Stories to remember - Chapter 8

THE CHATEAU D'IF

There was a part of the Chateau d'If where the most dangerous and the mad prisoners were kept. This was deep down beneath the fortress in the dungeons. Here, in a cell by himself, Dante was locked up. Once in the morning and once in the evening , his door was opened a few inches, just enough for the jailer to push through a plate with some bad food and a small jug of water. Then it was locked again. Dante did not see another living soul.

He could not understand why he had been imprisoned without a trial. For a year he lived in hope that Villefort might come to know of the mistake that had been made, and order his release. Poor Dante! He did not know that it was the Assistant State Prosecutor himself who had ordered him to be locked away.

A second year passed. Dante knew nothing of the outside world. He saw only the four walls of his cell and the jailer who brought his food.

A third year passed, then a fourth year. Dante could now no longer remember whether he was innocent or guilty. His mind was not clear and he was certainly going mad.

In the fifth year of his imprisonment, Dante raged against his jailers, and against the unknown persons who had caused him to be locked away in this dreadful place. His wild actions made him feared by his jailers and they thought him as mad and as dangerous as all the other prisoners in the dungeons.

At the end of six years Dante had no wish to live. He decided to take his own life by starving himself to death. So, twice a day when his food was brought to him, he threw it away through a smll air-hole in the wall of his cell. He became weaker and weaker until he had not the strength to rise from his bed. He was almost dying.

As he lay on his bed, he listened to the noises of the prison. They were no longer strange to him, for he had come to know even the smallest sounds around him. He could hear the ' drip, drip' of the water on the ceiling above him; he could hear the scamper of the rats as they ran around the prison; he could even hear the soft movements of the spider weaving its web in the corner of his cell.

One evening he heard a strange new sound--- a scratching noise behind the wall of his cell. It went on for some time and then stopped, shortly before the jailer arrived with his plate of food. It sounded as though another prisoner was making a tunnel through which to escape. Was this possible? Dante could hardly believe it.

Now Dante began to think once more about living instead of dying. If another prisoner could build a tunnel and try to escape, why should he not do the same thing? He decided that he must find out more about the noise behind the wall.

He started to eat his food again to regain his lost strength. As soon as he felt strong enough, he looked around his cell for some tool with which to scrape the wall to loosen the stones. There was nothing at all. He  needed a piece of iron. The only object made of iron which ever came into his cell was the saucepan in which the jailer sometimes brought the thin watery soup which was all the prisoners had to keep them alive. The jailer would pour the soup into a plate and go away again with the saucepan.

This gave Dante an idea.

The next evening, before the jailer arrived, he placed his soup plate on the ground near the door of his cell. The jailer opened the door with his heavy key and put his foot into the opening, right on top of the plate. The plate broke into a hundred pieces. He grumbled at Dante for having left it on the ground, and looked around for something else into which to pour the soup. There was nothing.

'Leave the saucepan,' said Dante. 'You can take it away when you bring me my breakfast.'

The jailer agreed, as it saved him the trouble of fetching another plate.

As soon as his cell door was locked again, Dante quickly drank his soup. Then he set to work. With the handle of his saucepan, he scraped away the mortar around one of the stones in the wall. By the morning the stone was free. Carefully, Dante put it back in its place before the jailer arrived.

The door was unlocked again and the jailer came in with his food.

'You have not brought me another plate,' said Dante.

'I shall leave the saucepan with you,' replied the jailer. 'You cannot break that.'

Dante could not believe his good fortune. He thanked heaven for this piece of iron.

As soon as the jailer had left the cell, Dante picked up the saucepan and started working again. He removed the stone he had already loosened, and began scraping in the space behind it. He toiled on and on until he had made a hole big enough to crawl into. Putting his head and shoulders through this hole, he pulled away the earth behind it. Suddenly he found himself inside the tunnel which his fellow prisoner was making. He started to crawl along it.

Turning a corner, he heard a soft shuffling noise. Someone was crawling towards him from the other end of the tunnel. He lay still, trying not to stir or breathe. The noise came nearer and then stopped. In the darkness of the tunnel, Dante could feel the stranger's breath upon his face.

For the first time, after more than six years alone in his cell in the Chateau d'If, Dante was face to face with another prisoner. 

 

Stories to remember - Chapter 7

THE HUNDRED DAYS

Dante was taken away by the policeman, but instead of being set free, he was pushed into a cold, dingy room. What could this mean? Villefort had promised him his freedom, and here he was, still a prisoner.

Towards evening a policeman came and opened the door of the room.

