World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 55
When Franz woke up, the outside scene seemed to be part of his dream.He felt that he was dormant in a tomb, and the ray of sunlight that penetrated from the outside was like a look of pity.He stretched out his hand, felt the stone, and sat up, and found himself wrapped in his cloak on a comfortable bed of fragrant heather hay.All phantasmagoria vanished, and the stone statues seemed to be ghosts that had risen from their own graves in his sleep, and disappeared when he woke.He took a few steps in the direction of the light, and the exciting dream disappeared, followed by a calm reality.Seeing that he was in a cave, he walked towards the entrance, and through an arched doorway, he saw the blue sky and the blue sea.In the morning light, the air and the sea were shining brightly. The sailors were sitting on the beach talking and laughing. On the sea ten steps away from them, the anchored boat was swaying lightly.

He stood for a moment at the mouth of the cave, enjoying the fresh, soft sea breeze on his forehead, and listening to the lapping of the waves as they rolled to the beach and left rings of silvery foam around the rocks.For a moment, he put aside all his thoughts and completely immersed himself in the divine beauty hidden in all things in nature.Isn't that what people do when they first wake up from absurd dreams?Then, the so peaceful, so innocent, and so magnificent life in the outside world gradually awakened him. After all, dreams are illusory things, so the past began to recall in his mind.

He remembered how he came to this island, how he was introduced to a leader of the smugglers, how magnificent the underground palace was, how delicious the dinner was, and how he swallowed a spoonful of marijuana.Facing the clear and clear day, he couldn't help feeling that everything in the dream had happened at least a year ago, but the dream was still vivid in his mind and still occupied an important place in his heart.In his imagination, he always saw from time to time that one of the fairies who made him feel starry and kissed him last night was still sitting with the sailors, or was walking by the cliff, or Hang out on the boat.But other than that, his mind was fully awake, his body was fully rested, his mind was no longer groggy, and on the contrary, he felt at ease physically and mentally, feeling that he could breathe air and bask in the sun freely like never before. .So he walked towards the sailors excitedly, and when they saw him, they stood up immediately, and the captain also went up to meet him, and said: "Master Samba left a message to thank you, he can't say goodbye to you in person, call us Convey your apologies. But he hopes you will forgive him, because he has been called to Malaga on a very urgent matter."

"Ah, so it is, my dear Gaetano," said Franz, "that it is all true. I was indeed invited to the island, and treated with great hospitality, while I was asleep. It's time to go, isn't it?"

"How can it be fake? His yacht has just sailed away. If you take a look through your binoculars, you will probably be able to recognize your host among the crew." Gaetano said, holding out his hand Pointing forward, there was indeed a small boat sailing towards the southern tip of Corsica.

Franz picked up the binoculars, adjusted the focus, and looked in the direction Gaetano pointed. Gaetano was right. The mysterious stranger was standing at the stern of the boat, looking towards the shore with a binoculars in one hand.He was dressed exactly as he had been wearing for his dinner the night before, and waved a handkerchief in one hand to bid farewell to the shore.Franz then took out his handkerchief and waved it like the other, saluting him.In an instant, a plume of blue smoke rose from the stern of the ship, and then floated gracefully and lightly behind the ship, slowly rising towards the sky, and after a while Franz faintly heard the sound of a cannon. "Oh, do you hear that?" said Gaetano. "This is farewell to you." Franz took his carbine and fired into the air, but he did not expect the sound to go away. Great distance spread to the yacht.

"Do you have any orders, Your Excellency?" Gaetano said.

"Give me a torch first."

"Ah, yes, I know," continued the captain, "to find the entrance to the chamber. I will, sir, bring you the torch if you please. I too, have you I tried this idea three or four times on a whim, and finally gave up. Giovanni," he added, "go and light a torch and bring it to Your Excellency."

Giovanni made a fuss, and Franz, carrying a torch, went into the underground cavern, followed by Gaetano.From the briar bed, which was still unkempt, Franz recognized the place where he had just woken up.However, although he lit the cave with a torch all over the cave, he found nothing, only from some traces of smoke, that someone before him had searched in vain.However, though these granite walls were as impenetrable as their incalculable future, he inspected them every inch of the way, and whenever he saw a crack he inserted his hunting knife into it and pried it out. When he saw something protruding, he pressed down hard, hoping that something would collapse.But all was useless, and he searched for two hours, but found nothing.In the end he had no choice but to give up, but Gaetano at the side was very proud.

Franz was back on shore again, and now the yacht looked like a tiny white speck on the horizon.He looked through the binoculars again, but the binoculars could not help him make out anything.Gaetano reminded him that he had come to the island to hunt goats, and it was true that he had forgotten all about the business.So he took his gun, and began to walk about the island, but with an air of duty rather than amusement.In a quarter of an hour he had shot a large goat and two young goats, but these goats, though wild and as agile as gazelles, were so much like domestic goats that Franz did not think it was a mistake. what game.Besides, he had other, more intense thoughts on his mind.Since yesterday he had literally been a character in a story in "The Thousand and One Nights", and he couldn't help being drawn to the cave again.He told Gaetano to roast one of the two kids, and then, despite the failure of the first attempt, began a second search.This time he checked for a long time, and when he came back, the kid was already roasted and lunch was ready.Franz sat down at the place where his mysterious host had invited him to dinner the night before, and he saw the boat sailing towards Corsica like a seagull gliding up and down between the crests of the waves.

