"At what point shall I begin my story, your excellency?" asked
Bertuccio.
"Where you please," returned Monte Cristo, "since I know nothing at all
of it."
"I thought the Abbe Busoni had told your excellency."
"Some particulars, doubtless, but that is seven or eight years ago, and
I have forgotten them."
"Then I can speak without fear of tiring your excellency."
"Go on, M. Bertuccio; you will supply the want of the evening papers."
"The story begins in 1815."
"Ah," said Monte Cristo, "1815 is not yesterday."
"No, monsieur, and yet I recollect all things as clearly as if they had
happened but then. I had a brother, an elder brother, who was in the
service of the emperor; he had become lieutenant in a regiment composed
entirely of Corsicans. This brother was my only friend; we became
orphans--I at five, he at eighteen. He brought me up as if I had been
his son, and in 1814 he married. When the emperor returned from the
Island of Elba, my brother instantly joined the army, was slightly
wounded at Waterloo, and retired with the army beyond the Loire."
"But that is the history of the Hundred Days, M. Bertuccio," said the
count; "unless I am mistaken, it has been already written."
"Excuse me, excellency, but these details are necessary, and you
promised to be patient."
"Go on; I will keep my word."
"One day we received a letter. I should tell you that we lived in the
little village of Rogliano, at the extremity of Cape Corso. This letter
was from my brother. He told us that the army was disbanded, and that he
should return by Chateauroux, Clermont-Ferrand, Le Puy, and Nimes; and,
if I had any money, he prayed me to leave it for him at Nimes, with an
inn-keeper with whom I had dealings."
"In the smuggling line?" said Monte Cristo.
"Eh, your excellency? Every one must live."
"Certainly; go on."
"I loved my brother tenderly, as I told your excellency, and I resolved
not to send the money, but to take it to him myself. I possessed a
thousand francs. I left five hundred with Assunta, my sister-in-law, and
with the other five hundred I set off for Nimes. It was easy to do so,
and as I had my boat and a lading to take in at sea, everything favored
my project. But, after we had taken in our cargo, the wind became
contrary, so that we were four or five days without being able to enter
the Rhone. At last, however, we succeeded, and worked up to Arles. I
left the boat between Bellegarde and Beaucaire, and took the road to
Nimes."
"We are getting to the story now?"
"Yes, your excellency; excuse me, but, as you will see, I only tell you
what is absolutely necessary. Just at this time the famous massacres
took place in the south of France. Three brigands, called Trestaillon,
Truphemy, and Graffan, publicly assassinated everybody whom they
suspected of Bonapartism. You have doubtless heard of these massacres,
your excellency?"
"Vaguely; I was far from France at that period. Go on."
"As I entered Nimes, I literally waded in blood; at every step you
encountered dead bodies and bands of murderers, who killed, plundered,
and burned. At the sight of this slaughter and devastation I became
terrified, not for myself--for I, a simple Corsican fisherman, had
nothing to fear; on the contrary, that time was most favorable for us
smugglers--but for my brother, a soldier of the empire, returning from
the army of the Loire, with his uniform and his epaulets, there was
everything to apprehend. I hastened to the inn-keeper. My misgivings had
been but too true. My brother had arrived the previous evening at
Nimes, and, at the very door of the house where he was about to demand
hospitality, he had been assassinated. I did all in my power to discover
the murderers, but no one durst tell me their names, so much were they
dreaded. I then thought of that French justice of which I had heard so
much, and which feared nothing, and I went to the king's attorney."
"And this king's attorney was named Villefort?" asked Monte Cristo
carelessly.
"Yes, your excellency; he came from Marseilles, where he had been
deputy-procureur. His zeal had procured him advancement, and he was said
to be one of the first who had informed the government of the departure
from the Island of Elba."
"Then," said Monte Cristo "you went to him?"
"'Monsieur,' I said, 'my brother was assassinated yesterday in the
streets of Nimes, I know not by whom, but it is your duty to find out.
You are the representative of justice here, and it is for justice to
avenge those she has been unable to protect.'--'Who was your brother?'
asked he.--'A lieutenant in the Corsican battalion.'--'A soldier of the
usurper, then?'--'A soldier of the French army.'--'Well,' replied he,
'he has smitten with the sword, and he has perished by the sword.'--'You
are mistaken, monsieur,' I replied; 'he has perished by the
poniard.'--'What do you want me to do?' asked the magistrate.--'I have
already told you--avenge him.'--'On whom?'--'On his murderers.'--'How
should I know who they are?'--'Order them to be sought for.'--'Why, your
brother has been involved in a quarrel, and killed in a duel. All these
old soldiers commit excesses which were tolerated in the time of the
emperor, but which are not suffered now, for the people here do not like
soldiers of such disorderly conduct.'--'Monsieur,' I replied, 'it is not
for myself that I entreat your interference--I should grieve for him or
avenge him, but my poor brother had a wife, and were anything to happen
to me, the poor creature would perish from want, for my brother's pay
alone kept her. Pray, try and obtain a small government pension for
her.'
