Yes; Phileas Fogg in person.

The reader will remember that at five minutes past eight in the evening - about five and twenty hours after the arrival of the travellers in London - Passepartout had been sent by his master to engage the services of the Reverend Samuel Wilson in a certain marriage ceremony, which was to take place the next day.

Passepartout went on his errand enchanted¹. He soon reached the clergyman's house, but found him not at home. Passepartout waited a good twenty minutes, and when he left the reverend gentleman, it was thirty-five minutes past eight. But in what a state he was! With his hair in disorder², and without his hat, he ran along the street as never man Was seen to run before, overturning passers-by, rushing over the sidewalk like a waterspout.

In three minutes he was in Saville Row again, and staggered breathlessly into Mr Fogg's room.

He could not speak. `What is the matter?' asked Mr Fogg.

`My master!' gasped<sup>3</sup> Passepartout, - `marriage - impossible--'

`Impossible?'

`Impossible - for tomorrow.'

`Why so?'

`Because tomorrow - is Sunday!'

`Monday,' replied Mr Fogg. `No - today - is Saturday.'

`Saturday? Impossible!'

`Yes, yes, yes, yes!' cried Passepartout. `You have made a mistake of one day! We arrived twenty-four hours ahead of time; but there are only ten minutes left!'

Passepartout had seized his master by the collar, and was dragging him along with irresistible⁴ force.

Phileas Fogg, thus kidnapped, without having time to think, left his house, jumped into a cab, promised a hundred pounds to the cabman, and, having run over two dogs and overturned five carriages, reached the Reform Club.

The clock indicated a quarter before nine when he appeared in the great saloon.

Phileas Fogg had accomplished⁵ the journey round the world in eighty days!

Phileas Fogg had won his wager⁶ of twenty thousand pounds!

How was it that a man so exact and fastidious could have made this error of a day? How came he to think that he had arrived in London on Saturday, the twenty-first day of December, when it was really Friday, the twentieth, the seventy-ninth day only from his departure?

The cause of the error is very simple.

Phileas Fogg had, without suspecting it, gained one day on his journey, and this merely because he had travelled constantly eastward⁷; he would, on the contrary, have lost a day had he gone in the opposite direction, that is westward⁸.

In journeying eastward he had gone towards the sun, and the days therefore diminished for him as many times four minutes as he crossed degrees in this direction. There are three hundred and sixty degrees on the circumference⁹ of the earth; and these three hundred and sixty degrees, multiplied by four minutes, gives precisely¹⁰ twenty-four hours - that is, the day unconsciously gained. In other words, while Phileas Fogg, going eastward, saw the sun pass the meridian¹¹ eighty times, his friends in London only saw it past the meridian seventy-nine times. This is why they awaited him at the Reform Club on Saturday, and not Sunday, as Mr Fogg thought.

And Passepartout's famous family watch, which had always kept London time, would have betrayed this fact, if it had marked the days as well as the hours and minutes!

Phileas Fogg, then, had won the twenty thousand pounds; but as he had spent nearly nineteen thousand on the way, the pecuniary¹² gain was small. His object was, however, to be victorious¹³, and not to win money. He divided the one thousand pounds that remained between Passepartout and the unfortunate Fix, against whom he cherished no grudge¹⁴. He deducted¹⁵, however, from Passepartout's share the cost of the gas which had burned in his room for nineteen hundred and twenty hours, for the sake of regularity¹⁶.

That evening, Mr Fogg, as tranquil¹⁷ and phlegmatic¹⁸ as ever, said to Aouda: `Is our marriage still agreeable to you?'

`Mr Fogg,' replied she, `it is for me to ask that question. You were ruined, but now you are rich again.'

`Pardon me, madam; my fortune belongs to you. If you had not suggested our marriage, my servant would not have gone to the Reverend Samuel Wilson's, I should not have been apprised¹⁹ of my error, and--'

`Dear Mr Fogg!' said the young woman.

`Dear Aouda!' replied Phileas Fogg. It need not be said that the marriage took place forty-eight hours after, and that Passepartout, glowing and dazzling, gave the bride away. Had he not saved her, and was he not entitled to this honour?

