Thus, at length, by one of the unexpected strokes of fortunewhich sometimes befall those who have for a long time beenthe victims of an evil destiny, Dantes was about to securethe opportunity he wished for, by simple and natural means,and land on the island without incurring any suspicion. Onenight more and he would be on his way.

The night was one of feverish distraction, and in itsprogress visions good and evil passed through Dantes' mind.If he closed his eyes, he saw Cardinal Spada's letterwritten on the wall in characters of flame - if he sleptfor a moment the wildest dreams haunted his brain. Heascended into grottos paved with emeralds, with panels ofrubies, and the roof glowing with diamond stalactites.Pearls fell drop by drop, as subterranean waters filter intheir caves. Edmond, amazed, wonderstruck, filled hispockets with the radiant gems and then returned to daylight,when he discovered that his prizes had all changed intocommon pebbles. He then endeavored to re-enter themarvellous grottos, but they had suddenly receded, and nowthe path became a labyrinth, and then the entrance vanished,and in vain did he tax his memory for the magic andmysterious word which opened the splendid caverns of AliBaba to the Arabian fisherman. All was useless, the treasuredisappeared, and had again reverted to the genii from whomfor a moment he had hoped to carry it off. The day came atlength, and was almost as feverish as the night had been,but it brought reason to the aid of imagination, and Danteswas then enabled to arrange a plan which had hitherto beenvague and unsettled in his brain. Night came, and with itthe preparation for departure, and these preparations servedto conceal Dantes' agitation. He had by degrees assumed suchauthority over his companions that he was almost like acommander on board; and as his orders were always clear,distinct, and easy of execution, his comrades obeyed himwith celerity and pleasure.

The old patron did not interfere, for he too had recognizedthe superiority of Dantes over the crew and himself. He sawin the young man his natural successor, and regretted thathe had not a daughter, that he might have bound Edmond tohim by a more secure alliance. At seven o'clock in theevening all was ready, and at ten minutes past seven theydoubled the lighthouse just as the beacon was kindled. Thesea was calm, and, with a fresh breeze from the south-east,they sailed beneath a bright blue sky, in which God alsolighted up in turn his beacon lights, each of which is aworld. Dantes told them that all hands might turn in, and hewould take the helm. When the Maltese (for so they calledDantes) had said this, it was sufficient, and all went totheir bunks contentedly. This frequently happened. Dantes,cast from solitude into the world, frequently experienced animperious desire for solitude; and what solitude is morecomplete, or more poetical, then that of a ship floating inisolation on the sea during the obscurity of the night, inthe silence of immensity, and under the eye of heaven?

Now this solitude was peopled with his thoughts, the nightlighted up by his illusions, and the silence animated by hisanticipations. When the patron awoke, the vessel washurrying on with every sail set, and every sail full withthe breeze. They were making nearly ten knots an hour. TheIsland of Monte Cristo loomed large in the horizon. Edmondresigned the lugger to the master's care, and went and laydown in his hammock; but, in spite of a sleepless night, hecould not close his eyes for a moment. Two hours afterwardshe came on deck, as the boat was about to double the Islandof Elba. They were just abreast of Mareciana, and beyond theflat but verdant Island of La Pianosa. The peak of MonteCristo reddened by the burning sun, was seen against theazure sky. Dantes ordered the helmsman to put down his helm,in order to leave La Pianosa to starboard, as he knew thathe should shorten his course by two or three knots. Aboutfive o'clock in the evening the island was distinct, andeverything on it was plainly perceptible, owing to thatclearness of the atmosphere peculiar to the light which therays of the sun cast at its setting.

Edmond gazed very earnestly at the mass of rocks which gaveout all the variety of twilight colors, from the brightestpink to the deepest blue; and from time to time his cheeksflushed, his brow darkened, and a mist passed over his eyes.Never did gamester, whose whole fortune is staked on onecast of the die, experience the anguish which Edmond felt inhis paroxysms of hope. Night came, and at ten o'clock theyanchored. The Young Amelia was first at the rendezvous. Inspite of his usual command over himself, Dantes could notrestrain his impetuosity. He was the first to jump on shore;and had he dared, he would, like Lucius Brutus, have "kissedhis mother earth." It was dark, but at eleven o'clock themoon rose in the midst of the ocean, whose every wave shesilvered, and then, "ascending high," played in floods ofpale light on the rocky hills of this second Pelion.

The island was familiar to the crew of The Young Amelia, - it was one of her regular haunts. As to Dantes, he hadpassed it on his voyage to and from the Levant, but nevertouched at it. He questioned Jacopo. "Where shall we passthe night?" he inquired.

"Why, on board the tartan," replied the sailor.

"Should we not do better in the grottos?"

"What grottos?"

"Why, the grottos - caves of the island."

