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Tech moves fast. As deadlines get closer, it can be tempting to code fast to get it shipped as quickly as possible. But fast and good don't always equate. And worse, where there's dud code, there's a chump stuck refactoring their predecessors' dirty code and dealing with a mountain of technical debt. And no one wants that to be you. Fortunately, engineering leads can set the standard with practices prioritizing code quality metrics and health. In this article, I’ll cover… Why code quality matters The most important code quality metrics How to handle code quality issues Why code quality matters Code quality is crucial for software development as it determines how well the codebase functions, scales, and maintains over time. Good quality code ensures the software is stable, secure, and efficient. On the other hand, poor quality code can lead to bugs, security vulnerabilities, performance issues, and scalability problems. Code quality impacts the amount of technical debt that accumulates over time. Technical debt refers to the cost of maintaining a codebase developed with suboptimal practices or shortcuts. It accumulates over time, and if left unchecked, it can make it difficult or impossible to maintain or improve the codebase without significant effort or cost. Due to deadlines, budgets, and other constraints, developers are often forced to make tradeoffs between quality and speed, and accumulating technical debt is inevitable. However, accumulating technical debt imprudently can increase the risk of bugs and security vulnerabilities, make adding features harder, slow development, and even require a complete codebase rewrite in extreme cases. Code quality is a big topic. Learn more about it in this Engineers’ Guide to Code Quality. But how do we get to this place? No single metric or focus point can fully capture code quality. Rather it's the combined efforts that help build and maintain healthy codebases. Here are some of the mission-critical metrics you need to prioritise: Code Churn Let's be clear. Code churn is a normal part of the development process. But the amount of code churn also helps you measure your development team's efficiency and productivity. If the bulk of a dev's time is spent writing and rewriting the same bits of code, it can suggest two things: Problem code is being tested, workshopped, and refined. This is a good thing, especially when dealing with a sticky problem or challenge that requires regular reworking as part of an evolutionary process. Time spent learning that results in a win is always well-spent. Code churn in response to customer feedback is a plus. There's a bigger problem. Code churn that consistency results in low work output can be a sign of: Poor programming practices Lack of experience or skill at self-editing Low morale or burnout External woes like ever-changing demands from other departments or external stakeholders. (Yep, this is why they pay you the big bucks). We did a deep dive on code churn here. Besides talking regularly with your team about their process and regular code reviews, you can also measure code churn using various tools such as: Azure DevOps Server NCover Minware Git Use Stepsize to create and surface technical debt issues which are innately linked to code. Good tracking is the foundation of code quality control. Coding conventions In most companies, marketing and editorial departments have a style guide, a living document that outlines the rules for written content – think everything from grammar to whether you write 1M or 1 million. Dev teams should also have coding conventions – they might be specific to particular projects or across the whole team. After all, code is also about interpersonal communication, not just machines. And a shared language helps create quality clean code by improving readability and maintainability. It also helps team members understand each other's code and easily find files or classes. Some common coding conventions: naming conventions comments spaces operators declarations indentation file organisation architectural patterns You might think of using a code linter to highlight code smells or security gaps, but you can also use it to monitor code conventions. Tools include: (JavaScript) Prettier (Ruby) Rubocop (C#) StyleCop And a whole lot of options. Get at it! open source While at it, spend some time on an agreed-upon approach to documentation. Think of it as passing a torch or baton of knowledge from past you to future you. Code complexity Ok, some code is just an intricate maze born of pain. But it may also be an impenetrable jungle that's impossible for anyone to understand except the original person who wrote it. It gets shuffled to the bottom of the pile every time the team talks about refactoring to reduce technical debt. And remember, many devs only stay in one role for a , so that person could spread their jungle of complex code like a virus across multiple organisations if left unchecked. Terrifying. couple of years But back to business. Simply put, code complexity refers to how difficult code is to understand, maintain, and modify. Overly complex code can also be at risk of bugs and may resist new adds. There are two main methods of measuring code complexity: measures the complexity of a program based on the number of independent paths through the code. It is a quantitative measure of the number of decision points in the code, such as if statements and for/while loops. The more paths through your code, the more potential problem areas in the code that may require further testing or refactoring. Cyclomatic Complexity , which measures the size and difficulty of a program based on the program length, vocabulary size, the number of distinct operators and operands, the number of statements, and the number of bugs per thousand lines of code. Halstead Complexity Metrics These metrics evaluate software quality and maintainability and predict the effort required to develop, debug, and maintain software systems. That said, Halstead Complexity Metrics don't factor in other important metrics like code readability, performance, security, and usability, so it's not something to use as a stand-alone tool. Check out if you want to dig into the metrics more. Verifysoft Code Maintainability Code maintainability is pretty much what it sounds like – how easy it is to maintain and modify a codebase over time. Poorly maintained code causes delays as it takes longer to update and can stand out as a critical flaw against your competitors. But done well, it pulls together all the good stuff, including code clarity, complexity, naming conventions, code refactoring, documentation, version control, code reviews, and unit testing. So it's about a broader commitment to code quality rather than a single task or tool. And it's always worth remembering that, like refactoring, you'll maintain your and other people's code a long time after the first write. Fortunately, there are automation tools aplenty from the get-go when it comes to maintainability. For example, static code analysis tools identify bug risks, anti-patterns, performance issues, and unused code. New Bugs vs Closed Bugs Every bug in your software is a small piece of technical debt that accumulates over time. To keep track of your technical debt, your engineers must track and document every bug, including when they are fixed. One way to measure your code quality is to compare the number of new bugs discovered to the number of bugs that have been closed. If new bugs consistently outnumber closed bugs, it's a sign that your technical debt is increasing and that you need to take action to manage it effectively. Tracking new bugs versus closed bugs helps identify potential issues in the development process, such as insufficient testing, poor quality control, or lack of resources for fixing bugs. By comparing, you can make informed decisions about allocating resources, prioritising bug fixes, and improving your development practices to reduce technical debt and improve code quality over time. I co-founded Stepsize to help fix this problem. Our tool helps modern engineering teams improve code quality by making it easy to identify, track, prioritise and fix technical debt or code quality issues. Create, view and manage issues directly from your codebase with the Stepsize tool. Issues are linked to code, making them easy to understand and prioritise. Use the codebase visualisation tool to understand the distribution of tech debt and code quality issues in the codebase. Use powerful filters to understand the impact on your codebase, product, team and business priorities. Learn more about the Stepsize tool here. Rounding up It's important to remember that effective code quality management involves more than just relying on a single metric or tool. Instead, engineering leads need to prioritise embedding a commitment to code quality tasks and tools into the daily workflow to ensure consistent improvement over time. This includes helping team members develop good code hygiene through habit stacking and skill development, which can significantly benefit their careers. Tracking and prioritising technical debt is a critical aspect of increasing code quality. By doing so, teams can make a strong business case for refactoring the essential parts of their codebase, leading to more efficient and maintainable software in the long run. Also Published Here

