Page 296 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
P. 296
Around the World in 80 Days
Passepartout was crushed; it overwhelmed him to lose
the boat by three-quarters of an hour. It was his fault, for,
instead of helping his master, he had not ceased putting
obstacles in his path! And when he recalled all the
incidents of the tour, when he counted up the sums
expended in pure loss and on his own account, when he
thought that the immense stake, added to the heavy
charges of this useless journey, would completely ruin Mr.
Fogg, he overwhelmed himself with bitter self-accusations.
Mr. Fogg, however, did not reproach him; and, on
leaving the Cunard pier, only said: ‘We will consult about
what is best to-morrow. Come.’
The party crossed the Hudson in the Jersey City
ferryboat, and drove in a carriage to the St. Nicholas
Hotel, on Broadway. Rooms were engaged, and the night
passed, briefly to Phileas Fogg, who slept profoundly, but
very long to Aouda and the others, whose agitation did
not permit them to rest.
The next day was the 12th of December. From seven
in the morning of the 12th to a quarter before nine in the
evening of the 21st there were nine days, thirteen hours,
and forty-five minutes. If Phileas Fogg had left in the
China, one of the fastest steamers on the Atlantic, he
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