"Then it is a conspiracy, is it?" exclaimed Passe-partout, who was getting excited by the brandy which he unconsciously had swallowed, "a regular conspiracy; and they call themselves gentlemen and friends!"
Fix began to feel very puzzled.
"Friends!" exclaimed Passe-partout, "members of the Reform Club, indeed! Do you know, Mr. Fix, that my master is an honest man, and when he has made a bet he wins it fairly?"
"But can you guess who I am?" said Fix, looking steadily at
Passe-partout.
"An agent of the members of the club, whose business it is to hinder my master; and a dirty job it is, too; so although I have found you out long ago, I did not like to betray you to Mr. Fogg."
"Then he knows nothing about it," said Fix quickly.
"Nothing," replied Passe-partout, emptying his glass once more.
The detective passed his hand over his eyes and considered what he was to do. Passe-partout appeared sincere, and this rendered his plan all the more difficult; he evidently was not his master's accomplice. "He will, therefore, help me," said Fix to himself.
There was no time to lose. At any risk Fogg must be stopped at Hong
Kong.
"Listen," said Fix, in a sharp tone; "I am not what you think me."