Phileas Fogg found himself twenty hours behind time. Passepartout, the involuntary cause of this delay, was desperate. He had ruined his master!

At this moment the detective approached Mr Fogg, and, looking him intently in the face, said--

`Seriously, sir, are you in great haste?'

`Quite seriously.'

`I have a purpose in asking,' resumed Fix. `Is it absolutely necessary that you should be in New York on the 11th, before nine o'clock in the evening, the time that the steamer leaves for Liverpool?'

`It is absolutely necessary.'

`And, if your journey had not been interrupted by these Indians, you would have reached New York on the morning of the 11th?'

`Yes; with eleven hours to spare before the steamer left.'

`Good! you are therefore twenty hours behind. Twelve from twenty leaves eight. You must regain eight hours. Do you wish to try to do so?'

`On foot?' asked Mr Fogg.

`No; on a sledge,' replied Fix. `On a sledge with sails. A man has proposed such a method to me.'

It was the man who had spoken to Fix during the night, and whose offer he had refused.

Phileas Fogg did not reply at once; but Fix having pointed out the man, who was walking up and down in front of the station, Mr Fogg went up to him. An instant alter, Mr Fogg and the American, whose name was Mudge, entered a hut built just below the fort.

There Mr Fogg examined a curious vehicle, a kind of frame on two long beams, a little raised in front like the runners of a sledge, and upon which there was room for five or six persons. A high mast was fixed on the frame, held firmly by metallic lashings, to which was attached a large brigantine sail. This mast held an iron stay upon which to hoist a jib-sail. Behind, a sort of rudder served to guide the vehicle. It was, in short, a sledge rigged like a sloop. During the winter, when the trains are blocked up by the snow, these sledges make extremely rapid journeys across the frozen plains from one station to another. Provided with more sail than a cutter, and with the wind behind them, they slip over the surface of the prairies with a speed equal if not superior to that of the express trains.

Mr, Fogg readily made a bargain with the owner of this land-craft. The wind was favourable, being fresh, and blowing from the west. The snow had hardened, and Mudge was very confident of being able to transport Mr, Fogg in a few hours to Omaha. Thence the trains eastward run frequently to Chicago and New York. It was not impossible that the lost time might yet be recovered; and such an opportunity was not to be rejected.

Not wishing to expose Aouda to the discomforts of travelling in the open air, Mr Fogg proposed to leave her with Passepartout at Fort Kearney, the servant taking upon himself to escort her to Europe by a better route and under more favourable conditions. But Aouda refused to Separate from Mr Fogg, and Passepartout was delighted with her decision; for nothing could induce him to leave his master while Fix was with him.

It would be difficult to guess the detective's thoughts. Was his conviction shaken by Phileas Fogg's return, or did he still regard him as an exceedingly shrewd rascal, who, his journey round the world completed, would think himself absolutely safe in England? Perhaps Fix's opinion of Phileas Fogg was somewhat modified; but he was nevertheless resolved to do his duty, and to hasten the return of the whole party to England as much as possible.

At eight o'clock the sledge was ready to start. The passengers took their places on it, and wrapped themselves up closely in their travelling cloaks. The two great sails were hoisted, and under the pressure of the wind the sledge slid over the hardened snow with a velocity of forty miles an hour.

The distance between Fort Kearney and Omaha, as the birds fly, is at most two hundred miles. If the wind held good, the distance might be traversed in five hours; if no accident happened the sledge might reach Omaha by one o'clock.

What a journey! The travellers, huddled close together, could not speak for the cold, intensified by the rapidity at which they were going. The sledge sped on as lightly as a boat over the waves. When the breeze came skimming the earth the sledge seemed to be lifted off the ground by its sails. Mudge, who was at the rudder, kept in a straight line, and by a turn of his hand checked the lurches which the vehicle had a tendency to make. All the sails were up, and the jib was so arranged as not to screen the brigantine. A top-mast was hoisted, and another jib, held out to the wind, added its force to the other sails. Although the speed could not be exactly estimated, the sledge could not be going at less than forty miles an hour.

