Philip Jose Farmer by The Other Log of Phileas Fogg
Authors: The Other Log of Phileas Fogg
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took a boat to Calais, and a train from there through France and Italy. At Brindisi, still on schedule, they boarded the P & O ship, the Mongolia. This luxurious liner, fed by coal, driven by steam, docked in Suez, at 11 a.m., Wednesday, the ninth of October, exactly on time. According to Fogg’s notebook, the journey thus far had taken 158½ hours or six and a half days. For this period, the other log of Fogg contained only a few phrases, with some enigmatic references.
Stayed in the cabin. P—brought in the meals. Gave P—a description of N—, and P—is looking for him on the ship. Told P—that the color of N—’s eyes may be different. When I served under him, they were black. But they were covered by contact lenses. N—must have an ocular deficiency or he was wearing them to disguise the real color of his eyes. Latter seems improbable. Why would he need a disguise while aboard the N—? But he can’t conceal the extraordinarily wide spacing between his eyes unless he pretends to be injured in one eye and wears a bandage. Or, more likely, a large patch over one eye. Told P—to look for these.
Should have killed N—while aboard the N—and taken the consequences. But a thousand years are not easily thrown away. Not conscience but longevity doth make cowards of us all.
At Suez, the man who had sent the telegram to Scotland Yard was waiting on the dock. Mr. Fix was short and thin and had sharp intelligent-looking features, bright foxy eyes, and eyebrows incessantly rising and falling as if subject to shock waves. He was a detective who had been sent to Suez, to apprehend the Bank of England robber if he should be trying to escape via the Eastern route. Mr. Fix had been provided with a good description of the wanted man, but he did not need it. He had known beforehand that the thief and Mr. Fogg looked like twin brothers. He was cursing softly now because his superiors (Capellean, not police) had not permitted him to “find” and arrest Fogg the day after the theft. But no, they wanted to make it appear that Fix had “happened” to come across Fogg during his walk from his house to the Reform.
All must appear natural and unforced. The arrest could take place three or four days after the theft; there was no hurry. First, Mr. Fix must find an excuse for being in Fogg’s neighborhood. Then he would “accidentally” see Fogg, note the resemblance to the thief, and take him into custody. There was little chance of keeping him in jail long or of bringing him to trial. This seems to have been overlooked by Verne, though he was only one of many millions who did not consider carefully the weakness of the case against Fogg. Aside from the startling physical similarity of Fogg and the criminal, there were no grounds for charges. Mr. Fogg would have had his valet’s testimony that he had been in the house until 11:30 a.m. the morning of the theft. At least two dozen people could testify that he had entered the Reform Club at the regular time and stayed there long after the theft had occurred.
The mystery about the case is why the police or the public paid any attention to Fix’s identification of the robber as Fogg. Any policeman on the beat could have established in a short time that Fogg could not possibly have been the culprit. The only explanation for this mistake is that the robbery occurred in the morning and that Forster, the valet, could not be found to testify that his master had indeed been home that morning. Forster must have been sent out of the country on a mission from which Stuart could not recall him even to save Fogg’s reputation.
However, why did Fix go to Suez before he knew that Fogg would be leaving England and travelling on the Mongolia ? The answer is that, though the Capelleans often manipulated people and events, they could not always manage things to suit themselves. Fix, though a Capellean, was also an employee of the police department. When ordered by the police chief to go
Stayed in the cabin. P—brought in the meals. Gave P—a description of N—, and P—is looking for him on the ship. Told P—that the color of N—’s eyes may be different. When I served under him, they were black. But they were covered by contact lenses. N—must have an ocular deficiency or he was wearing them to disguise the real color of his eyes. Latter seems improbable. Why would he need a disguise while aboard the N—? But he can’t conceal the extraordinarily wide spacing between his eyes unless he pretends to be injured in one eye and wears a bandage. Or, more likely, a large patch over one eye. Told P—to look for these.
Should have killed N—while aboard the N—and taken the consequences. But a thousand years are not easily thrown away. Not conscience but longevity doth make cowards of us all.
At Suez, the man who had sent the telegram to Scotland Yard was waiting on the dock. Mr. Fix was short and thin and had sharp intelligent-looking features, bright foxy eyes, and eyebrows incessantly rising and falling as if subject to shock waves. He was a detective who had been sent to Suez, to apprehend the Bank of England robber if he should be trying to escape via the Eastern route. Mr. Fix had been provided with a good description of the wanted man, but he did not need it. He had known beforehand that the thief and Mr. Fogg looked like twin brothers. He was cursing softly now because his superiors (Capellean, not police) had not permitted him to “find” and arrest Fogg the day after the theft. But no, they wanted to make it appear that Fix had “happened” to come across Fogg during his walk from his house to the Reform.
All must appear natural and unforced. The arrest could take place three or four days after the theft; there was no hurry. First, Mr. Fix must find an excuse for being in Fogg’s neighborhood. Then he would “accidentally” see Fogg, note the resemblance to the thief, and take him into custody. There was little chance of keeping him in jail long or of bringing him to trial. This seems to have been overlooked by Verne, though he was only one of many millions who did not consider carefully the weakness of the case against Fogg. Aside from the startling physical similarity of Fogg and the criminal, there were no grounds for charges. Mr. Fogg would have had his valet’s testimony that he had been in the house until 11:30 a.m. the morning of the theft. At least two dozen people could testify that he had entered the Reform Club at the regular time and stayed there long after the theft had occurred.
The mystery about the case is why the police or the public paid any attention to Fix’s identification of the robber as Fogg. Any policeman on the beat could have established in a short time that Fogg could not possibly have been the culprit. The only explanation for this mistake is that the robbery occurred in the morning and that Forster, the valet, could not be found to testify that his master had indeed been home that morning. Forster must have been sent out of the country on a mission from which Stuart could not recall him even to save Fogg’s reputation.
However, why did Fix go to Suez before he knew that Fogg would be leaving England and travelling on the Mongolia ? The answer is that, though the Capelleans often manipulated people and events, they could not always manage things to suit themselves. Fix, though a Capellean, was also an employee of the police department. When ordered by the police chief to go
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