Stories to remember - Chapter 12

FARIA'S TREASURE

Dante had heard the guards of the Chateau d'If say that Faria was mad because he talked about a 'fortune' which he did not have. When the old man again began to speak of his 'treasure', Dante felt sure that he was once more losing his mind.

'You are ill, my friend,' he said. 'Stay quiet and rest awhile.'

Faria looked at him.

'You think I am mad, but the treasure is there, Dante. Only hear me and afterwards you can decide if I speak the truth.'

Then he  told Dante his story.

Cardinal Spada, whose secretary Faria had been, was the last remaining member of a very old Roman family.

At the end of the fifteenth century this family had been forced to hide their wealth, so that it would not fall into the hands of the powerful Caesar Borgia.

The head of the Spada family at that time was named Caesar Spada. He hid the family fortune so well that, after he was poisoned by Caesar Borgia, not only could his murderer not find it, but neither could his family. Caesar Spada did not have time before his death to let his family know where the treasure was hidden. He was thought to have made a will, but this could not be found either.

Cardinal Spada, the last member of the Spada family, spent much of his lifetime trying to find a clue to the whereabouts of the fortune, but he did not succeed. When he died, having no heirs, he left his papers to his secretary, the Abbe Faria.

One day when he was looking through these, Faria picked up a sheet of paper with no writing on it. It was getting dark, so he used the paper to light a candle. As he put it in the fire, he suddenly saw yellowish letters appearing on it. Quickly he put out the flames, realising that something was written there in invisible ink. The letters only showed when the paper was heated.

He managed to save most of the paper and then he warmed it to make the rest of the writing appear. Where the paper had been burnt, some of the words were missing. This is what he saw.

This 25th day of April, 1498, I was inv......

dinner with the great Caesar B......

that he will poison me in order to......

my wealth. I therefore declare to my neph......

Spada, that I have buried it in the c......

island of  Monte Cristo. It is worth........

two million Roman crowns.......

       raising the twentieth rock from........

to the east in a ri......

in the farthest angle of the sec......

the caves. I bequeath every........

as my sole heir.

25th April, 1498                       Cae.....

Faria could see that this was the last will and testament of Caesar Spada, which the Spada family had been seeking for 300 years. He thought carefully and, because he was a clever man, he was able to fill in the missing portion where the paper had been burnt. He wrote it down on another piece of paper like this.

ited to

orgia. I am afraid

lay hands on

ew Guido

aves on the

about

and it can be found by

the small creek

ght line. The treasure is

and opening in 

thing to my nephew

sar Spada.

Faria had learnt it all by heart and he now wrote everything again on two pieces of paper for Dante to read. This is what Dante saw when he put the two pieces together.

This 25th day of April 1498, I was invited to 

dinner with the great Caesar Borgia. I am afraid 

that he will poison me in order to lay hands on 

my wealth. I therefore declare to my nephew Guido 

Spada, that I have buried it in the caves on the 

island of Monte Cristo. It is worth about 

two million Roman crowns and it can be found by

raising the twentieth rock from the small creek 

to the east in a right line. The treasure is 

in the farthest angle in the second opening in 

the caves. I bequeath everything to my nephew 

as my sole heir.

25th April 1498                           Caesar Spada

Before Faria could go in search of tthe treasure, he was arrested. So he had not been able to see whether the wealth of the Spadas was still lying in the hiding place or not.

Now Faria told Dante that if they ever escaped from the prison together they would share the Spada fortune between them.

'But this treasure belongs to you, my dear friend,' said Dante. 'I am no relative of yours.'

'You are my son, Edmond. That is how I think of you now that we have been together so long,' said the old priest.

The young man threw himself at the feet of Faria and wept.