Monte Cristo uttered a joyful exclamation on seeing theyoung men together. "Ah, ha!" said he, "I hope all is over,explained and settled."

"Yes," said Beauchamp; "the absurd reports have died away,and should they be renewed, I would be the first to opposethem; so let us speak no more of it."

"Albert will tell you," replied the count "that I gave himthe same advice. Look," added he. "I am finishing the mostexecrable morning's work."

"What is it?" said Albert; "arranging your papers,apparently."

"My papers, thank God, no, - my papers are all in capitalorder, because I have none; but M. Cavalcanti's."

"M. Cavalcanti's?" asked Beauchamp.

"Yes; do you not know that this is a young man whom thecount is introducing?" said Morcerf.

"Let us not misunderstand each other," replied Monte Cristo;"I introduce my one, and certainly not M. Cavalcanti."

"And who," said Albert with a forced smile, "is to marryMademoiselle Danglars instead of me, which grieves mecruelly."

"What? Cavalcanti is going to marry Mademoiselle Danglars?"asked Beauchamp.

"Certainly; do you come from the end of the world?" saidMonte Cristo; "you, a journalist, the husband of renown? Itis the talk of all Paris."

"And you, count, have made this match?" asked Beauchamp.

"I? Silence, purveyor of gossip, do not spread that report.I make a match? No, you do not know me; I have done all inmy power to oppose it."

"Ah, I understand," said Beauchamp, "on our friend Albert'saccount."

"On my account?" said the young man; "oh, no, indeed, thecount will do me the justice to assert that I have, on thecontrary, always entreated him to break off my engagement,and happily it is ended. The count pretends I have not himto thank; - so be it - I will erect an altar Deo ignoto."

"Listen," said Monte Cristo; "I have had little to do withit, for I am at variance both with the father-in-law and theyoung man; there is only Mademoiselle Eugenie, who appearsbut little charmed with the thoughts of matrimony, and who,seeing how little I was disposed to persuade her to renounceher dear liberty, retains any affection for me."

"And do you say this wedding is at hand?"

"Oh, yes, in spite of all I could say. I do not know theyoung man; he is said to be of good family and rich, but Inever trust to vague assertions. I have warned M. Danglarsof it till I am tired, but he is fascinated with hisLuccanese. I have even informed him of a circumstance Iconsider very serious; the young man was either charmed byhis nurse, stolen by gypsies, or lost by his tutor, Iscarcely know which. But I do know his father lost sight ofhim for more than ten years; what he did during these tenyears, God only knows. Well, all that was useless. They havecommissioned me to write to the major to demand papers, andhere they are. I send them, but like Pilate - washing myhands."

"And what does Mademoiselle d'Armilly say to you for robbingher of her pupil?"

"Oh, well, I don't know; but I understand that she is goingto Italy. Madame Danglars asked me for letters ofrecommendation for the impresari; I gave her a few lines forthe director of the Valle Theatre, who is under someobligation to me. But what is the matter, Albert? you lookdull; are you, after all, unconsciously in love withMademoiselle Eugenie?"

"I am not aware of it," said Albert, smiling sorrowfully.Beauchamp turned to look at some paintings. "But," continuedMonte Cristo, "you are not in your usual spirits?"

"I have a dreadful headache," said Albert.

"Well, my dear viscount," said Monte Cristo, "I have aninfallible remedy to propose to you."

"What is that?" asked the young man.

"A change."

"Indeed?" said Albert.

"Yes; and as I am just now excessively annoyed, I shall gofrom home. Shall we go together?"

"You annoyed, count?" said Beauchamp; "and by what?"

"Ah, you think very lightly of it; I should like to see youwith a brief preparing in your house."

"What brief?"

"The one M. de Villefort is preparing against my amiableassassin - some brigand escaped from the gallowsapparently."

"True," said Beauchamp; "I saw it in the paper. Who is thisCaderousse?"

"Some provincial, it appears. M. de Villefort heard of himat Marseilles, and M. Danglars recollects having seen him.Consequently, the procureur is very active in the affair,and the prefect of police very much interested; and, thanksto that interest, for which I am very grateful, they send meall the robbers of Paris and the neighborhood, underpretence of their being Caderousse's murderers, so that inthree months, if this continue, every robber and assassin inFrance will have the plan of my house at his fingers' end. Iam resolved to desert them and go to some remote corner ofthe earth, and shall be happy if you will accompany me,viscount."

