Chapter XVI. IN WHICH FIX DOES NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND IN THE LEAST WHAT IS SAID TO HIM

The Rangoon—one of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's boats plying in the Chinese and Japanese seas—was a screw steamer, built of iron, weighing about seventeen hundred and seventy tons, and with engines of four hundred horse-power. She was as fast, but not as well fitted up, as the Mongolia, and Aouda was not as comfortably provided for on board of her as Phileas Fogg could have wished. However, the trip from Calcutta to Hong Kong only comprised some three thousand five hundred miles, occupying from ten to twelve days, and the young woman was not difficult to please.

During the first days of the journey Aouda became better acquainted with her protector, and constantly gave evidence of her deep gratitude for what he had done. The phlegmatic gentleman listened to her, apparently at least, with coldness, neither his voice nor his manner betraying the slightest emotion; but he seemed to be always on the watch that nothing should be wanting to Aouda's comfort. He visited her regularly each day at certain hours, not so much to talk himself, as to sit and hear her talk. He treated her with the strictest politeness, but with the precision of an automaton, the movements of which had been arranged for this purpose. Aouda did not quite know what to make of him, though Passepartout had given her some hints of his master's eccentricity, and made her smile by telling her of the wager which was sending him round the world. After all, she owed Phileas Fogg her life, and she always regarded him through the exalting medium of her gratitude.

Aouda confirmed the Parsee guide's narrative of her touching history. She did, indeed, belong to the highest of the native races of India. Many of the Parsee merchants have made great fortunes there by dealing in cotton; and one of them, Sir Jametsee Jeejeebhoy, was made a baronet by the English government. Aouda was a relative of this great man, and it was his cousin, Jeejeeh, whom she hoped to join at Hong Kong. Whether she would find a protector in him she could not tell; but Mr. Fogg essayed to calm her anxieties, and to assure her that everything would be mathematically—he used the very word—arranged. Aouda fastened her great eyes, "clear as the sacred lakes of the Himalaya," upon him; but the intractable Fogg, as reserved as ever, did not seem at all inclined to throw himself into this lake.

The first few days of the voyage passed prosperously, amid favourable weather and propitious winds, and they soon came in sight of the great Andaman, the principal of the islands in the Bay of Bengal, with its picturesque Saddle Peak, two thousand four hundred feet high, looming above the waters. The steamer passed along near the shores, but the savage Papuans, who are in the lowest scale of humanity, but are not, as has been asserted, cannibals, did not make their appearance.

The panorama of the islands, as they steamed by them, was superb. Vast forests of palms, arecs, bamboo, teakwood, of the gigantic mimosa, and tree-like ferns covered the foreground, while behind, the graceful outlines of the mountains were traced against the sky; and along the coasts swarmed by thousands the precious swallows whose nests furnish a luxurious dish to the tables of the Celestial Empire. The varied landscape afforded by the Andaman Islands was soon passed, however, and the Rangoon rapidly approached the Straits of Malacca, which gave access to the China seas.

What was detective Fix, so unluckily drawn on from country to country, doing all this while? He had managed to embark on the Rangoon at Calcutta without being seen by Passepartout, after leaving orders that, if the warrant should arrive, it should be forwarded to him at Hong Kong; and he hoped to conceal his presence to the end of the voyage. It would have been difficult to explain why he was on board without awakening Passepartout's suspicions, who thought him still at Bombay. But necessity impelled him, nevertheless, to renew his acquaintance with the worthy servant, as will be seen.

All the detective's hopes and wishes were now centred on Hong Kong; for the steamer's stay at Singapore would be too brief to enable him to take any steps there. The arrest must be made at Hong Kong, or the robber would probably escape him for ever. Hong Kong was the last English ground on which he would set foot; beyond, China, Japan, America offered to Fogg an almost certain refuge. If the warrant should at last make its appearance at Hong Kong, Fix could arrest him and give him into the hands of the local police, and there would be no further trouble. But beyond Hong Kong, a simple warrant would be of no avail; an extradition warrant would be necessary, and that would result in delays and obstacles, of which the rascal would take advantage to elude justice.

