World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 60
The route Franz chose was actually a compromise. On the way to accompany Albert to the arena, he still did not pass any monuments, so that it was impossible to have any impression of the monuments on the way. Once the magnificent building of the arena appeared In front of him, its majestic and magnificent momentum will not be diminished in the slightest.They took Via Sistinia, turned right at the Church of Santa Maria, then Via Umbana, passed San Pietro Church in Vancoli, and finally entered Via Coliseum.Another advantage of taking this route is that there is nothing to distract Franz along the way, so he can concentrate on reminiscing about the story Boss Pastrini told just now, and he was kindly invited to share with him on Monte Cristo Island. The host who had dinner actually appeared in the story.He leaned on the corner of the carriage and pondered, and a thousand questions kept popping up in his mind, but none of them were answered satisfactorily.

In addition, one thing made him recall his friend named Sailor Samba again. How could the two gangs of sailors and robbers have these mysterious relationships?When Master Pastrini said that the fishermen's and smugglers' boats were also Wampa's hideouts, Franz could not help remembering that he himself had seen two Corsican robbers eating and drinking with the crew of the small boat, The small boat also changed its course and made a special detour to Port Vecchio to take them ashore.The owner of the hotel in London also mentioned the self-proclaimed name of the host who entertained Franz on the island of Monte Cristo. From this, Franz felt that his philanthropic deeds not only spread to Piombino, Civitavecchia, Osti The coast of Asia and Gaeta, but also around the coast of Corsica, Tuscany and Spain. Franz still remembers that this person once talked about his time in Tunisia and Palermo, which shows his circle of friends. quite broad.

However, no matter how engrossed the young man was in his contemplation, when he saw the eerie and huge ghostly arena rising up in front of him, all those thoughts disappeared in an instant, and through the doorways of the ruins, the moon cast long and thin pale The faint light in his eyes looked like the cold light from the eyes of a lonely ghost.The carriage stopped a few steps in front of the Sudang platform, the driver came over and opened the door, the two young men jumped out of the carriage, only to see a tour guide standing in front of them, as if he had emerged from the ground.The hotel has already had a tour guide come with them, and the two of them have two tour guides.As soon as tourists arrive in Rome, they can never escape the group of tour guides. When you step forward to the threshold of the hotel, a full-time guide will follow you until the day you leave Rome. In addition, every scenic spot has another Attraction guides, I can even say that there is one in every area of ​​every scenic spot. It is conceivable that there are so few tour guides in ancient holy places like the arena?This arena once housed Matthias the Latin poet (40-104).After expressing his emotions, he said: "Memphis is the name of the Egyptian place, located in the southwest of Cairo. People should stop boasting to me about their magical but barbaric pyramids, and let's stop singing about the miracle of Babylon. With the grandeur of the emperor The Coliseum, and all other buildings, should be ashamed of themselves, and all voices of praise should join together to sing about this great building."

Franz and Albert had no intention of getting rid of the sassy tour guide, and they couldn't do it if they wanted to, because only the tour guide could travel around the various parts of the scenic spot with a torch, so they didn't refuse at all, but just obeyed the tour guide obediently.Franz knew the place well; he had visited it ten times.However, his companions found it very new. It was the first time for him to visit the Roman Emperor (10-7), who founded the arena.I have to say something for him, although the two guides were just talking nonsense, he listened with interest.Indeed, no one would have imagined such a majestic and majestic ruin if he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes. In addition, the moonlight in the south of Europe is like the afterglow of the setting sun in the west. double.But Franz was still full of thoughts, and after walking a hundred steps under the colonnade in the ruins, he left Albert alone, and let the two guides follow their old rules to pull Albert to see the lion's den, Fighters Lounge, Emperor Stand.He climbed up a half-collapsed step by himself, and let Albert and the others slowly look down. He simply sat down in the shadow of a colonnade opposite a gap, and the huge granite building in front of him happened to be in full view.

Franz remained there for nearly a quarter of an hour.As I have just said, he was sitting in the shadow of the colonnade, and was invisible to others, but he kept his eyes on Albert.The two guides, each holding a torch, accompanied Albert to turn out from a main gate at the end of the arena, and like two ghosts following the will-o'-the-wisp, they walked slowly down the steps step by step towards the Virgin's Terrace. go.At this moment, in the midst of the empty ruins, Franz fancied he heard a stone roll down the step opposite the one on which he had just come.As time goes by, it is not uncommon for a stone to fall from a building, but Franz heard the sound and felt that the stone was kicked off by someone, and he heard that the person was walking in this direction. Walking, walking very lightly, as if trying not to make a sound.Sure enough, after a while, I saw a person slowly creeping in from the shadows. He was stepping up the steps. The gap in the steps faced Franz, and a ray of moonlight was clearly shining, but the steps below the gap were black. I can't see anything clearly.