"'Every revolution has its catastrophes,' returned M. de Villefort;
'your brother has been the victim of this. It is a misfortune, and
government owes nothing to his family. If we are to judge by all the
vengeance that the followers of the usurper exercised on the partisans
of the king, when, in their turn, they were in power, your brother would
be to-day, in all probability, condemned to death. What has happened is
quite natural, and in conformity with the law of reprisals.'--'What,'
cried I, 'do you, a magistrate, speak thus to me?'--'All these Corsicans
are mad, on my honor,' replied M. de Villefort; 'they fancy that their
countryman is still emperor. You have mistaken the time, you should have
told me this two months ago, it is too late now. Go now, at once, or I
shall have you put out.'
"I looked at him an instant to see if there was anything to hope from
further entreaty. But he was a man of stone. I approached him, and said
in a low voice, 'Well, since you know the Corsicans so well, you know
that they always keep their word. You think that it was a good deed
to kill my brother, who was a Bonapartist, because you are a royalist.
Well, I, who am a Bonapartist also, declare one thing to you, which is,
that I will kill you. From this moment I declare the vendetta against
you, so protect yourself as well as you can, for the next time we meet
your last hour has come.' And before he had recovered from his surprise,
I opened the door and left the room."
"Well, well," said Monte Cristo, "such an innocent looking person as you
are to do those things, M. Bertuccio, and to a king's attorney at that!
But did he know what was meant by the terrible word 'vendetta'?"
"He knew so well, that from that moment he shut himself in his house,
and never went out unattended, seeking me high and low. Fortunately, I
was so well concealed that he could not find me. Then he became alarmed,
and dared not stay any longer at Nimes, so he solicited a change of
residence, and, as he was in reality very influential, he was nominated
to Versailles. But, as you know, a Corsican who has sworn to avenge
himself cares not for distance, so his carriage, fast as it went, was
never above half a day's journey before me, who followed him on foot.
The most important thing was, not to kill him only--for I had an
opportunity of doing so a hundred times--but to kill him without being
discovered--at least, without being arrested. I no longer belonged to
myself, for I had my sister-in-law to protect and provide for. For three
months I watched M. de Villefort, for three months he took not a step
out-of-doors without my following him. At length I discovered that he
went mysteriously to Auteuil. I followed him thither, and I saw him
enter the house where we now are, only, instead of entering by the
great door that looks into the street, he came on horseback, or in his
carriage, left the one or the other at the little inn, and entered by
the gate you see there." Monte Cristo made a sign with his head to
show that he could discern in the darkness the door to which Bertuccio
alluded. "As I had nothing more to do at Versailles, I went to Auteuil,
and gained all the information I could. If I wished to surprise him,
it was evident this was the spot to lie in wait for him. The house
belonged, as the concierge informed your excellency, to M. de
Saint-Meran, Villefort's father-in-law. M. de Saint-Meran lived at
Marseilles, so that this country house was useless to him, and it was
reported to be let to a young widow, known only by the name of 'the
baroness.'
"One evening, as I was looking over the wall, I saw a young and handsome
woman who was walking alone in that garden, which was not overlooked by
any windows, and I guessed that she was awaiting M. de Villefort. When
she was sufficiently near for me to distinguish her features, I saw she
was from eighteen to nineteen, tall and very fair. As she had a loose
muslin dress on and as nothing concealed her figure, I saw she would ere
long become a mother. A few moments after, the little door was opened
and a man entered. The young woman hastened to meet him. They threw
themselves into each other's arms, embraced tenderly, and returned
together to the house. The man was M. de Villefort; I fully believed
that when he went out in the night he would be forced to traverse the
whole of the garden alone."
"And," asked the count, "did you ever know the name of this woman?"
"No, excellency," returned Bertuccio; "you will see that I had no time
to learn it."
"Go on."
"That evening," continued Bertuccio, "I could have killed the procureur,
but as I was not sufficiently acquainted with the neighborhood, I was
fearful of not killing him on the spot, and that if his cries were
overheard I might be taken; so I put it off until the next occasion, and
in order that nothing should escape me, I took a chamber looking into
the street bordered by the wall of the garden. Three days after, about
seven o'clock in the evening, I saw a servant on horseback leave the
house at full gallop, and take the road to Sevres. I concluded that he
was going to Versailles, and I was not deceived. Three hours later,
the man returned covered with dust, his errand was performed, and two
minutes after, another man on foot, muffled in a mantle, opened the
little door of the garden, which he closed after him. I descended
rapidly; although I had not seen Villefort's face, I recognized him by
the beating of my heart. I crossed the street, and stopped at a post
placed at the angle of the wall, and by means of which I had once before
looked into the garden. This time I did not content myself with looking,
but I took my knife out of my pocket, felt that the point was sharp, and
sprang over the wall. My first care was to run to the door; he had left
the key in it, taking the simple precaution of turning it twice in the
lock. Nothing, then, preventing my escape by this means, I examined
the grounds. The garden was long and narrow; a stretch of smooth turf
extended down the middle, and at the corners were clumps of trees with
thick and massy foliage, that made a background for the shrubs and
flowers. In order to go from the door to the house, or from the house
to the door, M. de Villefort would be obliged to pass by one of these
clumps of trees.
