Part 25 (2/2)
Passepartout could not behold without a certain fright these wole Mormon His common sense pitied, above all, the husband It seeuide so many wives at once across the vicissitudes of life, and to conduct them, as it were, in a body to the Mor thelorious Shtful place, to all eternity He felt decidedly repelled froined--perhaps he was mistaken--that the fair ones of Salt Lake City cast rather alarlances on his person Happily, his stay there was but brief At four the party found theain at the station, took their places in the train, and the whistle sounded for starting Just at the an to move, cries of ”Stop! stop!” were heard
Trains, like tientleman who uttered the cries was evidently a belated Mor Happily for hiates nor barriers
He rushed along the track, jumped on the rear platform of the train, and fell, exhausted, into one of the seats
Passepartout, who had been anxiously watching this aymnast, approached hiht after an unpleasant domestic scene
When the Mormon had recovered his breath, Passepartout ventured to ask him politely how many wives he had; for, froht that he had twenty at least
”One, sir,” replied the Morh!”
Chapter XXVIII
IN WHICH PassEPARTOUT DOES NOT SUCCEED IN MAKING ANYBODY LISTEN TO REASON
The train, on leaving Great Salt Lake at Ogden, passed northward for an hour as far as Weber River, having completed nearly nine hundred miles from San Francisco Froed Wahsatch Mountains It was in the section included between this range and the Rocky Mountains that the Aineers found thethe road, and that the governht thousand dollars per mile, instead of sixteen thousand allowed for the work done on the plains
But the engineers, instead of violating nature, avoided its difficulties by winding around, instead of penetrating the rocks One tunnel only, fourteen thousand feet in length, was pierced in order to arrive at the great basin
The track up to this tihest elevation at the Great Salt Lake Fro towards Bitter Creek Valley, to rise again to the dividing ridge of the waters between the Atlantic and the Pacific There were ion, and it was necessary to cross Muddy Creek, Green Creek, and others, upon culverts
Passepartout grew et out of this difficult region, and was er of delays and accidents, and set foot on English soil
At ten o'clock at night the train stopped at Fort Bridger station, and twentythe valley of Bitter Creek throughout The next day, 7th December, they stopped for a quarter of an hour at Green River station Snow had fallen abundantly during the night, but, being mixed with rain, it had half ress The bad weather, however, annoyed Passepartout; for the accu the wheels of the cars, would certainly have been fatal to Mr
Fogg's tour
”What an idea!” he said to himself ”Why did my master ood season to increase his chances?”
While the worthy Frenchman was absorbed in the state of the sky and the depression of the te fears froot off at Green River, and alking up and down the platfornised Colonel Sta at the San Franciscowo much alarm at her discovery She was attached to the ave her daily evidences of the most absolute devotion She did not comprehend, perhaps, the depth of the sentiratitude, but which, though she was unconscious of it, was really nised thedesired, sooner or later, to call to account for his conduct Chance alone, it was clear, had brought Colonel Proctor on this train; but there he was, and it was necessary, at all hazards, that Phileas Fogg should not perceive his adversary
Aouda seized awas asleep to tell Fix and Passepartout whom she had seen
”That Proctor on this train!” cried Fix ”Well, reassure yourself, ot to deal with me! It seems to me that I was the more insulted of the two”
”And, besides,” added Passepartout, ”I'll take charge of hig will allow no one to avenge him
He said that he would come back to America to find this man Should he perceive Colonel Proctor, we could not prevent a collision which ht have terrible results He ht, ht ruin all Whether he were victorious or beaten, Mr Fogg would be delayed, and--”
”And,” added Passepartout, ”that would play the gaentlemen of the Reform Club In four days we shall be in New York Well, ifthose four days, wehim face to face with this confounded A out of it”
The conversation dropped Mr Fogg had just woke up, and was looking out of theSoon after Passepartout, without being heard by his master or Aouda, whispered to the detective, ”Would you really fight for him?”