'Come with me!' he said pushing Dante before him. Dante was put into a carriage and, after a short journey, was transferred to a rowing boat.

'Where are you taking me?' he asked.

'You will soon know,' was the only answer.

The boat left the harbour and pulled out to sea. The night was dark and Dante screwed up his eyes to see where they were going.

After a little while there was a scrapinng noise. The boat shuddered and stopped. They had reached an island in the sea. Still Dante did not realize where he was. Then he raised his eyes and saw above him in the darkness, the outline of the Chateau d'If.

Quickly Dante was rushed into the prison, down a flight of stairs and into a dark cell.

'It's all a mistake,' he cried, 'a terrible mistake!'

Then he thought of Mercedes waiting anxiously for his return. He must get word to her. He turned to the jailer.

'I am not a rich man,' he said, 'so I cannot offer you a great sum of money; but if you will carry a message to Marseilles and give it to a young girl named Mercedes, I will give you a hundred crowns.'

But the jailer would not listen to him.

'For that small sum,' he said, ' I might lose my job.'

Dante pleaded and threatened, but in vain. All he had for answer was the clanging of the cell door and the turning of the key in the lock.

While Dante was safely locked away in the Chateau d'If, Villefort hurried to  Paris to warn King Louis XVIII of Napoleon's plan to land in France. When he was with the king, news arrived that Napoleon had already landed on the south coast.

During his stay in Paris Villefort had a visit from his Bonapartist father, Monsieur Noirtier. The Assistant State Prosecutor was not at all pleased to see the old gentleman. He hoped that no one had seen Monsieur Noirtier enter his hotel, or he did not wish to be connected with the Bonapartists in any way. He wanted Noirtier to leave as soon as possible.

So he told his father that all Bonapartists were being arrested and imprisoned. He advised his father to go into hiding for, if he stayed in Paris, he might be caught and put to death. His father looked at him, an expression of gratitude on his face.

'Thank you, my son,' he said. 'I feel that you have saved my life. One day, when Napoleon is back in power, I may be able to help you in return.'

Villefort's warning did not help the king, and he was forced to flee from France. Napoleon reached Paris and was once again the ruler of the country.

As soon as Napoleon was in power, Monsieur Morrel, the ship-owner, applied for Dante to be released from prison. If Dante was imprisoned for being a Bonapartist agent, surely now was the time for him to be set free.

But this was not to be, for Villefort was once again in Marseilles. True to his promise Monsieur Noirtier had protected his son. Although Villefort had once been a royalist, he had been allowed to stay in office. All other royalists were removed from their posts. Some were put into prison and some were executed. But this did not happen to Villefort, for his father had saved him. The State Prosecutor, Villefort's superior, was also a royalist. He was sent to prison and was never seen again and Villefort took his place. The Assistant State Prosecutor became the State Prosecutor.

Villefort knew that, if Dante were set free, then all his treachery would be revealed. So he took care to see that the young man remained a prisoner in the Chateau d'If. Whenever Monsieur Morrel came to ask for Dante's freedom, Villefort made promise but did nothing.

Villefort was not the only man who feared Dante's release. Danglars had watched Napoleon's return to power with alarm.

'Now Dante will be released,' he said to himself. 'He will search for me and will take his revenge. I must hide away in another country where he will not find me.'

So he left France and went to live in Spain.

As for Fernand Mondego, he spent all his time with Mercedes trying to win her love. He neither knew nor cared what had become of Dante. He could think only of the day when Mercedes might consent to be his wife.

Very soon, as a soldier, he was called to fight for Napoleon. When he said goodbye to Mercedes, she was very sad.

'If you are killed,' she said, ' I shall be alone in the world.'

Fernand was happy. So long as Dante did not return, Mercedes might one day be his wife.

Napoleon remained in power for a hundred days. Then he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. As Villefort had hoped, Louis XVIII returned to the throne of France and Monsieur Morrel came no more to ask for Dante's release.

Now all hope was lost. Dante's old father knew that he would never see his son again. His money was finished and the scraps of food which he had been able to beg were gone. He had no spirit and no wish to go on living. Soon after Napoleon's downfall, he died of hunger in the arms of Mercedes, the girl who should have been his son's wife.

  

Stories to remember - Chapter 6

THE TRAP CLOSES

Villefort went quickly to his office in the Law Courts. When he arrived there, he asked for the prisoner. He began to question him and soon knew from the honest answers he received that Dante could not be guilty.

'Have you any enemies?' he asked.

'Enemies!' exclaimed Dante. 'I'm not old enough, or important enough to have enemies.'