`If nothing breaks,' said Mudge, `we shall get there!'

Mr, Fogg had made it for Mudge's interest to reach Omaha within the time agreed on, by the offer of a handsome reward.

The prairie, across which the sledge was moving in a straight line, was as flat as a sea. It seemed like a vast frozen lake. The railroad which ran through this section ascended from the south-west to the northwest by Great Island, Columbus, an important Nebraska town, Schuyler and Fremont, to Omaha. It followed throughout the right bank of the Platte River. The sledge, shortening this route, took a chord of the are described by the railway. Mudge was not afraid of being stopped by the Platte River, because it was frozen. The road, then, was quite clear of obstacles, and Phileas Fogg had but two things to fear, - an accident to the sledge, and a change or calm in the wind.

But the breeze, far from lessening its force, blew as if to bend the mast, which, however, the metallic lashings held firmly. These lashings, like the chords of a stringed instrument, resounded as if vibrated by a violin bow. The sledge slid along in the midst of a plaintively intense melody.

`These chords give the fifth and the octave,' said Mr Fogg.

These were the only words he uttered during the journey. Aouda, cosily packed in furs and cloaks, was sheltered as much as possible from the attacks of the freezing wind. As for Passepartout, his face was as red as the sun's disc when it sets in the mist, and he laboriously inhaled the biting air. With his natural buoyancy of Spirits, he began to hope again. They would reach New York on the evening, if not on the morning, of the 11th, and there were still some chances that it would be before the steamer sailed for Liverpool.

Passepartout even felt a strong desire to grasp his ally, Fix, by the hand. He remembered that it was the detective who procured the sledge, the only means of reaching Omaha in time; but, checked by some presentiment, he kept his usual reserve. One thing, however, Passepartout would never forget, and that was the sacrifice which Mr Fogg had made, without hesitation, to rescue him from the Sioux. Mr Fogg had risked his fortune and his life. No! His servant would never forget that!

While each of the party was absorbed in reflections so different, the sledge flew fast over the vast carpet of snow. The creeks it passed over were not perceived. Fields and streams disappeared under the uniform whiteness. The plain was absolutely deserted. Between the Union Pacific road and the branch which unites Kearney with Saint Joseph it formed a great uninhabited island. Neither village, station, nor fort appeared. From time to time they sped by some phantom-like tree, whose white skeleton twisted and rattled in the wind. Sometimes flocks of wild birds rose, or bands of gaunt, famished, ferocious prairie-wolves ran howling after the sledge. Passepartout, revolver in hand, held himself ready to fire on those which came too near. Had an accident then happened to the sledge, the travellers, attacked by these beasts, would have been in the most terrible danger; but it held on its even course, Soon gained on the wolves, and ere long left the howling band at a safe distance behind.

About noon Mudge perceived by certain landmarks that he was crossing the Platte River. He said nothing, but he felt certain that he was now within twenty miles of Omaha. In less than an hour he left the rudder and furled his sails, whilst the sledge, carried forward by the great impetus the wind had given it, went on half a mile further with its sails unspread.

It stopped at last, and Mudge, pointing to a mass of roofs white with snow, said: `We have got there!'

Arrived! Arrived at the station which is in daily communication, by numerous trains, with the Atlantic seaboard!

Passepartout and Fix jumped off, stretched their stiffened limbs, and aided Mr Fogg and the young woman to descend from the sledge. Phileas Fogg generously rewarded Mudge, whose hand Passepartout warmly grasped, and the party directed their steps to the Omaha railway station.

The Pacific Railroad proper finds its terminus at this important Nebraska town. Omaha is connected with Chicago by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, which runs directly east, and passes fifty stations.

A train was ready to start when Mr Fogg and his party reached the station, and they only had time to get into the cars. They had seen nothing of Omaha; but Passepartout confessed to himself that this was not to be regretted, as they were not travelling to see the sights.

The train passed rapidly across the State of Iowa, by Council Bluffs, Des Moines,, and Iowa City. During the night it crossed the Mississippi at Davenport, and by Rock Island entered Illinois. The next day, which was the 10th, at four in the evening, it reached Chicago, already risen from its ruins, and more proudly seated than ever on the borders of its beautiful Lake Michigan.