Fix thought over these probabilities during the long hours which he spent in his cabin, and kept repeating to himself, "Now, either the warrant will be at Hong Kong, in which case I shall arrest my man, or it will not be there; and this time it is absolutely necessary that I should delay his departure. I have failed at Bombay, and I have failed at Calcutta; if I fail at Hong Kong, my reputation is lost: Cost what it may, I must succeed! But how shall I prevent his departure, if that should turn out to be my last resource?"

Fix made up his mind that, if worst came to worst, he would make a confidant of Passepartout, and tell him what kind of a fellow his master really was. That Passepartout was not Fogg's accomplice, he was very certain. The servant, enlightened by his disclosure, and afraid of being himself implicated in the crime, would doubtless become an ally of the detective. But this method was a dangerous one, only to be employed when everything else had failed. A word from Passepartout to his master would ruin all. The detective was therefore in a sore strait. But suddenly a new idea struck him. The presence of Aouda on the Rangoon, in company with Phileas Fogg, gave him new material for reflection.

Who was this woman? What combination of events had made her Fogg's travelling companion? They had evidently met somewhere between Bombay and Calcutta; but where? Had they met accidentally, or had Fogg gone into the interior purposely in quest of this charming damsel? Fix was fairly puzzled. He asked himself whether there had not been a wicked elopement; and this idea so impressed itself upon his mind that he determined to make use of the supposed intrigue. Whether the young woman were married or not, he would be able to create such difficulties for Mr. Fogg at Hong Kong that he could not escape by paying any amount of money.

But could he even wait till they reached Hong Kong? Fogg had an abominable way of jumping from one boat to another, and, before anything could be effected, might get full under way again for Yokohama.

Fix decided that he must warn the English authorities, and signal the Rangoon before her arrival. This was easy to do, since the steamer stopped at Singapore, whence there is a telegraphic wire to Hong Kong. He finally resolved, moreover, before acting more positively, to question Passepartout. It would not be difficult to make him talk; and, as there was no time to lose, Fix prepared to make himself known.

It was now the 30th of October, and on the following day the Rangoon was due at Singapore.

Fix emerged from his cabin and went on deck. Passepartout was promenading up and down in the forward part of the steamer. The detective rushed forward with every appearance of extreme surprise, and exclaimed, "You here, on the Rangoon?"

"What, Monsieur Fix, are you on board?" returned the really astonished Passepartout, recognising his crony of the Mongolia. "Why, I left you at Bombay, and here you are, on the way to Hong Kong! Are you going round the world too?"

"No, no," replied Fix; "I shall stop at Hong Kong—at least for some days."

"Hum!" said Passepartout, who seemed for an instant perplexed. "But how is it I have not seen you on board since we left Calcutta?"

"Oh, a trifle of sea-sickness—I've been staying in my berth. The Gulf of Bengal does not agree with me as well as the Indian Ocean. And how is Mr. Fogg?"

"As well and as punctual as ever, not a day behind time! But, Monsieur Fix, you don't know that we have a young lady with us."

"A young lady?" replied the detective, not seeming to comprehend what was said.

Passepartout thereupon recounted Aouda's history, the affair at the Bombay pagoda, the purchase of the elephant for two thousand pounds, the rescue, the arrest, and sentence of the Calcutta court, and the restoration of Mr. Fogg and himself to liberty on bail. Fix, who was familiar with the last events, seemed to be equally ignorant of all that Passepartout related; and the latter was charmed to find so interested a listener.

"But does your master propose to carry this young woman to Europe?"

"Not at all. We are simply going to place her under the protection of one of her relatives, a rich merchant at Hong Kong."

"Nothing to be done there," said Fix to himself, concealing his disappointment. "A glass of gin, Mr. Passepartout?"

"Willingly, Monsieur Fix. We must at least have a friendly glass on board the Rangoon."