The next day, as soon as it was light, Passepartout rapped vigorously at his master's door. Mr Fogg opened it, and asked, `What's the matter, Passepartout?'

`What is it, sir? Why, I've just this instant found out--'

`What?'

`That we might have made the tour of the world in only seventy-eight days.'

`No doubt,' returned Mr Fogg, `by not crossing India. But if I had not crossed India, I should not have saved Aouda; she would not have been my wife, and--'

Mr Fogg quietly shut the door.

Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days. To do this he had employed every means of conveyance-steamers, railways, carriages, yachts, trading-vessels, sledges²⁰, elephants. The eccentric gentleman had throughout displayed all his marvellous qualities of coolness and exactitude. But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey?

Nothing, say you? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men!

Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?

一点儿不假！正是斐利亚·福克本人。

人们大概还会记得，在当天下午八点零五分的时候，也就是在他们回到伦敦后大约二十五小时，路路通受了他主人的吩咐去通知萨缪尔·威尔逊神甫，请他来主持第二天就要举行的婚礼。

路路通当时就很高兴地去了。他连走带跑地到了神甫那里，可是神甫还没回来。路路通就在那儿等，至少等了二十多分钟。

总而言之，当他从神甫那儿出来的时候，已经是八点三十五分了。可是，他怎么出来的呢？头发乱得象一堆稻草，帽子也不见了，跑啊，跑啊，简直谁也没见过一个人会跑得这么快，他在人行道上象一阵风似的疾驰而过，撞倒了多少来往的行人。

他只花了三分钟，就回到了赛微乐街的住宅，他一头栽到福克先生房子里，上气不接下气，话也说不上来了。

“怎么回事？”福克先生问。

“我的主人……”路路通结结巴巴地说，“结婚……不可能了。”

“不可能？”

“明天……不可能了。”

“为什么？”

“因为明天……是星期日。”

“明天星期一。”福克先生说。

“不对……今天……是星期六。”

“星期六？这不可能！”

“是星期六，是星期六，一点儿不错！”路路通喊着说，“您算错了一天，我们早到了二十四小时……现在只剩下十分钟的时间了！……”

路路通说着，一把抓住他主人的衣领，象发疯似的拖着福克先生就跑。

斐利亚·福克连考虑一下的功夫也没有，就被拖出了房间，走出大门，跳上了一辆马车，许给马车夫一百英镑的奖金，一路上轧死了两条狗，撞坏了五辆马车，才到了改良俱乐部。

当他在俱乐部大厅里露面的时候，大钟正指着八点四十五分……

斐利亚·福克在八十天内环游了地球一周！

斐利亚·福克赢到了这笔两万英镑的赌注！

现在人们要问，一个象他这样精细的人，怎会把日子记错的呢？他到达伦敦的时候本来是12月20号，星期五，离开他出发的时间才只七十九天，可是他怎会以为已经是12月21号星期六晚上了呢？

问题很简单，弄错的原因是这样的：

斐利亚·福克在他的旅程中“不自觉地”占了二十四小时的便宜。这只不过是因为他这次旅行的方向是一直往东走，假如他相反地倒着在西走，那他就会吃二十四小时的亏。实际上，斐利亚·福克在向东走的路上一直是迎着太阳升起的方向前进，所以每当他这样走过一条经度线，他就会提前四分钟看见日出。整个地球一共分作三百六十度，用四分钟乘三百六十，结果正好等于二十四小时。这就是他不知不觉赚来的那一天的时间。换句话说，当一直向东走的斐利亚·福克在旅途中看到第八十次日出的时候，他那些住在伦敦的会友们才只看到第七十九次。正因为这样，所以这一天是星期六，不是福克先生所想象的星期日；因为是星期六，所以他的那些会友们才会在改良俱乐部等着他。