'Well, perhaps someone is jealous of you,' said the Assistant State Prosecutor. 'You are to be a ship's captain at the age of nineteen. You are to be married to a beautiful young girl who loves you. You may have made somebody jealous.'

'Perhaps you are right,' answered Dante, 'but I don't know who it could be.'

'Well, here is the letter accusing you,' said Villefort, handing him the note addressed to the State Prosecutor.

'Do you recognise the writing?'

Dante read the letter.

'No,' he said, 'but perhaps the writing is disguised.'

'Well, now, tell me honestly. Is there any truth in this letter?' asked Villefort.

'No,' answered Dante. 'There is no truth in it at all. I'll tell you exactly what happened.'

He then explained how Captain Leclere had given him a package to take to Elba and asked him also to take a letter from Elba to France.

'I did what anyone would have done in my place,' said Dante. 'Everywhere the last request of a dying man is sacred: but with a sailor, the last request of his superior is a command which he has to obey. I, therefore, went ashore at Elba with Captain Leclere's package. When I handed it over, I was given a letter to take to a person in Paris. I took it because my captain had ordered me to do so.'

'Yes, I think you are speaking the truth,' said Villefort. 'Give me the letter you brought from Elba, and promise to report here should we wish to ask you any more questions. Then you may go.'

'Am I free then, sir?' asked Dante joyfully.

'Yes, but first give me the letter.'

'It is there on the table,' said Dante. 'It was taken from me when I was arrested.'

'Wait a moment,' said the Assistant State Prosecutor, as Dante picked up his hat to go. ' To whom is it addressed?'

'To Monsieur Noirtier, Rue Coq-Heron, Paris,' replied Dante.

Villefort looked as though he had been struck by a thunderbolt. The letter was addressed to his father! He opened it hastily and read it. It told of a plan of Napoleon Bonaparte to leave the island of Elba with three armed ships. It said that Napoleon's friends in Paris were to expect him to land in France very soon.

Villefort trembled. If anyone knew that such a letter had been addressed to his father, he, the Assistant State Prosecutor, would not only lose his job but might end up as a prisoner in the dread Chateau d'If. What good fortune that the State Prosecutor was out of Marseilles and that he had been asked to question Dante instead!

He turned to Dante again.

'Do you give me your word that you do not know the contents of this letter?'

'I give you my word, sir,' said Dante.

'Well, I must keep you here a little longer now,' said Villefort, 'but I'll make it as short as possible. The main evidence against you is this letter, and you see I am destroying it.'

He held the letter to a candle. soon it was only a little pile of ashes which were then thrown from the window.

'You see what I have done for you?' said Villefort. 'I have burnt the letter. Now you know that you can trust me.'

'Yes, sir,' replied Dante, 'you are very good to me. Now what do you wish me to do?'

'I shall have to keep you here in the Law Courts until this evening. Should anyone else question you, don't breathe a word of this letter. Take care also never to mention the name of the person to whom it was addressed.

'I promise,' said Dante earnestly.

Villefort rang a bell and a policeman appeared.

'Go with him,' said Villefort to Dante.

When the two men had left the room, Villefort sat in his chair. He was still trembling to think of what might have happened had the letter come into the hands of the State Prosecutor. Edmond Dante did not know the contents of the letter, but he knew that it was addressed to Monsieur Noirtier. Villefort could not risk setting him free now. He decided on another plan. Dante must be kept out of the way and he, Villefort, would use the information in the letter to benefit himself.

'With this letter, which might have ruined me, I can make myself rich,' he said to himself.

And with a smile on his face he hurried back to his wedding feast.

Stories to remember - Chapter 5

ANOTHER WEDDING

At the same time as the betrothal feast of Edmond and Mercedes came to such an unhappy ending, another betrothal feast was taking place in Marseilles. But this feast was not among the sailors and soldiers. It was among the aristocrats of the town.

Monsieur de Villefort, the young Assistant State Prosecutor, was to be married to Renee, the daughter of the Marquis and Marchioness of Saint - Meran.

The people at this party were all sworn enemies of Napoleon Bonaparte. During his reign they had been abroad plotting and working for his downfall. Now they had returned to France and held positions of importance under the new king, Louis XVIII.

But young Villefort was the son of a Bonapartist. At the time of the French Revolution his father had given up his noble name of Noirtier de Villefort and had changed it simply to Noirtier. He later became a staunch supporter of Napoleon.

The son, however, had disowned his father and changed his own name back to de Villefort. He was a Royalist, holding the position of Assistant State Prosecutor. His father, Monsieur Noirtier, still lived in Paris.

