Part 9 (1/2)
”What?”
”An elephant! An elephant that belongs to an Indian who lives but a hundred steps froo and see the elephant,” replied Mr Fogg
They soon reached a ss, was the animal in question An Indian came out of the hut, and, at their request, conducted them within the enclosure The elephant, which its owner had reared, not for a beast of burden, but for warlike purposes, was half do hiar and butter, to i often employed by those who train the Indian elephants for battle Happily, however, for Mr Fogg, the anione far, and the elephant still preserved his natural gentleness Kiouni--this was the na ti resolved to hire him But elephants are far fro scarce, the males, which alone are suitable for circus shows, are ht, especially as but few of the proposed to the Indian to hire Kiouni, he refused point-blank Mr Fogg persisted, offering the excessive sum of ten pounds an hour for the loan of the beast to Allahabad Refused Twenty pounds? Refused also Forty pounds? Still refused Passepartout jumped at each advance; but the Indian declined to be te it took the elephant fifteen hours to reach Allahabad, his oould receive no less than six hundred pounds sterling
Phileas Fogg, without getting in the least flurried, then proposed to purchase the aniht, and at first offered a thousand pounds for hireat bargain, still refused
Sir Francis Croed hientle rashly, that a bet of twenty thousand pounds was at stake, that the elephant was absolutely necessary to him, and that he would secure hi to the Indian, whose s with avarice, betrayed that with hireat a price he could obtain Mr Fogg offered first twelve hundred, then fifteen hundred, eighteen hundred, two thousand pounds Passepartout, usually so rubicund, was fairly white with suspense
At two thousand pounds the Indian yielded
”What a price, good heavens!” cried Passepartout, ”for an elephant”
It only reuide, which was coent face, offered his services, which Mr
Fogg accepted, proenerous a reward as to materially stimulate his zeal The elephant was led out and equipped The Parsee, as an accomplished elephant driver, covered his back with a sort of saddle-cloth, and attached to each of his flanks so paid the Indian with so, a proceeding that seemed to deprive poor Passepartout of his vitals
Then he offered to carry Sir Francis to Allahabad, which the brigadier gratefully accepted, as one traveller the antic beast Provisions were purchased at Kholby, and, while Sir Francis and Mr Fogg took the howdahs on either side, Passepartout got astride the saddle-cloth between them The Parsee perched himself on the elephant's neck, and at nine o'clock they set out froh the dense forest of palms by the shortest cut
Chapter XII
IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG AND HIS COMPANIONS VENTURE ACROSS THE INDIAN FORESTS, AND WHAT ENSUED
In order to shorten the journey, the guide passed to the left of the line where the railas still in process of being built This line, owing to the capricious turnings of the Vindhia Mountains, did not pursue a straight course The Parsee, as quite familiar with the roads and paths in the district, declared that they would gain twenty h the forest
Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis Croed to the neck in the peculiar howdahs provided for the of the elephant, spurred on as he was by the skilful Parsee; but they endured the disco little, and scarcely able to catch a glimpse of each other As for Passepartout, as mounted on the beast's back, and received the direct force of each concussion as he trod along, he was very careful, in accordance with his ue from between his teeth, as it would otherwise have been bitten off short The worthy fellow bounced from the elephant's neck to his ruhed in the , and froar out of his pocket, and inserted it in Kiouni's trunk, who received it without in the least slackening his regular trot
After two hours the guide stopped the elephant, and gave hi his thirst at a neighbouring spring, set to devouring the branches and shrubs round about hiretted the delay, and both descended with a feeling of relief ”Why, he's ly on Kiouni
”Of forged iron,” replied Passepartout, as he set about preparing a hasty breakfast
At noon the Parsee gave the signal of departure The country soon presented a very savage aspect Copses of dates and dwarf-palms succeeded the dense forests; then vast, dry plains, dotted with scanty shrubs, and soith great blocks of syenite All this portion of Bundelcund, which is little frequented by travellers, is inhabited by a fanatical population, hardened in the lish have not been able to secure complete dominion over this territory, which is subjected to the influence of rajahs, whom it is almost impossible to reach in their inaccessible mountain fastnesses The travellers several times saw bands of ferocious Indians, hen they perceived the elephant striding across-country,motions The Parsee avoided them as much as possible Few animals were observed on the route; even the rihter
In the ht troubled the worthy servant What would Mr Fogg do with the elephant when he got to Allahabad? Would he carry hi him would make him ruinously expensive Would he sell him, or set him free? The estimable beast certainly deserved so choose to make him, Passepartout, a present of Kiouni, he would be veryhi time
The principal chain of the Vindhias was crossed by eight in the evening, and another halt was one nearly twenty-five miles that day, and an equal distance still separated theht was cold The Parsee lit a fire in the bungaloith a few dry branches, and the warrateful, provisions purchased at Kholby sufficed for supper, and the travellers ate ravenously The conversation, beginning with a few disconnected phrases, soon gave place to loud and steady snores The guide watched Kiouni, who slept standing, bolstering hi occurred during the night to disturb the slurowls fros of monkeys broke the silence; the more forainst the occupants of the bungalow Sir Francis slept heavily, like an honest soldier overcoue Passepartout rapped in uneasy drea, he slumbered as peacefully as if he had been in his serene mansion in Saville Row
The journey was resuuide hoped to reach Allahabad by evening In that case, Mr Fogg would only lose a part of the forty-eight hours saved since the beginning of the tour Kiouni, resuait, soon descended the lower spurs of the Vindhias, and towards noon they passed by the village of Kallenger, on the Cani, one of the branches of the Ganges The guide avoided inhabited places, thinking it safer to keep the open country, which lies along the first depressions of the basin of the great river
Allahabad was now only twelve miles to the north-east They stopped under a clump of bananas, the fruit of which, as healthy as bread and as succulent as cream, was auide entered a thick forest which extended several miles; he preferred to travel under cover of the woods They had not as yet had any unpleasant encounters, and the journey see successfully acco restless, suddenly stopped
It was then four o'clock