World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 82 Revenge (3)
"So I'm going to find Cuderos, and ask him to let me hide. Usually, even if everything is safe, we don't go to his place by the main entrance towards the road, so I don't think this time it will be wrong." To break the old rules, I jumped in over the fence, and crawled under the half-dead olive and wild fig trees. I was afraid of any customers in Cuderas's, so I went into a room like The hut under the stairs, I have spent more than one night in this hut before, it is as comfortable as sleeping on the best bed. The hut and the main room on the ground floor of the inn are only separated by a layer of wooden boards, and a few pieces have been dug for us on the partition A small hole, so that we can see the movement of the main room, and tell the boss that we are next door when the time is right. I think, if only Cuderos is alone, I will tell him right away that I am here, and I was disturbed by the customs. If there is anything I can't eat, I can make up for it at his place. It looks like a thunderstorm, and I just took the thunderstorm to go back to the Rhone River to see how our boat and people on board are doing. So I Sneaking into that hut, fortunately, I was extra careful, because at this moment, Cudeross brought a person I didn't know into the house.

"I waited in silence, not because I wanted to pry into Cuderosse's secrets, but because I had to, and besides, such things have happened all the time. The man who came with Cudeross was obviously not a Frenchman. A southerner, this is a businessman who came to the Beaucaire Bazaar with other merchants to do jewelry business. A month before and after the Beaucaire Bazaar, merchants and buyers from all over Europe gathered. Sometimes a jeweler can do 10 —a business of 15 francs. Cudeross hurried into the house, and then he saw that the main room downstairs was empty as usual, only guarded by the dog in the shop, and he called his wife.

"'Alas, Calconte,' said he, 'the priest is a worthy man, and he did not lie to us. The diamond is real.'

"Suddenly there was a shout of joy, which continued, and the stairs creaked again under a sickly, weary shuffle.

"'What did you say?' asked the woman, paler than death.

"'I said the diamond is real. This gentleman is a first-class jeweler in Paris. He is willing to buy it for 5 francs. But he wants to verify whether the diamond is ours. He wants you to tell him about the diamond like I did. How did it miraculously fall into our hands. Sir, please sit down first, it is so hot and stuffy, I will find you something to drink to cool off."

"The jeweler looked carefully at the inside of the inn. The shabby appearance of the couple was obvious at a glance. The diamond they wanted to sell him looked like it came out of some prince's jewelry box." Tell me, ma'am ,' he said, sure he wanted to take advantage of the man's absence and the woman's influence from her man to see if what they said was right.

"'Oh, my God!' began the woman like a cannonball. 'It's a gift from God, we never even thought of it. Well, my dear sir, in 1814 or 1815, my man and I A sailor named Edmond Dantès was in business. Cudeross forgot all about the poor man, but he did not forget my man, and when he was dying, he saw this thing you saw. a diamond for him.'

"'But how did that man get the diamond?' asked the jeweler. 'Did he get it before he went to jail?'

"'No, sir,' replied the woman, 'it seems that he met a very rich Englishman in prison, and that the Englishman who was in the same prison fell ill, and Dantès treated him like a brother. Take care of him the same way, the British gave this diamond to Dantès when he was released from prison. Dantès was not as lucky as the British, he died in prison, so he left the diamond to us, the honorable person he entrusted The elders brought us the diamonds this morning.'

"'That's the same thing,' said the jeweler to himself. 'Anyway, the story didn't seem true at first, but now it doesn't seem to be true. The only thing left undecided is the price.'

"'Why not?' said Caderos. 'I think you agreed to the price I asked.'

"'That is,' continued the jeweler, 'I promise forty thousand francs.'

"'4 francs,' cried the Carcomte, 'we will not sell at that price. The elder tells us that the diamond is worth 5 francs. Not counting the bracket.'

"'What's the elder's name?' the businessman asked again, not feeling tired.

"'Elder Buzzoni,' replied the woman.

"'Is it a foreigner?'

"'He's an Italian, from around Mantou, I think.'

"'Show me the diamond,' went on the jeweler; 'I must look again, for gems are often misleading at first glance.'

"Caderos then took a black leather box from his pocket, opened it, and handed it to the jeweler. At the sight of the diamond as big as a hazelnut, the eyes of the 'Calcomte' flashed greedily. Firelight. I remember it clearly, just like what I see now."

"What do you think, Monsieur of the Wall?" asked Monte Cristo. "Do you believe in this beautiful myth?"

"I believe, my lord, that Caderos does not seem to me a bad man, and I do not think he is capable of much crime, not even petty theft."