How Engineering Leaders Can Prioritize Code Quality

Four Thousand Years of Blood, Snot, and Tears

চার হাজার বছরের রক্ত, স্নোট এবং অশ্রু

Viertausend Jahre Blut, Rotz und Tränen

Cuatro mil años de sangre, mocos y lágrimas

Quatre mille ans de sang, de morve et de larmes

चार हज़ार साल का खून, बलगम और आँसू

4000年にわたる血と鼻水と涙

4천년의 피와 콧물과 눈물

Quatro mil anos de sangue, ranho e lágrimas

Четыре тысячи лет крови, соплей и слез

Dört Bin Yıllık Kan, Sümük ve Gözyaşı

Bốn ngàn năm máu, nước mũi và nước mắt

四千年的血、鼻、泪

I found that an order had already gone forth for the army to proceed immediately towards Constantino

THE EVIL EYE

Introduction Nowadays, frontend and backend interaction is necessary to realize a modern web application. The standard for page display is to dynamically display page content without reloading the page. Building pages in a modern application requires serious frontend skills, meaning the person must be a Full-Stack developer. To make the life of backend developers easier, Livewire was developed. In this article, we will take a look at the library itself and how we can implement dynamic pages in an application without touching Javascript. Under the hood, Livewire still uses , but for developers, this may not be a big deal, as you can get by without writing any Javascript code at all. Alpine.js Let's get started. Installation and Configuration After installing the Liveware package, we need to publish its configuration file using the artisan command. The configuration file has the option to set the application URLs, the midware that applies to Livewire component routers, and the main layout of our application. livewire:publish The default layout is . It is this layout that we need to modify and add CSS and JS connectivity using Livewire directives. layout.app <html>
<head>
   @livewireStyles
</head>
<body>


@livewireScripts
</body>
</html> We are now ready to implement the new web interface with Laravel Livewire First Steps After configuring the application, we need to create the first component. To do this, we use the command php artisan make:livewire ShowProfile When created, two files are created in the project - app/Http/Livewire/ShowProfile.php resources/views/livewire/show-profile.blade.php To connect the component, we need to use one of the two options - <livewire:show-profile /> or use the blade syntax: . All further code will use the blade syntax, but you can do all of the above using custom HTML tags. @livewire('show-profile') It's worth noting that when grouping component files into directories, you have the option of connecting nested components by specifying a point, e.g., like this: . @livewire('profile.show') Connecting Parameters A large number of components have a dynamic part that must be filled in on the server side of the application. In order to plug parameters into the component, we can simply add this parameter as a property of the component class, for example like this: namespace App\Livewire;
 
use Livewire\Component;
 
class ShowProfile extends Component
{
    public $name = 'Simon';
 
    public function render()
    {
        return view('livewire.profile.show');
    }
} Quite often, when building an application page, we need to build components into a tree, similar to a DOM tree. To optimize the number of database queries and to get the overall state, we can pass the values of the component properties when connecting the component itself: @livewire('show-profile', ['name' => $user->name]) In this case, the component property will be equated to the value in this array before the component itself is rendered. Working With Actions and Data Binding For most backend developers, working with actions is the most important part of client code. To get the data, we need to make a form, just like in a normal HTML, but we will add some "magic" attributes so that Livewire can pass us the values from the form inputs directly to the properties of the component class. <input type="text" wire:model="name">
<input type="text" wire:model="username">
<button wire:click=”create”>Create</button> namespace App\Livewire;
 
use Livewire\Component;
use App\Models\Profile;
use App\Models\User;
 
class CreateProfile extends Component
{
    public User $user;
    public $name;
    public $username;
 
    public function mount()
    {
        $this->user = auth()->user();
    }

    public function create()
    {
        Profile::create([
            'name' => $this->name,
            'username' => $this->username,
	        'user_id' => $this->user->id,
        ]);
 
        return redirect()->to('/profile');
    }
 
    public function render()
    {
        return view('livewire.profile.create’);
    }
} When the Create button is clicked, the data will be synchronized between the component property and the data input. Therefore, we can simply retrieve the new passed values through the properties themselves. As you may have noticed, the component also has a passed to it via the method. User mount() This allows us to make it possible to specify the user in the component on the backend without having to pass unnecessary data back and forth to the client side. Data Validation Every time we execute a method in a component, we would like to make sure that the properties in the component can be trusted, but we can't do this without additional checks when the method is called. To validate the data, we can use the validate method, just like we do with the Request in the Laravel controller. It is worth noting that for validating the methods of the component, the Rules are the same. public function create()
{
    $validated = $this->validate([ 
        'name' => 'required|min:3',
        'username' => 'required|unique:profiles:username|min:3',
    ]);

    Profile::create([
        'name' => $this->name,
        'username' => $this->username,
        'user_id' => $this->user->id,
    ]);
 
    return redirect()->to('/profile');
} If you want to use methods of the Rule class, for example, to pass the current username to be excluded from the check to the rule unique, you can use the rules method in which you need to define all checks. public function rules() 
{
  return [
    'title' => Rule::unique('profiles', 'username')
      ->ignore($this->user->profiles->first()->username),
    'content' => 'required|min:3',
  ];
} If necessary, you can create a FormRequest for validation and return (new CreateProfileRequest())->rules() in , but the Livewire creators write that it is better not to use this way, as it is in their opinion redundant. rules() In my opinion, this option is more in line with SOLID and can be reused elsewhere. In addition to options with separate methods and classes, there is a possibility to set special attributes to check field values: namespace App\Livewire;
 
use Livewire\Attributes\Rule;
use Livewire\Component;
 
