"As the jeweller returned to the apartment, he cast aroundhim a scrutinizing glance - but there was nothing to excitesuspicion, if it did not exist, or to confirm it, if it werealready awakened. Caderousse's hands still grasped the goldand bank-notes, and La Carconte called up her sweetestsmiles while welcoming the reappearance of their guest.`Well, well,' said the jeweller, `you seem, my good friends,to have had some fears respecting the accuracy of yourmoney, by counting it over so carefully directly I wasgone.' - `Oh, no,' answered Caderousse, `that was not myreason, I can assure you; but the circumstances by which wehave become possessed of this wealth are so unexpected, asto make us scarcely credit our good fortune, and it is onlyby placing the actual proof of our riches before our eyesthat we can persuade ourselves that the whole affair is nota dream.' The jeweller smiled. - `Have you any other guestsin your house?' inquired he. - `Nobody but ourselves,'replied Caderousse; `the fact is, we do not lodge travellers- indeed, our tavern is so near the town, that nobody wouldthink of stopping here. - `Then I am afraid I shall verymuch inconvenience you.' - `Inconvenience us? Not at all,my dear sir,' said La Carconte in her most gracious manner.`Not at all, I assure you.' - `But where will you manage tostow me?' - `In the chamber overhead.' - `Surely that iswhere you yourselves sleep?' - `Never mind that; we have asecond bed in the adjoining room.' Caderousse stared at hiswife with much astonishment.

"The jeweller, meanwhile, was humming a song as he stoodwarming his back at the fire La Carconte had kindled to drythe wet garments of her guest; and this done, she nextoccupied herself in arranging his supper, by spreading anapkin at the end of the table, and placing on it theslender remains of their dinner, to which she added three orfour fresh-laid eggs. Caderousse had once more parted withhis treasure - the banknotes were replaced in thepocket-book, the gold put back into the bag, and the wholecarefully locked in the cupboard. He then began pacing theroom with a pensive and gloomy air, glancing from time totime at the jeweller, who stood reeking with the steam fromhis wet clothes, and merely changing his place on the warmhearth, to enable the whole of his garments to be dried.

"`There,' said La Carconte, as she placed a bottle of wineon the table, `supper is ready whenever you are.' - `Andyou?' asked Joannes. - `I don't want any supper,' saidCaderousse. - `We dined so very late,' hastily interposedLa Carconte. - `Then it seems I am to eat alone,' remarkedthe jeweller. - `Oh, we shall have the pleasure of waitingupon you,' answered La Carconte, with an eager attention shewas not accustomed to manifest even to guests who paid forwhat they took.

"From time to time Caderousse darted on his wife keen,searching glances, but rapid as the lightning flash. Thestorm still continued. `There, there,' said La Carconte; `doyou hear that? upon my word, you did well to come back.' - `Nevertheless,' replied the jeweller, `if by the time I havefinished my supper the tempest has at all abated, I shallmake another start.' - `It's the mistral,' said Caderousse,`and it will be sure to last till to-morrow morning.' Hesighed heavily. - `Well,' said the jeweller, as he placedhimself at table, `all I can say is, so much the worse forthose who are abroad.' - `Yes,' chimed in La Carconte,`they will have a wretched night of it.'

"The jeweller began eating his supper, and the woman, whowas ordinarily so querulous and indifferent to all whoapproached her, was suddenly transformed into the mostsmiling and attentive hostess. Had the unhappy man on whomshe lavished her assiduities been previously acquainted withher, so sudden an alteration might well have excitedsuspicion in his mind, or at least have greatly astonishedhim. Caderousse, meanwhile, continued to pace the room ingloomy silence, sedulously avoiding the sight of his guest;but as soon as the stranger had completed his repast, theagitated inn-keeper went eagerly to the door and opened it.`I believe the storm is over,' said he. But as if tocontradict his statement, at that instant a violent clap ofthunder seemed to shake the house to its very foundation,while a sudden gust of wind, mingled with rain, extinguishedthe lamp he held in his hand. Trembling and awe-struck,Caderousse hastily shut the door and returned to his guest,while La Carconte lighted a candle by the smouldering ashesthat glimmered on the hearth. `You must be tired,' said sheto the jeweller; `I have spread a pair of white sheets onyour bed; go up when you are ready, and sleep well.'