"It seems that you have more than good intentions and less experience, Mr. Beticio, do you know the Edmond Dantes they are talking about?"

"I don't know, Your Excellency. I have never heard of this person before, and I only heard him talk about it once when I met Elder Buzoni in Nim Prison."

"Okay, let's go on."

"The jeweler took the ring from Cudeross, took from his pocket a pair of steel tweezers, a small brass balance, and broke off the gold clasp that held the diamond on the ring, and lifted the diamond from its holder. He took it out, put it on the scales, and weighed it carefully. "I will pay up to 4.5 francs," said he, "and I won't give any more. Besides, this diamond is worth so much. It is this number that I carry with me.'

"'Oh, that's all right,' said Caderousse; 'I can accompany you back to Beaucaire for another five thousand francs.'

"'No,' said the jeweler, returning the ring and the diamond to Cuderos, 'No, it's not worth any more, and I already regret paying the price, because the diamond has a little flaw that I didn't notice at first. .But come on, I mean what I say, and I won't change my word for 4.5 francs.'

"At least you'll have to re-set the diamond in the ring," said the Calconte sharply.

"'That's it,' said the jeweler, and set the diamond in place.

"'Well, well,' said Cuderos, pocketing the casket, 'we'll sell it to someone else.'

"'All right,' continued the jeweler, 'but no one else can talk like I do, and you can't easily believe what you say. A man like you has a diamond worth fifty thousand francs. If it doesn't make sense, he will tell the officials that you have to get the elder Buzzoni back first, but there are not many elders who can give away diamonds worth two thousand louis. You go to jail, and if you're found innocent, and you're released after three or four months, the ring has disappeared from the court clerk's office, or they'll give you a three-franc fake diamond instead. Not 3, and not 5 for the real thing. You have to see, my friend, that it's a bit of a risk to buy.'

"Caderos and his woman looked at each other, and they didn't know what to do. 'No,' said Caderousse, 'we are not rich, and 5000 francs is not a no-no.'

"'As you see, my dear friend,' said the jeweler, 'as you have seen, I have brought this bright money.' And he drew a fistful of gold coins from his pocket, The innkeeper's eyes were dazzled, and the jeweler took out another stack of banknotes.

"It was evident that Cuderos was in a state of agitation at this moment, that the struggle was intense, and that he evidently felt that the real value of the little leather box he was turning upside down in his hand was the sum of which he was dizzy at seeing. Couldn't fit. He turned to his woman. 'What do you think?' he asked in a low voice.

"'Give it up, give it up,' said the woman, 'if he doesn't get the diamond back to Beaucaire, he'll tell us. As he said, who knows if we'll ever find Elder Buzzoni.'

"'Well, that's it,' said Caderousse. You will offer forty-five thousand francs for the diamond, but my wife will have a gold chain, and I will have a pair of silver clasps.'

"The jeweler drew from his pocket a long flat case containing a number of samples of the things they asked for. 'Well,' said he, 'I'm happy to do business, take your pick.' The woman picked out a gold chain of five louis d'or, and the man a pair of clasps, probably worth fifteen francs. 'I don't think you'll complain any more,' said the jeweler.

"'The elder says it's worth fifty thousand francs,' murmured Caderos.

"'All right, all right, give it to me! What a nuisance!' said the jeweler, taking the diamond from Cuderas. I still want this income, but you are not satisfied.'

"'The 4.5 francs,' asked Caderousse gruffly, 'where is the money?'

"'Here it is,' said the jeweler, and he counted fifteen thousand francs in gold and thirty thousand francs on the table.

"'Wait a moment, I'll light the lamp,' said the Calconte, 'it's getting dark, and it's easy to make mistakes.'

"Sure enough, while they were bargaining, it was getting dark, and when it was dark half an hour ago, this thunderstorm seemed to be falling, and there was only a faint thunder rolling in the distance. But the jeweler, Ka Dross and his woman didn't seem to worry about this, and the three of them were already obsessed with ghosts at this time. I was inexplicably shocked when I saw so many gold coins and banknotes. I felt like I was dreaming. It was fastened there. After Cuderos had counted the gold coins and banknotes, he counted them again, and then gave the money to his woman, who also counted and counted again. At this time, the jeweler looked at the lamp. The reflection of the diamond, but this dazzling diamond made him completely ignore the lightning flashing outside the window, and the thunderstorm coming at any time. "How about it, are you clear?" asked the jeweler.

