Stories to remember - Chapter 19

FATHER BUSONI

It was the 3rd June 1829.

Caderousse was standing at the door of his inn, called the ' Inn of Pont du Gard '. Someone was coming along the road on horseback. As the figure came nearer, Caderousse noticed that it was a priest, dressed in black, and wearing a three-cornered hat. The priest dismounted at the inn. It was a hot day. He asked for some refreshing wine to drink. After the landlord had brought the wine and poured some into a glass, the priest said to him, 'Is your name Caderousse?'

'That is right.'

'My name is Father Busoni,' said the priest. 'Did you know, in the year 1814 or 1815, a sailor called Dante?'

'He was my best friend,' replied the innkeeper. 'Do you know him? What has become of him?'

'He died in prison,' said Father Busoni. 'I was called to his bedside when he was dying. He gave me a diamond which he had received from another prisoner and he asked me to sell it and divide the money among his five best friends. I have the jewel with me and you are one of the friends I seek.'

'What a surprise!' cried Caderousse. 'How much is the jewel worth?'

'The diamond is worth fifty thousand francs.'

'And who are the four other friends?'

'His father, a girl called Mercedes, who was to have been his bride, a young man named Fernand and another man named Danglars.'

'Alas! Poor Edmond!' exclaimed Caderousse. 'His father died many years ago and the others were not his friends at all. I am his only true friend.'

'Please tell me about the others,' said the priest. 'Begin with the father.'

'Old Dante was very sad when Edmond was taken away,' said Caderousse. 'He waited at home for his son to return. Monsieur Morrel, the shipowner, tried to help him by giving him money to buy food, but the old man was too proud to use it. In the end, he died of hunger. Monsieur Morrel paid for his funeral.'

'And what about Dante's other friends, Fernand and Danglars?' said the priest. 'Didn't they help the old man?'

'They were the cause of his misery,' replied Caderousse. 'They had denounced the son as a Bonapartist agent.'

'How do you know this?'

'I was with them at the Hotel La Reserve when they plotted together. Danglars wrote the letter and Fernand posted it.'

'Ah, Faria, how right you were,' murmured the priest softly to himself.

'What did you say?' asked Caderousse.

'Nothing,' replied the priest. 'Tell me more about Danglars and Fernand.'

'They are wealthy men now.'

'How did that happen?'

'Danglars left Marseilles and became a cashier in a Spanish bank. During the war between France and Spain, he became a clerk with the French army. By stealing the funds, he made a fortune in Spain. With that money he returned to France and became a banker. He also married a wealthy widow who is a friend of the king. Now he is a millionaire and they have made him a baron. Baron Danglars, he is called, and he lives in a big house in Paris.'

'And Fernand?'

'Ah, Fernand was a soldier. Napoleon called him into his army. Before the battle of Waterloo, he was a sentry at the door of a general. The general deserted to the English and Fernand went with him. When Napoleon was defeated, Fernand returned with the general to France. He now had the rank of a lieutenant. Soon he became a captain. He was sent to Spain. There he met Danglars again. These two helped one another to make money. In Spain Fernand became a colonel. Next he was sent east, to help Prince Ali Tebelin Pacha of Janina. Ali Pacha was killed but, before he died, he left a fortune to Fernand. Fernand at last returned to France, a wealthy man with the rank of general, and the title of Count Morcerf. He, too, lives in a large house in Paris.'

'And Monsieur Morrel, the owner of the ship on which Dante sailed. What of him?'

'Ah, poor Monsieur Morrel. He spent all his money trying to set Dante free. He wrote letter after letter to the State Prosecutor asking for Dante's release from the Chateau d'If. But all his efforts were in vain. He lives with his son in Marseilles, a sorrowful and disappointed man.'

The priest paused for a moment as if undecided what his next words would be. Then, in a voice hardly more than a whisper, he asked, 'And what of Mercedes?'

'Oh, she was in despair when Dante was taken away, but when Fernand returned to Marseilles as a lieutenant, she married him.'

'She married him?' exclaimed the priest in surprise.

'Yes, she is now the Countess Morcerf, and they have a son named Albert. So you see, Father Busoni, all these others have become rich. Yet I, who was the only true friend of Edmond Dante, have remained poor.'

'Thank you for telling me everything,' said the priest.

'I am sure Edmond would wish me to give this diamond to you alone, since you were his only real friend. Here it is. There is no longer any need for me to look for the others.'

So saying, he handed the diamond to Caderousse, mounted his horse and rode away.

Caderousse, his greedy eyes gleaming, looked at the big, bright diamond. Then he called to his wife to come and hear his good fortune.