Chapter XVII. SHOWING WHAT HAPPENED ON THE VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO HONG KONG
Chapter XV. IN WHICH THE BAG OF BANKNOTES DISGORGES SOME THOUSANDS OF POUNDS MORE

Footnotes

  1. rhetorical or literary device,*** metonymy*** (the general is used to represent the specific): a glass is used to represent having a glass of gin to drink.

    Because of elegance of expression, compression of expression and** convention in expression,** which allow words to be dropped and rhetorical/literary devices to be used, short expressions may be used to express larger ideas.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  2. Since Aouda is not involved as a runaway in a romantic elopement with Fogg, there is no way Fix can detain them on those legal grounds, thus he is disappointed.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  3. As discussed above: to take Aouda to her cousin in hopes that he will accept her into his household and provide for and protect her, similar to how Fanny in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park was accepted into her aunt and uncle's household as part of the family (though viewed as an inferior part), provided for and protected.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  4. ***verb, *infinitive form: to take someone or something to another place

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  5. verb: to suggest an idea; to put forward a plan of action

    In today's usage, "propose" is often wrongly restricted to usage in the context of proposing marriage though it has many good and effective uses, as many uses as there are proposed ideas or plans.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  6. adjective: opposite of former or the first of two people or things; meaning the second one mentioned of two people or things; e.g., "Of Tad and Gal, the former (Tad) is tall and the latter (Gal) is robust."

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  7. Continuing with his deviousness, Fix carries out the act and pretends not to know anything about what Passepartout tells him (of course he legitimately knew nothing about Aouda and the sutee), though Fix was responsible for arranging the trial with sentencing in Calcutta.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  8. The two thousand pounds paid as bail to release them from custody and allow them liberty to resume their travels (which of course Fix also already knew about).

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  9. The sentence that required prison time served and fines paid by both master and man-servant, Fogg and Passepartout (of course Fix was secretly present for the sentencing).

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  10. In Calcutta (which Fix arranged) for the defamation of the Malabar pagoda where he lost his shoes and parcels.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  11. The rescue of Aouda from the sutee including, most probably, Passepartout's momentary pretense as a corpse (which must be illegal in several ways).

    This initiates situational irony because Fix is a police detective and here is good-hearted Passepartout confessing their crimes to him.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  12. Unbeknownst to Passepartout, Detective Fix was present at the hearing regarding the Bombay Malabar pagoda the resolution of which was Fogg's fine and bail money. In other words, since Passepartout did not see Fix lurking in the corner of the courtroom, he tells him all about it.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  13. Aouda's background including family, education, manners and marriage.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  14. verb, past tense form: to tell someone the details of an event or experience; to tell someone an account of an occurrence

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  15. adverb: immediately after something; shortly following something

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  16. Fix is again being devious and putting on an act about the presence of Aouda, whom he suspects of being party to an elopement, which is illegal, for the purpose of drawing information out of the talkative Passepartout.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  17. noun: a room with bed or bunk in a ship, train or other transport

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  18. noun: motion sickness, nausea, vertigo caused by the movement of the ship over water, which itself is moving

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  19. adjective: completely puzzled; completely baffled; unable to make sense of some circumstance

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  20. noun: companion or close friend

    This word is now outdated but was originated around 1655 as college slang.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  21. Fix is putting on an act for Passepartout in order to disarm him (give him no grounds for suspicion) and in order to render him friendly to being questioned (make him willing to talk).

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  22. verb, present tense form: walking or strolling  about in public for pleasure, e.g., "We were promenading and taking in the view."

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  23. verb: came forth from concealment; came out into view; came forth into notice

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  24. Recall that he had been keeping his presence a secret and had been avoiding exposing his presence.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  25. Fix will question Passepartout to determine what else he might learn from him.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  26. Before sending the telegraph to Hong Kong (as they are not yet at Singapore) and before making Passepartout his "confidant" and "ally."

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  27. adverb: in addition to this; to further what has been said

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  28. adjective: to be firmly committed to a decision, an intent or purpose; to be determined

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  29. A telegraphic wire having been laid from Singapore to Hong Kong, a telegraph might be sent from the telegraph office in Singapore.

