Passepartout headed quickly to the port to reserve three cabins on the Carnatic.
He was delighted that Aouda was going to continue the journey with them.
When he found Fix walking up and down the docks, he was not surprised.
Fix seemed very worried. The detective had good reason to be upset—the warrant for Mr. Fogg's arrest had not arrived yet.
It would not reach Hong Kong for two more days!
Hong Kong was the last English territory on Mr. Fogg's route, and if Fix did not arrest him here, Fogg would escape.
"Well, Monsieur Fix," said Passepartout as he caught up to the detective.
"Have you decided to go with us as far as America?"
"Yes," returned Fix through clenched teeth.
"Good!" exclaimed Passepartout, laughing. "I knew you could not separate yourself from us. Come and purchase your ticket."
Fix and Passepartout entered the steamer office and reserved four cabins.
As the clerk handed them the tickets, he said that the repairs were complete on the Carnatic.
The steamer would be ready to leave that evening, not the next morning as had been announced.
"That will suit my master all the better," said Passepartout.
"I will go and let him know."
Fix decided to make a bold move. It was time to tell Passepartout the truth about his master.
He invited Passepartout to go to a tavern on the quay.
"I really should inform my master of the steamer's change in schedule," said Passepartout.
"We'll just have a quick drink," Fix promised. "I want to tell you something."
"Well . . . maybe just a quick one," Passepartout said with a smile.
On entering the tavern, they noticed a large cot at the end of the room.
Several people were lying on cushions, some were smoking from long pipes, and others were in a deep sleep.
Passepartout realized, with mild surprise, that they were in an opium house.
They ordered a bottle of wine and filled their glasses.
"We must have a serious talk," said Fix.
"A serious talk!" said Passepartout, emptying his glass.
"Let's do that tomorrow. I don't have time now."
"What I have to say concerns your master," said Fix.
Passepartout looked at Fix, whose face had an odd expression.
Fix placed his hand on Passepartout's arm and, lowering his voice, said, "You have guessed who I am?"
"Of course!" said Passepartout, smiling.
"Then I am going to tell you everything," Fix began.
"But I know everything already," said Passepartout.
"Those gentlemen have put themselves to a useless expense."
"Useless?" said Fix with surprise. "It's clear that you don't know how large the sum is."
"Of course I do," said Passepartout. "Twenty-thousand pounds!"
"Fifty-five thousand!" said Fix.
"What!" cried Passepartout.
"Fifty-five thousand pounds," said Fix. "Now, if you help me, I'll share my reward with you."
"Help you?" cried Passepartout, his eyes wide open.
"Yes, help me keep Mr. Fogg here for two or three days," said Fix.
"It's a conspiracy then! And it is organized by the gentlemen of the Reform Club!"
Passepartout was outraged. "Mr. Fix, my master is an honorable man.
He is trying to win the wager fairly, and you are trying to postpone him. Shame on you!"
The detective passed his hand across his forehead.
He would have to break the news delicately.
"Listen to me," said Fix. "I am a police detective, sent here by the London office.
Mr. Fogg's wager is only a pretext for leaving the country.
On September 28, a sum of fifty-five-thousand pounds was stolen from the Bank of England. Phileas Fogg is the bank robber."
"Nonsense!" yelled Passepartout, slamming his fist on the table.
"Would you like to be arrested as his partner?" asked Fix abruptly.
"No!" said Passepartout.
"I advise you to help me detain him, or you risk just such an arrest," said Fix.
"I refuse!" said Passepartout. He held his head between his hands.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He filled his glass again and drank.
Fix put his arm around Passepartout's shoulder.
"If that is how you feel," he said in a companionable way, "please forget that I have said anything."
Some pipes full of opium lay on the table, and Fix slipped one into Passepartout's hand.
Passepartout drew several puffs. The smoke clouded around his head, and he fell unconscious on the table.
While Fix was delaying Passepartout at the opium house, Mr. Fogg was escorting Aouda around the shops of Hong Kong.
A lady, as Mr. Fogg was well aware, could not be expected to travel with only a carpetbag.
In the evening they returned to the hotel for an elegant dinner.
At bedtime Passepartout still had not returned.
If Phileas Fogg could have been astonished by anything, this might have done it.
But, thinking that the Carnatic was not departing until the morning, he was not concerned.
The next morning Mr. Fogg and Aouda prepared their bags and arrived at the quay to learn that the Carnatic had sailed the evening before.
Upon hearing the news, Mr. Fogg's comment to Aouda was simply, "It is an accident, madam. Nothing more."
Well, there I was, asleep in an opium den!
That Detective Fix, I hope I never see him again!
Perhaps you had never heard of an opium den before reading about our adventures.
Now you know that these dens are like bars where the drug opium is served and smoked through pipes.
Beds are provided for people to lie down since opium makes people sleepy.
Opium is a highly addictive drug made from poppies.
It was used as a medicine in China starting in the fifteenth century but was banned in the eighteenth century due to its harmful effects.
Despite the ban opium use in China flourished, and many Chinese people became addicted.
That was because a powerful British company called the East India Company started growing opium in India
and smuggling it into China in huge amounts!
This business was so profitable that the British government let it continue.
The Chinese went to war with the British twice to stop the smuggling, but the British won both times.
As Chinese people emigrated around the world, they brought opium with them.
Soon opium dens spread to large cities such as London and San Francisco.