Stories to remember - Chapter 22

THE PRISON REGISTER

The next day, Lord Wilmore visited the Inspector of Prisons in Marseilles. He told the Inspector that, as a young man, he had studied in Rome under a priest named Faria. This priest had disappeared and he later heard that the old man had been a prisoner in the Chateau d'If.

'I remember him,' said the Inspector. 'He was crazy. He pretended to know of an immense treasure. He was always talking about it.'

'And is he still alive?' asked Lord Wilmore.

'Oh no, he died in February this year.'

'You have a good memory to remember the date.'

'I have good reason to remember when he died because an unusual thing happened,' said the Inspector.

'May I ask what that was?' said Lord Wilmore.

'Well, Faria's cell in the dungeons was about fifty feet away from the cell of a dangerous Bonapartist agent named Dante. I saw this Bonapartist once in his cell. He had a very fierce face. I would recognise him again anywhere.'

Lord Wilmore smiled to himself.

'Really?' he said. 'And this dangerous man; this-what did you say his name was?'

'Dante. Edmond Dante.'

'Ah yes. Dante. How does he come into the story?'

'He made a tunnel between the two cells. When Faria died, he carried the dead man through the tunnel to his own cell. Then he went back to Faria's cell, took his place in the sack in which they had sewn the body, and waited to be buried in the ground.'

'That was a very bold thing to do,' said Lord Wilmore.

'I have already said he was a very dangerous man,' said the Inspector, 'but fortunately we got rid of the crazy prisoner and the fierce one at the same time.'

'How was that?'

'The Chateau d'If has no cemetery. The dead are thrown into the sea with a thirty-six pound cannon ball tied to their feet.'

'Well?' said Lord Wilmore, as if he were slow to understand.

'Well, the jailers fastened a thirty-six pound ball to Dante's feet and threw him into the sea.'

'Really?' exclaimed Lord Wilmore.

'Yes,' said the Inspector of Prisons. 'Just imagine how surprised he was! I should like to have seen his face when he fell into the sea.'

'That would have been rather difficult.'

'Yes, but I can imagine it,' replied the Inspector laughing loudly.

'So can I,' said Lord Wilmore, and he began to laugh too; but he laughed with his mouth and not with his eyes.

When they had stopped laughing, Lord Wilmore asked if he might see the prison register relating to the Abbe Faria. He wanted to have some particulars as to his death.

'Certainly,' said the Inspector. He found the register and handed it to Lord Wilmore. While Lord Wilmore was looking at the register, the Inspector sat down in a corner and read his newspaper. He did not notice that the noble lord seemed to be more interested in the records of Edmond Dante than those of the Abbe Faria. He also did not notice when Lord Wilmore quickly removed from the register the letter, written by Danglars and posted by Fernand, accusing Dante of being a bonapartist agent. Lord Wilmore put the letter into his pocket. Then he arose, thanked the Inspector for his kindness, and went away.

The next day Lord Wilmore sailed away from Marseilles, in the direction of Italy.

Not long after this Bertuccio arrived in Italy. He went to the address given him by Father Busoni. As soon as the Count of Monte Cristo read the letter from the priest, he told Bertuccio that he would give him a job.

'You shall be my personal servant. I shall call you my steward,' said the Count.