The China, in leaving, seemed to have carried off Phileas Fogg's lasthope. None of the other steamers were able to serve his projects. ThePereire, of the French Transatlantic Company, whose admirable steamersare equal to any in speed and comfort, did not leave until the 14th;the Hamburg boats did not go directly to Liverpool or London, but toHavre; and the additional trip from Havre to Southampton would renderPhileas Fogg's last efforts of no avail. The Inman steamer did notdepart till the next day, and could not cross the Atlantic in time tosave the wager.

Mr. Fogg learned all this in consulting his Bradshaw, which gave himthe daily movements of the trans-Atlantic steamers.

Passepartout was crushed; it overwhelmed him to lose the boat bythree-quarters of an hour. It was his fault, for, instead of helpinghis master, he had not ceased putting obstacles in his path! And whenhe recalled all the incidents of the tour, when he counted up the sumsexpended in pure loss and on his own account, when he thought that theimmense stake, added to the heavy charges of this useless journey,would completely ruin Mr. Fogg, he overwhelmed himself with bitterself-accusations. Mr. Fogg, however, did not reproach him; and, onleaving the Cunard pier, only said: "We will consult about what is bestto-morrow. Come."

The party crossed the Hudson in the Jersey City ferryboat, and drove ina carriage to the St. Nicholas Hotel, on Broadway. Rooms were engaged,and the night passed, briefly to Phileas Fogg, who slept profoundly,but very long to Aouda and the others, whose agitation did not permitthem to rest.

The next day was the 12th of December. From seven in the morning ofthe 12th to a quarter before nine in the evening of the 21st there werenine days, thirteen hours, and forty-five minutes. If Phileas Fogg hadleft in the China, one of the fastest steamers on the Atlantic, hewould have reached Liverpool, and then London, within the period agreedupon.

Mr. Fogg left the hotel alone, after giving Passepartout instructionsto await his return, and inform Aouda to be ready at an instant'snotice. He proceeded to the banks of the Hudson, and looked aboutamong the vessels moored or anchored in the river, for any that wereabout to depart. Several had departure signals, and were preparing toput to sea at morning tide; for in this immense and admirable portthere is not one day in a hundred that vessels do not set out for everyquarter of the globe. But they were mostly sailing vessels, of which,of course, Phileas Fogg could make no use.

He seemed about to give up all hope, when he espied, anchored at theBattery, a cable's length off at most, a trading vessel, with a screw,well-shaped, whose funnel, puffing a cloud of smoke, indicated that shewas getting ready for departure.

Phileas Fogg hailed a boat, got into it, and soon found himself onboard the Henrietta, iron-hulled, wood-built above. He ascended to thedeck, and asked for the captain, who forthwith presented himself. Hewas a man of fifty, a sort of sea-wolf, with big eyes, a complexion ofoxidised copper, red hair and thick neck, and a growling voice.

"The captain?" asked Mr. Fogg.

"I am the captain."

"I am Phileas Fogg, of London."

"And I am Andrew Speedy, of Cardiff."

"You are going to put to sea?"

"In an hour."

"You are bound for--"

"Bordeaux."

"And your cargo?"

"No freight. Going in ballast."

"Have you any passengers?"

"No passengers. Never have passengers. Too much in the way."

"Is your vessel a swift one?"

"Between eleven and twelve knots. The Henrietta, well known."

"Will you carry me and three other persons to Liverpool?"

"To Liverpool? Why not to China?"

"I said Liverpool."

"No!"

"No?"

"No. I am setting out for Bordeaux, and shall go to Bordeaux."

"Money is no object?"

"None."

The captain spoke in a tone which did not admit of a reply.

"But the owners of the Henrietta--" resumed Phileas Fogg.

"The owners are myself," replied the captain. "The vessel belongs tome."

"I will freight it for you."

"No."

"I will buy it of you."

"No."

Phileas Fogg did not betray the least disappointment; but the situationwas a grave one. It was not at New York as at Hong Kong, nor with thecaptain of the Henrietta as with the captain of the Tankadere. Up tothis time money had smoothed away every obstacle. Now money failed.

Still, some means must be found to cross the Atlantic on a boat, unlessby balloon--which would have been venturesome, besides not beingcapable of being put in practice. It seemed that Phileas Fogg had anidea, for he said to the captain, "Well, will you carry me to Bordeaux?"

"No, not if you paid me two hundred dollars."

"I offer you two thousand."

"Apiece?"

"Apiece."

"And there are four of you?"

"Four."

Captain Speedy began to scratch his head. There were eight thousanddollars to gain, without changing his route; for which it was wellworth conquering the repugnance he had for all kinds of passengers.Besides, passengers at two thousand dollars are no longer passengers,but valuable merchandise. "I start at nine o'clock," said CaptainSpeedy, simply. "Are you and your party ready?"

"We will be on board at nine o'clock," replied, no less simply, Mr.Fogg.

It was half-past eight. To disembark from the Henrietta, jump into ahack, hurry to the St. Nicholas, and return with Aouda, Passepartout,and even the inseparable Fix was the work of a brief time, and wasperformed by Mr. Fogg with the coolness which never abandoned him.They were on board when the Henrietta made ready to weigh anchor.

When Passepartout heard what this last voyage was going to cost, heuttered a prolonged "Oh!" which extended throughout his vocal gamut.

As for Fix, he said to himself that the Bank of England would certainlynot come out of this affair well indemnified. When they reachedEngland, even if Mr. Fogg did not throw some handfuls of bank-billsinto the sea, more than seven thousand pounds would have been spent!