"Joannes stayed for a while to see whether the storm seemedto abate in its fury, but a brief space of time sufficed toassure him that, instead of diminishing, the violence of therain and thunder momentarily increased; resigning himself,therefore, to what seemed inevitable, he bade his hostgood-night, and mounted the stairs. He passed over my headand I heard the flooring creak beneath his footsteps. Thequick, eager glance of La Carconte followed him as heascended, while Caderousse, on the contrary, turned hisback, and seemed most anxiously to avoid even glancing athim.

"All these circumstances did not strike me as painfully atthe time as they have since done; in fact, all that hadhappened (with the exception of the story of the diamond,which certainly did wear an air of improbability), appearednatural enough, and called for neither apprehension normistrust; but, worn out as I was with fatigue, and fullypurposing to proceed onwards directly the tempest abated, Idetermined to obtain a few hours' sleep. Overhead I couldaccurately distinguish every movement of the jeweller, who,after making the best arrangements in his power for passinga comfortable night, threw himself on his bed, and I couldhear it creak and groan beneath his weight. Insensibly myeyelids grew heavy, deep sleep stole over me, and having nosuspicion of anything wrong, I sought not to shake it off. Ilooked into the kitchen once more and saw Caderousse sittingby the side of a long table upon one of the low woodenstools which in country places are frequently used insteadof chairs; his back was turned towards me, so that I couldnot see the expression of his countenance - neither shouldI have been able to do so had he been placed differently, ashis head was buried between his two hands. La Carcontecontinued to gaze on him for some time, then shrugging hershoulders, she took her seat immediately opposite to him. Atthis moment the expiring embers threw up a fresh flame fromthe kindling of a piece of wood that lay near, and a brightlight flashed over the room. La Carconte still kept her eyesfixed on her husband, but as he made no sign of changing hisposition, she extended her hard, bony hand, and touched himon the forehead.

"Caderousse shuddered. The woman's lips seemed to move, asthough she were talking; but because she merely spoke in anundertone, or my senses were dulled by sleep, I did notcatch a word she uttered. Confused sights and sounds seemedto float before me, and gradually I fell into a deep, heavyslumber. How long I had been in this unconscious state Iknow not, when I was suddenly aroused by the report of apistol, followed by a fearful cry. Weak and totteringfootsteps resounded across the chamber above me, and thenext instant a dull, heavy weight seemed to fall powerlesson the staircase. I had not yet fully recoveredconsciousness, when again I heard groans, mingled withhalf-stifled cries, as if from persons engaged in a deadlystruggle. A cry more prolonged than the others and ending ina series of groans effectually roused me from my drowsylethargy. Hastily raising myself on one arm, I lookedaround, but all was dark; and it seemed to me as if the rainmust have penetrated through the flooring of the room above,for some kind of moisture appeared to fall, drop by drop,upon my forehead, and when I passed my hand across my brow,I felt that it was wet and clammy.

"To the fearful noises that had awakened me had succeededthe most perfect silence - unbroken, save by the footstepsof a man walking about in the chamber above. The staircasecreaked, he descended into the room below, approached thefire and lit a candle. The man was Caderousse - he was paleand his shirt was all blood. Having obtained the light, hehurried up-stairs again, and once more I heard his rapid anduneasy footsteps. A moment later he came down again, holdingin his hand the small shagreen case, which he opened, toassure himself it contained the diamond, - seemed tohesitate as to which pocket he should put it in, then, as ifdissatisfied with the security of either pocket, hedeposited it in his red handkerchief, which he carefullyrolled round his head. After this he took from his cupboardthe bank-notes and gold he had put there, thrust the oneinto the pocket of his trousers, and the other into that ofhis waistcoat, hastily tied up a small bundle of linen, andrushing towards the door, disappeared in the darkness of thenight.