"It was the end of September; the wind blew violently. The faint
glimpses of the pale moon, hidden momentarily by masses of dark clouds
that were sweeping across the sky, whitened the gravel walks that led
to the house, but were unable to pierce the obscurity of the thick
shrubberies, in which a man could conceal himself without any fear of
discovery. I hid myself in the one nearest to the path Villefort must
take, and scarcely was I there when, amidst the gusts of wind, I
fancied I heard groans; but you know, or rather you do not know, your
excellency, that he who is about to commit an assassination fancies that
he hears low cries perpetually ringing in his ears. Two hours passed
thus, during which I imagined I heard moans repeatedly. Midnight struck.
As the last stroke died away, I saw a faint light shine through the
windows of the private staircase by which we have just descended. The
door opened, and the man in the mantle reappeared. The terrible moment
had come, but I had so long been prepared for it that my heart did not
fail in the least. I drew my knife from my pocket again, opened it, and
made ready to strike. The man in the mantle advanced towards me, but as
he drew near I saw that he had a weapon in his hand. I was afraid, not
of a struggle, but of a failure. When he was only a few paces from me,
I saw that what I had taken for a weapon was only a spade. I was still
unable to divine for what reason M. de Villefort had this spade in his
hands, when he stopped close to the thicket where I was, glanced round,
and began to dig a hole in the earth. I then perceived that he was
hiding something under his mantle, which he laid on the grass in order
to dig more freely. Then, I confess, curiosity mingled with hatred;
I wished to see what Villefort was going to do there, and I remained
motionless, holding my breath. Then an idea crossed my mind, which was
confirmed when I saw the procureur lift from under his mantle a box, two
feet long, and six or eight inches deep. I let him place the box in the
hole he had made, then, while he stamped with his feet to remove all
traces of his occupation, I rushed on him and plunged my knife into
his breast, exclaiming,--'I am Giovanni Bertuccio; thy death for my
brother's; thy treasure for his widow; thou seest that my vengeance is
more complete than I had hoped.' I know not if he heard these words; I
think he did not, for he fell without a cry. I felt his blood gush
over my face, but I was intoxicated, I was delirious, and the blood
refreshed, instead of burning me. In a second I had disinterred the box;
then, that it might not be known I had done so, I filled up the hole,
threw the spade over the wall, and rushed through the door, which I
double-locked, carrying off the key."
"Ah," said Monte Cristo "it seems to me this was nothing but murder and
robbery."
"No, your excellency," returned Bertuccio; "it was a vendetta followed
by restitution."
"And was the sum a large one?"
"It was not money."
"Ah, I recollect," replied the count; "did you not say something of an
infant?"
"Yes, excellency; I hastened to the river, sat down on the bank, and
with my knife forced open the lock of the box. In a fine linen cloth
was wrapped a new-born child. Its purple visage, and its violet-colored
hands showed that it had perished from suffocation, but as it was not
yet cold, I hesitated to throw it into the water that ran at my feet.
After a moment I fancied that I felt a slight pulsation of the heart,
and as I had been assistant at the hospital at Bastia, I did what a
doctor would have done--I inflated the lungs by blowing air into them,
and at the expiration of a quarter of an hour, it began to breathe, and
cried feebly. In my turn I uttered a cry, but a cry of joy. 'God has
not cursed me then,' I cried, 'since he permits me to save the life of a
human creature, in exchange for the life I have taken away.'"
"And what did you do with the child?" asked Monte Cristo. "It was an
embarrassing load for a man seeking to escape."
"I had not for a moment the idea of keeping it, but I knew that at Paris
there was an asylum where they receive such creatures. As I passed the
city gates I declared that I had found the child on the road, and I
inquired where the asylum was; the box confirmed my statement, the linen
proved that the infant belonged to wealthy parents, the blood with which
I was covered might have proceeded from the child as well as from any
one else. No objection was raised, but they pointed out the asylum,
which was situated at the upper end of the Rue d'Enfer, and after having
taken the precaution of cutting the linen in two pieces, so that one
of the two letters which marked it was on the piece wrapped around the
child, while the other remained in my possession, I rang the bell, and
fled with all speed. A fortnight after I was at Rogliano, and I said to
Assunta,--'Console thyself, sister; Israel is dead, but he is avenged.'
She demanded what I meant, and when I had told her all,--'Giovanni,'
said she, 'you should have brought this child with you; we would have
replaced the parents it has lost, have called it Benedetto, and then, in
consequence of this good action, God would have blessed us.' In reply I
gave her the half of the linen I had kept in order to reclaim him if we
became rich."
"What letters were marked on the linen?" said Monte Cristo.
"An H and an N, surmounted by a baron's coronet."
"By heaven, M. Bertuccio, you make use of heraldic terms; where did you
study heraldry?"
"In your service, excellency, where everything is learned."
"Go on, I am curious to know two things."
"What are they, your excellency?"
"What became of this little boy? for I think you told me it was a boy,
M. Bertuccio."
"No excellency, I do not recollect telling you that."
