World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 13 Chateau d'If (2)
"I don't know what M. de Villefort has wished for you," said the gendarme; "but I know that we are going to the Château d'If. What are you doing? Oh, man, give me a hand!" Dantès concluded. He jumped with lightning speed and was about to plunge into the sea, but the gendarme had expected it with his experienced eyes. When Dantès was about to jump off the deck of the boat with his feet, four strong hands grabbed him tightly. live.He roared and fell in the cabin. "Well!" said the gendarme, kneeling on Dantès' chest, "well, you sailor means what you say, and you can't believe those who say good things! Listen, my dear friend, now If you move, I will blow your head off immediately. I violated the first order, but I tell you, the second order will never be violated." Sure enough, he lowered his short gun slightly and pointed it at Tang Tai. Dantès felt the muzzle of the gun pressed against his temple.

For a moment Dantès wanted to disobey the gendarmes deliberately, and move a little, so as to quickly put an end to the sudden disaster that had driven him involuntarily.But just because of the suddenness of this misfortune, Dantès thought that it would not last long, and then the promise of M. de Villefort came to his mind, and finally he felt that it would be too dishonorable to die at the hands of a gendarme in the hold of the ship. up.Just like that, he roared and fell to the bottom of the boat, biting his hand bitterly.

Almost at that moment the skiff was rocked by such a blow that its head hit a rock, an oarsman jumped on it, and the chains fell with a clatter from the pulleys.Dantès knew they had arrived and were now tying the rope.

At this time, the gendarme who was holding him grabbed his arms and his collar, and dragged him up.They pushed him ashore, and dragged him up the stone steps leading to the gate of the castle, followed by the junior policeman with his bayonet-tipped musket.

That being the case, Dantès did not make any inactive resistance.He walked slowly, not because he still wanted to resist, but because he had become numb and dull.He was dizzy and staggering like a drunk.Once again he saw soldiers lined up on the steep slope, he felt the stone steps forcing him to lift his feet step by step, and he found himself passing through a door, which closed again as he passed.But at this time, he was watching unconsciously, as if in a fog, everything was indistinct.He could not even see the sea.For the prisoners, the sea is an infinite pain, and seeing the vast space is even more heartbreaking, because they are already short of breath and unable to cross this vastness.

They paused for a moment, and Dantès took the time to concentrate his thoughts.He looked around and saw himself in a square patio surrounded by high walls, and he heard the slow, even footsteps of the sentries.Two or three lamps were lit in the castle, and every time a sentinel passed the two or three places on the wall illuminated by the lights, Dantès could see the barrel of the sentinel's musket gleaming.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, the gendarme was sure that Dantès could no longer escape, so he let him go.They seem to be waiting for orders.The order came at last.

"Where is the prisoner?" asked a voice.

"Here," replied the gendarme.

"Tell him to follow me, and I'll take him to the cell."

"Go!" said the gendarme, pushing Dantès.

The prisoner followed the man and came to a house almost buried in the ground, with walls that were bare and wet, as if hung with tears of grief.A so-called lamp was placed on the wooden bench, with a wick floating on the foul-smelling oil, and the light illuminated the walls of this terrible room, and also illuminated Dantès the guide.This is a very low-level guard, dressed in shabby clothes, and looks vulgar and ugly.

"You will spend the night here today," he said. "It's getting late, and Mr. Commander has already gone to bed. When he gets up tomorrow and reads the order about your situation, he may give you another place, so you stay here first. Here's the bread, the water in the pot, the hay in the corner, that's all a prisoner can hope for. Good night." Dantès hadn't had time to open his mouth to answer, and he hadn't noticed that the guard put the bread on the Where, where is the water jug, before looking to the corner to see how the dry grass used as his bed is, the guard has already picked up the small oil lamp, closed the cell door and left.It used to be that under the dim light, the prisoner could still see the wet walls around the cell, but now even this light is gone.

There was no sound in the dark cell, leaving Dantès alone.Worrying over his head, he sat silently, feeling the coldness of the vault above his hot brow, which was as silent and mournful as himself.

The next day, when dawn sent some light back to the cell, the guard from last night came over and told the prisoner that there was an order from above that his cell would not be changed.Dantès was still standing where he was last night, as if an iron hand had held him firmly there, only his eyes were swollen from crying with deep eyes hidden.He stared at the ground, motionless.All night he stood and never slept for a moment.The guard walked over and walked around him, but Dantès didn't seem to see him.The guard patted him on the shoulder, and Dantès shook his head after being startled.

"Have you not slept?" asked the guard.

"I don't know," replied Dantès.

"Are you hungry?" the guard looked at him in surprise and asked again.

"I don't know." Dantès replied in the same way.

"Do you want something?"

"I want to see the Commander."

The guard shrugged and left.Dantès watched the guard leave, and stretched out his hands towards the half-open cell door, but the door closed again.At this time, his chest seemed to be torn apart by sobs, and tears gushed out of his chest like a spring.He banged his forehead to the ground and prayed for a long time.Looking back on his life, he asked himself what crime he had committed in his life, yet he had to be punished so cruelly at such a young age.

And so the day passed.He barely ate a few mouthfuls of bread and drank a few drops of water.For a while, he sat and meditated, and for a while, he circled back and forth in the small room like a wild animal trapped in an iron cage.

