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Jules VERNE,
Around the world in 80 days, Hetzel, 1873.
In 1872, a rich London gentleman, Phileas Fogg, wagers half his
fortune that he can travel around the world in 80 days. Accompanied
by his devoted manservant, Passepartout, he leaves London on a
formidable race against the clock which naturally causes him to
go via the brand new Suez canal:
CHAPTER III
"[...]- Let’s go then!" replied Ralph, "there is no longer a single
country he can hide in."
-- "Well, I never!"
-- "Where do you want him to go?"
-- "I don’t know," answered Andrew Stuart, "but, after all, the
earth is big enough..
-- "It was once...", said Phileas Fogg quietly. Then : "You to
cut, Sir",
he added, giving the cards to Thomas Flanagan.
Discussion was halted during the rubber. But Andrew Stuart soon
took it up again, saying:
"What do you mean, once?!! Has the earth shrunk, by any chance?"
-- "Absolutely," replied Gauthier Ralph. "I agree with Mr. Fogg.
The earth has shrunk because, nowadays, you can get round it 10
times faster than you could 100 years ago. And that is what will
make the search quicker in the case with which we are concerned."
-- "And also make the robber’s escape easier!"
-- "You to play, Mr Stuart! " said Phileas Fogg.
But the incredulous Stuart was not convinced and, the game over,
said,
"I must admit, Mr Ralph" he continued, "that there you have found
a very nice way of saying that the earth has shrunk! Because,
in fact, nowadays you can go around it in 3 months..."
-- "In just 80 days," said Phileas Fogg.
-- "In fact, gentlemen," added John Sullivan, "80 days since the
section between Rothal and Allahabad was opened on the Great-Indian
peninsular railway. Here’s the calculation made by the Morning
Chronicle:
From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and Brindisi, railways and
liners
7 days
From Suez to Bombay, liner
13 days
From Bombay to Calcutta, railway
3 days
From Calcutta to Hong-Kong (China), liner
13 days
From Hong-Kong to Yokohama (Japan), liner
6 jours
From Yokohama to San Francisco, liner
22 days
From San Francisco to New York, railroad
7 days
From New York to London, liner and railway
9 days
Total
80 days
CHAPTER VI
"[...] On Wednesday, 9 October, in Suez, we awaited the 11a.m.
liner, the Mongolia of the Peninsular and Oriental Company. It
was a propeller-driven, spardeck iron steamer with a tonnage of
2,800 and a rated engine capacity of 500 horsepower. The Mongolia
made regular voyages from Brindisi to Bombay via the Suez canal.
It was one of the canal’s fastest vessels and she always went
faster than the standard speeds of ten thousand an hour between
Brindisi and Suez, and nine thousand and fifty-three between Suez
and Bombay.
While awaiting the arrival of the Mongolia, two men walked along
the quay in the middle of the crowd of locals and foreigners who
abound in this town, formerly a hamlet but now assured a good
future by the great work of M. de Lesseps. One of the two men
was a United Kingdom consular agent established in Suez, who
despite the angry prognostications of the British government and
the negative predictions of the engineer, Stephenson saw British
ships using the canal each day, so shortening by half the old
route from England to the Indies via the Cape of Good Hope.
The other was a small, thin man with quite an intelligent, nervous
face which produced a remarkably persistent twitch of the eyebrow
muscles. Bright eyes shone from under his long eye-lashes but
he could extinguish their warmth at will. At that moment, he was
showing signs of impatience, walking up and down and unable to
keep still.
The man was called Fix and he was one of those “detectives”, or
British police agents, who had been sent to various ports following
the Bank of England robbery. This Fix had to keep a very careful watch on all the travellers taking the Suez route and, if one
of them looked suspicious, tail him until a warrant of arrest
could be obtained.
And as it happened, two days previously, the Chief of the Metropolitan
Police had let Fix know who they suspected of the theft. It was
the distinguished-looking, well-dressed man who had been observed
in the payments room of the Bank.
The detective, obviously enticed by the high reward promised if
successful, was therefore waiting for the arrival of the Mongolia
with understandable impatience.
" So you say, Sir," he asked for the tenth time, "that this boat
cannot be late?"
-- "No, Mr Fix," replied the Consul. "She was sighted yesterday
off Port Saïd and the 160Kms of canal count for nothing for such
a speedy vessel." I repeat that the Mongolia has always won the
25 pound prize which the government awards for each 24-hour period
knocked off the standard time.
[...] Nevertheless, the quay slowly got busier. Sailors from different
countries, merchants, brokers, porters and fellahs crowded in.
The steamer’s arrival was obviously imminent.
The weather was quite nice but the air cold from the East wind.
A few minarets could be seen outlined above the town under the
pale rays of the sun. Towards the South, a 2,000m-long jetty stretched
out like an arm along the Suez harbour. On the surface of the
Red Sea, there were several fishing and sailing boats, a few of
which had kept the elegant shape of the ancient galleys.[...]"
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