"I thought you did; I must have been mistaken."
"No, you were not, for it was in reality a little boy. But your
excellency wished to know two things; what was the second?"
"The second was the crime of which you were accused when you asked for a
confessor, and the Abbe Busoni came to visit you at your request in the
prison at Nimes."
"The story will be very long, excellency."
"What matter? you know I take but little sleep, and I do not suppose you
are very much inclined for it either." Bertuccio bowed, and resumed his
story.
"Partly to drown the recollections of the past that haunted me, partly
to supply the wants of the poor widow, I eagerly returned to my trade of
smuggler, which had become more easy since that relaxation of the
laws which always follows a revolution. The southern districts were
ill-watched in particular, in consequence of the disturbances that were
perpetually breaking out in Avignon, Nimes, or Uzes. We profited by this
respite on the part of the government to make friends everywhere. Since
my brother's assassination in the streets of Nimes, I had never
entered the town; the result was that the inn-keeper with whom we were
connected, seeing that we would no longer come to him, was forced to
come to us, and had established a branch to his inn, on the road from
Bellegarde to Beaucaire, at the sign of the Pont du Gard. We had thus,
at Aigues-Mortes, Martigues, or Bouc, a dozen places where we left our
goods, and where, in case of necessity, we concealed ourselves from the
gendarmes and custom-house officers. Smuggling is a profitable trade,
when a certain degree of vigor and intelligence is employed; as for
myself, brought up in the mountains, I had a double motive for fearing
the gendarmes and custom-house officers, as my appearance before the
judges would cause an inquiry, and an inquiry always looks back into the
past. And in my past life they might find something far more grave than
the selling of smuggled cigars, or barrels of brandy without a permit.
So, preferring death to capture, I accomplished the most astonishing
deeds, and which, more than once, showed me that the too great care we
take of our bodies is the only obstacle to the success of those projects
which require rapid decision, and vigorous and determined execution. In
reality, when you have once devoted your life to your enterprises,
you are no longer the equal of other men, or, rather, other men are no
longer your equals, and whosoever has taken this resolution, feels his
strength and resources doubled."
"Philosophy, M. Bertuccio," interrupted the Count; "you have done a
little of everything in your life."
"Oh, excellency!"
"No, no; but philosophy at half-past ten at night is somewhat late; yet
I have no other observation to make, for what you say is correct, which
is more than can be said for all philosophy."
"My journeys became more and more extensive and more productive. Assunta
took care of all, and our little fortune increased. One day as I was
setting off on an expedition, 'Go,' said she; 'at your return I will
give you a surprise.' I questioned her, but in vain; she would tell me
nothing, and I departed. Our expedition lasted nearly six weeks; we had
been to Lucca to take in oil, to Leghorn for English cottons, and we
ran our cargo without opposition, and returned home full of joy. When I
entered the house, the first thing I beheld in the middle of Assunta's
chamber was a cradle that might be called sumptuous compared with the
rest of the furniture, and in it a baby seven or eight months old. I
uttered a cry of joy; the only moments of sadness I had known since the
assassination of the procureur were caused by the recollection that I
had abandoned this child. For the assassination itself I had never
felt any remorse. Poor Assunta had guessed all. She had profited by my
absence, and furnished with the half of the linen, and having written
down the day and hour at which I had deposited the child at the asylum,
had set off for Paris, and had reclaimed it. No objection was raised,
and the infant was given up to her. Ah, I confess, your excellency, when
I saw this poor creature sleeping peacefully in its cradle, I felt my
eyes filled with tears. 'Ah, Assunta,' cried I, 'you are an excellent
woman, and heaven will bless you.'"
"This," said Monte Cristo, "is less correct than your philosophy,--it is
only faith."
"Alas, your excellency is right," replied Bertuccio, "and God made this
infant the instrument of our punishment. Never did a perverse nature
declare itself more prematurely, and yet it was not owing to any fault
in his bringing up. He was a most lovely child, with large blue eyes, of
that deep color that harmonizes so well with the blond complexion; only
his hair, which was too light, gave his face a most singular expression,
and added to the vivacity of his look, and the malice of his smile.
Unfortunately, there is a proverb which says that 'red is either
altogether good or altogether bad.' The proverb was but too correct
as regarded Benedetto, and even in his infancy he manifested the
worst disposition. It is true that the indulgence of his foster-mother
encouraged him. This child, for whom my poor sister would go to the
town, five or six leagues off, to purchase the earliest fruits and
the most tempting sweetmeats, preferred to Palma grapes or Genoese
preserves, the chestnuts stolen from a neighbor's orchard, or the dried
apples in his loft, when he could eat as well of the nuts and apples
that grew in my garden. One day, when Benedetto was about five or six,
our neighbor Vasilio, who, according to the custom of the country, never
locked up his purse or his valuables--for, as your excellency knows,
there are no thieves in Corsica--complained that he had lost a louis
out of his purse; we thought he must have made a mistake in counting
his money, but he persisted in the accuracy of his statement. One day,
Benedetto, who had been gone from the house since morning, to our great
anxiety, did not return until late in the evening, dragging a monkey
after him, which he said he had found chained to the foot of a tree. For
more than a month past, the mischievous child, who knew not what to wish
for, had taken it into his head to have a monkey. A boatman, who had
passed by Rogliano, and who had several of these animals, whose tricks
had greatly diverted him, had, doubtless, suggested this idea to him.