class CreateProfile extends Component
{
    #[Rule(‘required|min:3’)]
    public $name; After that, it will be enough just to call in the component method. $this->validate() Plus, there are 2 additional ways to lock the property in the class to prevent a potential attacker from substituting an additional input into the form. We can do this by using the Locked attribute. In this case, we do not give the possibility to modify the value of this property. Or we can specify the Eloquent model as the type of our property, as we did in our first code listing in this article. In addition to all of this, we have the option of augmenting the data passed to the view with a second argument so that we don't have to use the component properties. public function render()
{
  return view('livewire.profile.show');
} All possible methods for validation are listed here. In order to show validation errors, there is a similar to blade-templates directive . @error File Upload The same logic works for file uploads as with normal inputs, however, we need to add a few lines of code for this. First - we need to add the trait so that we can use the wire:model for file type inputs. After that, we will do the validation using the annotation WithFileUploads namespace App\Livewire;
 
use App\Models\Profile;
use Livewire\Attributes\Rule;
 
class CreateProfile extends Component
{
    #[Rule('image|max:1024')] // 1MB Max
    public $avatar;

    public function create()
    {
        $path = $this->avatar->store('profile_avatars');

        Profile::create([
            'name' => $this->name,
            'username' => $this->username,
            'user_id' => $this->user->id,
            'avatar' => $path,
        ]);
 
        return redirect()->to('/profile');
    } Of course, in Livewire, you can also do multiple downloads and specify the file type when validating. For multiple uploads, the property should be searched through for each, validating the property this way: . #[Rule([['images.*' => 'image|max:1024'])] The file upload functionality is the same as Laravel itself, which means we can use the store method specifying the driver where we want to upload the file, for example, s3 - $this->avatar->store('profile_avatars', 's3'). If you are uploading an image, you have the option to get a temporary link, as the application initially downloads a temporary copy of the file itself, and then uploads it to the required storage. By default, the temporary storage is local, but you can change this by editing the configuration key in by publishing it in advance to the project using the php artisan --config console command temporary_file_upload.disk config/livewire.php livewire:publish It is important to note that temporary images stored on s3 should be made public. Forms To move from a big component to a split structure, Livewire has a handy entity. To create it, just call the command. We can then put all the properties of the component into the form, and connect it via a special property, like this: Form php artisan livewire:form ProfileForm namespace App\Livewire\Forms;
 
use App\Models\User;
use Livewire\Attributes\Rule;
use Livewire\Form;
 
class ProfileForm extends Form
{
    #[Rule('required|min:3')]
    public $name = '';
 
    #[Rule('required|unique:profiles:username|min:3')]
    public $username = '';

    #[Rule('image|max:1024')] // 1MB Max
    public $avatar;

    public ?string $path;

    public ?User $user;

    public function setUser(User $user)
    {
        $this->user = $user;
    }

    public function create()
    {
        $this->path = $this->avatar->store(‘profile_avatars’);

        Profile::create([
            'name' => $this->name,
            'username' => $this->username,
	        'user_id' => $this->user->id,
	        'avatar' => $this->path,
        ]);
    }
} namespace App\Livewire;
 
use Livewire\Component;
use App\Models\Profile;
use App\Livewire\Forms\PostForm;
 
class CreateProfile extends Component
{
    public ProfileForm $form;
 
    public function mount()
    {
        $this->form->setUser(auth()->user());
    }

    public function save()
    {
        $this->form->create();
 
        return $this->redirect('/profile');
    }
 
    public function render()
    {
        return view('livewire.profile.create');
    }
} With this separation of interaction with entities and frontend components proper, you can get an application structure where you don't have to duplicate code, and where it is easier to add new components. using the same forms. As we looked at the beginning of the article - forms are not mandatory, but they also help to reuse already generated data. How Does All This Work? Hydrating For those backend engineers who rarely deal with frontend, the question may arise - how does it all work? To answer that, we need to understand what Hydrating is in the context of Livewire. When you write components in PHP, you get the feeling that you are calling php functions directly from the page. Of course, this is an illusion. Under the hood, Livewire is a regular web application that simply sends Ajax requests when needed. With each Ajax request, Livewire must recreate the component based on snapshots that the application takes after each request to the server. Each snapshot has several values - such as state - the current state of the component (its public properties), memo - information about the component itself to be recreated - such as its name, path, method, locale, children, etc. You can see a snapshot of the component in the attribute. When some function is called, the following request is sent to the livewire update URL: wire:snapshot {
    calls: [
        { method: 'functionName', params: [] },
    ],
 
    snapshot: {
        state: {
            param1: 123,
        	param2: 'anotherValue'
        },
 
        memo: {
            name: 'component-name',
 
            id: '123123',
        },
    }
} The route used by Livewire is /livewire/update If necessary, you can change the route that Livewire uses with the command Livewire::setUpdateRoute(function ($handle) {
    return Route::post('/any-other-route', $handle)
}); Of course, this is somewhat different from how hydrating works in modern front-end frameworks. Among the disadvantages of working with Livewire - constant Ajax requests to the server are needed to change the page state, as it is longer than comparing DOM with Virtual DOM. Summary As we have found out, Livewire is a convenient solution for backend-engineers who don't want to learn frontend for a long time and need to quickly make an application that will keep up with the modern times. Livewire is convenient because it allows you to make a modern application almost seamlessly and quickly, in which all updates occur via Ajax requests, and page reloading is quite rare. Of course, this kind of development will not replace a high-quality frontend engineer, but as a solution for a prototype or for an admin panel, it fits perfectly. This is the first part of a small series of articles about Livewire for backenders. In the rest, we will also look at the Livewire functionality and how it works.