"I do not know of any grottos," replied Jacopo. The coldsweat sprang forth on Dantes' brow.

"What, are there no grottos at Monte Cristo?" he asked.

"None."

For a moment Dantes was speechless; then he remembered thatthese caves might have been filled up by some accident, oreven stopped up, for the sake of greater security, byCardinal Spada. The point was, then, to discover the hiddenentrance. It was useless to search at night, and Dantestherefore delayed all investigation until the morning.Besides, a signal made half a league out at sea, and towhich The Young Amelia replied by a similar signal,indicated that the moment for business had come. The boatthat now arrived, assured by the answering signal that allwas well, soon came in sight, white and silent as a phantom,and cast anchor within a cable's length of shore.

Then the landing began. Dantes reflected, as he worked, onthe shout of joy which, with a single word, he could evokefrom all these men, if he gave utterance to the oneunchanging thought that pervaded his heart; but, far fromdisclosing this precious secret, he almost feared that hehad already said too much, and by his restlessness andcontinual questions, his minute observations and evidentpre-occupation, aroused suspicions. Fortunately, as regardedthis circumstance at least, his painful past gave to hiscountenance an indelible sadness, and the glimmerings ofgayety seen beneath this cloud were indeed but transitory.

No one had the slightest suspicion; and when next day,taking a fowling-piece, powder, and shot, Dantes declaredhis intention to go and kill some of the wild goats thatwere seen springing from rock to rock, his wish wasconstrued into a love of sport, or a desire for solitude.However, Jacopo insisted on following him, and Dantes didnot oppose this, fearing if he did so that he might incurdistrust. Scarcely, however, had they gone a quarter of aleague when, having killed a kid, he begged Jacopo to takeit to his comrades, and request them to cook it, and whenready to let him know by firing a gun. This and some driedfruits and a flask of Monte Pulciano, was the bill of fare.Dantes went on, looking from time to time behind and aroundabout him. Having reached the summit of a rock, he saw, athousand feet beneath him, his companions, whom Jacopo hadrejoined, and who were all busy preparing the repast whichEdmond's skill as a marksman had augmented with a capitaldish.

Edmond looked at them for a moment with the sad and gentlesmile of a man superior to his fellows. "In two hours'time," said he, "these persons will depart richer by fiftypiastres each, to go and risk their lives again byendeavoring to gain fifty more; then they will return with afortune of six hundred francs, and waste this treasure insome city with the pride of sultans and the insolence ofnabobs. At this moment hope makes me despise their riches,which seem to me contemptible. Yet perchance to-morrowdeception will so act on me, that I shall, on compulsion,consider such a contemptible possession as the utmosthappiness. Oh, no!" exclaimed Edmond, "that will not be. Thewise, unerring Faria could not be mistaken in this onething. Besides, it were better to die than to continue tolead this low and wretched life." Thus Dantes, who but threemonths before had no desire but liberty had now not libertyenough, and panted for wealth. The cause was not in Dantes,but in providence, who, while limiting the power of man, hasfilled him with boundless desires.

Meanwhile, by a cleft between two walls of rock, following apath worn by a torrent, and which, in all human probability,human foot had never before trod, Dantes approached the spotwhere he supposed the grottos must have existed. Keepingalong the shore, and examining the smallest object withserious attention, he thought he could trace, on certainrocks, marks made by the hand of man.

Time, which encrusts all physical substances with its mossymantle, as it invests all things of the mind withforgetfulness, seemed to have respected these signs, whichapparently had been made with some degree of regularity, andprobably with a definite purpose. Occasionally the markswere hidden under tufts of myrtle, which spread into largebushes laden with blossoms, or beneath parasitical lichen.So Edmond had to separate the branches or brush away themoss to know where the guide-marks were. The sight of marksrenewed Edmond fondest hopes. Might it not have been thecardinal himself who had first traced them, in order thatthey might serve as a guide for his nephew in the event of acatastrophe, which he could not foresee would have been socomplete. This solitary place was precisely suited to therequirements of a man desirous of burying treasure. Only,might not these betraying marks have attracted other eyesthan those for whom they were made? and had the dark andwondrous island indeed faithfully guarded its precioussecret?

It seemed, however, to Edmond, who was hidden from hiscomrades by the inequalities of the ground, that at sixtypaces from the harbor the marks ceased; nor did theyterminate at any grotto. A large round rock, placed solidlyon its base, was the only spot to which they seemed to lead.Edmond concluded that perhaps instead of having reached theend of the route he had only explored its beginning, and hetherefore turned round and retraced his steps.

Meanwhile his comrades had prepared the repast, had got somewater from a spring, spread out the fruit and bread, andcooked the kid. Just at the moment when they were taking thedainty animal from the spit, they saw Edmond springing withthe boldness of a chamois from rock to rock, and they firedthe signal agreed upon. The sportsman instantly changed hisdirection, and ran quickly towards them. But even while theywatched his daring progress, Edmond's foot slipped, and theysaw him stagger on the edge of a rock and disappear. Theyall rushed towards him, for all loved Edmond in spite of hissuperiority; yet Jacopo reached him first.