如果路路通的那只一直保持着伦敦时间的大银表，能象它指出几点几分那样准确地指出几月几号的话，那他们就不会弄错日期了！

斐利亚·福克确实是赢了两万英镑，可是他在这次旅行中已经花了差不多一万九千英镑，从金钱的角度来看，剩下的也有限了。不过前面已经说过，这位怪绅士这次打赌只是为了争面子，不是想发财。连剩下的这一千英镑他也交给诚实的路路通和倒霉的费克斯去分了。福克先生对于这位侦探当然是不会怀恨的。不过福克先生还是扣除了他仆人由于过失而一直烧了一千九百零二十小时的这一笔煤气费。福克先生这样作也完全是应该的。就在这一天晚上，福克先生依然是那样不动声色，依然是那样沉静地对艾娥达夫人说：“夫人，现在您对我们的结婚有别的意见吗？”

“福克先生，”艾娥达夫人回答说，“应该是我向您提这样的问题，昨天您是破产了，可是现在您又……”

“夫人，请您别这么说，这笔财产都是您的。如果您不跟我提出结婚的问题，我的仆人就不会去找萨缪尔·威尔逊神甫，那也就不会有人告诉我弄错了日期，所以……”“亲爱的福克……”年轻的夫人说。

“亲爱的艾娥达……”福克先生回答说。

往下就不用说了，过了四十八小时之后，开始举行婚礼。路路通神气十足，满面红光，兴高采烈地作了艾娥达夫人的证婚人。难道他不应当得到这种荣誉吗？因为他曾经赴汤蹈火救过艾娥达夫人的性命。

可是，第二天天还没有大亮，路路通就去砰砰地敲他主人的房门。

门开了，走出那位不动声色的绅士。

“出了什么事了，路路通？”

“是这么回事，先生，我刚刚想起来……”

“想起什么？”

“我们环游地球一周，只要七十八天就够了。”

“确是如此，”福克先生回答说，“不过，那样我们就不能经过印度了；要不经过印度，我就不能救艾娥达夫人；不能救她，她现在也不会作我的妻子了……”福克先生轻轻地把门关上了。

斐利亚·福克就是这样赢了这一场东道。他用八十天的时间作了环游地球一周的旅行！

他一路上利用了各种各样的交通工具：轮船、火车、马车、游艇、商船、雪橇和大象。这位性情古怪的绅士，在这次旅行中显示了他那种惊人沉着和准确的性格。但是结果呢？这番长途跋涉他赢得了什么呢？这次旅行给他带来了什么呢？

能说他一点收获也没有吗？也许可以这样说，如果不算那位如花似玉的艾娥达夫人，尽管故事有点不象真的，可是她已经使福克先生成了最幸福的人了。

难道人们真的不可能用更短的时间来环游地球一周吗？

附记*

“Huuu…………！”

长长地出了一口气，终于完成了！

这是我第一次尝试着扫描一部篇幅较长的作品，开始的时候，当然免不了遇到许多问题，诸如识别率低、错别字多，等等等等，进度非常慢，有好几次都差点想打退堂鼓了。幸而，在此期间得到了不少朋友的关心支持鼓励帮助，使我一次次重拾信心，终于能将这份工作做完。

在此特别要感谢的，是黄金书屋的youth，是他在扫描、OCR方面给予的许多无私帮助，使我少走了不少弯路，学到了不少诀窍，得以逐渐积累经验值，从菜鸟升级到了如今的雏鸟级^_^，谢谢！

“看人挑担不吃力”，从网络上读了不少电子版的书，及至自己尝试参与时，才深深体会到了那些输入者们所付出的辛勤劳动，我向他们的埋头苦干默默耕耘而深表敬意，我为自己所能回报他们的如此之少而深觉汗颜。

法国作家儒勒·凡尔纳是我自小便为之心折的不世出的科幻小说奇才，他在作品中描述过的一些情节，对当代科学的某些领域有着不小的影响，其作品被译成多种文字、改编成电影电视，在世界各国广为流传。国内也曾有数家出版社发行过其科幻选集，电视里也播映过几部根据其作品改编而来的影片剧集，只是，在国内网络上，有关凡尔纳的东西实在是很少、很少。因此，我从自己收藏的十余部凡尔纳科幻小说中选了这部《八十天环游地球》来转换成电子版本，希望能有更多的人通过网络读到他的优秀科幻作品。

下一步，计划扫描输入《神秘岛》。

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