How to Write a Full-Stack Application to a Backend Engineer

Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Chapter XXXVII here CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVENTH. The Western Route.—Joe wakes up.—His Obstinacy.—End of Joe’s Narrative.—Tagelei.—Kennedy’s Anxieties.—The Route to the North.—A Night near Aghades. During the night the wind lulled as though reposing after the boisterousness of the day, and the remained quietly at the top of the tall sycamore. The doctor and Kennedy kept watch by turns, and Joe availed himself of the chance to sleep most sturdily for twenty-four hours at a stretch. Victoria “That’s the remedy he needs,” said Dr. Ferguson. “Nature will take charge of his care.” With the dawn the wind sprang up again in quite strong, and moreover capricious gusts. It shifted abruptly from south to north, but finally the was carried away by it toward the west. Victoria The doctor, map in hand, recognized the kingdom of Damerghou, an undulating region of great fertility, in which the huts that compose the villages are constructed of long reeds interwoven with branches of the . The grain-mills were seen raised in the cultivated fields, upon small scaffoldings or platforms, to keep them out of the reach of the mice and the huge ants of that country. asclepia They soon passed the town of Zinder, recognized by its spacious place of execution, in the centre of which stands the “tree of death.” At its foot the executioner stands waiting, and whoever passes beneath its shadow is immediately hung! Upon consulting his compass, Kennedy could not refrain from saying: “Look! we are again moving northward.” “No matter; if it only takes us to Timbuctoo, we shall not complain. Never was a finer voyage accomplished under better circumstances!” “Nor in better health,” said Joe, at that instant thrusting his jolly countenance from between the curtains of the awning. “There he is! there’s our gallant friend—our preserver!” exclaimed Kennedy, cordially.—“How goes it, Joe?” “Oh! why, naturally enough, Mr. Kennedy, very naturally! I never felt better in my life! Nothing sets a man up like a little pleasure-trip with a bath in Lake Tchad to start on—eh, doctor?” “Brave fellow!” said Ferguson, pressing Joe’s hand, “what terrible anxiety you caused us!” “Humph! and you, sir? Do you think that I felt easy in my mind about you, gentlemen? You gave me a fine fright, let me tell you!” “We shall never agree in the world, Joe, if you take things in that style.” “I see that his tumble hasn’t changed him a bit,” added Kennedy. “Your devotion and self-forgetfulness were sublime, my brave lad, and they saved us, for the was falling into the lake, and, once there, nobody could have extricated her.” Victoria “But, if my devotion, as you are pleased to call my summerset, saved you, did it not save me too, for here we are, all three of us, in first-rate health? Consequently we have nothing to squabble about in the whole affair.” “Oh! we can never come to a settlement with that youth,” said the sportsman. “The best way to settle it,” replied Joe, “is to say nothing more about the matter. What’s done is done. Good or bad, we can’t take it back.” “You obstinate fellow!” said the doctor, laughing; “you can’t refuse, though, to tell us your adventures, at all events.” “Not if you think it worth while. But, in the first place, I’m going to cook this fat goose to a turn, for I see that Mr. Kennedy has not wasted his time.” “All right, Joe!” “Well, let us see then how this African game will sit on a European stomach!” The goose was soon roasted by the flame of the blow-pipe, and not long afterward was comfortably stowed away. Joe took his own good share, like a man who had eaten nothing for several days. After the tea and the punch, he acquainted his friends with his recent adventures. He spoke with some emotion, even while looking at things with his usual philosophy. The doctor could not refrain from frequently pressing his hand when he saw his worthy servant more considerate of his master’s safety than of his own, and, in relation to the sinking of the island of the Biddiomahs, he explained to him the frequency of this phenomenon upon Lake Tchad. At length Joe, continuing his recital, arrived at the point where, sinking in the swamp, he had uttered a last cry of despair. “I thought I was gone,” said he, “and as you came right into my mind, I made a hard fight for it. How, I couldn’t tell you—but I’d made up my mind that I wouldn’t go under without knowing why. Just then, I saw—two or three feet from me—what do you think? the end of a rope that had been fresh cut; so I took leave to make another jerk, and, by hook or by crook, I got to the rope. When I pulled, it didn’t give; so I pulled again and hauled away and there I was on dry ground! At the end of the rope, I found an anchor! Ah, master, I’ve a right to call that the anchor of safety, anyhow, if you have no objection. I knew it again! It was the anchor of the You had grounded there! So I followed the direction of the rope and that gave me your direction, and, after trying hard a few times more, I got out of the swamp. I had got my strength back with my spunk, and I walked on part of the night away from the lake, until I got to the edge of a very big wood. There I saw a fenced-in place, where some horses were grazing, without thinking of any harm. Now, there are times when everybody knows how to ride a horse, are there not, doctor? So I didn’t spend much time thinking about it, but jumped right on the back of one of those innocent animals and away we went galloping north as fast as our legs could carry us. I needn’t tell you about the towns that I didn’t see nor the villages that I took good care to go around. No! I crossed the ploughed fields; I leaped the hedges; I scrambled over the fences; I dug my heels into my nag; I thrashed him; I fairly lifted the poor fellow off his feet! At last I got to the end of the tilled land. Good! There was the desert. ‘That suits me!’ said I, ‘for I can see better ahead of me and farther too.’ I was hoping all the time to see the balloon tacking about and waiting for me. But not a bit of it; and so, in about three hours, I go plump, like a fool, into a camp of Arabs! Whew! what a hunt that was! You see, Mr. Kennedy, a hunter don’t know what a real hunt is until he’s been hunted himself! Still I advise him not to try it if he can keep out of it! My horse was so tired, he was ready to drop off his legs; they were close on me; I threw myself to the ground; then I jumped up again behind an Arab! I didn’t mean the fellow any harm, and I hope he has no grudge against me for choking him, but I saw you—and you know the rest. The came on at my heels, and you caught me up flying, as a circus-rider does a ring. Wasn’t I right in counting on you? Now, doctor, you see how simple all that was! Nothing more natural in the world! I’m ready to begin over again, if it would be of any service to you. And besides, master, as I said a while ago, it’s not worth mentioning.” Victoria! Victoria “My noble, gallant Joe!” said the doctor, with great feeling. “Heart of gold! we were not astray in trusting to your intelligence and skill.” “Poh! doctor, one has only just to follow things along as they happen, and he can always work his way out of a scrape! The safest plan, you see, is to take matters as they come.” While Joe was telling his experience, the balloon had rapidly passed over a long reach of country, and Kennedy soon pointed out on the horizon a collection of structures that looked like a town. The doctor glanced at his map and recognized the place as the large village of Tagelei, in the Damerghou country. “Here,” said he, “we come upon Dr. Barth’s route. It was at this place that he parted from his companions, Richardson and Overweg; the first was to follow the Zinder route, and the second that of Maradi; and you may remember that, of these three travellers, Barth was the only one who ever returned to Europe.” “Then,” said Kennedy, following out on the map the direction of the , “we are going due north.” Victoria “Due north, Dick.” “And don’t that give you a little uneasiness?” “Why should it?” “Because that line leads to Tripoli, and over the Great Desert.” “Oh, we shall not go so far as that, my friend—at least, I hope not.” “But where do you expect to halt?” “Come, Dick, don’t you feel some curiosity to see Timbuctoo?” “Timbuctoo?” “Certainly,” said Joe; “nobody nowadays can think of making the trip to Africa without going to see Timbuctoo.” “You will be only the fifth or sixth European who has ever set eyes on that mysterious city.” “Ho, then, for Timbuctoo!” “Well, then, let us try to get as far as between the seventeenth and eighteenth degrees of north latitude, and there we will seek a favorable wind to carry us westward.” “Good!” said the hunter. “But have we still far to go to the northward?” “One hundred and fifty miles at least.” “In that case,” said Kennedy, “I’ll turn in and sleep a bit.” “Sleep, sir; sleep!” urged Joe. “And you, doctor, do the same yourself: you must have need of rest, for I made you keep watch a little out of time.” The sportsman stretched himself under the awning; but Ferguson, who was not easily conquered by fatigue, remained at his post. In about three hours the was crossing with extreme rapidity an expanse of stony country, with ranges of lofty, naked mountains of granitic formation at the base. A few isolated peaks attained the height of even four thousand feet. Giraffes, antelopes, and ostriches were seen running and bounding with marvellous agility in the midst of forests of acacias, mimosas, souahs, and date-trees. After the barrenness of the desert, vegetation was now resuming its empire. This was the country of the Kailouas, who veil their faces with a bandage of cotton, like their dangerous neighbors, the Touaregs. Victoria At ten o’clock in the evening, after a splendid trip of two hundred and fifty miles, the halted over an important town. The moonlight revealed glimpses of one district half in ruins; and some pinnacles of mosques and minarets shot up here and there, glistening in the silvery rays. The doctor took a stellar observation, and discovered that he was in the latitude of Aghades. Victoria This city, once the seat of an immense trade, was already falling into ruin when Dr. Barth visited it. The , not being seen in the obscurity of night, descended about two miles above Aghades, in a field of millet. The night was calm, and began to break into dawn about three o’clock A.M.; while a light wind coaxed the balloon westward, and even a little toward the south. Victoria Dr. Ferguson hastened to avail himself of such good fortune, and rapidly ascending resumed his aërial journey amid a long wake of golden morning sunshine. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (2002). Five Weeks in a Balloon. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3526/pg3526-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