'Monkeys are not found in our woods chained to trees,' said I; 'confess
how you obtained this animal.' Benedetto maintained the truth of what
he had said, and accompanied it with details that did more honor to his
imagination than to his veracity. I became angry; he began to laugh, I
threatened to strike him, and he made two steps backwards. 'You cannot
beat me,' said he; 'you have no right, for you are not my father.'
"We never knew who had revealed this fatal secret, which we had so
carefully concealed from him; however, it was this answer, in which the
child's whole character revealed itself, that almost terrified me, and
my arm fell without touching him. The boy triumphed, and this victory
rendered him so audacious, that all the money of Assunta, whose
affection for him seemed to increase as he became more unworthy of it,
was spent in caprices she knew not how to contend against, and follies
she had not the courage to prevent. When I was at Rogliano everything
went on properly, but no sooner was my back turned than Benedetto became
master, and everything went ill. When he was only eleven, he chose his
companions from among the young men of eighteen or twenty, the worst
characters in Bastia, or, indeed, in Corsica, and they had already,
for some mischievous pranks, been several times threatened with a
prosecution. I became alarmed, as any prosecution might be attended with
serious consequences. I was compelled, at this period, to leave Corsica
on an important expedition; I reflected for a long time, and with the
hope of averting some impending misfortune, I resolved that Benedetto
should accompany me. I hoped that the active and laborious life of a
smuggler, with the severe discipline on board, would have a salutary
effect on his character, which was now well-nigh, if not quite, corrupt.
I spoke to Benedetto alone, and proposed to him to accompany me,
endeavoring to tempt him by all the promises most likely to dazzle the
imagination of a child of twelve. He heard me patiently, and when I had
finished, burst out laughing.
"'Are you mad, uncle?' (he called me by this name when he was in good
humor); 'do you think I am going to change the life I lead for your mode
of existence--my agreeable indolence for the hard and precarious toil
you impose on yourself, exposed to the bitter frost at night, and the
scorching heat by day, compelled to conceal yourself, and when you are
perceived, receive a volley of bullets, all to earn a paltry sum? Why, I
have as much money as I want; mother Assunta always furnishes me when I
ask for it! You see that I should be a fool to accept your offer.' The
arguments, and his audacity, perfectly stupefied me. Benedetto rejoined
his associates, and I saw him from a distance point me out to them as a
fool."
"Sweet child," murmured Monte Cristo.
"Oh, had he been my own son," replied Bertuccio, "or even my nephew, I
would have brought him back to the right road, for the knowledge that
you are doing your duty gives you strength, but the idea that I was
striking a child whose father I had killed, made it impossible for me
to punish him. I gave my sister, who constantly defended the unfortunate
boy, good advice, and as she confessed that she had several times missed
money to a considerable amount, I showed her a safe place in which to
conceal our little treasure for the future. My mind was already made
up. Benedetto could read, write, and cipher perfectly, for when the fit
seized him, he learned more in a day than others in a week. My intention
was to enter him as a clerk in some ship, and without letting him know
anything of my plan, to convey him some morning on board; by this means
his future treatment would depend upon his own conduct. I set off for
France, after having fixed upon the plan. Our cargo was to be landed in
the Gulf of Lyons, and this was a difficult thing to do because it was
then the year 1829. The most perfect tranquillity was restored, and
the vigilance of the custom-house officers was redoubled, and their
strictness was increased at this time, in consequence of the fair at
Beaucaire.
"Our expedition made a favorable beginning. We anchored our
vessel--which had a double hold, where our goods were concealed--amidst
a number of other vessels that bordered the banks of the Rhone from
Beaucaire to Arles. On our arrival we began to discharge our cargo in
the night, and to convey it into the town, by the help of the inn-keeper
with whom we were connected. Whether success rendered us imprudent,
or whether we were betrayed, I know not; but one evening, about five
o'clock, our little cabin-boy came breathlessly, to inform us that
he had seen a detachment of custom-house officers advancing in our
direction. It was not their proximity that alarmed us, for detachments
were constantly patrolling along the banks of the Rhone, but the care,
according to the boy's account, that they took to avoid being seen. In
an instant we were on the alert, but it was too late; our vessel was
surrounded, and amongst the custom-house officers I observed several
gendarmes, and, as terrified at the sight of their uniforms as I was
brave at the sight of any other, I sprang into the hold, opened a
port, and dropped into the river, dived, and only rose at intervals to
breathe, until I reached a ditch that had recently been made from the
Rhone to the canal that runs from Beaucaire to Aigues-Mortes. I was now
safe, for I could swim along the ditch without being seen, and I reached
the canal in safety. I had designedly taken this direction. I have
already told your excellency of an inn-keeper from Nimes who had set up
a little tavern on the road from Bellegarde to Beaucaire."