    "Telegraphic wire" is a *synecdoche *for all that is explained above.

    A *synecdoche *is a rhetorical or literary device whereby a part of something complex is used to represent the whole concept, like "hands" to represent all the sailors aboard a ship.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  30. Detective Fix has decided that he will need help the moment the Rangoon anchors at Hong Kong and therefore must warn the English police and magistrates in Hong Kong of the presence of the suspected bank robber and of Fix's own attempts to apprehend him: forewarned is forearmed against any mischance by which Fogg might go from the Rangoon directly into another ship immediately setting sail for Yokohama.

    This is a bit of dramatic irony for Fix because we know, though he does not, that Fogg has committed himself to assisting Aouda with arrangements "mathematically" attended to so that she might have sanctuary with her cousin, thus he will not "jump" immediately to another ship.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  31. This syntax is a little unusual for modern readers since we now commonly use signal as a phrasal or transitive verb: signal to, signal by, signal with, signal that, etc.

    What the omniscient third-person narrator is telling us about Detective Fix's thoughts is that by warning "the English Authorities" in Hong Kong he will be signalling the imminent (i.e., impending, upcoming) approach of the Rangoon and signalling the importance of the approach of the Rangoon: the quickly approaching Rangoon carries the suspected bank robber.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  32. He was "created" as a baronet of the empire of Britain. This means that he was given a hereditary title (a title that would be passed on to his son) of nobility; he was made Baron Jeejeebhoy.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  33. Yokohama, Japan, the next destination on Fogg's itinerary as shown in Chapter III:

    From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer ..... 6 [days]

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  34. figure of speech: might be on a ship that sails immediately for the next destination

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  35. verb: brought about; made to happen; brought into realization

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  36. figure of speech: moving quickly with speed and alacrity

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  37. Detective Fix is questioning whether he could delay action as long as until they dock in Hong Kong; he is wondering if he should act while still aboard the Rangoon.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  38. This is an allusion to how Fogg escaped legal difficulties in Calcutta by paying costly fines and bail money.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  39. Suspenseful foreshadowing: Since elopement was illegal, Fogg could be brought into serious legal difficulties for traveling in an elopement to another part of the British colonies.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  40. adjective: assumed to be true; taken as fact without knowledge of the facts

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  41. noun: (19th century) an illegal act of running away with a lover to be married in some other town or country (this necessitated traveling alone together without being married)

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  42. noun: a young woman of noble or gentile birth; an unmarried young lady of the upper classes

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  43. A new angle of thought that might lead to a new idea for how to delay Fogg's departure from Hong Kong.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  44. Suddenly occurred to him.

    struck*, verb*: to arrive at, as an idea, suddenly, unexpectedly

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  45. figure of speech: meaning, conflicting difficulty; difficult place for a hard decision

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  46. The method of confiding in Passepartout and trying to win him over as an ally by revealing the detective's secret beliefs about Fogg.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  47. noun: someone associated with someone else to pursue a common purpose

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  48. adverb: surely; undoubtedly; unquestionably; certainly

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  49. Paraphrase: given insight by the things told to him by Fix

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  50. noun: someone who knowingly aids in a crime or other wrongdoing

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  51. For Detective Fix, this means the bank robbing sort of fellow.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  52. noun: someone with whom personal or other secrets are discussed; someone in whom you confide private matters

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  53. reputation, noun: the opinion held about someone or someone's skill in something; the good name, above question or scandal, of someone

    To have a lost reputation is to have opinions turn against your merit, your trustworthiness, your reliability, your value and importance.

