Passepartout practiced with the Long Noses. The performers wore costumes from the Middle Ages, and each man had a splendid pair of wings on his shoulders and a very long nose attached to his face. The noses were made of bamboo and some were ten feet long!
Passepartout was a little embarrassed to be in a circus act again. It reminded him too much of his youth. But he cheered up, remembering his long nose was helping him to earn money for food.
He went onstage and took his place with the rest of the performers. They balanced chairs, balls, and plates on the ends of their long noses. Some climbed up to stand on their fellow performers' noses, performing handstands and acrobatic flips. The theater was full, and the audience was delighted by the spectacle.
The grand finale was a feat called the "Great Pyramid." A group of acrobats lay on the floor with their noses pointed at the ceiling. A second group lay on the tips of the noses, and a third group climbed up on the noses of the second group. A fourth group did the same, and a towering human pyramid was formed. There was loud applause, and the orchestra began its fanfare when the pyramid began to tip from side to side. One of the lower noses had vanished! The pyramid tilted, tumbled, and collapsed like a house of cards. The missing performer was Passepartout.
"Master!" he cried as he jumped into the crowd and fell at the feet of one of the spectators.
Mr. Fogg and Aouda, who were seated in the audience, were shocked—as if they had been struck by lightning. Passepartout was kneeling before them in his performer's costume.
"Passepartout! We are so happy to find you!" cried Aouda.
Mr. Batulcar was furious. He demanded compensation for his ruined show, and Mr. Fogg happily appeased him with a handful of banknotes.
The three traveling companions left the theater, together once again. As they made their way through the streets of Yokohama, Aouda explained to Passepartout how they had finally found him. "We reached Yokohama on the morning of November 14," she said. "And Mr. Fogg immediately went on board the Carnatic, which was still docked in the harbor. He learned, to our delight, that you had been onboard."
"Yes. Luckily, I did not miss the steamer," said Passepartout.
"So we knew that you had arrived only the day before," Aouda continued. "We visited the French and English consuls, but they had received no word of you. After wandering through the streets, we began to despair. Chance led us to Mr. Batulcar's theater. We did not recognize you in your costume, but fortunately, you saw us!"
"You cannot imagine, madam, how happy I am to be back with you!" said Passepartout, smiling widely. He turned to Mr. Fogg with a serious face. "Sir, please forgive my poor behavior," he said. "It was because of me that you missed the Carnatic. I beg your forgiveness. I was drunk and did not tell you of the schedule change. It will never happen again. Please believe me!"
"You are forgiven," said Mr. Fogg. "We will talk no more about it!"
They walked on in silence. Passepartout was relieved to be back with his master. Aouda was very happy to see her friend once again. Mr. Fogg was his usual self, as calm and distant as ever.
Passepartout then realized that, although Mr. Fogg and Aouda had missed the Carnatic, somehow they had arrived in Yokohama only one day after him! He turned to Aouda for an explanation. She described their search for a boat in the port at Hong Kong and the perilous voyage they had survived. Aouda then explained what had happened at Shanghai.
The Yokohama steamer was already underway as they approached the harbor. At Mr. Fogg's request, the Tankadere signaled the steamer with its whistle. The captain of the steamer heard the signal and saw the Tankadere's flag at half-mast, which indicates a ship in distress. Mr. Fogg had arranged this. The steamer directed its course to the little boat. Phileas Fogg quickly paid Captain Bunsby their agreed price, rewarding him with an additional 550 pounds. The steamer let down a ladder, and Mr. Fogg and Aouda climbed aboard, followed by Mr. Fix.
Mr. Fogg listened politely as Aouda spoke, without adding a word of his own. She finished her story as they reached the steamer, which was now docked in Yokohama harbor and bound for San Francisco. Mr. Fogg then gave Passepartout the necessary funds to buy clothes that better suited his position. Within an hour Passepartout had cut off his long nose, parted with his wings, and looked like his master's servant once more.
Passepartout's Guidebook
That was a neat little trick that Mr. Fogg arranged, wasn't it? Putting the ship's flag at half-mast, I mean. In the days before radio, how did ships communicate? Did they yell really loudly? Ha-ha! No, they used flags.
Flags are very important at sea. They can mean the difference between life and death! Flags are flown when a ship is entering, or leaving, a harbor, and when a ship is sailing in foreign waters. But why did the ship, the Tankadere, fly its flag only halfway up the mast? Was the flag broken? No no! Flying a flag halfway like that is called "half-mast." It means the ship is in trouble.
On land a flag at half-mast means that someone important has died. There are special days when a country's flag is flown at half-mast too.
Why did this tradition develop? Well, people decided that if a flag is halfway down, there is room for another "invisible" flag at the top of the flagpole. This "invisible" flag represents and honors the person who has died.