nine o'clock
Phileas Fogg paid the Indian with some banknotes which he extracted from the famous carpet-bag , a proceeding that seemed to deprive poor Passepartout of his vitals . Then he offered to carry Sir Francis to Allahabad , which the brigadier gratefully accepted , as one traveller the more would not be likely to fatigue the gigantic beast . Provisions were purchased at Kholby , and , while Sir Francis and Mr. Fogg took the howdahs on either side , Passepartout got astride the saddle-cloth between them . The Parsee perched himself on the elephant 's neck , and at nine o'clock they set out from the village , the animal marching off through the dense forest of palms by the shortest cut . In order to shorten the journey , the guide passed to the left of the line where the railway was still in process of being built . This line , owing to the capricious turnings of the Vindhia Mountains , did not pursue a straight course . The Parsee , who was quite familiar with the roads and paths in the district , declared that they would gain twenty miles by striking directly through the forest .