    If Fix cannot find a way to hold Fogg until he can legally arrest him in Hong Kong, then his good name as a skilled detective will be ruined.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  54. If the warrant of arrest has not arrived in Hong Kong in time for Fix to use it to arrest Fogg, then Fix plans to somehow, by some means, keep Fogg in Hong Kong until the warrant does arrive. This is a bit of suspenseful foreshadowing of what complications might arise for Fogg.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  55. The probabilities (though we might now say "possibilities") of receiving a warrant of arrest in time to use it in Hong Kong; of Fogg escaping to China or America; of being forced to attain a warrant of extradition; of Fogg getting away for good.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  56. To escape capture; to hide out; to avoid being captured, tried and sentenced.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  57. An extradition warrant is a legal document between two countries that allows one to receive a prisoner from the other and return the prisoner to the country where a crime was committed. In other words, a country grants permission for a foreign country to detain and arrest someone on their soil for a crime committed elsewhere.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  58. Fogg, if he is the bank robber, would be beyond Fix's power of arrest thus could hide and find a safe place of refuge.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  59. Great Britain had colonial control of Hong Kong. Once Fogg is beyond Hong Kong, Detective Fix has no legal jurisdiction to make an arrest in any of the other countries.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  60. Too brief to take any legal action toward arresting Fogg for the London bank robbery.

    to take steps, idiom: to take action; to move to action in a matter.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  61. This foreshadowing of what is to come refers to Passepartout.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  62. verb: to drive, to force or to compel someone to do something

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  63. Since it was Passepartout with whom Fix spent some time in Suez, it is primarily Passepartout's suspicions he is concerned about.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  64. The warrant of arrest that Fix is anticipating as a dispatch from London.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  65. Though this is a mild exaggeration at this point that anticipates what might develop in the rest of the narrative, Detective Fix was first in (1) Suez, then in (2) India and now on his way to Hong Kong in China, though not yet there.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  66. He doesn't want Fogg or Passepartout to know that he is on board the steamship the Rangoon along with them probably because he wants to keep his plans secret so as not to spur Passepartout or Fogg on to troublesome suspicions.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  67. When traveling eastward from Calcutta across the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, first is the South China Sea and then the East China Sea; these comprise the "China seas."

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  68. South of the Andaman Island chain, a long, narrow 500 mile (805 kilometer) passage between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, which leads into the South China Sea.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  69. The Celestial Empire is a Western name for China and is derived from the ancient name for China, Tianxia, which means "under heaven."

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  70. Swallows' nests are the main ingredient in the culinary delicacy bird's nest soup. Swallows' nests, which are edible and glutinous, are still sold at the high price of 2,500 USD for 2 pounds (1 kilogram) of nest.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  71. This refers to the high price attached to swallows' nests because of their importance as an ingredient in a soup. It might also refer to the symbolic meaning attached to swallows as the bringers of renewal, hope and freedom.

    precious, adjective: 1. having a high price or great material worth 2. having great value; greatly esteemed for spiritual or moral qualities, *e.g., the price or the spiritual symbolism associated with swallow nests
    *

    swallow, noun: a songbird with a long forked tail and long, curved pointed wings that flies swiftly, which builds an edible nest used principally in bird's nest soup

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  72. For mountains to be "traced" against the sky, they might be lit from behind, i.e., with morning sun on an eastward journey so the outline but not the detail shows against the background of the sky.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  73. Ferns that grow on in tropical climes and have trunks that elevate their fern fronds to tree-like heights.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  74. noun: any of 400 species of tropical trees, shrubs or herbs that large and flowering

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  75. noun: wood from the Eastern teak tree with hardwood of yellow-brown that is used for furniture and shipbuilding

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  76. noun: wide unobstructed view of a scene, usually a pleasing scene or view

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  77. No Papuan approached the shore of the Andaman Island as the steamer past by, so none could be observed by the passengers who were probably curious to have a view of people so very different from any they had encountered before.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  78. With all the primitiveness of the Papuan peoples when first encountered by Westerners, they were not cannibals though some asserted that they were.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  79. Since they were so primitive and vicious compared to Western societies, the Papuans were, at early encounters, labeled the most primitive sort of humanity known.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  80. A general classification of indigenous peoples in the greater area northwest and southeast of New Guinea. 