"Willingly."

"Then it is settled?"

"Yes, but where?"

"I have told you, where the air is pure, where every soundsoothes, where one is sure to be humbled, however proud maybe his nature. I love that humiliation, I, who am master ofthe universe, as was Augustus."

"But where are you really going?"

"To sea, viscount; you know I am a sailor. I was rocked whenan infant in the arms of old ocean, and on the bosom of thebeautiful Amphitrite; I have sported with the green mantleof the one and the azure robe of the other; I love the seaas a mistress, and pine if I do not often see her."

"Let us go, count."

"To sea?"

"Yes."

"You accept my proposal?"

"I do."

"Well, Viscount, there will be in my court-yard this eveninga good travelling britzka, with four post-horses, in whichone may rest as in a bed. M. Beauchamp, it holds four verywell, will you accompany us?"

"Thank you, I have just returned from sea."

"What? you have been to sea?"

"Yes; I have just made a little excursion to the BorromeanIslands."*

Lake Maggiore.

"What of that? come with us," said Albert.

"No, dear Morcerf; you know I only refuse when the thing isimpossible. Besides, it is important," added he in a lowtone, "that I should remain in Paris just now to watch thepaper."

"Ah, you are a good and an excellent friend," said Albert;"yes, you are right; watch, watch, Beauchamp, and try todiscover the enemy who made this disclosure." Albert andBeauchamp parted, the last pressure of their handsexpressing what their tongues could not before a stranger.

"Beauchamp is a worthy fellow," said Monte Cristo, when thejournalist was gone; "is he not, Albert?"

"Yes, and a sincere friend; I love him devotedly. But now weare alone, - although it is immaterial to me, - where arewe going?"

"Into Normandy, if you like."

"Delightful; shall we be quite retired? have no society, noneighbors?"

"Our companions will be riding-horses, dogs to hunt with,and a fishing-boat."

"Exactly what I wish for; I will apprise my mother of myintention, and return to you."

"But shall you be allowed to go into Normandy?"

"I may go where I please."

"Yes, I am aware you may go alone, since I once met you inItaly - but to accompany the mysterious Monte Cristo?"

"You forget, count, that I have often told you of the deepinterest my mother takes in you."

"`Woman is fickle.' said Francis I.; `woman is like a waveof the sea,' said Shakespeare; both the great king and thegreat poet ought to have known woman's nature well."

"Woman's, yes; my mother is not woman, but a woman."

"As I am only a humble foreigner, you must pardon me if I donot understand all the subtle refinements of your language."

"What I mean to say is, that my mother is not quick to giveher confidence, but when she does she never changes."

"Ah, yes, indeed," said Monte Cristo with a sigh; "and doyou think she is in the least interested in me?"

"I repeat it, you must really be a very strange and superiorman, for my mother is so absorbed by the interest you haveexcited, that when I am with her she speaks of no one else."

"And does she try to make you dislike me?"

"On the contrary, she often says, `Morcerf, I believe thecount has a noble nature; try to gain his esteem.'"

"Indeed?" said Monte Cristo, sighing.

"You see, then," said Albert, "that instead of opposing, shewill encourage me."

"Adieu, then, until five o'clock; be punctual, and we shallarrive at twelve or one."

"At Treport?"

"Yes; or in the neighborhood."

"But can we travel forty-eight leagues in eight hours?"

"Easily," said Monte Cristo.

"You are certainly a prodigy; you will soon not only surpassthe railway, which would not be very difficult in France,but even the telegraph."

"But, viscount, since we cannot perform the journey in lessthan seven or eight hours, do not keep me waiting."

