LORD WILMORE
On the sixth day, the smugglers returned to the island. Dante walked slowly to meet them, pretending to be in great pain. The captain asked him if he was better. Dante said he was feeling much better, but his ribs were still hurting him. They took him aboard the Young Amelia and sailed away for Genoa.
When they arrived at Genoa, Dante went to a dealer in precious stones and sold to him four of his smallest diamonds for twenty thousand francs. The dealer might have wondered how a poor sailor happened to be selling these jewels, but he did not ask any troublesome questions. They were worth much more than the twenty thousand francs he was paying to Dante.
Dante now went back to the Young Amelia and told the captain that an uncle had died, leaving him a fortune. So he would not be sailing on the ship again.
'We shall be sorry to lose you,' said the captain.
'Yes, we shall miss you,' said the sailors.
When he said goodbye, Dante gave each sailor a present of some money. He promised to write to the captain later. They had been good friends and he would like to see him again.
So when the Young Amelia sailed the next day, Dante stayed in Genoa. First, he bought himself some fine clothes. Next, he purchased an English passport. It was made out in the name of a Lord Wilmore. With this he would have no difficulty in going anywhere, even back to France, pretending he was an English nobleman. He knew that nobody would recognise him any more. If he came to Marseilles as Lord Wilmore, who would dream that he was really Edmond Dante, the escaped prisoner from the Chateau d'If?
Now he went to a boat builder and bought a fine little yacht. He took the yacht out into the harbour and found that he could easily sail her by himself. He asked the boat builder to make three secret compartments in the cabin at the head of his bed. This was done. Dante was now ready to sail.
He sailed southwards between the islands of Elba and Corsica. In thirty-five hours he reached the island of Monte Cristo. Here he anchored the little yacht in the creek. The island was quite deserted. He went ashore and walked all around to make sure that no one was there. Then he went back to the creek and climbed up to the spot where his treasure was hidden. It was all there, just as he had left it. He began to remove the coins, the gold, and the jewels from the big chest. Very soon all his immense wealth was safely stored in the three secret compartments of the cabin on his yacht.
He now set sail again, this time for Marseilles. When he arrived there, he landed as an English nobleman who liked to sail his yacht, by himself, around the Mediterranean Sea.
Lord Wilmore, as Dante now called himself, went to the house where old Mr Dante had lived. He was told that the old man had died many years ago. The house was for sale. Lord Wilmore bought it.
The next thing Lord Wilmore did was to ask about a man called Caderousse who had lived next door to old Dante. Somebody said that Caderousse now kept a small inn, some miles outside Marseilles, near a place called Beaucaire.
Lord Wilmore spent a few days in Marseilles, shopping. Among the things he purchased were a wig, a false beard, and a priest's dress.
Some time later a bearded priest was seen riding on horseback out of Marseilles on the road towards Beaucaire.
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