    Early encounters with Papuan peoples revealed them to be vicious warriors with startling rituals of self-mutilation, though their cultures have now changed as a result of contact with Western civilization.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  81. An archipelagic chain of islands to the east side of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. The Andaman are situated beyond the mid-point of the crossing from Calcutta to the Malaysian Islands.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  82. adjective: favorable; favorable conditions; favorable circumstances

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  83. preposition: surrounded by; in the midst of; surrounded by; e.g., the weather surrounding them

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  84. Since not numbers and quantities but human beings are involved, it is unusual and odd that Fogg would say things would be arranged for Aouda's benefit in a mathematical manner: one doesn't really know what a mathematical arrangement of a human life might be. [By applying the literary device technique of foreshadowing, one might guess that mathematical arrangements might involve the payment of more money from the carpetbag ....]

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  85. Her anxieties as to whether her cousin would receiver her and take her in or reject her and turn her away.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  86. Aouda is hoping that her cousin Jeejeeh will take pity on her circumstances and take her into his family and protect and provide for her as a poor relations because otherwise, Aouda would be homeless, friendless and penniless.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  87. This is a poetical way of saying that the intractable Fogg was not romantically swayed  by the beautiful qualities of Aouda's soulful and trusting eyes.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  88. Aouda confirmed that the history the Parsee guide had told them of Aouda's upbringing, marriage and widowhood was all true.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  89. This means that even though Aouda found Fogg confusing and peculiar, she made exceptions for his odd manners and received his attention with all possible good graces because she, after all, owed him her life and was more grateful than confused.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  90. The wager for twenty thousand pounds made at the Reform Club between Fogg and his whist partners to determine whether Fogg could or could not travel round the world in eighty days.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  91. Passepartout told Aouda a little about Fogg's strict habits and inflexible ways that are governed by precision and timing.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  92. noun: a moving machine made to look and move like a human being

    Popular in the 17th to 19th centuries (though dating to ancient times), mechanistic philosophers used automata (plural form) as a metaphor for certain types of human personalities.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  93. Fogg's stiff, rigid, phlegmatic, "automaton" behavior confused her because she couldn't understand how such strict manners corresponded to such gentlemanly attention.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  94. adjective: cool, calm, introverted, non-expressive

    An exaggerated version of the English stereotype of the aloof, unfeeling, inexpressive English gentleman.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  95. Aouda was not overly particular about the fine points of gracious and elegant accommodations when she was so very grateful to have been rescued from a fate in which physical comforts would have been irrelevant.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  96. Fog's next designation, and Aouda's choice of refuge as she has relatives there.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  97. On board the Rangoon. It was still correct English usage to assign a gender designation of "she/her" to various objects. Gender assignation is still the current practice in languages like Spanish and French ("the ship": el barco, Spanish; le navire, French).

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  98. Recall that the Mongolia is the steamship Fogg and Passepartout sailed in to get to Bombay, India.

    Being "well fitted up" refers to cabin and dinning accommodations: these of the Rangoon were not as spacious nor as elegant nor as comfortable as those of the Mongolia.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  99. Fast because of the then modern advantage of propellers that replaced the older method of propulsion by paddle.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  100. A steamship "screw" is a propeller; it drives or propels the steamship through the water while the steam engine powers it.

    Screws replaced the original form of steamship and (smaller) steamboat propulsion, which was paddles as are famously associated with images of Mark Twain's Mississippi River steamboats, also called paddle boats. Thus, the Rangoon was a modern and efficient steamship propelled by one or two propellers, similar to those seen on propeller airplanes, that could make the transoceanic journey across the Indian ocean and into the China Sea speedily.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  101. The packet, the Rangoon, will have to traverse the Indian Ocean and pass through the Malaysian Islands before entering the South China Sea then the more northerly Sea of Japan.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison

  102. One of the boats owned by the railroad company, the Peninsular and Oriental Railroad Company, owns that extends the routes of the railroad over waterways, similar to the way in which buses connect sections of passenger railroad routes today.

    — Karen P.L. Hardison