detective, who had kept them constantly in sight.
Passepartout, who had been purchasing several dozen
mangoes— a fruit as large as good-sized apples, of a dark-
brown colour outside and a bright red within, and whose
white pulp, melting in the mouth, affords gourmands a
delicious sensation—was waiting for them on deck. He
was only too glad to offer some mangoes to Aouda, who
thanked him very gracefully for them.
At eleven o’clock the Rangoon rode out of Singapore
harbour, and in a few hours the high mountains of
Malacca, with their forests, inhabited by the most
beautifully-furred tigers in the world, were lost to view.
Singapore is distant some thirteen hundred miles from the

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