The Western Route

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT RECEIVES A NEW PROOF THAT FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE here CHAPTER XIII. IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT RECEIVES A NEW PROOF THAT FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE The project was a bold one, full of difficulty, perhaps impracticable. Mr. Fogg was going to risk life, or at least liberty, and therefore the success of his tour. But he did not hesitate, and he found in Sir Francis Cromarty an enthusiastic ally. As for Passepartout, he was ready for anything that might be proposed. His master’s idea charmed him; he perceived a heart, a soul, under that icy exterior. He began to love Phileas Fogg. There remained the guide: what course would he adopt? Would he not take part with the Indians? In default of his assistance, it was necessary to be assured of his neutrality. Sir Francis frankly put the question to him. “Officers,” replied the guide, “I am a Parsee, and this woman is a Parsee. Command me as you will.” “Excellent!” said Mr. Fogg. “However,” resumed the guide, “it is certain, not only that we shall risk our lives, but horrible tortures, if we are taken.” “That is foreseen,” replied Mr. Fogg. “I think we must wait till night before acting.” “I think so,” said the guide. The worthy Indian then gave some account of the victim, who, he said, was a celebrated beauty of the Parsee race, and the daughter of a wealthy Bombay merchant. She had received a thoroughly English education in that city, and, from her manners and intelligence, would be thought an European. Her name was Aouda. Left an orphan, she was married against her will to the old rajah of Bundelcund; and, knowing the fate that awaited her, she escaped, was retaken, and devoted by the rajah’s relatives, who had an interest in her death, to the sacrifice from which it seemed she could not escape. The Parsee’s narrative only confirmed Mr. Fogg and his companions in their generous design. It was decided that the guide should direct the elephant towards the pagoda of Pillaji, which he accordingly approached as quickly as possible. They halted, half an hour afterwards, in a copse, some five hundred feet from the pagoda, where they were well concealed; but they could hear the groans and cries of the fakirs distinctly. They then discussed the means of getting at the victim. The guide was familiar with the pagoda of Pillaji, in which, as he declared, the young woman was imprisoned. Could they enter any of its doors while the whole party of Indians was plunged in a drunken sleep, or was it safer to attempt to make a hole in the walls? This could only be determined at the moment and the place themselves; but it was certain that the abduction must be made that night, and not when, at break of day, the victim was led to her funeral pyre. Then no human intervention could save her. As soon as night fell, about six o’clock, they decided to make a reconnaissance around the pagoda. The cries of the fakirs were just ceasing; the Indians were in the act of plunging themselves into the drunkenness caused by liquid opium mingled with hemp, and it might be possible to slip between them to the temple itself. The Parsee, leading the others, noiselessly crept through the wood, and in ten minutes they found themselves on the banks of a small stream, whence, by the light of the rosin torches, they perceived a pyre of wood, on the top of which lay the embalmed body of the rajah, which was to be burned with his wife. The pagoda, whose minarets loomed above the trees in the deepening dusk, stood a hundred steps away. “Come!” whispered the guide. He slipped more cautiously than ever through the brush, followed by his companions; the silence around was only broken by the low murmuring of the wind among the branches. Soon the Parsee stopped on the borders of the glade, which was lit up by the torches. The ground was covered by groups of the Indians, motionless in their drunken sleep; it seemed a battlefield strewn with the dead. Men, women, and children lay together. In the background, among the trees, the pagoda of Pillaji loomed distinctly. Much to the guide’s disappointment, the guards of the rajah, lighted by torches, were watching at the doors and marching to and fro with naked sabres; probably the priests, too, were watching within. The Parsee, now convinced that it was impossible to force an entrance to the temple, advanced no farther, but led his companions back again. Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty also saw that nothing could be attempted in that direction. They stopped, and engaged in a whispered colloquy. “It is only eight now,” said the brigadier, “and these guards may also go to sleep.” “It is not impossible,” returned the Parsee. They lay down at the foot of a tree, and waited. The time seemed long; the guide ever and anon left them to take an observation on the edge of the wood, but the guards watched steadily by the glare of the torches, and a dim light crept through the windows of the pagoda. They waited till midnight; but no change took place among the guards, and it became apparent that their yielding to sleep could not be counted on. The other plan must be carried out; an opening in the walls of the pagoda must be made. It remained to ascertain whether the priests were watching by the side of their victim as assiduously as were the soldiers at the door. After a last consultation, the guide announced that he was ready for the attempt, and advanced, followed by the others. They took a roundabout way, so as to get at the pagoda on the rear. They reached the walls about half-past twelve, without having met anyone; here there was no guard, nor were there either windows or doors. The night was dark. The moon, on the wane, scarcely left the horizon, and was covered with heavy clouds; the height of the trees deepened the darkness. It was not enough to reach the walls; an opening in them must be accomplished, and to attain this purpose the party only had their pocket-knives. Happily the temple walls were built of brick and wood, which could be penetrated with little difficulty; after one brick had been taken out, the rest would yield easily. They set noiselessly to work, and the Parsee on one side and Passepartout on the other began to loosen the bricks so as to make an aperture two feet wide. They were getting on rapidly, when suddenly a cry was heard in the interior of the temple, followed almost instantly by other cries replying from the outside. Passepartout and the guide stopped. Had they been heard? Was the alarm being given? Common prudence urged them to retire, and they did so, followed by Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis. They again hid themselves in the wood, and waited till the disturbance, whatever it might be, ceased, holding themselves ready to resume their attempt without delay. But, awkwardly enough, the