"Then," continued Beauchamp, "I took advantage of thesilence and the darkness to leave the house without beingseen. The usher who had introduced me was waiting for me atthe door, and he conducted me through the corridors to aprivate entrance opening into the Rue de Vaugirard. I leftwith mingled feelings of sorrow and delight. Excuse me,Albert, - sorrow on your account, and delight with thatnoble girl, thus pursuing paternal vengeance. Yes, Albert,from whatever source the blow may have proceeded - it maybe from an enemy, but that enemy is only the agent ofprovidence." Albert held his head between his hands; heraised his face, red with shame and bathed in tears, andseizing Beauchamp's arm, "My friend," said he, "my life isended. I cannot calmly say with you, `Providence has struckthe blow;' but I must discover who pursues me with thishatred, and when I have found him I shall kill him, or hewill kill me. I rely on your friendship to assist me,Beauchamp, if contempt has not banished it from your heart."

"Contempt, my friend? How does this misfortune affect you?No, happily that unjust prejudice is forgotten which madethe son responsible for the father's actions. Review yourlife, Albert; although it is only just beginning, did alovely summer's day ever dawn with greater purity than hasmarked the commencement of your career? No, Albert, take myadvice. You are young and rich - leave Paris - all is soonforgotten in this great Babylon of excitement and changingtastes. You will return after three or four years with aRussian princess for a bride, and no one will think more ofwhat occurred yesterday than if it had happened sixteenyears ago."

"Thank you, my dear Beauchamp, thank you for the excellentfeeling which prompts your advice; but it cannot be. I havetold you my wish, or rather my determination. You understandthat, interested as I am in this affair, I cannot see it inthe same light as you do. What appears to you to emanatefrom a celestial source, seems to me to proceed from one farless pure. Providence appears to me to have no share in thisaffair; and happily so, for instead of the invisible,impalpable agent of celestial rewards and punishments, Ishall find one both palpable and visible, on whom I shallrevenge myself, I assure you, for all I have suffered duringthe last month. Now, I repeat, Beauchamp, I wish to returnto human and material existence, and if you are still thefriend you profess to be, help me to discover the hand thatstruck the blow."

"Be it so," said Beauchamp; "if you must have me descend toearth, I submit; and if you will seek your enemy, I willassist you, and I will engage to find him, my honor beingalmost as deeply interested as yours."

"Well, then, you understand, Beauchamp, that we begin oursearch immediately. Each moment's delay is an eternity forme. The calumniator is not yet punished, and he may hopethat he will not be; but, on my honor, it he thinks so, hedeceives himself."

"Well, listen, Morcerf."

"Ah, Beauchamp, I see you know something already; you willrestore me to life."

"I do not say there is any truth in what I am going to tellyou, but it is, at least, a ray of light in a dark night; byfollowing it we may, perhaps, discover something morecertain."

"Tell me; satisfy my impatience."

"Well, I will tell you what I did not like to mention on myreturn from Yanina."

"Say on."

"I went, of course, to the chief banker of the town to makeinquiries. At the first word, before I had even mentionedyour father's name" -

"`Ah,' said he. `I guess what brings you here.'

"`How, and why?'

"`Because a fortnight since I was questioned on the samesubject.'

"`By whom?' - `By a Paris banker, my correspondent.'

"`Whose name is' -

"`Danglars.'"

"He!" cried Albert; "yes, it is indeed he who has so longpursued my father with jealous hatred. He, the man who wouldbe popular, cannot forgive the Count of Morcerf for beingcreated a peer; and this marriage broken off without areason being assigned - yes, it is all from the samecause."

"Make inquiries, Albert, but do not be angry without reason;make inquiries, and if it be true" -

"Oh, yes, if it be true," cried the young man, "he shall payme all I have suffered."

"Beware, Morcerf, he is already an old man."

"I will respect his age as he has respected the honor of myfamily; if my father had offended him, why did he not attackhim personally? Oh, no, he was afraid to encounter him faceto face."

"I do not condemn you, Albert; I only restrain you. Actprudently."

"Oh, do not fear; besides, you will accompany me. Beauchamp,solemn transactions should be sanctioned by a witness.Before this day closes, if M. Danglars is guilty, he shallcease to live, or I shall die. Pardieu, Beauchamp, mineshall be a splendid funeral!"

"When such resolutions are made, Albert, they should bepromptly executed. Do you wish to go to M. Danglars? Let usgo immediately." They sent for a cabriolet. On entering thebanker's mansion, they perceived the phaeton and servant ofM. Andrea Cavalcanti. "Ah, parbleu, that's good," saidAlbert, with a gloomy tone. "If M. Danglars will not fightwith me, I will kill his son-in-law; Cavalcanti willcertainly fight." The servant announced the young man; butthe banker, recollecting what had transpired the day before,did not wish him admitted. It was, however, too late; Alberthad followed the footman, and, hearing the order given,forced the door open, and followed by Beauchamp foundhimself in the banker's study. "Sir," cried the latter, "amI no longer at liberty to receive whom I choose in my house?You appear to forget yourself sadly."

"No, sir," said Albert, coldly; "there are circumstances inwhich one cannot, except through cowardice, - I offer youthat refuge, - refuse to admit certain persons at least."

"What is your errand, then, with me, sir?"