"Yes," said Monte Cristo "I perfectly recollect him; I think he was your
colleague."
"Precisely," answered Bertuccio; "but he had, seven or eight years
before this period, sold his establishment to a tailor at Marseilles,
who, having almost ruined himself in his old trade, wished to make his
fortune in another. Of course, we made the same arrangements with the
new landlord that we had with the old; and it was of this man that I
intended to ask shelter."
"What was his name?" inquired the count, who seemed to become somewhat
interested in Bertuccio's story.
"Gaspard Caderousse; he had married a woman from the village of
Carconte, and whom we did not know by any other name than that of her
village. She was suffering from malarial fever, and seemed dying by
inches. As for her husband, he was a strapping fellow of forty, or five
and forty, who had more than once, in time of danger, given ample proof
of his presence of mind and courage."
"And you say," interrupted Monte Cristo "that this took place towards
the year"--
"1829, your excellency."
"In what month?"
"June."
"The beginning or the end?"
"The evening of the 3d."
"Ah," said Monte Cristo "the evening of the 3d of June, 1829. Go on."
"It was from Caderousse that I intended demanding shelter, and, as we
never entered by the door that opened onto the road, I resolved not
to break through the rule, so climbing over the garden-hedge, I crept
amongst the olive and wild fig trees, and fearing that Caderousse might
have some guest, I entered a kind of shed in which I had often passed
the night, and which was only separated from the inn by a partition, in
which holes had been made in order to enable us to watch an opportunity
of announcing our presence. My intention was, if Caderousse was alone,
to acquaint him with my presence, finish the meal the custom-house
officers had interrupted, and profit by the threatened storm to return
to the Rhone, and ascertain the state of our vessel and its crew. I
stepped into the shed, and it was fortunate I did so, for at that moment
Caderousse entered with a stranger.
"I waited patiently, not to overhear what they said, but because I could
do nothing else; besides, the same thing had occurred often before. The
man who was with Caderousse was evidently a stranger to the South of
France; he was one of those merchants who come to sell jewellery at
the Beaucaire fair, and who during the month the fair lasts, and during
which there is so great an influx of merchants and customers from all
parts of Europe, often have dealings to the amount of 100,000 to 150,000
francs. Caderousse entered hastily. Then, seeing that the room was,
as usual, empty, and only guarded by the dog, he called to his wife,
'Hello, Carconte,' said he, 'the worthy priest has not deceived us; the
diamond is real.' An exclamation of joy was heard, and the staircase
creaked beneath a feeble step. 'What do you say?' asked his wife, pale
as death.
"'I say that the diamond is real, and that this gentleman, one of the
first jewellers of Paris, will give us 50,000. francs for it. Only, in
order to satisfy himself that it really belongs to us, he wishes you to
relate to him, as I have done already, the miraculous manner in which
the diamond came into our possession. In the meantime please to sit
down, monsieur, and I will fetch you some refreshment.' The jeweller
examined attentively the interior of the inn and the apparent poverty
of the persons who were about to sell him a diamond that seemed to have
come from the casket of a prince. 'Relate your story, madame,' said he,
wishing, no doubt, to profit by the absence of the husband, so that the
latter could not influence the wife's story, to see if the two recitals
tallied.
"'Oh,' returned she, 'it was a gift of heaven. My husband was a great
friend, in 1814 or 1815, of a sailor named Edmond Dantes. This poor
fellow, whom Caderousse had forgotten, had not forgotten him, and at his
death he bequeathed this diamond to him.'--'But how did he obtain
it?' asked the jeweller; 'had he it before he was imprisoned?'--'No,
monsieur; but it appears that in prison he made the acquaintance of a
rich Englishman, and as in prison he fell sick, and Dantes took the same
care of him as if he had been his brother, the Englishman, when he was
set free, gave this stone to Dantes, who, less fortunate, died, and, in
his turn, left it to us, and charged the excellent abbe, who was here
this morning, to deliver it.'--'The same story,' muttered the jeweller;
'and improbable as it seemed at first, it may be true. There's only
the price we are not agreed about.'--'How not agreed about?' said
Caderousse. 'I thought we agreed for the price I asked.'--'That is,'
replied the jeweller, 'I offered 40,000 francs.'--'Forty thousand,'
cried La Carconte; 'we will not part with it for that sum. The abbe told
us it was worth 50,000. without the setting.'
"'What was the abbe's name?' asked the indefatigable questioner.--'The
Abbe Busoni,' said La Carconte.--'He was a foreigner?'--'An Italian,
from the neighborhood of Mantua, I believe.'--'Let me see this diamond
again,' replied the jeweller; 'the first time you are often mistaken as
to the value of a stone.' Caderousse took from his pocket a small case
of black shagreen, opened, and gave it to the jeweller. At the sight
of the diamond, which was as large as a hazel-nut, La Carconte's eyes
sparkled with cupidity."
"And what did you think of this fine story, eavesdropper?" said Monte
Cristo; "did you credit it?"