guards now appeared at the rear of the temple, and there installed themselves, in readiness to prevent a surprise. It would be difficult to describe the disappointment of the party, thus interrupted in their work. They could not now reach the victim; how, then, could they save her? Sir Francis shook his fists, Passepartout was beside himself, and the guide gnashed his teeth with rage. The tranquil Fogg waited, without betraying any emotion. “We have nothing to do but to go away,” whispered Sir Francis. “Nothing but to go away,” echoed the guide. “Stop,” said Fogg. “I am only due at Allahabad tomorrow before noon.” “But what can you hope to do?” asked Sir Francis. “In a few hours it will be daylight, and—” “The chance which now seems lost may present itself at the last moment.” Sir Francis would have liked to read Phileas Fogg’s eyes. What was this cool Englishman thinking of? Was he planning to make a rush for the young woman at the very moment of the sacrifice, and boldly snatch her from her executioners? This would be utter folly, and it was hard to admit that Fogg was such a fool. Sir Francis consented, however, to remain to the end of this terrible drama. The guide led them to the rear of the glade, where they were able to observe the sleeping groups. Meanwhile Passepartout, who had perched himself on the lower branches of a tree, was resolving an idea which had at first struck him like a flash, and which was now firmly lodged in his brain. He had commenced by saying to himself, “What folly!” and then he repeated, “Why not, after all? It’s a chance,—perhaps the only one; and with such sots!” Thinking thus, he slipped, with the suppleness of a serpent, to the lowest branches, the ends of which bent almost to the ground. The hours passed, and the lighter shades now announced the approach of day, though it was not yet light. This was the moment. The slumbering multitude became animated, the tambourines sounded, songs and cries arose; the hour of the sacrifice had come. The doors of the pagoda swung open, and a bright light escaped from its interior, in the midst of which Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis espied the victim. She seemed, having shaken off the stupor of intoxication, to be striving to escape from her executioner. Sir Francis’s heart throbbed; and, convulsively seizing Mr. Fogg’s hand, found in it an open knife. Just at this moment the crowd began to move. The young woman had again fallen into a stupor caused by the fumes of hemp, and passed among the fakirs, who escorted her with their wild, religious cries. Phileas Fogg and his companions, mingling in the rear ranks of the crowd, followed; and in two minutes they reached the banks of the stream, and stopped fifty paces from the pyre, upon which still lay the rajah’s corpse. In the semi-obscurity they saw the victim, quite senseless, stretched out beside her husband’s body. Then a torch was brought, and the wood, heavily soaked with oil, instantly took fire. At this moment Sir Francis and the guide seized Phileas Fogg, who, in an instant of mad generosity, was about to rush upon the pyre. But he had quickly pushed them aside, when the whole scene suddenly changed. A cry of terror arose. The whole multitude prostrated themselves, terror-stricken, on the ground. The old rajah was not dead, then, since he rose of a sudden, like a spectre, took up his wife in his arms, and descended from the pyre in the midst of the clouds of smoke, which only heightened his ghostly appearance. Fakirs and soldiers and priests, seized with instant terror, lay there, with their faces on the ground, not daring to lift their eyes and behold such a prodigy. The inanimate victim was borne along by the vigorous arms which supported her, and which she did not seem in the least to burden. Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis stood erect, the Parsee bowed his head, and Passepartout was, no doubt, scarcely less stupefied. The resuscitated rajah approached Sir Francis and Mr. Fogg, and, in an abrupt tone, said, “Let us be off!” It was Passepartout himself, who had slipped upon the pyre in the midst of the smoke and, profiting by the still overhanging darkness, had delivered the young woman from death! It was Passepartout who, playing his part with a happy audacity, had passed through the crowd amid the general terror. A moment after all four of the party had disappeared in the woods, and the elephant was bearing them away at a rapid pace. But the cries and noise, and a ball which whizzed through Phileas Fogg’s hat, apprised them that the trick had been discovered. The old rajah’s body, indeed, now appeared upon the burning pyre; and the priests, recovered from their terror, perceived that an abduction had taken place. They hastened into the forest, followed by the soldiers, who fired a volley after the fugitives; but the latter rapidly increased the distance between them, and ere long found themselves beyond the reach of the bullets and arrows. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Around the World in Eighty Days. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/103/103-h/103-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT RECEIVES A NEW PROOF THAT FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG SECURES A CURIOUS MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AT A FABULOUS PRICE here CHAPTER XI. IN WHICH PHILEAS FOGG SECURES A CURIOUS MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AT A FABULOUS PRICE The train had started punctually. Among the passengers were a number of officers, Government officials, and opium and indigo merchants, whose business called them to the eastern coast. Passepartout rode in the same carriage with his master, and a third passenger occupied a seat opposite to them. This was Sir Francis Cromarty, one of Mr. Fogg’s whist partners on the “Mongolia,” now on his way to join his corps at Benares. Sir Francis was a tall, fair man of fifty, who had greatly distinguished himself in the last Sepoy revolt. He made India his home, only paying brief visits to England at rare intervals; and was almost as familiar as a native with the customs, history, and character of India and its people. But Phileas Fogg, who was not travelling, but only describing a circumference, took no pains to inquire into these subjects; he was a solid body, traversing an orbit around the terrestrial globe, according to the laws of rational mechanics. He was at this moment calculating in his mind the number of hours spent since his departure from London, and, had it been in his nature to make a useless demonstration, would have rubbed his hands for satisfaction. Sir Francis Cromarty had observed the oddity of his travelling companion—although the only opportunity he had for studying him had been while he was dealing the cards, and between two rubbers—and questioned himself whether a human heart really beat beneath this cold exterior, and whether