CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Passepartout Learns That Fortune Is Good to the Brave

The project was a difficult one. Mr Fogg was risking life, and therefore the success of his tour. But he did not stop, and Sir Francis Cromarty was a good ally.

Passepartout was ready for anything. His master's idea charmed him. He saw a heart in his master's icy outside. He began to love Phineas Fogg.

There was still the guide. Would he help the Indians? If he would not help, they needed him to not help the enemy. Sir Francis asked him directly.

"Officers," replied the guide, "I am a Parsee, not a Hindu, and this woman is a Parsee. Command me as you will."

"Excellent!" said Mr Fogg.

"It is certain, however," said the guide, "if we are taken we will be tortured or killed."

"That is foreseen," replied Mr Fogg. "I think we must wait till night before acting."

"I think so," said the guide.

The Indian then told the story of the woman. She was beautiful, and the daughter of a wealthy Bombay merchant. She had received an English education in that city, and her manners were very European. Her name was Aouda. After her parents died, she was married against her will to the old prince. Now the prince's relatives wanted her dead.

They took the elephant to the temple of Pillaji. They stopped five hundred feet away. They then discussed how to get to the woman. Could they enter any of its doors after the Indians fell into a drunken sleep, or was it safer to make a hole in the wall? They could not make this decision until they reached the temple, but they decided that they must act that night. In the morning no one could save her.

As soon as night fell, about six o'clock, they decided to look closely at the temple. The Indians were getting drunk on liquid opium, and it might be possible to get past them to the temple. The Parsee led the others to a small stream, where they found the body of the prince.

"Come!" whispered the guide.

They passed the Indians, but at the entrance to the temple the guards were awake.

"It is only eight now," said the general, "and these guards may also go to sleep."

They lay down at the foot of a tree, and waited.

They waited till midnight; but the guards did not move. They decided to try to open the walls on the other side. They walked around to the back of the temple. The night was dark, and the trees made it even darker.

The temple walls were made of brick, so their pocket-knives would be enough. The Parsee and Passepartout began to loosen the bricks. They were working quickly when they heard a cry inside the temple. Had they been heard? They ran away, and hid in the woods. The guards came around and stood at the back of the temple. How could they save her?

Sir Francis shook his fists. "We have nothing to do but to go away," he whispered.

"Nothing but to go away," said the guide.

"Stop," said Fogg. "I am only due at Allahabad tomorrow before noon."

"But what can you hope to do?" asked Sir Francis. "In a few hours it will be daylight, and—"

"The chance which now seems lost may be seen at the last moment."

What was this cool Englishman thinking? Was he planning to rush for the young woman at the last moment? That would be foolish, and Fogg was not a fool. Sir Francis decided to wait until the end, though.

Passepartout had an idea. It seemed foolish, but then he thought, "Why not, after all? It's a chance, and maybe the only one."

The hours passed, and day approached. This was the moment. The people awoke, and the songs began. The hour of sacrifice had come. The doors of the temple opened, and Sir Francis and Mr Fogg saw the woman. She was trying to escape, but she could not. Sir Francis grabbed Mr Fogg's hand; he was holding a knife.

The woman was put with the prince's body. A torch was brought, and the wood immediately caught fire. Sir Francis and the guide caught Phineas Fogg, who was about to rush upon the body. He pushed them aside, but the scene changed. The crowd fell to the ground with fear.

The old prince was not dead. He rose, took his wife in his arms, and climbed down in the smoke. The monks, soldiers, and priests were full of fear, and they would not look.

Mr Fogg and Sir Francis stared, and the Parsee bowed his head.

The prince came to Sir Francis and Mr Fogg, and said, "Let us be off!"

It was Passepartout himself, who had saved the young woman!

A moment after they escaped into the woods on the elephant. The trick had been discovered, though, and the priests and soldiers chased into the woods. They fired at them, but soon the travelers were too far away.

(end of section)