"'Yes,' said Caderos, 'give me the wallet, and get another bag, 'Calconte'.' The 'Calconte' went to the cabinet and took an old leather A wallet and a bag. They took some greasy letters out of the wallet, and stuffed the money into the wallet. There were two or three six livres in the bag, just like this poor couple. 'Well,' said Caderos, 'though you have robbed us of tens of thousands of francs, perhaps, I will ask you to dine with us, will you? I mean it sincerely.'

"'Thank you,' said the jeweler, 'it's getting late, I must go back to Beaucaire, and my wife won't be at ease.' He took out his watch, looked at it, and cried out, 'Oops, it's almost nine o'clock. , I won’t be able to reach Bocair before 9 o’clock. Goodbye, dear friends, in case Elder Buzzoni and the others come to see you again, don’t forget to mention me.’

"'You will not be in Beaucaire for another week,' Caderos, 'because the market is closed next week.'

"'It doesn't matter if I'm not in Beaucaire, you can write to me, Mr. Joanes, No. 45, Lane des Jeweles, Palais Royal, Paris. As long as it's worth the trip, I will make a special trip.

"Suddenly there was a thunder and lightning, and the lights in the room suddenly became dim.

"'Oh, oh,' said the jeweler, taking his cane from the chest, and turning away. As he was opening the door, a gust of wind nearly blew out the lamp. 'Oh!' said he, 'this is the weather. Look, I've got two miles to go this day!'

"'Stay here,' said Caderos, 'you can sleep here.'

"'Yes, stay,' said the Calconte, her voice trembling, 'we will entertain you well.'

"'No, I must go back to Beaucaire for the night. Good-bye.' Caderos walked slowly to the door. Go right or go left?'

"'Turn to the right,' said Caderos, 'there is no wrong way, for there are trees on both sides.'

"'Okay, I've found my way,' said a barely heard voice in the distance.

"'Close the door,' said the Calconte, 'I don't like the door open when it thunders.'

"'And when the family is rich, isn't it?' said Cuderos, double locking the door. Then he turned and went to the cupboard, took out the bag and the wallet, and the couple took a third I lit their gold coins and banknotes again. I have never seen such an expression on their faces. I saw their greed clearly in the dim light, especially the woman, who was even more ferocious. She was usually trembling with fever, but now she was trembling twice as hard, and her pale face turned blue-gray, and her sunken eyes were burning with fire.'Why do you think Keep him here for the night?' she asked in a husky voice.

"'Because,' said Cuderos with a shudder, 'I think . . . I think he won't have to go back to Beaucaire.'

"'Ah,' said the woman, with an indescribable look on her face, 'I thought there was some other reason.'

"'Woman, woman,' cried Caderos, 'why do you have such a thought? If you have it, why don't you keep it in your mind?'

"'It's all the same,' said the 'Calconte' after a moment of silence, 'you're not a man.'

"'How do you say that?' asked Caderos.

"'If you were a man, he couldn't get out of this door.'

"'Old woman!'

"'Or he wouldn't have reached Beaucaire!'

"'Old woman!'

"'There's a sharp bend in the road, and he's obliged to follow it, but it's nearer along the canal.'

"'Old woman, you have offended good God. Well, listen...'

"Sure enough, there was only a terrible thunder, a bluish-white lightning illuminated the whole room, the thunder gradually became smaller, and it seemed that it was unwilling to leave this cursed house.

"'Jesus!' said the 'Carcomte', crossing himself.

"At this time, as usual, there was a terrible silence after the rumbling thunder, but there was a knock on the door in the silence. Cardross and his woman suddenly looked at each other in horror. 'Who is it?' Card shouted Rose, standing up, hastily gathering up the gold coins and bills scattered on the table, and covering them with both hands.

"'It's me,' said a voice.

"'Who are you?'

"'Hi, Joanes the jeweler!'

"'Well! What did you say just now?' said the Calconte, with a smirk on his face, 'I offended the good God! . . . Now the good God has sent him back to us. '

"Cadros, pale and panting, fell back on his chair. The Calcomte, on the other hand, got up and walked with firm steps to the door. 'Come in, dear.' Mr. Joanes.' she said.

"'Alas,' said the rain-drenched jeweler, 'it seems that the devil will not let me go back to Beaucaire to-night, and the sooner I realize my mistake, the better, my dear Monsieur Cuderosse. Since you If you kindly want me to stay, I will not be polite, so I will come and spend the night with you.'

"Muttering to himself, Caderos wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead. As soon as the 'Calconte' waited for the jeweler to enter the house, he immediately closed the door and locked the double lock.

(End of this chapter)