Phileas Fogg had any sense of the beauties of nature. The brigadier-general was free to mentally confess that, of all the eccentric persons he had ever met, none was comparable to this product of the exact sciences. Phileas Fogg had not concealed from Sir Francis his design of going round the world, nor the circumstances under which he set out; and the general only saw in the wager a useless eccentricity and a lack of sound common sense. In the way this strange gentleman was going on, he would leave the world without having done any good to himself or anybody else. An hour after leaving Bombay the train had passed the viaducts and the Island of Salcette, and had got into the open country. At Callyan they reached the junction of the branch line which descends towards south-eastern India by Kandallah and Pounah; and, passing Pauwell, they entered the defiles of the mountains, with their basalt bases, and their summits crowned with thick and verdant forests. Phileas Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty exchanged a few words from time to time, and now Sir Francis, reviving the conversation, observed, “Some years ago, Mr. Fogg, you would have met with a delay at this point which would probably have lost you your wager.” “How so, Sir Francis?” “Because the railway stopped at the base of these mountains, which the passengers were obliged to cross in palanquins or on ponies to Kandallah, on the other side.” “Such a delay would not have deranged my plans in the least,” said Mr. Fogg. “I have constantly foreseen the likelihood of certain obstacles.” “But, Mr. Fogg,” pursued Sir Francis, “you run the risk of having some difficulty about this worthy fellow’s adventure at the pagoda.” Passepartout, his feet comfortably wrapped in his travelling-blanket, was sound asleep and did not dream that anybody was talking about him. “The Government is very severe upon that kind of offence. It takes particular care that the religious customs of the Indians should be respected, and if your servant were caught—” “Very well, Sir Francis,” replied Mr. Fogg; “if he had been caught he would have been condemned and punished, and then would have quietly returned to Europe. I don’t see how this affair could have delayed his master.” The conversation fell again. During the night the train left the mountains behind, and passed Nassik, and the next day proceeded over the flat, well-cultivated country of the Khandeish, with its straggling villages, above which rose the minarets of the pagodas. This fertile territory is watered by numerous small rivers and limpid streams, mostly tributaries of the Godavery. Passepartout, on waking and looking out, could not realise that he was actually crossing India in a railway train. The locomotive, guided by an English engineer and fed with English coal, threw out its smoke upon cotton, coffee, nutmeg, clove, and pepper plantations, while the steam curled in spirals around groups of palm-trees, in the midst of which were seen picturesque bungalows, viharis (sort of abandoned monasteries), and marvellous temples enriched by the exhaustless ornamentation of Indian architecture. Then they came upon vast tracts extending to the horizon, with jungles inhabited by snakes and tigers, which fled at the noise of the train; succeeded by forests penetrated by the railway, and still haunted by elephants which, with pensive eyes, gazed at the train as it passed. The travellers crossed, beyond Milligaum, the fatal country so often stained with blood by the sectaries of the goddess Kali. Not far off rose Ellora, with its graceful pagodas, and the famous Aurungabad, capital of the ferocious Aureng-Zeb, now the chief town of one of the detached provinces of the kingdom of the Nizam. It was thereabouts that Feringhea, the Thuggee chief, king of the stranglers, held his sway. These ruffians, united by a secret bond, strangled victims of every age in honour of the goddess Death, without ever shedding blood; there was a period when this part of the country could scarcely be travelled over without corpses being found in every direction. The English Government has succeeded in greatly diminishing these murders, though the Thuggees still exist, and pursue the exercise of their horrible rites. At half-past twelve the train stopped at Burhampoor where Passepartout was able to purchase some Indian slippers, ornamented with false pearls, in which, with evident vanity, he proceeded to encase his feet. The travellers made a hasty breakfast and started off for Assurghur, after skirting for a little the banks of the small river Tapty, which empties into the Gulf of Cambray, near Surat. Passepartout was now plunged into absorbing reverie. Up to his arrival at Bombay, he had entertained hopes that their journey would end there; but, now that they were plainly whirling across India at full speed, a sudden change had come over the spirit of his dreams. His old vagabond nature returned to him; the fantastic ideas of his youth once more took possession of him. He came to regard his master’s project as intended in good earnest, believed in the reality of the bet, and therefore in the tour of the world and the necessity of making it without fail within the designated period. Already he began to worry about possible delays, and accidents which might happen on the way. He recognised himself as being personally interested in the wager, and trembled at the thought that he might have been the means of losing it by his unpardonable folly of the night before. Being much less cool-headed than Mr. Fogg, he was much more restless, counting and recounting the days passed over, uttering maledictions when the train stopped, and accusing it of sluggishness, and mentally blaming Mr. Fogg for not having bribed the engineer. The worthy fellow was ignorant that, while it was possible by such means to hasten the rate of a steamer, it could not be done on the railway. The train entered the defiles of the Sutpour Mountains, which separate the Khandeish from Bundelcund, towards evening. The next day Sir Francis Cromarty asked Passepartout what time it was; to which, on consulting his watch, he replied that it was three in the morning. This famous timepiece, always regulated on the Greenwich meridian, which was now some seventy-seven degrees westward, was at least four hours slow. Sir Francis corrected Passepartout’s time, whereupon the latter made the same remark that he had done to Fix; and upon the general insisting that the watch should be regulated in each new meridian, since he was constantly going eastward, that is in the face of the sun, and therefore the days were shorter by four minutes for each degree gone over, Passepartout obstinately refused to alter his watch, which he kept at London time. It was an innocent delusion which could harm no one. The train stopped, at eight o’clock, in the midst of a glade some fifteen miles beyond Rothal, where there were several bungalows, and