"Yes, your excellency. I did not look on Caderousse as a bad man, and I
thought him incapable of committing a crime, or even a theft."
"That did more honor to your heart than to your experience, M.
Bertuccio. Had you known this Edmond Dantes, of whom they spoke?"
"No, your excellency, I had never heard of him before, and never but
once afterwards, and that was from the Abbe Busoni himself, when I saw
him in the prison at Nimes."
"Go on."
"The jeweller took the ring, and drawing from his pocket a pair of steel
pliers and a small set of copper scales, he took the stone out of its
setting, and weighed it carefully. 'I will give you 45,000,' said he,
'but not a sou more; besides, as that is the exact value of the stone,
I brought just that sum with me.'--'Oh, that's no matter,' replied
Caderousse, 'I will go back with you to fetch the other 5,000
francs.'--'No,' returned the jeweller, giving back the diamond and the
ring to Caderousse--'no, it is worth no more, and I am sorry I offered
so much, for the stone has a flaw in it, which I had not seen. However,
I will not go back on my word, and I will give 45,000.'--'At least,
replace the diamond in the ring,' said La Carconte sharply.--'Ah, true,'
replied the jeweller, and he reset the stone.--'No matter,' observed
Caderousse, replacing the box in his pocket, 'some one else will
purchase it.'--'Yes,' continued the jeweller; 'but some one else will
not be so easy as I am, or content himself with the same story. It is
not natural that a man like you should possess such a diamond. He will
inform against you. You will have to find the Abbe Busoni; and abbes who
give diamonds worth two thousand louis are rare. The law would seize it,
and put you in prison; if at the end of three or four months you are set
at liberty, the ring will be lost, or a false stone, worth three francs,
will be given you, instead of a diamond worth 50,000 or perhaps 55,000
francs; from which you must allow that one runs considerable risk
in purchasing.' Caderousse and his wife looked eagerly at each
other.--'No,' said Caderousse, 'we are not rich enough to lose 5,000
francs.'--'As you please, my dear sir,' said the jeweller; 'I had,
however, as you see, brought you the money in bright coin.' And he drew
from his pocket a handful of gold, and held it sparkling before the
dazzled eyes of the innkeeper, and in the other hand he held a packet of
bank-notes.
"There was evidently a severe struggle in the mind of Caderousse; it was
plain that the small shagreen case, which he turned over and over in
his hand, did not seem to him commensurate in value to the enormous
sum which fascinated his gaze. He turned towards his wife. 'What do you
think of this?' he asked in a low voice.--'Let him have it--let him have
it,' she said. 'If he returns to Beaucaire without the diamond, he will
inform against us, and, as he says, who knows if we shall ever again see
the Abbe Busoni?--in all probability we shall never see him.'--'Well,
then, so I will!' said Caderousse; 'so you may have the diamond for
45,000 francs. But my wife wants a gold chain, and I want a pair of
silver buckles.' The jeweller drew from his pocket a long flat box,
which contained several samples of the articles demanded. 'Here,' he
said, 'I am very straightforward in my dealings--take your choice.' The
woman selected a gold chain worth about five louis, and the husband a
pair of buckles, worth perhaps fifteen francs.--'I hope you will not
complain now?' said the jeweller.
"'The abbe told me it was worth 50,000 francs,' muttered Caderousse.
'Come, come--give it to me! What a strange fellow you are,' said
the jeweller, taking the diamond from his hand. 'I give you 45,000
francs--that is, 2,500 livres of income,--a fortune such as I wish I had
myself, and you are not satisfied!'--'And the five and forty thousand
francs,' inquired Caderousse in a hoarse voice, 'where are they?
Come--let us see them.'--'Here they are,' replied the jeweller, and he
counted out upon the table 15,000. francs in gold, and 30,000 francs in
bank-notes.
"'Wait while I light the lamp,' said La Carconte; 'it is growing dark,
and there may be some mistake.' In fact, night had come on during this
conversation, and with night the storm which had been threatening for
the last half-hour. The thunder growled in the distance; but it was
apparently not heard by the jeweller, Caderousse, or La Carconte,
absorbed as they were all three with the demon of gain. I myself felt; a
strange kind of fascination at the sight of all this gold and all these
bank-notes; it seemed to me that I was in a dream, and, as it always
happens in a dream, I felt myself riveted to the spot. Caderousse
counted and again counted the gold and the notes, then handed them to
his wife, who counted and counted them again in her turn. During this
time, the jeweller made the diamond play and sparkle in the lamplight,
and the gem threw out jets of light which made him unmindful of those
which--precursors of the storm--began to play in at the windows. 'Well,'
inquired the jeweller, 'is the cash all right?'
"'Yes,' said Caderousse. 'Give me the pocket-book, La Carconte, and find
a bag somewhere.'