"I mean," said Albert, drawing near, and without apparentlynoticing Cavalcanti, who stood with his back towards thefireplace - "I mean to propose a meeting in some retiredcorner where no one will interrupt us for ten minutes; thatwill be sufficient - where two men having met, one of themwill remain on the ground." Danglars turned pale; Cavalcantimoved a step forward, and Albert turned towards him. "Andyou, too," said he, "come, if you like, monsieur; you have aclaim, being almost one of the family, and I will give asmany rendezvous of that kind as I can find persons willingto accept them." Cavalcanti looked at Danglars with astupefied air, and the latter, making an effort, arose andstepped between the two young men. Albert's attack on Andreahad placed him on a different footing, and he hoped thisvisit had another cause than that he had at first supposed.

"Indeed, sir," said he to Albert, "if you are come toquarrel with this gentleman because I have preferred him toyou, I shall resign the case to the king's attorney."

"You mistake, sir," said Morcerf with a gloomy smile; "I amnot referring in the least to matrimony, and I onlyaddressed myself to M. Cavalcanti because he appeareddisposed to interfere between us. In one respect you areright, for I am ready to quarrel with every one to-day; butyou have the first claim, M. Danglars."

"Sir," replied Danglars, pale with anger and fear, "I warnyou, when I have the misfortune to meet with a mad dog, Ikill it; and far from thinking myself guilty of a crime, Ibelieve I do society a kindness. Now, if you are mad and tryto bite me, I will kill you without pity. Is it my faultthat your father has dishonored himself?"

"Yes, miserable wretch!" cried Morcerf, "it is your fault."Danglars retreated a few steps. "My fault?" said he; "youmust be mad! What do I know of the Grecian affair? Have Itravelled in that country? Did I advise your father to sellthe castle of Yanina - to betray" -

"Silence!" said Albert, with a thundering voice. "No; it isnot you who have directly made this exposure and broughtthis sorrow on us, but you hypocritically provoked it."

"I?"

"Yes; you! How came it known?"

"I suppose you read it in the paper in the account fromYanina?"

"Who wrote to Yanina?"

"To Yanina?"

"Yes. Who wrote for particulars concerning my father?"

"I imagine any one may write to Yanina."

"But one person only wrote!"

"One only?"

"Yes; and that was you!"

"I, doubtless, wrote. It appears to me that when about tomarry your daughter to a young man, it is right to make someinquiries respecting his family; it is not only a right, buta duty."

"You wrote, sir, knowing what answer you would receive."

"I, indeed? I assure you," cried Danglars, with a confidenceand security proceeding less from fear than from theinterest he really felt for the young man, "I solemnlydeclare to you, that I should never have thought of writingto Yanina, did I know anything of Ali Pasha's misfortunes."

"Who, then, urged you to write? Tell me."

"Pardieu, it was the most simple thing in the world. I wasspeaking of your father's past history. I said the origin ofhis fortune remained obscure. The person to whom I addressedmy scruples asked me where your father had acquired hisproperty? I answered, `In Greece.' - `Then,' said he,`write to Yanina.'"

"And who thus advised you?"

"No other than your friend, Monte Cristo."

"The Count of Monte Cristo told you to write to Yanina?"

"Yes; and I wrote, and will show you my correspondence, ifyou like." Albert and Beauchamp looked at each other. "Sir,"said Beauchamp, who had not yet spoken, "you appear toaccuse the count, who is absent from Paris at this moment,and cannot justify himself."

"I accuse no one, sir," said Danglars; "I relate, and I willrepeat before the count what I have said to you."

"Does the count know what answer you received?"

"Yes; I showed it to him."

"Did he know my father's Christian name was Fernand, and hisfamily name Mondego?"

"Yes, I had told him that long since, and I did only whatany other would have done in my circumstances, and perhapsless. When, the day after the arrival of this answer, yourfather came by the advice of Monte Cristo to ask mydaughter's hand for you, I decidedly refused him, butwithout any explanation or exposure. In short, why should Ihave any more to do with the affair? How did the honor ordisgrace of M. de Morcerf affect me? It neither increasednor decreased my income."

Albert felt the blood mounting to his brow; there was nodoubt upon the subject. Danglars defended himself with thebaseness, but at the same time with the assurance, of a manwho speaks the truth, at least in part, if not wholly - notfor conscience' sake, but through fear. Besides, what wasMorcerf seeking? It was not whether Danglars or Monte Cristowas more or less guilty; it was a man who would answer forthe offence, whether trifling or serious; it was a man whowould fight, and it was evident Danglars's would not fight.And, in addition to this, everything forgotten orunperceived before presented itself now to his recollection.Monte Cristo knew everything, as he had bought the daughterof Ali Pasha; and, knowing everything, he had advisedDanglars to write to Yanina. The answer known, he hadyielded to Albert's wish to be introduced to Haidee, andallowed the conversation to turn on the death of Ali, andhad not opposed Haidee's recital (but having, doubtless,warned the young girl, in the few Romaic words he spoke toher, not to implicate Morcerf's father). Besides, had he notbegged of Morcerf not to mention his father's name beforeHaidee? Lastly, he had taken Albert to Normandy when he knewthe final blow was near. There could be no doubt that allhad been calculated and previously arranged; Monte Cristothen was in league with his father's enemies. Albert tookBeauchamp aside, and communicated these ideas to him.

"You are right," said the latter; "M. Danglars has only beena secondary agent in this sad affair, and it is of M. deMonte Cristo that you must demand an explanation." Albertturned. "Sir," said he to Danglars, "understand that I donot take a final leave of you; I must ascertain if yourinsinuations are just, and am going now to inquire of theCount of Monte Cristo." He bowed to the banker, and went outwith Beauchamp, without appearing to notice Cavalcanti.Danglars accompanied him to the door, where he again assuredAlbert that no motive of personal hatred had influenced himagainst the Count of Morcerf.