"Do not fear, I have little to prepare." Monte Cristo smiledas he nodded to Albert, then remained a moment absorbed indeep meditation. But passing his hand across his forehead asif to dispel his revery, he rang the bell twice andBertuccio entered. "Bertuccio," said he, "I intend goingthis evening to Normandy, instead of to-morrow or the nextday. You will have sufficient time before five o'clock;despatch a messenger to apprise the grooms at the firststation. M. de Morcerf will accompany me." Bertuccio obeyedand despatched a courier to Pontoise to say thetravelling-carriage would arrive at six o'clock. FromPontoise another express was sent to the next stage, and insix hours all the horses stationed on the road were ready.Before his departure, the count went to Haidee's apartments,told her his intention, and resigned everything to her care.Albert was punctual. The journey soon became interestingfrom its rapidity, of which Morcerf had formed no previousidea. "Truly," said Monte Cristo, "with your posthorsesgoing at the rate of two leagues an hour, and that absurdlaw that one traveller shall not pass another withoutpermission, so that an invalid or ill-tempered traveller maydetain those who are well and active, it is impossible tomove; I escape this annoyance by travelling with my ownpostilion and horses; do I not, Ali?"

The count put his head out of the window and whistled, andthe horses appeared to fly. The carriage rolled with athundering noise over the pavement, and every one turned tonotice the dazzling meteor. Ali, smiling, repeated thesound, grasped the reins with a firm hand, and spurred hishorses, whose beautiful manes floated in the breeze. Thischild of the desert was in his element, and with his blackface and sparkling eyes appeared, in the cloud of dust heraised, like the genius of the simoom and the god of thehurricane. "I never knew till now the delight of speed,"said Morcerf, and the last cloud disappeared from his brow;"but where the devil do you get such horses? Are they madeto order?"

"Precisely," said the count; "six years since I bought ahorse in Hungary remarkable for its swiftness. Thethirty-two that we shall use to-night are its progeny; theyare all entirely black, with the exception of a star uponthe forehead."

"That is perfectly admirable; but what do you do, count,with all these horses?"

"You see, I travel with them."

"But you are not always travelling."

"When I no longer require them, Bertuccio will sell them,and he expects to realize thirty or forty thousand francs bythe sale."

"But no monarch in Europe will be wealthy enough to purchasethem."

"Then he will sell them to some Eastern vizier, who willempty his coffers to purchase them, and refill them byapplying the bastinado to his subjects."

"Count, may I suggest one idea to you?"

"Certainly."

"It is that, next to you, Bertuccio must be the richestgentleman in Europe."

"You are mistaken, viscount; I believe he has not a franc inhis possession."

"Then he must be a wonder. My dear count, if you tell memany more marvellous things, I warn you I shall not believethem."

"I countenance nothing that is marvellous, M. Albert. Tellme, why does a steward rob his master?"

"Because, I suppose, it is his nature to do so, for the loveof robbing."

"You are mistaken; it is because he has a wife and family,and ambitious desires for himself and them. Also because heis not sure of always retaining his situation, and wishes toprovide for the future. Now, M. Bertuccio is alone in theworld; he uses my property without accounting for the use hemakes of it; he is sure never to leave my service."

"Why?"

"Because I should never get a better."

"Probabilities are deceptive."

"But I deal in certainties; he is the best servant over whomone has the power of life and death."

"Do you possess that right over Bertuccio?"

"Yes."

There are words which close a conversation with an irondoor; such was the count's "yes." The whole journey wasperformed with equal rapidity; the thirty-two horses,dispersed over seven stages, brought them to theirdestination in eight hours. At midnight they arrived at thegate of a beautiful park. The porter was in attendance; hehad been apprised by the groom of the last stage of thecount's approach. At half past two in the morning Morcerfwas conducted to his apartments, where a bath and supperwere prepared. The servant who had travelled at the back ofthe carriage waited on him; Baptistin, who rode in front,attended the count. Albert bathed, took his supper, and wentto bed. All night he was lulled by the melancholy noise ofthe surf. On rising, he went to his window, which opened ona terrace, having the sea in front, and at the back a prettypark bounded by a small forest. In a creek lay a littlesloop, with a narrow keel and high masts, bearing on itsflag the Monte Cristo arms which were a mountain on a seaazure, with a cross gules on the shield. Around the schoonerlay a number of small fishing-boats belonging to thefishermen of the neighboring village, like humble subjectsawaiting orders from their queen. There, as in every spotwhere Monte Cristo stopped, if but for two days, luxuryabounded and life went on with the utmost ease.