Nine hundred miles separated Chicago from New York; but trains are not wanting at Chicago. Mr Fogg passed at once from one to the other, and the locomotive of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway left at full speed, as if it fully comprehended that that gentleman had no time to lose. It traversed Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey like a flash, rushing through the towns with antique names, some of which had streets and car-tracks, but as yet no houses. At last the Hudson came into view; and at a quarter-past eleven in the evening of the 11th, the train stopped in the station on the right bank of the river, before the very pier of the Cunard line.

The `China', for Liverpool, had started three-quarters of an hour before!

斐利亚·福克耽搁了二十小时。这都是路路通无意之间造成的，因此路路通感到非常失望。他这一下子可真把他的主人搞垮了。

这时，密探走近了福克先生，问道：

“说真话，先生，您是急着要走吗？”

“说真话，很急，”斐利亚·福克回答说。

“我真的要知道一下，”费克斯说，“您是不是一定要在11号晚上九点钟之前，也就是说在开往利物浦的邮船出发之前到达纽约，有必要吗？”

“非常必要。”

“假若没有这次印第安人袭击火车的事，您在11号一早就可以到纽约了，不是吗？”“是啊，那样我在邮船开出之前十二小时，就已经上船了。”

“对，现在您耽搁了二十小时，二十减十二余八。您打算不打算把这八小时补上呢？”“步行吗？”福克先生问。

“不用步行，坐雪橇，”费克斯回答说，“坐带帆的雪橇。有一个人曾经要我雇他的雪橇。”

这个人就是昨天夜里跟费克斯讲话的那个人，当时费克斯没有答应雇他的雪橇。斐利亚·福克没有回答；费克斯指给他看那个驾雪橇的美国人，他正在车站前面溜达。福克先生便向那个人走过去了。过了一会儿斐利亚·福克跟这个名叫麦基的美国人一齐走进了克尔尼堡下边不远的一间小茅屋。福克先生看见屋里有一辆相当奇怪的车子。它是一具两根长木头上钉着一个木框做成的雪橇，头部微向上翘，很象那种无轮拖车的两条底板架子。它上面可以坐五六个人。雪橇靠前面三分之一处竖着一根很高的桅杆，上面挂着一张很大的方帆。这条桅杆下面由几条铁索结结实实地绑着，上面有条铁支柱，用来支撑这面巨大的布帆。后面装着一个单橹作为木舵，用来掌握方向。原来福克先生看见的正是一条单桅船式的雪橇。在冬季遍地冰雪的平原上，当火车被大雪阻碍不能前进的时候，就可以用这种交通工具，从这一站很快地滑到另一站。这种雪橇可以挂上很大的帆，水上竞赛的快船要是挂上这样大的帆就一定会翻跟斗。从后面吹来的风推动雪橇在草原的冰地上疾驰，它的速度即便说不比特别快车更快，至少也和普通快车的速度相等。

没有多大功夫，福克先生跟这个陆地小船的船主已经讲妥了价钱。现在风很好，西风刮得正紧，地上的雪已经结冰，只要几个钟头，麦基准能把福克送到奥马哈车站。那里的火车线路很多，四通八达，往来频繁，可以到芝加哥和纽约。这样就可能补上耽搁的时间。现在已无可犹豫，只好这样去碰碰运气。

福克先生不愿让艾娥达夫人在露天旷野里作这样艰苦的旅行。天这么冷再加上雪橇的飞快奔驰，她怎能受得了。因此他向艾娥达夫人建议，叫路路通陪着她在克尔尼堡等火车。然后由这个诚实的小伙子平平安安地把她护送到欧洲去。艾娥达夫人不愿和福克先生分离。她这样决定使路路通感到很高兴。实际上，路路通无论如何也不愿离开自己的主人，特别是因为费克斯还在跟着福克先生。

