Вокруг света за 80 дней / Around the World in Eighty Days

”

“Mr. Fogg, what a delay!”

“No, Sir Francis; it’s nothing.”

“What! You knew that the way…”

“Not at all; but I know that some obstacle or other will sooner or later arise on my route. Nothing, therefore, is lost. I have two days to sacrifice. A steamer leaves Calcutta for Hong Kong at noon, on the 25th. This is the 22nd, and we shall reach Calcutta in time.”

Many travelers were aware of this interruption, and they began to engage wagons, carriages, palanquins, ponies, and so on. Mr.

Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty did not find anything.

“I shall walk,” said Phileas Fogg.

Passepartout said,

“Monsieur, I think I found something.”

“What?”

“An elephant! An elephant that belongs to an Indian who lives a hundred steps from here.”

“Let’s go and see the elephant,” replied Mr. Fogg.

They soon reached a small hut. An Indian came out of the hut. His elephant was half domesticated. Kiouni[66 - Kiouni – Киуни]-this was the name of the beast-could travel rapidly for a long time.

Mr. Fogg resolved to hire him. But elephants are not cheap in India. When Mr. Fogg proposed to the Indian to hire Kiouni, he refused. Mr. Fogg persisted. Ten pounds an hour for the loan of the beast to Allahabad? Refused. Twenty pounds? Refused also. Forty pounds? Still refused.

Phileas Fogg then proposed to purchase the animal, and at first offered a thousand pounds for him. The Indian still refused. His small, sharp eyes were glistening with avarice.

Mr. Fogg offered first twelve hundred, then fifteen hundred, eighteen hundred, two thousand pounds. At two thousand pounds the Indian yielded.

“What a price, good heavens!” cried Passepartout, “for an elephant.”

It only remained now to find a guide, which was easy. A young Parsee, with an intelligent face, offered his services, which Mr. Fogg accepted. The Parsee, a good elephant driver, covered the elephant’s back with a saddle-cloth, and attached to each of his flanks some uncomfortable howdahs.

Phileas Fogg paid the Indian with some banknotes which he extracted from the famous carpet-bag.

They purchased provisions at Kholby. The Parsee perched himself on the elephant’s neck, and at nine o’clock they left the village. The animal marched through the dense forest of palms.

Chapter XII

At eleven o’clock the guide stopped the elephant, and gave it an hour for rest. Neither Sir Francis nor Mr. Fogg regretted the delay.