Like Franz, this man may be a tourist who likes to meditate alone, and does not want to listen to the chattering and meaningless explanations of the tour guide.So Franz didn't think it was a big fuss when he saw the man, but the man walked evasively when he took the top few steps, and stopped when he reached the platform of the steps, as if listening to something, obviously He came here for something special, and he seemed to be waiting for someone.Instinctively Franz moved slightly behind the colonnade and hid himself.Ten paces above where the two of them were, there was a leaky vault, with a round opening like the mouth of a well, through which a starry sky could be seen.This gap may be hundreds of years old, and wisps of moonlight poured down from here.The gap is surrounded by thorns, and the slender green branches and leaves are not lacking in the hazy sky. Clusters of kudzu vines hang down from the top platform through the gap, swinging back and forth under the vault, like Strands of fluttering silk tassels.

The man on the other side approached furtively, which caught Franz's attention.But in the half-light on the opposite side, Franz couldn't see the man's face clearly, and because it wasn't pitch black, Franz could see the man's clothes, but he was wearing a brown cloak. , one corner of the hem hangs over the left shoulder, the lower half of the face is covered, and a wide-brimmed hat covers the upper half of the face.The clothes on the lower body were just illuminated by the moonlight slanting in through the gap, so it could be seen more clearly. The man was wearing a pair of black trousers with a pair of shiny leather boots under the trousers, looking very elegant.Obviously, this person is not aristocratic, at least he is also a member of the upper class.He had not been there for a few minutes before he began to show impatience, when there was a soft sound on the platform above the vault, and a figure suddenly appeared from the gap.The man looked down into the dark with sharp eyes, and saw the man in the cloak, so he immediately grabbed the kudzu vines that were falling down, slid along the vines to a place three or four steps away from the ground, and then jumped down lightly. .He was dressed like someone from Transtevery.

"Excuse me, sir," he said in Roman dialect, "for keeping you waiting, but I am only a few minutes late. The clock of Saint-Jean Ladran has just struck ten o'clock."

"You're not late, I'm early," the stranger who arrived first replied in Tuscan dialect, "let's not say polite words, and even if you keep me waiting, I know , You didn't mean it either."

"You're right, sir, I've come from Fort St. Angel, and it's too much work to talk to Beppo about the facts."

"Who's Bepo?"

"Bepo is an officer in the prison. I gave him a small sum of money and finally found out about the affairs of the Pope's palace."

"Ah, I see you are very cunning, my dear friend."

"No way, my lord! No one knows what will happen in the future, and I may one day be caught like poor Pepino, so I have to keep a mouse, in case I go to prison , it can bite through the net."

"Speak simply, what news did you inquire about?"

"Two criminals are to be executed at two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, as is the old custom in Rome at the beginning of every great festival. One criminal is hammered, a shameless man who killed the priest who brought him up, and does not matter at all. He. The other was sentenced to beheaded, poor Pepino."

"What else do you want, my dear friend? You have not only disturbed the Pope's government all day long, but also disturbed the neighboring countries around you. Can they not kill others?"

"But Pepino isn't even one of my people. He's a poor shepherd whose only crime is to bring us food."

"This completely proves that he is your accomplice, so, you see, people still have some consideration for him. Once they catch you, it will be a matter of hitting your head with a hammer, but you don't want to hit your head. , It’s just beheading. That’s fine too, if there are more tricks, the common people will have fun, and there will be excitement for all tastes.”

"Besides, I have prepared a show for the common people which they did not expect," said the Transtavern.

"My dear friend, if you will excuse me for saying a word," said the man in the cloak, "I think you are preoccupied with some stupid thing."

"The poor fellow was in trouble for doing me a favour, and of course I'd do anything to keep his head. Holy Mary, I'd feel like a coward if I didn't do a little for this good brother One."

"What are you going to do?"

"I first arranged about 20 people around the guillotine. When he was escorted to the stage, I gave a signal, and everyone rushed to the escorting soldier with a dagger in their hands, and then took him away."

"I think it all depends on luck, and I'm sure my way is better than yours."

"What method do you use?"

"I will send 10000 piastres to someone I know first, and he will be able to postpone Pepino's sentence until next year. Within a year, I will send 1000 piastres to another person I know. Pepino escaped from prison."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," said the man in the cloak in French.

"What did you say?" asked the Transtever.

"I say, my dear friend, that I can do better by myself, and with a little money, than you and your company can do with daggers, pistols, carbines, and muskets."

"Excellent, we're here ready to act if you get frustrated."

"If you are willing to prepare, then prepare, but you can rest assured that I will definitely get a probation."

"The day after tomorrow is Tuesday. Don't be careless. You only have one day tomorrow."

"So what? There are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. You can do a lot of things in 86400 seconds."

"How do we know your Excellency has done it?"