workmen’s cabins. The conductor, passing along the carriages, shouted, “Passengers will get out here!” Phileas Fogg looked at Sir Francis Cromarty for an explanation; but the general could not tell what meant a halt in the midst of this forest of dates and acacias. Passepartout, not less surprised, rushed out and speedily returned, crying: “Monsieur, no more railway!” “What do you mean?” asked Sir Francis. “I mean to say that the train isn’t going on.” The general at once stepped out, while Phileas Fogg calmly followed him, and they proceeded together to the conductor. “Where are we?” asked Sir Francis. “At the hamlet of Kholby.” “Do we stop here?” “Certainly. The railway isn’t finished.” “What! not finished?” “No. There’s still a matter of fifty miles to be laid from here to Allahabad, where the line begins again.” “But the papers announced the opening of the railway throughout.” “What would you have, officer? The papers were mistaken.” “Yet you sell tickets from Bombay to Calcutta,” retorted Sir Francis, who was growing warm. “No doubt,” replied the conductor; “but the passengers know that they must provide means of transportation for themselves from Kholby to Allahabad.” Sir Francis was furious. Passepartout would willingly have knocked the conductor down, and did not dare to look at his master. “Sir Francis,” said Mr. Fogg quietly, “we will, if you please, look about for some means of conveyance to Allahabad.” “Mr. Fogg, this is a delay greatly to your disadvantage.” “No, Sir Francis; it was foreseen.” “What! You knew that the way—” “Not at all; but I knew that some obstacle or other would sooner or later arise on my route. Nothing, therefore, is lost. I have two days, which I have already gained, to sacrifice. A steamer leaves Calcutta for Hong Kong at noon, on the 25th. This is the 22nd, and we shall reach Calcutta in time.” There was nothing to say to so confident a response. It was but too true that the railway came to a termination at this point. The papers were like some watches, which have a way of getting too fast, and had been premature in their announcement of the completion of the line. The greater part of the travellers were aware of this interruption, and, leaving the train, they began to engage such vehicles as the village could provide four-wheeled palkigharis, waggons drawn by zebus, carriages that looked like perambulating pagodas, palanquins, ponies, and what not. Mr. Fogg and Sir Francis Cromarty, after searching the village from end to end, came back without having found anything. “I shall go afoot,” said Phileas Fogg. Passepartout, who had now rejoined his master, made a wry grimace, as he thought of his magnificent, but too frail Indian shoes. Happily he too had been looking about him, and, after a moment’s hesitation, said, “Monsieur, I think I have found a means of conveyance.” “What?” “An elephant! An elephant that belongs to an Indian who lives but a hundred steps from here.” “Let’s go and see the elephant,” replied Mr. Fogg. They soon reached a small hut, near which, enclosed within some high palings, was the animal in question. An Indian came out of the hut, and, at their request, conducted them within the enclosure. The elephant, which its owner had reared, not for a beast of burden, but for warlike purposes, was half domesticated. The Indian had begun already, by often irritating him, and feeding him every three months on sugar and butter, to impart to him a ferocity not in his nature, this method being often employed by those who train the Indian elephants for battle. Happily, however, for Mr. Fogg, the animal’s instruction in this direction had not gone far, and the elephant still preserved his natural gentleness. Kiouni—this was the name of the beast—could doubtless travel rapidly for a long time, and, in default of any other means of conveyance, Mr. Fogg resolved to hire him. But elephants are far from cheap in India, where they are becoming scarce, the males, which alone are suitable for circus shows, are much sought, especially as but few of them are domesticated. When therefore Mr. Fogg proposed to the Indian to hire Kiouni, he refused point-blank. Mr. Fogg persisted, offering the excessive sum of ten pounds an hour for the loan of the beast to Allahabad. Refused. Twenty pounds? Refused also. Forty pounds? Still refused. Passepartout jumped at each advance; but the Indian declined to be tempted. Yet the offer was an alluring one, for, supposing it took the elephant fifteen hours to reach Allahabad, his owner would receive no less than six hundred pounds sterling. Phileas Fogg, without getting in the least flurried, then proposed to purchase the animal outright, and at first offered a thousand pounds for him. The Indian, perhaps thinking he was going to make a great bargain, still refused. Sir Francis Cromarty took Mr. Fogg aside, and begged him to reflect before he went any further; to which that gentleman replied that he was not in the habit of acting rashly, that a bet of twenty thousand pounds was at stake, that the elephant was absolutely necessary to him, and that he would secure him if he had to pay twenty times his value. Returning to the Indian, whose small, sharp eyes, glistening with avarice, betrayed that with him it was only a question of how great a price he could obtain. Mr. Fogg offered first twelve hundred, then fifteen hundred, eighteen hundred, two thousand pounds. Passepartout, usually so rubicund, was fairly white with suspense. At two thousand pounds the Indian yielded. “What a price, good heavens!” cried Passepartout, “for an elephant.” It only remained now to find a guide, which was comparatively easy. A young Parsee, with an intelligent face, offered his services, which Mr. Fogg accepted, promising so generous a reward as to materially stimulate his zeal. The elephant was led out and equipped. The Parsee, who was an accomplished elephant driver, covered his back with a sort of saddle-cloth, and attached to each of his flanks some curiously uncomfortable howdahs. Phileas Fogg paid the Indian with some banknotes which he extracted from the famous carpet-bag, a proceeding that seemed to deprive poor Passepartout of his vitals. Then he offered to carry Sir Francis to Allahabad, which the brigadier gratefully accepted, as one traveller the more would not be likely to fatigue the gigantic beast. Provisions were purchased at Kholby, and, while Sir Francis and Mr. Fogg took the howdahs on either side, Passepartout got astride the saddle-cloth between them. The Parsee perched himself on the elephant’s neck, and at nine o’clock they set out from the village, the animal marching off through the dense forest of palms by the shortest cut. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994).Around the World in Eighty Days. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/103/103-h/103-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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