In the middle of this second party a servant entered the room. He handed a note to the Assistant State Prosecutor and whispered a few words in his ear.

'I shall have to leave you for a little while,' said de Villefort to Renee, his bride-to-be. 'I will come back as soon as I can.'

'Why? What is the matter?' asked Renee.

He handed her the note and she read the words:

'The State Prosecutor is informed that Edmond Dante, mate of  the ship Pharaon which arrived at Marseilles this morning after having touched the island of Elba, has been given a letter from Napoleon addressed to the Bonapartist committee in Paris. If he is arrested, this letter will be found either on him or at his father's house, or in his cabin on the Pharaon.'

'But', exclaimed Renee, 'this letter isn't even addressed to you! It is addressed to the State Prosecutor.'

'True,' replied Villefort, 'but I've just been told that Edmond Dante has been arrested. As the State Prosecutor is absent, I, his assistant, will have to examine this man.'

'Be merciful,' whispered Renee. 'Remember this is our wedding day, and I want nothing to spoil it.'

Villefort walked to her side and placed a hand upon her shoulder.

'My dearest Renee,' he said. 'For your sake, I will try to be merciful. But if these charges against this man are true, then you must give me permission to cut off his head.'

Renee shivered and turned away.

Stories to remember - Chapter 4

THE WEDDING PARTY

The next day the sun was shining brightly again. The waves on the sea sparkled and the Madonna on the church glowed with a golden brilliance. At the Hotel La Reserve, many people were dancing merrily. It was the betrothal feast of Edmond Dante and Mercedes.

Edmond and Mercedes were dancing too, and as they danced they smiled at one another. Both were full of joy and wanted everyone around to be happy too.

A dinner had been served and festivities were in full swing. Dante could hardly believe that in just over an hour he would be taking his beautiful bride into the Town Hall where they would be married by the Mayor of Marseilles. It seemed too good to be true.

When the dancing stopped, Mercedes reminded Dante that it was time to set out for the Town Hall.

'Yes, yes,' cried Dante excitedly, 'let us go now.'

The guests cheered and prepared to follow the bridal couple in a procession.

Suddenly they all stood still and listened. They could hear the sound of soldiers marching. The noise came nearer and a group of soldiers turned into the hotel. There was a knocking on the door.

'Open, in the name of the law!' said a stern voice.

The door was opened and outside stood the officer in command of the soldiers.

'Which one of you is Edmond Dante?' he asked.

Every eye turned towards the young man who stepped forward saying, 'I am he. What do you want with me?'

'Edmond Dante,' replied the officer, ' I arrest you in the King's name!'

'Arrest me!' exclaimed Edmond, ' But why?'

'I canot tell you,' replied the officer, 'but you must come at once to the law courts.'

The guests looked at each other in amazement. It could not be true that Dante was being arrested! Mercedes, Monsieur Morrel and Dante's old father all rushed forward to try to prevent the soldiers from taking Edmond away. The officer turned to them and begged them to be calm. Then he said to the old man in a kindly manner, 'It's probably something about the papers of the Pharaon. I expect your son has forgotten to fill in a customs form. He will answer a few questions and explain things and then they will set him free. Don't worry!'

'Goodbye, goodbye, dearest Edmond!' cried Mercedes sadly, as he was taken away.

'Don't worry, Mercedes,' he replied, 'I shall see you again this afternoon. The wedding will be delayed by just a few hours, that's all.'

Stories to remember - Chapter 3

A TRAP IS SET

Danglars and Caderousse went towards the rocky sea-shore, to the Hotel La Reserve. As they were sitting drinking wine on the terrace of the hotel, they saw Fernand Mondego coming in their direction. The young man looked very unhappy. Caderousse, who knew him, called to him to come and join them.

'What's the matter with you?' asked Caderousse. 'Has Mercedes sent you away? I hear that she and Dante are to marry tomorrow.'

Fernand groaned. He had just left Mercedes with Dante, and he was wild with jealousy.

'And I hear,' went on Caderousse, 'that he is making a trip to Paris soon after the marriage.'

'What's that?' asked Danglars. ' A trip to Paris, did you say? No doubt to deliver the letter which was given to him on the island of Elba. This gives me an idea.'

Then he muttered to himself in a low voice, 'Dante, you are not yet captain of the Pharaon.'

Turning to Fernand with an artful look on his face, he said, 'My friend, you are in love with Mercedes, aren't you?'

'I have loved her all my life,' replied Fernand.

Danglars stared straight into his eyes. 'You must remove Dante,' he said slowly, 'then you can marry her.'

