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Chapter 10 Chapter X Passepartout escapes from the temple barefoot

Everyone knows that the terrain of India is a large inverted triangle with the top facing south and the bottom facing north.Covering an area of ​​1.4 million square miles, the population is very unevenly distributed.A total of 180 million.In this vast country, the British government can actually control only a part.It had an All-Indian Governor at Calcutta, local Governors at Madras, Bombay, and Bengal, and a Deputy Governor at Agra. But the so-called British India, which really deserved the name, had an area of ​​only 700,000 square miles and a population of 100 to 110 million.It can be seen that there is still a large part of the area that is beyond the control of the Queen of England.In fact, in the interior of India, there still existed some earth kings who made Britain think fierce and terrible, and they still maintained complete independence.

From 1756—the year that Britain established its first colonial institution in India on what is now the city of Madras—until the year of the Indian soldier's uprising, what is known as the East Indies The company used to be domineering for a while, and it gradually annexed many provinces. It nominally bought land premium coupons from the land kings with deceitful installment payments. In fact, these land premium coupons were rarely cashed, or even not cashed at all.At that time, the Governor of All India and the civil and military officials of the Government House were appointed by the East India Company.Now the East India Company no longer exists, and British India has been changed to be directly under the jurisdiction of the Emperor.

The face, customs and racial strife of India today are also changing day by day.Traveling in India used to be done only by those ancient ways, such as: walking, riding a horse, taking a two-wheeled cart or a unicycle, taking a sedan chair, using a human pack, and taking a horse-drawn carriage.Today there are fast steamers sailing on the Ganges and the Indus.Another great railway traverses the whole of India, with branches along the way.It takes only three days to travel from Mumbai to Kolkata. The Trans-India railway line is not straight.The straight-line distance is originally only 1,000 to 1,100 miles, and even a medium-speed train can cover the entire distance in less than three days.However, the actual length of the entire line has been increased by at least a third, due to the extension of the railway line northwards through Allahabad in the northern part of the peninsula.

Here, briefly introduce the key stations along the Great Indian Peninsula Railway.The train left Mumbai, crossed Salset Island, entered the hinterland of the mainland in front of Thana, passed through the Western Ghats to the northeast to Burhanpur, and then passed through the almost independent territory of the upper state of Benderkhand, Go north to Allahabad, then go east, meet the Ganges in Benares, and then go southeast not far from the Ganges, pass through Budwan and the French colony of Chandnagor, and go straight to the terminal Calcutta. The passengers on the Mongol disembarked at Mumbai at 4:30 in the afternoon, and the train to Calcutta departed at 8:00.

Mr. Fogg, having bid farewell to his fellow players, went ashore.He told Passepartout to do some shopping, and urged him to be back at the station by eight o'clock.Then, like the pendulum of an astronomical clock counting seconds, he walked to the consulate step by step to apply for a passport and visa. Although the scenery of Mumbai is beautiful and novel, whether it is the magnificent city hall, the beautiful library, the castle, the dock, the cotton market, the department store, the Islamic mosque, or the Jewish Neither the church, nor the Armenian chapel, nor the beautiful monastery with its two pointed pagodas on Mount Maleba, Mr. Fogg did not even want to look at it.He neither admired the scenic spots of Elephant Mountain, nor visited the mysterious cellars hidden deep in the southeast of Mumbai Bay; he didn't even bother with the exquisite Buddhist architectural relics such as the Gunaili Grottoes on Salset Island. Go take a look.

All right!Nothing else.Mr. Fogg walked out of the consulate and walked back to the station without haste.He intends to have dinner at the station.Among all the dishes, the restaurant owner recommended to him the local specialty fried rabbit meat, saying that this dish tastes the most delicious. Mr. Fogg accepted his recommendation, ordered a plate of rabbit meat, and tasted it carefully.Although the five-spice seasoning was added to the rabbit meat, Mr. Fogg still felt that there was a disgusting smell. Fogg called the restaurant owner. "Shopkeeper, is this rabbit meat?" He looked at the restaurant owner and asked.

"Yes, sir," replied the chap cheekily, "a rabbit in the bush." "When you slaughtered the rabbit, did you hear it meow-meow-meow?" "Meow-meow! God knows, my lord, it's rabbit meat! I swear to you..." "Don't swear, my lord," said Fokker coldly, "do you remember when cats were sacred animals in India, and that was their golden age." "The golden age of cats?" "Arguably the golden age of travellers." Having said this, Mr. Fogg continued to eat his supper in silence. Detective Fix disembarked a short time after Mr. Fogg disembarked.As soon as he got off the boat he ran to the Bombay Police Commissioner.He explained his identity, his mission, and the situation of the suspect he was watching to the director, and then asked the director if he had received a warrant from London.The chief said he had received nothing.In fact, the arrest warrant was not issued until after Fokker had left.Nor will it be so soon to Mumbai.