"Well," he said to Gaetano, "you told me that Master Samba sailed for Malaga, but I think he went straight to Porto-Vecchio."

"Don't you remember," said the captain, "that I told you that he now has two Corsican robbers on board."

"Exactly! Did he take them ashore first?" said Franz.

"Exactly. Well, he," cried Gaetano, "has been told he's not afraid of gods or devils, and he'll go the extra 50 nautical miles to do some poor soul a favour." .”

"But wherever he practiced his fraternity, the authorities would hate him for doing it," said Franz.

"Hey!" Gaetano said with a smile, "what can the authorities do to him? He doesn't care! All the authorities can do is try to catch him, but he, first of all, his speedboat is not a ship, but A bird that throws a frigate three miles off every twelve miles; secondly, as soon as he lands, he's all right, doesn't he have friends everywhere?"

It was quite clear that Franz's host, the Samba lord, had the good fortune to befriend smugglers and robbers of all stripes along the Mediterranean coast, and that was enough to make his position more than just eccentric.As for Franz, who had nothing to do to stay at Monte Cristo any longer, he was in a hurry to prepare his meal, and ordered the crew to make it ready and leave after he had finished his lunch.Half an hour later he was on board and had a last look at the yacht, which was almost out of sight as it entered the mouth of Porto Vecchio.He signaled that it was time to go, and just as their boat weighed anchor and was about to set sail, the yacht finally faded away.As the yacht disappeared, the last vestiges of last night faded away, and Franz felt at the same time that the dinner party, the samba, the marijuana and the stone statues all began to dissolve into the same dream.

The boat sailed all day and night, and when the sun rose the next day, the island of Monte Cristo was out of sight.As soon as Franz landed on land, he forgot, at least temporarily, the events of the past few days, and was absorbed in some last amusing and socializing in Florence, and was preoccupied with preparing to go to Rome to find his companions who were waiting for him.So he left Florence by mail, and arrived at the Piazza del Customs on Saturday evening.As we have already said, the rooms are reserved in advance, so it is only necessary to find the owner Pastrini's hotel.However, things are not that simple, because the people on the streets are already crowded, and Rome is already full of people's voices and passions like every time before a major event.There are four major events a year in Rome: Carnival, Holy Week, the week before Easter, God's Day and St. Pierre's Day.For the rest of the year, the whole city is in turmoil, neither dead nor alive, it is simply a transfer station between the world and the underworld, a supernatural habitat, a poetic and unique resting garden.Franz had come to stay five or six times, and each time he found the place more magical and wonderful than before.

At last he made his way through the increasingly crowded and excited crowd to the restaurant.The first question was answered with the insolence of a reserved coachman and a full-booked innkeeper, saying that there was no room for him in the London Hotel.So he took out his business card and asked someone to send it to Boss Pastrini, and at the same time asked to see Albert Mocerf.As expected, this move was very effective. Boss Pastrini hurried over to greet him, and apologized repeatedly for keeping you waiting.While scolding the waiter, he took the candle tray from the guide who was receiving tourists, and was about to lead him to Albert, when Albert came out to meet him.

The suite they booked had two small rooms and a small study.The windows of both rooms faced the street, and Master Pastrini had bragged about this advantage, exaggerating this advantage.The rest of the rooms on this floor were occupied by a very rich man, possibly a Sicilian or a Maltese, but the proprietor couldn't say which of the two.

"Very well, Monsieur Pastrini," said Franz, "but we want to have a casual supper right away, and we need a hansom from tomorrow on."

"Dinner," said the boss, "you two are available immediately, but this carriage..."

"How about a carriage?" cried Albert. "Don't worry, don't worry, and seriously, Monsieur Pastrini, we must have a carriage."

"Sir," said the boss, "try to find one for the two of you, that's all I can say now."

"When will you tell us?" asked Franz.

"Tomorrow morning," replied the boss.

"Damn!" said Albert, "we're going to have to pay a little more, isn't that what it is? Everyone knows this. Drake and Aron's two car dealers rent a car for 25 francs on normal days, and on Sundays and Sundays." Festivals cost 30-35 francs, plus a commission of 5 francs, so that's 40 francs, so forget it."

"I'm afraid that even if the two gentlemen pay twice the price, they may not be able to rent a car."

"Well, tell them to hitch the horse to my cart, and I have a little problem with my cart all the way down, but it doesn't matter."

"No horses either."

Albert looked at Franz as if he could not understand the meaning of such an answer. "Do you understand, Franz? There are no horses!" said he; "but the horses at the post-house must not be rented?"

"It was rented out two weeks ago, leaving only a few horses that are absolutely necessary for official business."

"What do you say?" asked Franz.

"I said that when a thing is beyond my comprehension, it is my habit not to dwell on it, but to think of other things first. Is your supper ready, Monsieur Pastrini?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Well, let's have dinner first."

"But what about the carriage and horses?" said Franz.

"Don't worry, my dear friend, it will come naturally when the time comes, just to see what price you are willing to offer." Mosef believes that as long as the purse is full and the purse is full, there is nothing impossible in the world .With this admirable philosophy he dined, went to bed, and fell asleep in a relieved sleep, dreaming that he was driving a six-horse carriage for a carnival.

(End of this chapter)