至于说警察厅密探的思想活动，现在真是一言难尽。斐利亚·福克的归来是否使他的信心动摇了呢？还是仍然肯定福克是一个极端狡猾的流氓，企图这样环游了地球一周之后，回到英国就可以完全逍遥法外了呢？也许费克斯现在对斐利亚·福克的看法已经有些转变。但是，他绝不会放松自己的职责，他比任何人都更急着想尽一切办法早一天回到英国。八点钟，雪橇准备停当就要出发了；旅客们——其实可以勉强称之为乘客们——坐上了雪橇，都紧紧地裹在旅行毯里。两只大帆都张起来了，借着风力雪橇以每小时四十英里的速度在结冻的雪地上飞驰开了。

从克尔尼堡到奥马哈的直线距离——美国人称之为蜂飞距离——至多也不过两百英里。如果风向不变，五个小时就可以跑完这段路程。如果途中不发生任何意外，下午一点钟就能到达奥马哈。

这是一种什么样的旅行啊！旅客们紧紧地挤在一起，连一句话也不能说。因为雪橇跑得越快，人越觉得寒冷，冷得无法张口说话。雪橇轻盈地在雪野上滑行，正象一条滑行在水面上的小船，它比小船更稳，因为小船至少也会有些波动。当寒风吹过大地时，雪橇被那两只象巨翼一样的白帆载着，就象是离开了地面腾空飞行，麦基紧握着舵把，保持着直线前进。雪橇有时要向一边倾斜；只要麦基转动一下尾舵，它就会马上恢复笔直的航线。前角帆也挂起来了——大角帆已经不再遮挡它的风路。大帆上又加上了顶桅，张起了兜风的顶尖帆，这样就更增加了整个雪橇的帆面，也加大了风的推动力。目前，虽然没有办法科学地计算出雪橇的速度，但是可以断定它前进的速度每小时至少也会有四十英里。

“如果不出什么毛病，”麦基说，“我们准能按时到达！”

麦基很希望能按预定时间到达奥马哈，因为福克先生已经照样许了麦基一大笔奖金。

雪橇笔直穿过的这一片犹如风平浪静的大海一样的平原。平原象是一个辽阔无边的结冰池塘，在这个地区这一条由西南向西北延伸的铁路，经过大岛和内布拉斯加州的重镇哥仑布斯，再经过休列尔、弗列蒙，最后到达奥马哈。这条铁路始终沿着普拉特河的右岸前进。雪橇从弧线内直行穿过，缩短了这条铁路形成的弧行路线。麦基从弗列蒙抄直路前进，毫不担心普拉特河会阻断他们的去路，因为河水早已结冰。一路尽是平坦的冰雪，可以畅行无阻。所以斐利亚·福克目前只担心两件事：一是怕雪橇出毛病；二是怕风向改变或是风力骤减。但是，风力一点也没有减弱，相反地，那条被钢索结结实实绑着的桅杆都被风刮弯了。

这些钢索仿佛是乐器上的弦，被一张无形的弓拉着发出飕嗦振荡的响声。在这种如怨如诉的和谐乐声中，在这种极其紧张的气氛中，雪橇在疯狂奔驰。

“这些钢索发出的音响，是五度音程和八度音程。”福克先生说。

这是福克先生在这一段旅途上说的唯一的一句话。艾娥达夫人紧紧地裹在皮衣和旅行毯子里，旅伴们尽一切可能不让她受到寒冷的袭击。至于路路通，他的整个脸膛又圆又红，活象傍晚沉浸在薄雾里的太阳；他正喝着那刺骨的寒风，他又恢复了他那种固有的信心，苏生了成功的希望。本来该在早晨到达纽约，现在要晚上才能赶到。但是，即使在晚上到，也还是很有可能赶上开往利物浦的邮船。

路路通甚至很想跟他的同盟者费克斯握手表示感谢。因为他没忘记正是多亏这位侦探才找到了这一辆带帆雪橇。实际上也只有乘雪橇才能按时赶到奥马哈。但不知是由于一种什么预感，路路通依旧保持沉默，没有跟费克斯握手。

