The train rushed on through the high mountains and quickly entered the flat, wide plains of Nebraska. To pass the time, Mr. Fogg, Aouda, and Fix were playing cards again. Mr. Fogg was having a very lucky morning and winning the game.
He was just about to play a card when a loud voice behind him said, “I would play a diamond.”
Mr. Fogg turned around and saw Colonel Stamp Proctor.
“Ah, it is you, Englishman!” the Colonel said with an ugly smile. “You know nothing about this game.”
“Perhaps I do,” Phileas Fogg said calmly, standing up.
Aouda’s blood ran cold. She tried to pull Mr. Fogg back. Fix also stood up, telling the Colonel that he was the one who had been punched in San Francisco and he should fight him.
“Pardon me, Mr. Fix,” Fogg said quietly. “But this man has insulted me again. This is my affair.”
He turned to the American. “I demand a duel. We will fight with guns.”
“Whenever you want,” Colonel Proctor replied proudly. They agreed to step off the train and shoot each other at the very next station, a small town called Plum Creek.
An hour later, the train arrived at Plum Creek. Fogg and Proctor walked toward the doors with their heavy revolvers. But the train conductor stopped them.
“You cannot get off, gentlemen! We are running late, so we are not stopping here.”
“But I must fight this man!” the Colonel shouted.
“I am sorry,” the conductor said politely. “But why don't you just fight as we go along?”
Passepartout could not believe his ears. To him, this was a crazy, purely American idea.
The conductor led the men to the very last train car. He politely asked the few passengers sitting there to leave the area vacant for a few minutes so the two gentlemen could settle a matter of honor. The passengers happily agreed and went to the next car. Fogg and Proctor stood at opposite ends of the empty car, waiting for the train whistle to blow to start shooting.
Outside the door, Passepartout and Fix waited with beating hearts.
Suddenly, they heard wild screams and loud gunfire. The train was being attacked!
A large band of Sioux Indians on fast horses rode next to the tracks. They jumped onto the moving train with the skill of circus acrobats. The Indians quickly climbed onto the engine and hit the driver. One of the attackers wanted to stop the train, but he pushed the wrong lever. He opened the steam valve to the absolute maximum. The heavy train shot forward, reaching a terrifying speed of a hundred miles an hour.
The Sioux broke the windows and climbed into the passenger cars. The travelers immediately pulled out their own guns to fight back. They pushed heavy seats against the doors, keeping the cars safely barricaded.
Aouda was incredibly courageous. She held a revolver with steady hands, shooting through the broken windows to protect her friends. Bullets flew everywhere, and the noise was deafening.
The bleeding train conductor crawled over to Mr. Fogg. “There is a military fort two miles ahead! If we do not stop the train there, the Indians will kill us all!”
“I will stop it,” Fogg said, standing up.
“No, wait!” Passepartout shouted. “Let me go!”
Before Fogg could grab him, Passepartout opened a side door and slipped out. He used all his old circus skills to survive. He climbed directly under the train, holding onto the metal chains. With the ground moving at a deadly speed just inches below his back, he crawled forward from car to car. He finally reached the front. With a massive pull, he managed to detach the heavy passenger cars from the speeding engine.
The engine roared away into the distance, while the disconnected passenger cars slowly rolled to a stop right in front of the military fort.
Hearing the gunshots, dozens of soldiers ran out to help. Seeing the army, the Indians quickly jumped off the train and ran away into the hills.
The travelers were saved. But when they gathered on the platform to check on each other, several people were missing—including the brave Frenchman who had just saved their lives.