'If I were to kill Dante,' answered Fernand, 'Mercedes has told me that she would take her own life.'

'Ah, but you would not have to kill him,' said Danglars craftily. 'There are other ways of removing people whom we do not like. We can get them sent to prison, for instance.'

'And how would I send Dante to prison?' asked Fernand scornfully.

'It wouldn't be difficult,' said Danglars. 'I will show you. Waiter, bring me a pen and ink and paper.'

The waiter brought them.

'Just think,' said Caderousse, 'Here we have something which will kill a man more surely than if we waited in a wood to stab him with a knife. I have always been more afraid of a pen, a bottle of ink and a sheet of paper, than of a sword or a pistol.'

'Now then,' said Danglars, putting the paper before him, 'all we have to do is to dip the pen in the ink and write with the left hand so that the writing shall not be recognised.'

'But what shall we write?' asked Fernand.

'We shall write a letter to the State Prosecutor saying that Dante is a Bonapartist agent.'

As he spoke, Danglars started to write with his left hand, in a backward slant which did not look a bit like his own handwriting.

'The State Prosecutor,' he wrote, 'is informed that one Edmond Dante, mate of the ship Pharaon which arrived at Marseilles this morning after having touched the island of Elba, has been given a letter from Napoleon addressed to the Bonapartist Committee in Paris. If he is arrested, this letter will be found either on him or at his father's house, or in his cabin on the Pharaon.'

'But you cannot do that.' cried Caderousse. 'Dante is not guilty.'

'Oh, I was only joking,' said Danglars, laughing.

He crumpled up the letter and threw it away in the corner of the terrace.

Just then they looked towards the sea-shore and saw Dante and Mercedes walking there together. The pair looked very happy. Caderousse waved to them and Dante waved back. Fernand stood still, a scowl upon his face.

'Come,' said Danglars to Caderousse, 'let us go home. It is getting late. Will you come with us, Fernand?'

'No, I am going the other way,' the young man replied. So Danglars left La Reserve with Caderousse beside him. When they had gone a few yards, he looked back. He saw Fernand stoop down and pick up the crumpled piece of paper. Putting it into his pocket the young man hurried away.

'Now,' said Danglars to himself. 'Everything will go according to plan.'

Stories to remember - Chapter 2

DANTE COMES HOME

Near the harbour of Marseilles lived a beautiful young girl. Her hair was black as jet and her eyes were dark and soft as velvet. Her name was Mercedes. She lived alone, for her father and mother had died some years ago.

As the Pharaon was lying in the harbour, she sat at home talking to her cousin, Fernand Mondego, a young man of twenty. 

Fernand was a slodier. He had asked Mercedes many times to marry him, but she had always refused because she was in love with Edmond Dantes. So Fernand the soldier hated Edmond the sailor.

While Fernand and Mercedes were talking together, Dante was getting ready to leave his ship. He said goodbye to his ship-mates and walked ashore. First he went to his father's house. His father looked old and weak, and there was neither food nor wine in the house.

'Father, what has happened?' cried Dante. 'I gave you two hundred francs when I set out on my voyage.' 

'Yes, Edmond,' said his father, 'but there was our neighbour, Caderousse. You owed him a hundred and forty francs. He threatened to go to Monsieur Morrel if I did not repay him.'

So the old man had paid Caderousse one hundred and forty francs and had lived for the past three months on only sixty francs. Dante was very upset. He gave his father some money and asked him to buy food and wine for himself as soon as possible.

'Don't worry, there will be plenty more money,' he said 'for I have been appointed captain of the Pharaon for her next voyage.'

As Dante was speaking, Caderousse came into the room. He had heard what Dante had said.

'Congratulations,' said Caderousse, 'on your good fortune.' 

Dante thanked him and tried not to show his dislike of the man. Then he said that he must see Mercedes. He wanted to arrange to marry her on the following day.

'You seem to be in a hurry,' said Caderousse.

'Yes,' replied Dante. 'I must make a trip to Paris as soon as possible, and I wish to be married before I go.'

'Why must you go to Paris?' asked his father.

'To carry out the last request of poor Captain Leclere,' replied Dante.

So saying, he hurried out of the house. When he had gone, Caderousse also went outside where Danglars, the supercargo, was waiting for him.

'Ah, there you are!' said Danglars. 'Did you see him? What did he say?'

'He already talks as though he were captain of the Pharaon,' replied Caderousse.

Danglars' face turned crimson with anger and his voice was wild. 'He shall not become captain if I can help it!' he cried.