"Then all became clear and manifest to me, and I reproachedmyself with what had happened, as though I myself had donethe guilty deed. I fancied that I still heard faint moans,and imagining that the unfortunate jeweller might not bequite dead, I determined to go to his relief, by way ofatoning in some slight degree, not for the crime I hadcommitted, but for that which I had not endeavored toprevent. For this purpose I applied all the strength Ipossessed to force an entrance from the cramped spot inwhich I lay to the adjoining room. The poorly fastenedboards which alone divided me from it yielded to my efforts,and I found myself in the house. Hastily snatching up thelighted candle, I hurried to the staircase; about midway abody was lying quite across the stairs. It was that of LaCarconte. The pistol I had heard had doubtless been fired ather. The shot had frightfully lacerated her throat, leavingtwo gaping wounds from which, as well as the mouth, theblood was pouring in floods. She was stone dead. I strodepast her, and ascended to the sleeping chamber, whichpresented an appearance of the wildest disorder. Thefurniture had been knocked over in the deadly struggle thathad taken place there, and the sheets, to which theunfortunate jeweller had doubtless clung, were draggedacross the room. The murdered man lay on the floor, his headleaning against the wall, and about him was a pool of bloodwhich poured forth from three large wounds in his breast;there was a fourth gash, in which a long table knife wasplunged up to the handle.

"I stumbled over some object; I stooped to examine - it wasthe second pistol, which had not gone off, probably from thepowder being wet. I approached the jeweller, who was notquite dead, and at the sound of my footsteps and thecreaking of the floor, he opened his eyes, fixed them on mewith an anxious and inquiring gaze, moved his lips as thoughtrying to speak, then, overcome by the effort, fell back andexpired. This appalling sight almost bereft me of my senses,and finding that I could no longer be of service to any onein the house, my only desire was to fly. I rushed towardsthe staircase, clutching my hair, and uttering a groan ofhorror. Upon reaching the room below, I found five or sixcustom-house officers, and two or three gendarmes - allheavily armed. They threw themselves upon me. I made noresistance; I was no longer master of my senses. When Istrove to speak, a few inarticulate sounds alone escaped mylips.

"As I noticed the significant manner in which the wholeparty pointed to my blood-stained garments, I involuntarilysurveyed myself, and then I discovered that the thick warmdrops that had so bedewed me as I lay beneath the staircasemust have been the blood of La Carconte. I pointed to thespot where I had concealed myself. `What does he mean?'asked a gendarme. One of the officers went to the place Idirected. `He means,' replied the man upon his return, `thathe got in that way;' and he showed the hole I had made whenI broke through.

"Then I saw that they took me for the assassin. I recoveredforce and energy enough to free myself from the hands ofthose who held me, while I managed to stammer forth - `Idid not do it! Indeed, indeed I did not!' A couple ofgendarmes held the muzzles of their carbines against mybreast. - `Stir but a step,' said they, `and you are a deadman.' - `Why should you threaten me with death,' cried I,`when I have already declared my innocence?' - `Tush,tush,' cried the men; `keep your innocent stories to tell tothe judge at Nimes. Meanwhile, come along with us; and thebest advice we can give you is to do so unresistingly.'Alas, resistance was far from my thoughts. I was utterlyoverpowered by surprise and terror; and without a word Isuffered myself to be handcuffed and tied to a horse's tail,and thus they took me to Nimes.

"I had been tracked by a customs-officer, who had lost sightof me near the tavern; feeling certain that I intended topass the night there, he had returned to summon hiscomrades, who just arrived in time to hear the report of thepistol, and to take me in the midst of such circumstantialproofs of my guilt as rendered all hopes of proving myinnocence utterly futile. One only chance was left me, thatof beseeching the magistrate before whom I was taken tocause every inquiry to be made for the Abbe Busoni, who hadstopped at the inn of the Pont du Gard on that morning. IfCaderousse had invented the story relative to the diamond,and there existed no such person as the Abbe Busoni, then,indeed, I was lost past redemption, or, at least, my lifehung upon the feeble chance of Caderousse himself beingapprehended and confessing the whole truth. Two monthspassed away in hopeless expectation on my part, while I mustdo the magistrate the justice to say that he used everymeans to obtain information of the person I declared couldexculpate me if he would. Caderousse still evaded allpursuit, and I had resigned myself to what seemed myinevitable fate. My trial was to come on at the approachingassizes; when, on the 8th of September - that is to say,precisely three months and five days after the events whichhad perilled my life - the Abbe Busoni, whom I neverventured to believe I should see, presented himself at theprison doors, saying he understood one of the prisonerswished to speak to him; he added, that having learned atMarseilles the particulars of my imprisonment, he hastenedto comply with my desire. You may easily imagine with whateagerness I welcomed him, and how minutely I related thewhole of what I had seen and heard. I felt some degree ofnervousness as I entered upon the history of the diamond,but, to my inexpressible astonishment, he confirmed it inevery particular, and to my equal surprise, he seemed toplace entire belief in all I said. And then it was that, wonby his mild charity, seeing that he was acquainted with allthe habits and customs of my own country, and consideringalso that pardon for the only crime of which I was reallyguilty might come with a double power from lips sobenevolent and kind, I besought him to receive myconfession, under the seal of which I recounted the Auteuilaffair in all its details, as well as every othertransaction of my life. That which I had done by the impulseof my best feelings produced the same effect as though ithad been the result of calculation. My voluntary confessionof the assassination at Auteuil proved to him that I had notcommitted that of which I stood accused. When he quitted me,he bade me be of good courage, and to rely upon his doingall in his power to convince my judges of my innocence.