There was one thing that made him jump with rage.During the journey where he was escorted, he didn't know where he was going, but he was so calm and honest.He can jump into the sea 10 times. With his swimming ability and his diving experience-his diving ability is one of the best in Marseille. As soon as he jumps into the water, he can immediately hide under the water and escape the military police who escorted him. .He could swim to the shore and escape, hide in some deserted little inlet until a Genoese ship or a Spanish Catalan ship came, and escape to Italy or Spain, where he could write to Mercedes went to him.As for how he lived, he never had to worry about where he went, there were not too many capable sailors anywhere, and he spoke Italian like a Tuscan in Italy and Spanish like a Castilian kid in Spain, He could live freely and happily with Mercedes and his father, and his father would certainly go to them at that time.But now he is a prisoner, imprisoned in the flightless Château d'If prison, unable to know what his father and Mercedes are doing now, all because of his credulous belief in Villefort's words.Dantès was almost mad with anger, and he was rolling on the fresh hay bales brought to him by the guard in hatred and rage.

The guards came again the next day at the same time. "How is it?" the guard asked him, "Have you figured it out today?" Dantès didn't answer. "Let me tell you," continued the guard, "be brave, do you want anything? Anything I can get. Speak up!"

"I have something to say to the Commander."

"Huh?" the guard said impatiently, "I told you, this can't be done."

"Why can't it be done?"

"Because the prison has a prison system, prisoners are absolutely not allowed to ask to see the commander."

"Then what is permissible?" asked Dantès.

"As long as you are willing to spend money, the food can be better, and you can relax and read a few books."

"I don't need books, and I don't want to take a walk. I think food is fine. I only have one thing. I want to see the commander."

"If you keep pestering me about this," said the guard, "then I won't bring you any more food."

"Well," said Dantès, "if you don't bring me food, I'll starve to death. That's all right."

Hearing the tone in which Dantès said these words, the guard knew in his heart that the prisoner was willing to die.However, there is a prisoner guard who can earn 10 sous a day (the name of the French currency, 20 sous equals 1 franc.), Dantès is really dead, and the guard will lose money, so he softened his tone. "Listen to me, your request can't be fulfilled, so don't say any more. There is no precedent for the commander to agree to the prisoner's request and come to see the prisoner in the cell. But as long as you behave, I will give you Let the air go. Maybe one day, the commander just passed by while you were taking a walk, and you talk to him again. As for whether he pays you any attention, that's up to him."

"But," said Dantès, "how long must I wait before such an opportunity arises?"

"Well," said the guard, "one month, three months, half a year, maybe a year."

"It's been too long," said Dantès, "and I want to see him right away."

"Hey," said the warden, "don't get stuck thinking about what you can't do, or you'll be crazy in a fortnight."

"Really?" said Dantès.

"No, it's crazy. It's always like that at the beginning of madness. We have an example here. Before you came here, there was an elder in the prison, and he kept saying that he would give the commander a million francs and let him go. Well, it turned out my mind was messed up."

"How long has he been away?"

"Two years."

"Finally let him go?"

"No, put him in a dark cell."

"Listen," Dantès said, "I am not an elder, nor am I crazy. I may become crazy in the future, but unfortunately I am still very clear-headed. I have another business to discuss with you."

"what business?"

"I won't give you 100 million, because I don't have so much to give you. But I can give you 100 ecu, on the condition that you go to the village of Catalonia next time you go to Marseilles, and give it to a man named Messe Tess's girl is sending a letter. It's not even a letter, but two lines."

"If someone finds out that I carry these two lines, I will lose my job. This is a salary of 1000 livres a year in the old French currency. 1 livre is equal to 5 sous. Other earnings and food are not counted. You know, I am a fool to risk 1000 crowns instead of 100 livres."

"Well!" said Dantès, "listen, and remember: you send Mercedes two lines, or at least tell her that I am here, and if you will not, I shall one day hide behind the door. , I'll smash your head with a bench when you come in."

"I want to scare people!" the guard shouted, taking a step back and getting on guard first, "You really lost your head, the elder was just like you now at the beginning, and after three days you will be like him, crazy You must be tied up. Fortunately, there is a dark cell in the Château d'If." Dantès grabbed the bench and spun it over his head. "That's good, that's good!" the guard said again, "Okay, you must see the commander, and I will report."

"That's right!" said Dantès, who put down the bench and sat on it, staring down, as if he were really crazy.The guard left, and returned after a while with four soldiers and a corporal.

"At the command of the commander," he said, "take the prisoner to the floor below."

"In a dark cell?" asked the corporal.

"Put in a dark cell, the lunatic must be locked with the lunatic."

"Four soldiers went up and caught Dantès. At this time, Dantès was out of his wits, and he followed them without any resistance. They escorted him down 15 steps, opened the door of a dark cell, and he went He went in, still muttering: "He's right, the lunatic must be locked up with the lunatic. The cell door was closed again, and Dantès walked forward with outstretched hands until he felt he touched the wall. Then he sat down against the corner and remained motionless. His eyes gradually adapted to the darkness and began to distinguish things. The guard's words were correct, and Dantès was not far from going crazy.

(End of this chapter)