Stories to remember - Chapter 49

THE END OF THE STORY

It will be remembered that, when Dantes found his fortune on the island of Monte Cristo, he went to Marseilles calling himself Lord Wilmore. There, he purchased the house in which his father had lived; for this house was part of his youth and part of that happy time when he and Mercedes were betrothed, the time before he knew the agonies of life in the Chateau d'If.

It was here that he took Mercedes and Albert after they had fled from the home of the Count of Morcerf. In this house, Mercedes and her son found peace and solitude, away from the distress which they had recently suffered.

Dantes came here to say farewell to Mercedes. He walked through the house and into the garden beyond. He paused for a moment and looked towards a tree covered with white jasmine flowers. Under the tree a figure was sitting. It was Mercedes. The tree and its white blossoms and the figure seated beneath it formed a picture which seemed to hold Dantes so that he was unable to move. Then Mercedes looked up and saw him. She rose and came to him with her arms outstretched.

'Edmond,' she said and in her voice was all the sadness of her life.

Dantes took her hands and looked into her eyes.

'I have come to say goodbye, Mercedes.'

'You are going away, Edmond?'

'Yes, I am going away. The task which I set myself is finished. The vengeance I swore to take on those who wronged me is complete.'

'You say your vengeance is complete,' said Mercedes. 'Yet, am I not the one who wronged you most? You have caused the death or destruction of those men who betrayed you. Yet you have spared me. But I do not wish to be spared. I live only because I cannot die.'

'Mercedes!' cried Edmond. 'You have every reason to hate me. I am the cause of all your misery. Yet you do not seem to hate me, you seem only to pity me.'

'No, Edmond, I do not hate you. You spared my son's life and for that I thank you. It is myself I hate; for I am the miserable creature who had neither the strength nor the courage, nor faith enough to hope that you might one day return.'

As she spoke the tears poured down her face. Edmond tried to console her, but she would not be comforted. At last he said, 'Just tell me this, Mercedes, that one day somewhere we shall meet again.'

Mercedes turned to him and then raised her eyes to the sky above.

'Yes, Edmond, we shall meet again--in heaven.'

Dantes walked slowly from the house. His eyes were full of tears as he looked towards the golden madonna on the hill. Then he turned towards the harbour where his ship was waiting.

'Monte Cristo, I am coming back,' he murmured.

He walked slowly towards the quay-side and gazed at his ship. As he looked, he saw the figure of a woman on the deck, a woman in Eastern dress with a veil around her head. It was Haydee. He ran up the gang-way and on to the ship. Haydee came towards him.

'You are leaving, my lord?' she asked.

'Yes, Haydee, I am leaving. And you will stay here in France and take your rightful place in the world. You will have money and possessions, and all the things which are yours by right. You will be treated as the princess which you are. You are young and beautiful and you have a life of great happiness before you.'

Haydee turned towards him, an expression of longing on her face.

'There is no happiness without you,' she said. 'If you leave me, I shall no longer wish to live. I shall die.'

Dantes looked at her in amazement.

'Then you want to come with me?' he asked.

'Yes, my lord, for I love you. I have loved you as a  father and a brother, but I also love you as a husband and master. I love you as my own life.'

Edmond could hardly believe the words she spoke. He looked for a long time at the beautiful young girl before him. Then he sighed and took her hand.

'Then come with me! Come to Monte Cristo! Who knows, perhaps your love will make me forget all I do not wish to remember.'

And so it happened that, about six o'clock the next evening, a fine yacht was seen gliding out of the harbour of Marseilles. As she sailed gracefully out to sea, the amber rays of the setting sun seemed to turn her into a ship of fire.

Standing on the deck and looking back at Marseilles, were a tall dark man and a beautiful woman. They gazed at the church of Notre Dame de la Garde. The gilded statue on the top of the church glowed a brilliant red-gold which exactly matched the flame colour of the yacht. Only these two objects, the statue standing on high and the yacht out at sea were touched by the rays of the sun as it began to sink behind the surrounding hills. The statue seemed to be saying farewell to the yacht whilst the rest of Marseilles was already shrouded in the approaching night. The Chateau d'If, half hidden in growing darkness, was only part of the evening shadow.