"I had speedy proofs that the excellent abbe was engaged inmy behalf, for the rigors of my imprisonment were alleviatedby many trifling though acceptable indulgences, and I wastold that my trial was to be postponed to the assizesfollowing those now being held. In the interim it pleasedprovidence to cause the apprehension of Caderousse, who wasdiscovered in some distant country, and brought back toFrance, where he made a full confession, refusing to makethe fact of his wife's having suggested and arranged themurder any excuse for his own guilt. The wretched man wassentenced to the galleys for life, and I was immediately setat liberty."

"And then it was, I presume," said Monte Cristo "that youcame to me as the bearer of a letter from the Abbe Busoni?"

"It was, your excellency; the benevolent abbe took anevident interest in all that concerned me.

"`Your mode of life as a smuggler,' said he to me one day,`will be the ruin of you; if you get out, don't take it upagain.' - `But how,' inquired I, `am I to maintain myselfand my poor sister?'

"`A person, whose confessor I am,' replied he, `and whoentertains a high regard for me, applied to me a short timesince to procure him a confidential servant. Would you likesuch a post? If so, I will give you a letter of introductionto him.' - `Oh, father,' I exclaimed, `you are very good.'

"`But you must swear solemnly that I shall never have reasonto repent my recommendation.' I extended my hand, and wasabout to pledge myself by any promise he would dictate, buthe stopped me. `It is unnecessary for you to bind yourselfby any vow,' said he; `I know and admire the Corsican naturetoo well to fear you. Here, take this,' continued he, afterrapidly writing the few lines I brought to your excellency,and upon receipt of which you deigned to receive me intoyour service, and proudly I ask whether your excellency hasever had cause to repent having done so?"

"No," replied the count; "I take pleasure in saying that youhave served me faithfully, Bertuccio; but you might haveshown more confidence in me."

"I, your excellency?"

"Yes; you. How comes it, that having both a sister and anadopted son, you have never spoken to me of either?"

"Alas, I have still to recount the most distressing periodof my life. Anxious as you may suppose I was to behold andcomfort my dear sister, I lost no time in hastening toCorsica, but when I arrived at Rogliano I found a house ofmourning, the consequences of a scene so horrible that theneighbors remember and speak of it to this day. Acting by myadvice, my poor sister had refused to comply with theunreasonable demands of Benedetto, who was continuallytormenting her for money, as long as he believed there was asou left in her possession. One morning that he had demandedmoney, threatening her with the severest consequences if shedid not supply him with what he desired, he disappeared andremained away all day, leaving the kind-hearted Assunta, wholoved him as if he were her own child, to weep over hisconduct and bewail his absence. Evening came, and still,with all the patient solicitude of a mother, she watched forhis return.

"As the eleventh hour struck, he entered with a swaggeringair, attended by two of the most dissolute and reckless ofhis boon companions. She stretched out her arms to him, butthey seized hold of her, and one of the three - none otherthan the accursed Benedetto exclaimed, - `Put her totorture and she'll soon tell us where her money is.'

