Chapter 14 Phileas and Passapartout.
Meet Outlaws and Bandits on the Railroad.
The train took them past Fort Saunders and across the Cheyenne Pass to the Evans Pass.
Here, Phileas and Passapartout rode at the highest elevation since starting their incredible journey around the world.
The train kept moving.
It went through the territories of Wyoming and Colorado and into Nebraska.
As the train drove on, the four passengers passed the time by playing cards.
Just as the train was making its way toward Omaha, there was a loud crash.
The train stopped dead on the tracks.
Each of the passengers in the car looked outside, but they couldn't see anything.
Then, suddenly, the train started moving again.
"'Now, what on earth could have happened?'
Passapartout asked.
He looked over to Phileas and said, "'I'm on my way, monsieur.'
Passapartout stepped out of the car and walked toward the front of the train.
A number of other men had come out of their cars as well, including Colonel Proctor.
They could hear loud noises coming from one side of the train.
Then people started screaming.'
Back in the car, Aouda turned very pale.
She heard the shouts and the noise from outside.
What do you think it is? she asked.
Detective Fix replied, I'll bet outlaws have attacked the train.
Phileas calmly put his cards down.
If that's the case, we might have a fight on our hands.
He saw the shocked look on Aouda's face and said, But let's hope it does not come to that, he said.
Aura, you must stay here and keep safe.
Lock that door and don't let anyone in.
As it turned out, a gang of close to one hundred men had attacked the train.
Many of them had jumped on board while the train was still moving.
They were armed with guns and wore handkerchiefs over their faces.
They had taken over the engine car and knocked the engineer out cold.
Moving from car to car, they were taking whatever they could from the poor travelers.
The train drove faster and faster with no engineer to control it.
If it wasn't stopped, the train would most certainly crash.
When Passepartout discovered what was going on, he and Colonel Proctor raced back to help fight.
Many of the men on board were already battling with the bandits.
Passapartout dove right in, punching and kicking and using all of his acrobatic abilities.
Colonel Proctor had a very strong punch and knocked a few of the bandits out with his bare hands.
In the fray amid arms and fists.
Flying Passapartout noticed three bandits ganging up on the poor conductor.
As the conductor fell to the ground, he shouted 'Unless the train is stopped at Fort Kearney, we will all surely die'.
"'The train will crash!
The train will crash!'
By this time, Phileas had joined in the fight.
In fact, he was right beside the conductor.
He punched a wayward bandit on the nose and said, "'It shall be stopped, then!'
He started to rush toward the front of the train, but Passapartout stopped him.
"'Stay, sir.
I will go.'
Phileas did not have time to stop him.
Another bandit jumped on his back and started to pull him down.
Passepartout slipped out of the car and crawled under the moving train.
Using his experience as an acrobat, he held onto chains, pulled himself along by the brakes and crept from one car to the next until he reached the engine.
Working as hard as he could, Passepartout managed to pull the safety chain from the engine car.
He watched as the engine pulled away from the rest of the train and then worked the brakes as best as he could.
Finally, the rest of the train came to a stop right in front of Fort Kearney Station.
The engine car rode off into the distance by itself.
The soldiers from the fort had heard the commotion and were ready to fight the bandits.
But when the band of rascally men saw the soldiers lined up with their guns, ready to fire, they abandoned the train.
They jumped back on their horses and sped off.
Once they determined that it was safe Aouda, Phileas and Fix got off the train and stood on the platform.
"'Where is Passepartout?'
Aouda cried.
"'He's not here.'
Phileas tried to comfort her, but he knew what she and Fix were thinking.
Passepartout had been taken by the bandits.
Aouda started to weep.
If his butler was a prisoner of the outlaws, Phileas had to save him.
There was no other choice.'
"'Don't worry, Aouda,' he said.
"'I will find Passapattu, alive or dead.'
"'Oh, Phileas!' she cried, covering her face with her hands.
"'Oh, alive!' he insisted.
"'If we get going right now!'
Phileas turned around and saw the captain of the fort standing nearby.
Captain!
The man turned to him.
Sir, Phileas said, my butler has been taken by the bandits.
I would imagine they have taken other passengers as well.
We must go after them.
That is a very serious thing to do, sir, the captain said.
They may ride all the way back to Arkansas, and I can't leave the fort without protection.
Very well, then, Phileas said.
I will go alone.
Alone, Fix shouted.
You're going to chase the bandits by yourself.
No, I won't hear of that, the captain said.
I'll give you thirty volunteers.
He turned toward his troops.
Men, I need thirty of you to go with this brave man to rescue the passengers the bandits have kidnapped.
Who will go?
The entire company stepped forward.
The captain chose thirty of his best men.
Soon they were ready to go.
I'm coming with you, Fix insisted.
No, Phileas replied, you must stay with Miss Aouda in case anything should happen to me.
