HAYDEE'S STORY
One day, Albert Morcerf came to visit Monte Cristo.
As they were talking, the sound of music, like a guitar, was heard coming from another room in the house.
'What do I hear?' asked Albert.
'It's Haydee, playing her gusla.'
'Haydee! What a wonderful name! I have seen her with you at the opera. Who is she?'
'She's a princess.'
'A princess! Where does she come from?'
'She comes from the East. I'll ask her to tell you her story herself.'
'I would love to meet her.'
'Come, let us go and talk to her.'
The Count led Albert to Haydee's room. Haydee was sitting on some cushions, playing her instrument. She was very beautiful and her large eyes lit up with pleasure when she saw Monte Cristo coming into the room.
The Count introduced her to Albert. Haydee asked a servant to bring coffee, and Albert and the Count sat down on the cushions beside her. When the coffee was served, Albert said to Haydee, 'I'm told by the Count that you come from the East and that you are a princess.'
'Yes,' replied Haydee, 'I'm the daughter of Ali Tebelin, Pacha of Janina, but I left my country when I was a little girl.'
'Do you remember it?'
'Yes, I was very happy with my mother and father until I was about four years old.'
'What happened then?'
'We were in the palace at Janina. One night my mother suddenly picked me up from the cushions where I was sleeping. I opened my eyes and saw hers were filled with tears. I began to cry too. 'Silence, child!' she said. She carried me away quickly. I found that we were running away from the palace. Many of our servants were with us; also a guard of soldiers. They had their guns and pistols. My father was there, too. He came behind the others, clothed in his splendid robes. He also was carrying a gun. Soon we came to the edge of a lake with a small island in the middle. On the island we could see a summer house. A boat was waiting for us and we went across the lake to the island.'
'I couldn't understand why we were running away. My father had always been an all-powerful prince. It didn't seem right that he should be running away now. Afterwards I learned that the Sultan had sent an army to attack Janina and capture my father. Our army in the fort at Janina did not seem to be able to resist the attackers. So my father decided to call for a truce. He sent a French officer, whom he trusted completely, to negotiate with the Sultan. Then he took us all to the summer house on the lake to await the result of the French officer's talks with the Sultan.'
'Here, my father had collected all his fortune, a vast quantity of money in gold, in a cellar. There were also two hundred barrels of gunpowder. We went down into the cellar and my father placed a guard named Selim near the gunpowder barrels. Selim had a lighted torch in his hand and it was his duty to guard the cellar day and night. He had orders to light the gunpowder if a certain signal was given by my father. Then my father, his family, and all his fortune would be blown up.'
'After a few days, my father told us that he was expecting the French officer to return with a message from the Sultan. At about four o'clock that afternoon the soldiers of the Sultan arrived at the edge of the lake. The French officer was with them. Ali Tebelin, my father, waited at the door of the summer house for them to cross the lake. My mother and I were sent down to the cellar. As soon as Ali Tebelin knew the Sultan's reply, he would send the French officer to Selim with either a dagger or a ring. If it was a dagger, it would mean that the news was bad and Selim would have to light the gunpowder. If he sent the ring, it meant that we were pardoned and could go free. Then Selim would put out his torch and we would go upstairs to join my father.'
'We could hear sounds above us. Soon there were footsteps outside the cellar. Selim held his torch ready. The French officer appeared in the doorway.'
'Long live the Sultan!' he cried. 'He has pardoned Ali Tebelin.'
'Who sent you here?' asked Selim.
'Ali Tebelin,' replied the officer.
'If you come from Ali Tebelin,' said Selim, 'you know what you must give me.'
'Yes,' said the officer, 'I bring you his ring.'
'He held up something in his hand, but he was too far away and the light was not good enough for Selim to see what it was.'
'I cannot see what you have in your hand,' he said.
'Come here then,' said the French officer, 'or I will come to you if you prefer it.'
'No,' said Selim, 'put it on the ground in that ray of light and then go back while I come to look at it.'
'Very well,' said the officer. He put it on the ground and went back to the doorway. Selim went up to it and saw that it was a ring. He put out his torch. As he did this, the French officer clapped his hands twice. At this signal, four of the Sultan's soldiers suddenly appeared. They stabbed Selim who fell to the ground. We were betrayed!
'The Sultan's soldiers seized my father's fortune and captured my mother and myself. Upstairs, my father had already been killed. The French officer was allowed to take a large portion of my father's gold for himself. He was also allowed to sell my mother and me to some slave merchants who were on their way to Constantinople. My mother died when we reached there. I became the slave of the Sultan Mahmoud.'
'Happily for me, the Count of Monte Cristo bought me from the Sultan. He has looked after me ever since and I have been able to forget my past troubles.'
'Come, finish your coffee,' said Monte Cristo to Albert. 'The story is ended.'
When they had left Haydee's room, Albert turned to Monte Cristo.
'My father was once in the service of Ali Tebelin,' he said. 'I should have asked Haydee if she ever knew him.'
'You can ask her that another time,' said the Count.
No comments:
Post a Comment