"It unfortunately happened that our neighbor, Vasilio, wasat Bastia, leaving no person in his house but his wife; nohuman creature beside could hear or see anything that tookplace within our dwelling. Two held poor Assunta, who,unable to conceive that any harm was intended to her, smiledin the face of those who were soon to become herexecutioners. The third proceeded to barricade the doors andwindows, then returned, and the three united in stifling thecries of terror incited by the sight of these preparations,and then dragged Assunta feet foremost towards the brazier,expecting to wring from her an avowal of where her supposedtreasure was secreted. In the struggle her clothes caughtfire, and they were obliged to let go their hold in order topreserve themselves from sharing the same fate. Covered withflames, Assunta rushed wildly to the door, but it wasfastened; she flew to the windows, but they were alsosecured; then the neighbors heard frightful shrieks; it wasAssunta calling for help. The cries died away in groans, andnext morning, as soon as Vasilio's wife could muster upcourage to venture abroad, she caused the door of ourdwelling to be opened by the public authorities, whenAssunta, although dreadfully burnt, was found stillbreathing; every drawer and closet in the house had beenforced open, and the money stolen. Benedetto never againappeared at Rogliano, neither have I since that day eitherseen or heard anything concerning him.

"It was subsequently to these dreadful events that I waitedon your excellency, to whom it would have been folly to havementioned Benedetto, since all trace of him seemed entirelylost; or of my sister, since she was dead."

"And in what light did you view the occurrence?" inquiredMonte Cristo.

"As a punishment for the crime I had committed," answeredBertuccio. "Oh, those Villeforts are an accursed race!"

"Truly they are," murmured the count in a lugubrious tone.

"And now," resumed Bertuccio, "your excellency may, perhaps,be able to comprehend that this place, which I revisit forthe first time - this garden, the actual scene of my crime- must have given rise to reflections of no very agreeablenature, and produced that gloom and depression of spiritswhich excited the notice of your excellency, who was pleasedto express a desire to know the cause. At this instant ashudder passes over me as I reflect that possibly I am nowstanding on the very grave in which lies M. de Villefort, bywhose hand the ground was dug to receive the corpse of hischild."

"Everything is possible," said Monte Cristo, rising from thebench on which he had been sitting; "even," he added in aninaudible voice, "even that the procureur be not dead. TheAbbe Busoni did right to send you to me," he went on in hisordinary tone, "and you have done well in relating to me thewhole of your history, as it will prevent my forming anyerroneous opinions concerning you in future. As for thatBenedetto, who so grossly belied his name, have you nevermade any effort to trace out whither he has gone, or whathas become of him?"

"No; far from wishing to learn whither he has betakenhimself, I should shun the possibility of meeting him as Iwould a wild beast. Thank God, I have never heard his namementioned by any person, and I hope and believe he is dead."

"Do not think so, Bertuccio," replied the count; "for thewicked are not so easily disposed of, for God seems to havethem under his special watch-care to make of theminstruments of his vengeance."

"So be it," responded Bertuccio, "all I ask of heaven isthat I may never see him again. And now, your excellency,"he added, bowing his head, "you know everything - you aremy judge on earth, as the Almighty is in heaven; have youfor me no words of consolation?"

"My good friend, I can only repeat the words addressed toyou by the Abbe Busoni. Villefort merited punishment forwhat he had done to you, and, perhaps, to others. Benedetto,if still living, will become the instrument of divineretribution in some way or other, and then be duly punishedin his turn. As far as you yourself are concerned, I see butone point in which you are really guilty. Ask yourself,wherefore, after rescuing the infant from its living grave,you did not restore it to its mother? There was the crime,Bertuccio - that was where you became really culpable."