Albert found in his anteroom two guns, with all theaccoutrements for hunting; a lofty room on the ground-floorcontaining all the ingenious instruments the English - eminent in piscatory pursuits, since they are patient andsluggish - have invented for fishing. The day passed inpursuing those exercises in which Monte Cristo excelled.They killed a dozen pheasants in the park, as many trout inthe stream, dined in a summer-house overlooking the ocean,and took tea in the library.

Towards the evening of the third day. Albert, completelyexhausted with the exercise which invigorated Monte Cristo,was sleeping in an arm-chair near the window, while thecount was designing with his architect the plan of aconservatory in his house, when the sound of a horse at fullspeed on the high road made Albert look up. He wasdisagreeably surprised to see his own valet de chambre, whomhe had not brought, that he might not inconvenience MonteCristo.

"Florentin here!" cried he, starting up; "is my mother ill?"And he hastened to the door. Monte Cristo watched and sawhim approach the valet, who drew a small sealed parcel fromhis pocket, containing a newspaper and a letter. "From whomis this?" said he eagerly. "From M. Beauchamp," repliedFlorentin.

"Did he send you?"

"Yes, sir; he sent for me to his house, gave me money for myjourney, procured a horse, and made me promise not to stoptill I had reached you, I have come in fifteen hours."

Albert opened the letter with fear, uttered a shriek onreading the first line, and seized the paper. His sight wasdimmed, his legs sank under him, and he would have fallenhad not Florentin supported him.

"Poor young man," said Monte Cristo in a low voice; "it isthen true that the sin of the father shall fall on thechildren to the third and fourth generation." MeanwhileAlbert had revived, and, continuing to read, he threw backhis head, saying, "Florentin, is your horse fit to returnimmediately?"

"It is a poor lame post-horse."

"In what state was the house when you left?"

"All was quiet, but on returning from M. Beauchamp's, Ifound madame in tears: she had sent for me to know when youwould return. I told her my orders from M. Beauchamp; shefirst extended her arms to prevent me, but after a moment'sreflection, `Yes, go, Florentin,' said she, `and may he comequickly.'"

"Yes, my mother," said Albert, "I will return, and woe tothe infamous wretch! But first of all I must get there."

He went back to the room where he had left Monte Cristo.Five minutes had sufficed to make a complete transformationin his appearance. His voice had become rough and hoarse;his face was furrowed with wrinkles; his eyes burned underthe blue-veined lids, and he tottered like a drunken man."Count," said he, "I thank you for your hospitality, which Iwould gladly have enjoyed longer; but I must return toParis."

"What has happened?"

"A great misfortune, more important to me than life. Don'tquestion me, I beg of you, but lend me a horse."

"My stables are at your command, viscount; but you will killyourself by riding on horseback. Take a post-chaise or acarriage."

"No, it would delay me, and I need the fatigue you warn meof; it will do me good." Albert reeled as if he had beenshot, and fell on a chair near the door. Monte Cristo didnot see this second manifestation of physical exhaustion; hewas at the window, calling, "Ali, a horse for M. de Morcerf- quick! he is in a hurry!" These words restored Albert; hedarted from the room, followed by the count. "Thank you!"cried he, throwing himself on his horse. "Return as soon asyou can, Florentin. Must I use any password to procure ahorse?"

"Only dismount; another will be immediately saddled." Alberthesitated a moment. "You may think my departure strange andfoolish," said the young man; "you do not know how aparagraph in a newspaper may exasperate one. Read that,"said he, "when I am gone, that you may not be witness of myanger."

While the count picked up the paper he put spurs to hishorse, which leaped in astonishment at such an unusualstimulus, and shot away with the rapidity of an arrow. Thecount watched him with a feeling of compassion, and when hehad completely disappeared, read as follows: -

"The French officer in the service of Ali Pasha of Yaninaalluded to three weeks since in the Impartial, who not onlysurrendered the castle of Yanina, but sold his benefactor tothe Turks, styled himself truly at that time Fernand, as ouresteemed contemporary states; but he has since added to hisChristian name a title of nobility and a family name. He nowcalls himself the Count of Morcerf, and ranks among thepeers."

Thus the terrible secret, which Beauchamp had so generouslydestroyed, appeared again like an armed phantom; and anotherpaper, deriving its information from some malicious source,had published two days after Albert's departure for Normandythe few lines which had rendered the unfortunate young manalmost crazy.