"It's very simple. I have rented the last three windows of the Rospoli Palace. If I get a reprieve, the two side windows will be hung with yellow satin curtains, and the middle one will be hung with a white ribbon and a big red cross. "

"Excellent. But this reprieve, who do you plan to send to the execution ground?"

"Send me a man, make him a Dervish, and I'll give him the order. Dressed as a Dervish, he'll run right up to the scaffold, and give the reprieve to the executioner, who will then Give it to the executioner. Now tell Pepino not to frighten himself to death or go mad, and then the money we spent on him will be lost.”

"I have something to say, my lord," said the farmer in Transtevery, "that I will be faithful to you, and you will not doubt it?"

"At least I hope so."

"Okay! If you rescue Pepino, I will not only be loyal to you in the future, but also obey my orders."

"Please pay attention to what you say, my dear friend, maybe one day I will remind you of these words, because maybe one day I will need you..."

"Well, sir, just like I see you at this moment, whenever you need me, you can find me, and I will be there whenever you are called, even if you are in the ends of the world, you just need to write a few words to tell me I, what should I do, I will do it. I can swear to see..."

"Hush!" said the stranger in the cloak, "I hear voices."

"Those are tourists visiting the arena, and they're holding torches."

"There is no need for anyone to see us together. Tour guides are spies, and may know you. And, my dear friend, although your friendship is admirable, if it is known that we are close, as we are now, I will I'm really worried that this association will damage my reputation in some way."

"Well, if you get a reprieve..."

"The window in the middle is hung with a white satin red cross curtain."

"What if I can't get it?..."

"The three curtains are all yellow."

"What should I do?"

"In that case, my dear friend, play with your dagger as you please, and I will be there to see you at it, and I mean it."

"Goodbye, Your Excellency, please, just trust me."

Having said this, the Transteverist walked away from the steps and disappeared, and the stranger in the cloak, covering his face more tightly with his cloak, passed two steps away from Franz. , and then go down the steps outside the colonnade and walk into the arena in the middle.The next moment Franz heard his name called from under the vault. It was Albert who called him, but he waited until the two men were gone before answering, because he did not want them to know that they had been witnessed. Although he could not see their faces clearly, he heard their conversation verbatim. Ten minutes later, Franz got into the carriage and returned to the London Hotel. Along the way, Albert followed Prinel Latin writers (10-62).and Capnius, ancient Roman politicians, participated in the campaign against the tyrant Nero.and spoke very learnedly about the spiked nets used to prevent wild animals from jumping on the spectators, but Franz, being very rude, listened absent-mindedly, leaving Albert to go on and on. Said, without interrupting the rebuttal, he was anxious to stay alone and concentrate on thinking about what happened just now.

One of the two men was definitely unknown to him, since it was the first time he had seen and heard him speak.But the other was not, and though his face was always in the shadows, or concealed by his cloak, Franz could not see what it was like, but the tone of the man's voice, which Franz had heard before, And it left a deep impression on him when he heard it for the first time, and he would recognize it immediately as long as he heard it again in the future.Especially in that mocking tone, with its harsh, metallic sound, which made him shudder in the ruins of the Hippodrome, and certainly not in the cave of Monte Cristo.So he was absolutely sure that this man could not be anyone else but Sailor Samba.This person aroused Franz's great curiosity. On any other occasion, Franz would go over to greet him, but in the situation just now, the conversation Franz heard was extremely secretive, so he didn't go over. Because he was worried that coming out to meet him would be just to make fun of himself, and this kind of worry was not unreasonable.Therefore, as mentioned above, he let the man go, but he was thinking in his heart that if he met him again in the future, it would never be like letting the opportunity go for nothing this time.

Franz, who was full of thoughts, couldn't fall asleep. He thought about everything about the owner of the Monte Cristo cave and the mysterious visitor to the arena all night. affim.

He didn't fall asleep until early in the morning, and it was already late when he woke up.Albert was a true Parisian. He made arrangements for the evening's activities early in the morning, and specially sent someone to book a box at the Argentine Theater.Franz was to write some letters to France, leaving the carriage to Albert for the whole day.At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Albert came back from outside. He came to Rome with some letters of recommendation, so he had entertainment in the afternoon and evening, and visited all the high society in Rome.But today, Albert finished all these activities during the day, and he still had time to inquire about the operas and actors that will be staged in the evening.This evening there is "Parisina" featuring Conseri, Moriani and Speck.The reader can see that these two young men are lucky. The opera they are going to enjoy is another masterpiece by the composer of "Lucia Lamemore", and it will star the three most famous singers in Italy. .Albert always disliked Italian opera houses. The front seats of the main hall are not connected to other seats, and there are no balcony and box seats. This is unbearable for a person who sits in the hall for farce operas and sits in boxes for operas. .

(End of this chapter)