Phileas Fogg was locked inside a small prison room at the Liverpool Custom House. He was scheduled to be transferred to London the following morning.
When Passepartout saw his master arrested, he tried to violently attack Detective Fix, but the police quickly pulled him back. Aouda was completely devastated. She could not understand what was happening. Passepartout finally had to explain that the brave, noble Mr. Fogg was being accused of robbing the Bank of England. Hearing this terrible lie, Aouda cried bitterly.
Passepartout felt entirely responsible for this disaster. He realized that if he had warned his master about the detective's true mission in Hong Kong, Fogg could have easily proved his innocence before arriving in England. Passepartout wept so hard he could barely see. He wanted to die. He and Aouda waited out in the cold, refusing to leave the building while Mr. Fogg was locked inside.
Inside the small room, Mr. Fogg was totally ruined. He had arrived in Liverpool at 11:40 in the morning. He had exactly nine hours and five minutes to reach the Reform Club in London to win his bet. The train ride took six hours. If he could just get out, he still had a chance. But this arrest was fatal.
If anyone had looked through the heavy iron bars on the window, they would have seen Mr. Fogg sitting completely motionless on a wooden bench. He did not show any anger or fear. He simply took off his watch, placed it on the table, and watched the tiny hands move. He walked around the small room once, perhaps checking if he could escape, but the heavy doors were securely locked. He sat down again, pulled out his travel journal, and calmly wrote his current time and location. Then, he simply waited.
At one o'clock, he checked his watch again. If he could jump on an express train at that very second, he could still reach the club by 8:45 that evening. His forehead wrinkled slightly. The time was slipping away.
Suddenly, at exactly 2:33, he heard a loud commotion outside his door. He recognized Passepartout’s angry voice, followed by the sound of keys turning in the lock.
The heavy door swung open. Aouda, Passepartout, and Detective Fix rushed into the room.
Fix was completely out of breath. His hair was messy, and he looked terrified. "Sir!" he stammered. "Sir, please forgive me! It was a terrible mistake. The real robber was arrested three days ago! You are completely free!"
Phileas Fogg stood up. He walked slowly toward the detective and looked him straight in the eyes. Then, with the only fast, uncontrolled movement he had ever made in his entire life, Mr. Fogg pulled back his arm and punched Detective Fix directly in the face.
The heavy blow knocked the detective straight to the floor.
"Well hit!" Passepartout cheered. "That is what you call a perfect English punch!"
Fix did not say a single word. He knew he completely deserved it.
Mr. Fogg did not wait another second. He grabbed Aouda and Passepartout, rushed out of the prison, jumped into a carriage, and raced directly to the railway station. He immediately asked for an express train to London.
It was 2:40. The express train had left exactly thirty-five minutes earlier.
Fogg did not panic. He immediately ordered a private, special train and offered the engineer a massive reward to drive as fast as possible. But because of the railway schedule, the special train could not leave the station until exactly three o'clock.
For the next few hours, the train flew across the English countryside. But there were forced delays and traffic on the tracks. When Mr. Fogg finally stepped off the train at the station in London, he looked up at the large station clock. It was ten minutes before nine.
After traveling entirely around the world, Phileas Fogg was exactly five minutes late. He had lost the great wager.