不过，有一件事是路路通永远也不会忘记的。那就是福克先生为了要从西乌人手里救他而表现的那种自我牺牲的精神。为了救他，福克先生拿他全部财产和自己的生命去冒险……绝不会忘记！路路通是永远也不会忘记的！

当旅客们各自想着彼此绝不相同的心事的时候，雪橇却在这一望无边的雪野里不停地飞驰。有时，雪橇滑过小兰河的支流和小河，但乘客们却没有发现这些河流，因为田野和河水都已变成了清一色的雪白平原，大地上光荡荡地一无所有。这一片包括联合太平洋铁路和克尔尼堡通往圣若瑟的支线的整个地区，形成一个荒无人烟的大雪岛。这里没有村庄，没有车站，甚至连军堡也没有。旅客们不时地可以瞥见几棵难看的野树，一闪而过，树枝上结满冰雪活象一副副雪白的死人骨架在冷风中摇曳。有时遇见成群的野鸟从雪橇经过的地方突然一齐飞向天空。有时遇见草原上饿得骨瘦如柴的狼群，它们在攫取食物的欲望驱使下，成群结队疯狂地追赶着雪橇狂跑。这时路路通握紧手枪，随时准备向那些最接近雪橇的饿狼射击。万一在这个时候雪橇出了毛病停下来，这些被野狼追逐的旅客们就会有送命的危险。但是，雪橇走得很好，它很快就跑到前头了，不多久，那群狂叫的饿狼已经被甩在后边了。

中午十二时，麦基从一些地方认出了他们正在穿过结冰的普拉特河。他没有说什么，但是他已经确信，再走二十英里就会到达奥马哈车站。

实际上还不到一点钟，这位老练的驾驶员已经放下舵把，赶忙收起白帆卷成一卷。这时雪橇仍在疾速前进，在没有张帆的情况下又走了半英里路，最后它停下来了。麦基指着一片被白雪覆盖着的房顶说：“我们到了。”

到了，真的到了。到了这个每天都有无数火车开往美国东部的奥马哈了！

路路通和费克斯先跳下雪橇，活动一下冻麻了的四肢。他们又帮助福克先生和年轻的夫人下了雪橇。斐利亚·福克很大方地付给了麦基租费和奖金。路路通象对待一个老朋友一样跟麦基握手告别。然后大家就赶往奥马哈车站。

奥马哈是内布拉斯加州的重要城市。太平洋铁路就到此地为止。这个城市是密西西比盆地和大西洋交通的枢纽。从奥马哈到芝加哥这一段铁路叫做芝加哥——石岛铁路，这条铁路是一条东行直线，沿途约有五十多个车站。

这时正有－班直达车要开出去。斐利亚·福克和他的旅伴们勉强来得及上了车。他们一点也没看到奥马哈的市容。但是路路通心里对这件事半点也不懊悔，他认为现在的问题并不在于是否参观奥马哈。

火车以极快的速度在衣阿华州奔驰。它经过了康斯尔布拉夫斯、得梅因和衣阿华。当天夜里，在达文波特越过了密西西比河。火车从石岛进入了伊利诺斯州。第二天，12月10号下午四点火车到达了芝加哥。这个城市已经从大火的废墟中重建起来了，它比过去更加雄伟地耸立在美丽的密执安湖岸上。

从芝加哥到纽约只有九百英里。而且这里去纽约的火车很多。福克先生下车之后立即跳上了另一列火车。这是一辆属于匹兹堡——韦恩堡——芝加哥铁路公司的轻快机车，它拖着列车离开了车站，全速前进，好象机车也知道这位尊贵的绅士再也不能耽误时间似的。它象闪电似的飞过了印第安纳州、俄亥俄州、宾夕法尼亚州、新泽西州；经过了一些命名古老的新城市，其中有些城市只有马路和电车，还没有建筑起房屋。最后旅客们看到了赫德森河，12月11日，晚上十一点一刻，火车到达了居纳尔轮船公司右边的车站，换句话说，也就是到达了英国和北美皇家邮船公司的码头。

但是，开往利物浦去的中国号在四十五分钟之前已经出发了！