Chapter 2: Departure from London

The train left Charing Cross station exactly on time. Phileas Fogg sat calmly, looking out the window at the dark night. Passepartout sat across from him, still confused about their sudden departure. He had been working for Fogg for less than one day. Now he was traveling around the world with him. 'Monsieur, may I ask why we are making this journey?' asked Passepartout. 'I made a bet,' replied Fogg simply. 'A bet of twenty thousand pounds.' Passepartout's eyes grew wide. Twenty thousand pounds was an enormous amount of money. The train arrived at Dover at eleven o'clock. They boarded the steamship that would take them across the English Channel. The crossing to Calais took only a few hours. From Calais, they took another train to Paris. Passepartout was excited to be passing through his home country. 'Will we have time to see Paris?' he asked hopefully. 'No,' said Fogg. 'We will catch the next train immediately.' Meanwhile, back in London, news of Fogg's journey spread quickly. The newspapers wrote about the eccentric gentleman and his impossible bet. At Scotland Yard, a detective named Fix read the newspaper with great interest. Fix was searching for the bank robber who had stolen fifty-five thousand pounds. The description of the robber matched Phileas Fogg perfectly. Fix was convinced that Fogg was the thief. 'This man is pretending to travel around the world,' Fix thought. 'He wants to escape with the stolen money.' Fix decided to follow Fogg and catch him. He sent a telegram to the authorities and prepared to leave London. Fogg and Passepartout continued their journey through France. They passed through Turin in Italy. Then they traveled through the Alps on the Mont Cenis railway. The mountains were covered in beautiful white snow. Passepartout looked out at the stunning scenery. But Fogg barely glanced at the view. He was only interested in keeping to his schedule. On October 7th, they arrived in Brindisi, a port city in southern Italy. Here they boarded a steamship called the Mongolia. The ship would take them through the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt. Fogg noted in his journal that they were exactly on schedule. He had not gained any time, but he had not lost any either. The Mongolia was a fast steamship that sailed at great speed. Fogg spent most of his time playing whist with other passengers. He showed no interest in the sea or the passing islands. Passepartout, however, was enjoying every moment of the voyage. He had never been on such a large ship before. He explored every deck and made friends with the sailors. The ship passed through the Suez Canal, a remarkable engineering achievement. The canal connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It made the journey to India much shorter. On October 9th, they arrived at the port of Suez in Egypt. Detective Fix had arrived in Suez before them. He had traveled by a faster route to get ahead of Fogg. Fix waited at the port, watching for the Mongolia to arrive. When he saw Fogg step off the ship, his suspicions grew stronger. 'That must be the bank robber,' Fix muttered to himself. 'He looks exactly like the description.' Fix approached Passepartout, who was walking through the port. 'Good day!' said Fix in a friendly voice. 'Are you traveling far?' 'Around the world,' replied Passepartout proudly. 'In eighty days.' Fix pretended to be impressed by this news. He asked many questions about Fogg and his plans. Passepartout, who was naturally friendly, told him everything. Fix learned their route and their schedule. He sent a telegram to London asking for an arrest warrant. But to arrest Fogg, he needed the warrant to arrive first. Fix decided to follow Fogg until the warrant caught up with them. He boarded the same ship that Fogg and Passepartout were taking to India. The journey continued, with the detective following close behind.

Chapter Summary

Comprehension Questions

Who is Detective Fix and what does he suspect?

Where was Detective Fix stationed when he first saw Fogg?

What did Fix ask Passepartout about?

Why couldn't Fix arrest Fogg immediately in Suez?

Vocabulary

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