"True, excellency, that was the crime, the real crime, forin that I acted like a coward. My first duty, directly I hadsucceeded in recalling the babe to life, was to restore itto its mother; but, in order to do so, I must have madeclose and careful inquiry, which would, in all probability,have led to my own apprehension; and I clung to life, partlyon my sister's account, and partly from that feeling ofpride inborn in our hearts of desiring to come off untouchedand victorious in the execution of our vengeance. Perhaps,too, the natural and instinctive love of life made me wishto avoid endangering my own. And then, again, I am not asbrave and courageous as was my poor brother." Bertuccio hidhis face in his hands as he uttered these words, while MonteCristo fixed on him a look of inscrutable meaning. After abrief silence, rendered still more solemn by the time andplace, the count said, in a tone of melancholy wholly unlikehis usual manner, "In order to bring this conversation to afitting termination (the last we shall ever hold upon thissubject), I will repeat to you some words I have heard fromthe lips of the Abbe Busoni. For all evils there are tworemedies - time and silence. And now leave me, MonsieurBertuccio, to walk alone here in the garden. The verycircumstances which inflict on you, as a principal in thetragic scene enacted here, such painful emotions, are to me,on the contrary, a source of something like contentment, andserve but to enhance the value of this dwelling in myestimation. The chief beauty of trees consists in the deepshadow of their umbrageous boughs, while fancy pictures amoving multitude of shapes and forms flitting and passingbeneath that shade. Here I have a garden laid out in such away as to afford the fullest scope for the imagination, andfurnished with thickly grown trees, beneath whose leafyscreen a visionary like myself may conjure up phantoms atwill. This to me, who expected but to find a blank enclosuresurrounded by a straight wall, is, I assure you, a mostagreeable surprise. I have no fear of ghosts, and I havenever heard it said that so much harm had been done by thedead during six thousand years as is wrought by the livingin a single day. Retire within, Bertuccio, and tranquillizeyour mind. Should your confessor be less indulgent to you inyour dying moments than you found the Abbe Busoni, send forme, if I am still on earth, and I will soothe your ears withwords that shall effectually calm and soothe your partingsoul ere it goes forth to traverse the ocean calledeternity."

Bertuccio bowed respectfully, and turned away, sighingheavily. Monte Cristo, left alone, took three or four stepsonwards, and murmured, "Here, beneath this plane-tree, musthave been where the infant's grave was dug. There is thelittle door opening into the garden. At this corner is theprivate staircase communicating with the sleeping apartment.There will be no necessity for me to make a note of theseparticulars, for there, before my eyes, beneath my feet, allaround me, I have the plan sketched with all the livingreality of truth." After making the tour of the garden asecond time, the count re-entered his carriage, whileBertuccio, who perceived the thoughtful expression of hismaster's features, took his seat beside the driver withoututtering a word. The carriage proceeded rapidly towardsParis.

That same evening, upon reaching his abode in the ChampsElysees, the Count of Monte Cristo went over the wholebuilding with the air of one long acquainted with each nookor corner. Nor, although preceding the party, did he oncemistake one door for another, or commit the smallest errorwhen choosing any particular corridor or staircase toconduct him to a place or suite of rooms he desired tovisit. Ali was his principal attendant during this nocturnalsurvey. Having given various orders to Bertuccio relative tothe improvements and alterations he desired to make in thehouse, the Count, drawing out his watch, said to theattentive Nubian, "It is half-past eleven o'clock; Haideewill soon he here. Have the French attendants been summonedto await her coming?" Ali extended his hands towards theapartments destined for the fair Greek, which were soeffectually concealed by means of a tapestried entrance,that it would have puzzled the most curious to have divinedtheir existence. Ali, having pointed to the apartments, heldup three fingers of his right hand, and then, placing itbeneath his head, shut his eyes, and feigned to sleep. "Iunderstand," said Monte Cristo, well acquainted with Ali'spantomime; "you mean to tell me that three female attendantsawait their new mistress in her sleeping-chamber." Ali, withconsiderable animation, made a sign in the affirmative.

"Madame will be tired to-night," continued Monte Cristo,"and will, no doubt, wish to rest. Desire the Frenchattendants not to weary her with questions, but merely topay their respectful duty and retire. You will also see thatthe Greek servants hold no communication with those of thiscountry." He bowed. Just at that moment voices were heardhailing the concierge. The gate opened, a carriage rolleddown the avenue, and stopped at the steps. The count hastilydescended, presented himself at the already opened carriagedoor, and held out his hand to a young woman, completelyenveloped in a green silk mantle heavily embroidered withgold. She raised the hand extended towards her to her lips,and kissed it with a mixture of love and respect. Some fewwords passed between them in that sonorous language in whichHomer makes his gods converse. The young woman spoke with anexpression of deep tenderness, while the count replied withan air of gentle gravity. Preceded by Ali, who carried arose-colored flambeau in his hand, the new-comer, who was noother than the lovely Greek who had been Monte Cristo'scompanion in Italy, was conducted to her apartments, whilethe count retired to the pavilion reserved for himself. Inanother hour every light in the house was extinguished, andit might have been thought that all its inmates slept.