"La Carconte went to a cupboard, and returned with an old leathern
pocket-book and a bag. From the former she took some greasy letters, and
put in their place the bank-notes, and from the bag took two or three
crowns of six livres each, which, in all probability, formed the entire
fortune of the miserable couple. 'There,' said Caderousse; 'and now,
although you have wronged us of perhaps 10,000 francs, will you have
your supper with us? I invite you with good-will.'--'Thank you,'
replied the jeweller, 'it must be getting late, and I must return to
Beaucaire--my wife will be getting uneasy.' He drew out his watch, and
exclaimed, 'Morbleu, nearly nine o'clock--why, I shall not get back to
Beaucaire before midnight! Good-night, my friends. If the Abbe Busoni
should by any accident return, think of me.'--'In another week you will
have left Beaucaire.' remarked Caderousse, 'for the fair ends in a few
days.'--'True, but that makes no difference. Write to me at Paris, to
M. Joannes, in the Palais Royal, arcade Pierre, No. 45. I will make the
journey on purpose to see him, if it is worth while.' At this moment
there was a tremendous clap of thunder, accompanied by a flash of
lightning so vivid, that it quite eclipsed the light of the lamp.
"'See here,' exclaimed Caderousse. 'You cannot think of going out in
such weather as this.'--'Oh, I am not afraid of thunder,' said the
jeweller.--'And then there are robbers,' said La Carconte. 'The road
is never very safe during fair time.'--'Oh, as to the robbers,' said
Joannes, 'here is something for them,' and he drew from his pocket a
pair of small pistols, loaded to the muzzle. 'Here,' said he, 'are dogs
who bark and bite at the same time, they are for the two first who shall
have a longing for your diamond, Friend Caderousse.'
"Caderousse and his wife again interchanged a meaning look. It seemed
as though they were both inspired at the same time with some
horrible thought. 'Well, then, a good journey to you,' said
Caderousse.--'Thanks,' replied the jeweller. He then took his cane,
which he had placed against an old cupboard, and went out. At the moment
when he opened the door, such a gust of wind came in that the lamp was
nearly extinguished. 'Oh,' said he, 'this is very nice weather, and two
leagues to go in such a storm.'--'Remain,' said Caderousse. 'You can
sleep here.'--'Yes; do stay,' added La Carconte in a tremulous voice;
'we will take every care of you.'--'No; I must sleep at Beaucaire. So,
once more, good-night.' Caderousse followed him slowly to the threshold.
'I can see neither heaven nor earth,' said the jeweller, who was outside
the door. 'Do I turn to the right, or to the left hand?'--'To the
right,' said Caderousse. 'You cannot go wrong--the road is bordered by
trees on both sides.'--'Good--all right,' said a voice almost lost in
the distance. 'Close the door,' said La Carconte; 'I do not like open
doors when it thunders.'--'Particularly when there is money in the
house, eh?' answered Caderousse, double-locking the door.
"He came into the room, went to the cupboard, took out the bag and
pocket-book, and both began, for the third time, to count their gold and
bank-notes. I never saw such an expression of cupidity as the flickering
lamp revealed in those two countenances. The woman, especially,
was hideous; her usual feverish tremulousness was intensified, her
countenance had become livid, and her eyes resembled burning coals.
'Why,' she inquired in a hoarse voice, 'did you invite him to sleep here
to-night?'--'Why?' said Caderousse with a shudder; 'why, that he might
not have the trouble of returning to Beaucaire.'--'Ah,' responded the
woman, with an expression impossible to describe; 'I thought it was
for something else.'--'Woman, woman--why do you have such ideas?'
cried Caderousse; 'or, if you have them, why don't you keep them to
yourself?'--'Well,' said La Carconte, after a moment's pause, 'you are
not a man.'--'What do you mean?' added Caderousse.--'If you had been a
man, you would not have let him go from here.'--'Woman!'--'Or else
he should not have reached Beaucaire.'--'Woman!'--'The road takes a
turn--he is obliged to follow it--while alongside of the canal there is
a shorter road.'--'Woman!--you offend the good God. There--listen!' And
at this moment there was a tremendous peal of thunder, while the livid
lightning illumined the room, and the thunder, rolling away in the
distance, seemed to withdraw unwillingly from the cursed abode. 'Mercy!'
said Caderousse, crossing himself.
"At the same moment, and in the midst of the terrifying silence which
usually follows a clap of thunder, they heard a knocking at the door.
Caderousse and his wife started and looked aghast at each other. 'Who's
there?' cried Caderousse, rising, and drawing up in a heap the gold
and notes scattered over the table, and which he covered with his two
hands.--'It is I,' shouted a voice.--'And who are you?'--'Eh, pardieu,
Joannes, the jeweller.'--'Well, and you said I offended the good God,'
said La Carconte with a horrid smile. 'Why, the good God sends him back
again.' Caderousse sank pale and breathless into his chair. La Carconte,
on the contrary, rose, and going with a firm step towards the door,
opened it, saying, as she did so--'Come in, dear M. Joannes.'--'Ma foi,'
said the jeweller, drenched with rain, 'I am not destined to return to
Beaucaire to-night. The shortest follies are best, my dear Caderousse.
You offered me hospitality, and I accept it, and have returned to sleep
beneath your friendly roof.' Caderousse stammered out something,
while he wiped away the sweat that started to his brow. La Carconte
double-locked the door behind the jeweller."
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