Rangoon

The Rangoon is the Peninsular and Oriental Company steamer that carries Phileas Fogg and Aouda from Calcutta toward Hong Kong. A fast vessel whose passage is nevertheless overtaken by a November storm, it becomes a crucial link in Fogg’s itinerary: the delay costs him the Yokohama connection, while Fix’s concealed presence aboard makes the ship a stage for the pursuit to close in around him.

Vessel and Route

The Rangoon is an iron screw steamer of about 1,770 tons, powered by engines of 400 horsepower. It is described as nearly as fast as the Mongolia, though less well fitted out. Its Calcutta-to-Hong Kong voyage covers roughly 3,500 miles and ordinarily takes ten to twelve days.

The ship carries Aouda after the party’s overland journey through India. That route has already exposed a gap in the railway: at Kholby, the line is unfinished, with about fifty miles still to be laid before it resumes at Allahabad. The Rangoon thus represents a different link in the journey’s chain of connections, carrying the travelers onward by sea from Calcutta toward East Asia.

Life Aboard

Aouda is less comfortably accommodated on the Rangoon than Phileas Fogg would have wished, but she is not difficult to please. During the voyage she grows better acquainted with her protector and repeatedly expresses gratitude for his actions. Fogg listens with apparent reserve, visiting her regularly at set hours and showing his care through close attention to her comfort and strict politeness rather than visible emotion.

The ship’s passage also gives Aouda time to hear about Fogg’s wager. Passepartout’s account of the journey makes her smile, while her daily contact with Fogg presents a contrast between his outwardly mechanical manner and the care he takes to ensure that nothing is wanting for her.

Fix’s Pursuit

Fix boards the Rangoon at Calcutta without Passepartout seeing him. He has arranged for any warrant that arrives to be forwarded to him at Hong Kong, and hopes to keep his presence concealed until the voyage ends. Because Passepartout believes Fix is still at Bombay, explaining why he is aboard would risk raising the servant’s suspicions; necessity eventually leads Fix to renew their acquaintance all the same.

Fix regards Hong Kong as his last practical chance to arrest Fogg. The steamer’s brief stop at Singapore offers too little time to act, while beyond Hong Kong Fogg could continue through China, Japan, and America. A warrant would allow Fix to hand his suspect to the local police there; farther on, he believes, extradition procedures would bring delays that could let Fogg escape. Having already failed at Bombay and Calcutta, Fix fears that another failure will ruin his reputation and considers delaying Fogg’s departure if the warrant does not arrive.

Storm and Consequences

The weather deteriorates during the latter part of the voyage. On November 3, a gale from the northwest raises heavy waves and a squall batters the Rangoon. The ship reefs its sails and proceeds slowly as the rigging whistles and shakes; the captain estimates that Hong Kong will be reached twenty hours late or more if the storm continues.

Fogg watches the sea without changing expression, although a delay could make him miss the Yokohama steamer and almost certainly lose his wager. Aouda is astonished by his composure. The sea calms on November 4, the wind turns favorable, and the Rangoon resumes speed, but the lost time cannot be recovered. Land is sighted at five on the morning of November 6, a day after the ship was due. Fogg is twenty-four hours behind schedule, and the Yokohama connection has been missed.

The Rangoon’s role is therefore defined by the difference between speed and reliability: powerful engines and a favorable change of wind cannot erase time lost to the storm. Its late arrival turns the onward journey into a fresh problem for Fogg, while the long passage has also carried Fix to the place where he hopes finally to make his arrest.