Fix put aside his feelings about Phileas and said very well I will stay.
He turned to Aouda.
Not to worry, miss, Colonel Proctor is also here with us.
The colonel was sitting down, tending to a wound on his arm.
When he saw them looking at him, he gave a triumphant wave with his good hand.
Phileas squeezed Aouda's hand and left her in charge of his carpet bag.
Then he joined the soldiers.
They had found a spare horse for him to ride.
Before leaving, he said to the soldiers, My friends, I want to get our fellow passengers back alive.
To make it worth your while, I will divide $5,000 among you after we save these prisoners.
And with that, they were off.
While Aouda waited patiently inside the station for Phileas and the soldiers to return, Detective Fix paced up and down.
Suddenly, a loud whistle was heard in the distance.
What could it be?
A dark shape came out of the snow.
It was the locomotive.
The engineer had woken up and discovered what had happened.
He had driven the car backward all the way to Fort Kearney.
The passengers were very happy to see the engine.
Now they could be back on their way to Omaha.
Aura rushed out of the station.
She asked the conductor, Are you going to start?
At once, ma'am, he replied.
But the prisoners, they're not back yet.
She said we must wait for them.
I'm afraid that's not possible.
We must get going right away.
We're already three hours behind schedule.
I will not go, she said, and you shouldn't either.
It's shameful.
I'm sorry you feel that way madam, but We have all the other passengers to think about as well, he said.
The other passengers, some wounded, some not, climbed on board and got back in their cars.
Aura bid goodbye to the colonel, who had decided to carry on with his trip.
She thanked him for all of his help with the bandits.
Detective Fix stepped on board too, but then, at the last minute, he decided to stay with Aura, as he had promised.
Steam blew out of the top of the train as it pulled away.
It was still snowing.
Evening fell, and still the prisoners hadn't returned.
Aouda paced the length of the platform.
Fix sat there as still as he could.
As the sun set, the weather turned very cold.
Aouda's imagination carried her far away.
What could have happened to Phileas and Passapartout?
At dawn, a signal shot was heard in the distance.
Aouda rushed to the platform.
Fix stood beside her.
They were on their way back.
Passapattu and Filius were safe.
When they got back to the station, Phileas handed out the reward to the brave soldiers who had helped him.
Passepartout looked around for the train.
His monsieur's trip was the most important thing on his mind.
Where's the train? he asked.
Gone.
Oda said it left yesterday without us.
Passepartout cried.
It can't be.
When will the next one come?
Not until this evening, she answered.
Ah, Phileas Fogg said quietly.
Passapartout was very upset.
The scuffle with the bandits could cost his monsieur the bet.
What shall we do now, he asked.
No one said a word.
No one knew what to do.
They couldn't possibly wait for the train, but was there another way?
As much as he hated to do it, Detective Fix spoke up.
He had made a promise to help Passer Patu keep his boss on the right track, and the sooner they got back to England, the sooner Fix could arrest him.
I might have a way, Fix said.
Everyone looked at him.
Last night a man spoke to me of a sled with sails that could take us to Omaha.
We could catch up with the train to New York there.
There is hope, then, Passapetou exclaimed.
Let's see what he has to say, Phileas said, this man with the strange sled.
The man who owned the sledge was called Mudge.
During the winter, his sleds would often carry people from one train station to the next in bad weather.
The strange contraption was very tall.
It had a high mast that held the sail.
There was enough room to hold six people.
Villiers quickly made a deal with Mudge to take them to Omaha.
Not wanting Aouda to have to travel in the open air, he asked if she wanted to wait for the train.
Passapartout could stay behind with her.
She refused.
Passapartout was glad to hear this.
He still didn't trust the detective and wasn't eager to leave him alone with the monsieur.
It wasn't long before the sled was ready.
Everyone climbed on board and tucked themselves in under blankets to keep warm.
What a journey!
The sled sped over the prairie as lightly as a boat on the water, but it was freezing.
The wind blew strong and in just the right direction.
The great white fields in front of them never gave way to houses, towns or villages, so there was nothing in their way.
Every now and again they would pass a tree with not a single leaf on its branches.
Suddenly Mudge saw some white roofs in the distance.
"'We're there!' he shouted.
The last few miles sped by, and soon the travelers were racing to catch the train.
They had just made it.
They arrived in Chicago with just twenty-four hours to go before the steamer left for England.
Like a flash they sped onward.
Finally, New York came into view.
The train stopped right in front of the steamer's office.
The China, the steamer bound for Liverpool, had just left forty-five minutes before.
Passepartout was crushed.
It couldn't be.
They had come all this way only to miss the ship by three-quarters of an hour.
There's nothing to be done tonight, Phileas Fogg said.
Let's get a hotel.
We'll figure out what to do next in the morning.