Fix was greatly embarrassed by this.He hoped that the Bombay Police Department could sign him a warrant for Fokker's arrest, but the chief refused.Because this is the authority of the British Metropolitan Police Department, only the Metropolitan Police Department has the authority to issue arrest warrants.This spirit of strictly abiding by principles and laws fully demonstrated the ethos of the British at that time: no arbitrariness was allowed on issues involving personal freedom. Fix did not insist on his demands.Knowing that there was nothing else to do but wait patiently for the arrest warrant, he resolved not to let go of this elusive fellow for a moment while he was in Bombay.Fix believed that Falk would stay in Bombay.Passepartout, we know, thought so too.In this way, there will be time to wait for the arrest warrant from London.

However, when Passepartout heard his master's instructions when he left the Mongol, he fully understood: this return to Bombay is the same as when we went to Paris and Suez, and it is not the end here, at least we have to go all the way to Calcutta, saying Maybe even further.He began to wonder: Could it be that Mr. Fogg's bet was true; could it be that his fate was destined to not be able to eat a stable meal as he wished, but he just asked himself to take this 80-day journey around the earth? Passepartout bought a few shirts and a few pairs of socks, and seeing that it was still early, he started strolling on Mengmai Street.The streets are bustling with people.Among them were Europeans of different nationalities, Persians wearing pointed hats, Benyas wearing cloth sash, Sindhis wearing square hats, Armenians wearing long robes, and Parsis wearing tall black hats.It turned out that this day was a festival for the Parsees (or Gebers), who were descendants of the Zoroastrians. Among the Indians, they were the most skillful, the most educated, the most intelligent, and the most serious.Today, the rich local businessmen in Mumbai are all from this family.On this day, they are celebrating the festival of worshiping the gods, with parades and entertainment activities. Dancing girls wear rose-colored sari embroidered with gold and silver threads, dancing gracefully and gracefully to the beat of the three-stringed piano and the gong. instrument.

It is needless to say that Passepartout would open his eyes, prick up his ears, and listen to the dance and the music when he saw this novel religious ceremony; The most unscrupulous fool one could possibly imagine. Unfortunately Passepartout's curiosity lost its measure, and nearly spoiled his master's plans for the journey. The fact is this: Passepartout had watched this Parsi festival along the way, and went to the station.But when he passed by Mount Malaba and saw that beautiful monastery, he suddenly had a whim and thought of going inside to see the rareness. But there are two things he doesn't know at all: First, some Indian temples have express regulations that prohibit Christians from entering; second, even believers must take off their shoes outside the door before entering the temple.It should be explained here: the British government respects and protects Indian religions for the sake of policy, and anyone who blasphemes local religions will be severely punished.

Passepartout didn't expect to get into a catastrophe at all, and walked into the monastery on Mount Maleba just like an ordinary tourist. He was admiring the magnificent and dazzling Hindu decorations when he was suddenly pushed down in the temple. The flagstones are on the floor.It turned out that it was the three monks who were furious, rushed over, took off his shoes and socks, and gave him a punch and curse. The strong and nimble French boy turned over with a fist to the left and a kick to the right, knocking down two of his three opponents. He ran as fast as he could, and rushed out of the temple gate in three steps and two steps. In a blink of an eye, he had already left the third monk who was chasing after him and a large group of people he led behind. Now it was only five minutes before eight o'clock, and the train was about to leave. Passepartout fled to the station with bare head and bare feet. He even lost a bag of things he had just bought during the fight. Fix was also on that platform.He secretly followed Fogg to the station, and now he knows that the villain Fogg is leaving Mumbai.He immediately decided to follow, to Calcutta, and even if it was farther, he would have to keep an eye on him.Passepartout did not see Fix, for he was hiding in the shadows.But Fix heard Passepartout briefly narrate to his master what had happened to him. "I hope you don't encounter this kind of thing again." Fokker said simply, and walked into the car. The unlucky young man, barefoot and embarrassed, got into the car with his master without even saying a word. Just as Fix was about to get into another carriage, he suddenly had an idea, changed his mind immediately, and decided not to go! "No, I have to stay," he said to himself, "since he committed a crime in India... I can arrest him." The train disappeared into the dark night with a startling sound of its whistle.
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