He found Edmond lying prone, bleeding, and almost senseless.He had rolled down a declivity of twelve or fifteen feet.They poured a little rum down his throat, and this remedywhich had before been so beneficial to him, produced thesame effect as formerly. Edmond opened his eyes, complainedof great pain in his knee, a feeling of heaviness in hishead, and severe pains in his loins. They wished to carryhim to the shore; but when they touched him, although underJacopo's directions, he declared, with heavy groans, that hecould not bear to be moved.

It may be supposed that Dantes did not now think of hisdinner, but he insisted that his comrades, who had not hisreasons for fasting, should have their meal. As for himself,he declared that he had only need of a little rest, and thatwhen they returned he should be easier. The sailors did notrequire much urging. They were hungry, and the smell of theroasted kid was very savory, and your tars are not veryceremonious. An hour afterwards they returned. All thatEdmond had been able to do was to drag himself about a dozenpaces forward to lean against a moss-grown rock.

But, instead of growing easier, Dantes' pains appeared toincrease in violence. The old patron, who was obliged tosail in the morning in order to land his cargo on thefrontiers of Piedmont and France, between Nice and Frejus,urged Dantes to try and rise. Edmond made great exertions inorder to comply; but at each effort he fell back, moaningand turning pale.

"He has broken his ribs," said the commander, in a lowvoice. "No matter; he is an excellent fellow, and we mustnot leave him. We will try and carry him on board thetartan." Dantes declared, however, that he would rather diewhere he was than undergo the agony which the slightestmovement cost him. "Well," said the patron, "let what mayhappen, it shall never be said that we deserted a goodcomrade like you. We will not go till evening." This verymuch astonished the sailors, although, not one opposed it.The patron was so strict that this was the first time theyhad ever seen him give up an enterprise, or even delay inits execution. Dantes would not allow that any suchinfraction of regular and proper rules should be made in hisfavor. "No, no," he said to the patron, "I was awkward, andit is just that I pay the penalty of my clumsiness. Leave mea small supply of biscuit, a gun, powder, and balls, to killthe kids or defend myself at need, and a pickaxe, that I maybuild a shelter if you delay in coming back for me."

"But you'll die of hunger," said the patron.

"I would rather do so," was Edmond reply, "than suffer theinexpressible agonies which the slightest movement causesme." The patron turned towards his vessel, which was rollingon the swell in the little harbor, and, with sails partlyset, would be ready for sea when her toilet should becompleted.

"What are we to do, Maltese?" asked the captain. "We cannotleave you here so, and yet we cannot stay."

"Go, go!" exclaimed Dantes.

"We shall be absent at least a week," said the patron, "andthen we must run out of our course to come here and take youup again."

"Why," said Dantes, "if in two or three days you hail anyfishing-boat, desire them to come here to me. I will paytwenty-five piastres for my passage back to Leghorn. If youdo not come across one, return for me." The patron shook hishead.

"Listen, Captain Baldi; there's one way of settling this,"said Jacopo. "Do you go, and I will stay and take care ofthe wounded man."

"And give up your share of the venture," said Edmond, "toremain with me?"

"Yes," said Jacopo, "and without any hesitation."

"You are a good fellow and a kind-hearted messmate," repliedEdmond, "and heaven will recompense you for your generousintentions; but I do not wish any one to stay with me. A dayor two of rest will set me up, and I hope I shall find amongthe rocks certain herbs most excellent for bruises."

A peculiar smile passed over Dantes' lips; he squeezedJacopo's hand warmly, but nothing could shake hisdetermination to remain - and remain alone. The smugglersleft with Edmond what he had requested and set sail, but notwithout turning about several times, and each time makingsigns of a cordial farewell, to which Edmond replied withhis hand only, as if he could not move the rest of his body.Then, when they had disappeared, he said with a smile, - "'Tis strange that it should be among such men that we findproofs of friendship and devotion." Then he dragged himselfcautiously to the top of a rock, from which he had a fullview of the sea, and thence he saw the tartan complete herpreparations for sailing, weigh anchor, and, balancingherself as gracefully as a water-fowl ere it takes to thewing, set sail. At the end of an hour she was completely outof sight; at least, it was impossible for the wounded man tosee her any longer from the spot where he was. Then Dantesrose more agile and light than the kid among the myrtles andshrubs of these wild rocks, took his gun in one hand, hispickaxe in the other, and hastened towards the rock on whichthe marks he had noted terminated. "And now," he exclaimed,remembering the tale of the Arabian fisherman, which Fariahad related to him, "now, open sesame!"