Edmond and Haydee now turned away their eyes from Marseilles and looked towards the east; towards the island of Monte Cristo. 

END OF THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

 

Stories to remember - Chapter 48

THE STARVING MAN

By noon the next day, Danglars was hungry again. So that he would not have to spend more money that day, he had hidden half the chicken and a piece of bread in his cell. But as soon as he had eaten, he felt thirsty. He hadn't thought of that. He tried to hold out, but in the end he had to call the guard and ask for something to drink. The guard made him pay twenty-five thousand francs for a jug of water.

'Why don't you say now that you want to take all my money? If that's what you want, why not do it at once?' he said.

'It's possible that my master wants to take all your money. I don't know what he wants with you,' replied the guard.

'Who is your master?'

'The bandit chief whom you saw when you  first came here.'

'Let me see him.'

'Certainly,' said the guard. Very soon afterwards the chief of the bandits appeared at Danglars' cell.

'How much do you want to set me free?' said Danglars.

'I want your five million francs.'

Danglars felt a pain in his heart. 'But that's all I have left in the world out of an immense fortune,' he said.

'If you take that, take my life also.'

'We are not allowed to kill you.'

'Who doesn't allow you?'

'Our chief.'

'But I thought you said you were the chief.'

'Yes, I am the chief of these men, but there is another over me.'

Danglars thought for a moment. Then he said, 'Why is your chief doing this to me?'

'I don't know.'

'He will take away everything I have.'

'Probably.'

'Come,' said Danglars, 'I'll give you a million.'

'No.'

'Two million? Three? Four? come, four! I'll give you four million francs if you'll let me go.'

'Why do you offer me four millions for what is worth five millions? Why are you trying to bargain with me, banker?'

'Well then, I'll defy you. You can kill me if you like, but I won't sign another cheque.'

'Just as you please, your Excellency,' said the bandit chief, and with that he left the cell.

Danglars' resolve not to sign again lasted for two days. After that, he offered a million for some food. The bandits sent him a wonderful meal and took his million.

At the end of twelve days, Danglars reckoned his accounts and found he had only fifty thousand francs left. He could not bear to lose his last fifty thousand. Again he decided he wouldn't sign any cheques and he began to starve. He became delirious and sometimes he imagined he saw a poor old man, lying on a bed, dying of hunger.

He starved himself like this for five days. Then he began to beg the guard to give him some food. He offered him a thousand francs for a mouthful of bread. But the guard took no notice of him. In the end, he asked to see the bandit chief once more.

When the chief came, Danglars fell to his knees.

'Take everything I have,' he moaned, 'only let me out of here. Just let me go free with no money at all.'

'You think you have suffered, but there are men who have suffered more than you,' said the chief.

'Oh, I don't think so.'

'Yes, there are those who have died of hunger.'

Danglars thought of the poor old man he had seen in his dreams the last few days.

'Yes, it's true,' he said, 'there have been some who have suffered more than I have.'

'Do you repent?' asked a deep voice, which caused Danglars' hair to stand on end.

'Indeed, I'm sorry for the evil I have done,' cried Danglars.

'Then I forgive you,' said the voice. The man who had spoken came up to the door of the cell and showed himself.

'The Count of Monte Cristo!' gasped Danglars.

'You are mistaken; I'm not the Count of Monte Cristo.'

'Then who are you?'

'I am he whom you betrayed and dishonoured; I am he whose betrothed you forced into marriage with another man; I am he on whom you trampled so that you could raise yourself to a better position; I am he whose father you caused to die of starvation. I am Edmond Dantes!'

Danglars cried out, and fell to the ground.

'Rise,' said the Count. 'I have forgiven you now. Keep the fifty thousand francs which you have left. The five millions you robbed have been given back to the hospital. You can now have a meal, and after that, you can go free.'

When Danglars was set free from the caves, he found that his hair had turned completely white.

Dantes' revenge was complete!