World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 88 Seven Gray Zebra (2)
Suddenly, the sound of wheels galloping like lightning was heard in the distance, and an open four-wheeled carriage suddenly came over. The driver was trying desperately, but in vain, to hold the horses. Running forward like chasing the wind.In the car was a young woman and a seven or eight-year-old child. The two hugged each other tightly, so frightened that they didn't even have the strength to shout.The carriage rattled and rattled, and as soon as the wheels hit a stone or a fallen tree, the carriage would overturn and be smashed to pieces. People on the street were all terrified when they saw the carriage approaching swiftly. Shout out.Ali immediately put down his pipe, took out the noose from his pocket, threw it forward, made three loops in the air, and tightly entangled the two front feet of the horse on the left, while Ali himself galloped forward with the violent momentum. Take three or four steps.But Ali finished these three or four steps, and the horse, which had been harnessed, fell to its knees and pressed against the shaft of the cart.The shaft of the chariot was broken with a click, and the horse beside it that hadn't fallen down wanted to run forward, but it was dragged and couldn't move.The cart came to a stop, and the driver jumped out of his seat, but Ali had already clasped the nostrils of the second horse with his fingers like steel, and the horse neighed in pain, twitching, The fallen horse lay down beside it.This was just the moment when the bullet hit the target, but at this moment, a man in the front house led several servants to the scene of the accident.As soon as the driver opened the car door, the man rushed over and carried the woman out of the car. The woman was still holding on to the cushion on the car seat with one hand, and hugged her son who had fainted from fright in her arms with the other hand.Monte Cristo carried mother and child together into the living room, and laid them down on the couch. "Don't worry, Madame," he said, "you are saved."

The woman regained consciousness, but still could not speak, she just pointed to her son, the anxious eyes showed that she was urgently calling for help.

"I understand what you mean, madame," said the count, examining the child closely, "but you may rest assured that he is all right, and is only temporarily recovering from fear."

"Oh, sir," cried the woman, "you are saying this only to comfort me? See how pale he is! My child! my son! my Edward! Speak to mother! O sir, hurry up!" Send someone to find a doctor. Whoever comes to save my child will give him all my property."

Monte Cristo beckoned the weeping mother not to panic, opened a small chest, and took out a gold-plated vial of Bohemia containing a blood-red liquid, which he poured into the child. A drop on the lips.Although the child was still bloodless, he was able to open his eyes.The mother who was watching was overjoyed immediately, "Where am I?" she shouted, "Who rescued me from the catastrophe and gave me such luck?"

"Madame," said Monte Cristo, "it is a great honor to be able to take care of you in this house."

"Ah, curiosity kills!" Madame said. "All Paris says Madame Tanglar's horse is great, so I'm so dazed I want to try it."

"What?" said the count, with an air of astonishment, which was astonishingly melodious. "These horses belong to the baroness?"

"Yes, sir, do you know the baroness?"

"Madame Tanglar?... I have had the honor of meeting you. It turned out that the two horses were the ones who caused the accident. I am even more relieved to see that you escaped danger. Because of this dangerous situation, you should blame me for being bad. Yesterday I I bought these two horses from the baron, but the baroness seemed very reluctant, so I sent the horses back as a gift from me, please accept it."

"Then you are the Count of Monte Cristo? Yesterday Hermina told me a great deal about you."

"Yes, madam," said the count.

"Sir, I am Madame Héloise de Villefort." The count bowed politely, as if he had heard the name for the first time. "Oh, M. de Villefort will be very grateful," continued Eloise; "he has to thank you for saving the lives of his wife and child. Indeed, if your brave servant had not come to help him Save me, my precious child and myself will die."

"Oh, ma'am, I still get the chills when I think of your danger at that time."

"Oh, I hope you will allow me to reward this utterly loyal servant."

"Madame," replied Monte Cristo, "I beg you not to treat Ali so favorably, and to refrain from all compliments and rewards. I cannot get him into this habit. Ali is my slave, and he has served me by saving you. And it's his job to play for me."

"But he risked his life," said Madame de Villefort, admiring Monte Cristo's masterful tone.

"I saved his life, Madame," said Monte Cristo, "so his life is mine."

Madame de Villefort said no more, perhaps thinking that this man really made a very deep impression on the first contact.While neither of them spoke, the mother kissed the child one after another, while the count took it easy.The boy was thin and slender, with a fair complexion, and it would have been appropriate if he had brown hair, as some children have.But his hair was not only black, but also stiff and straight, covering his protruding forehead, and falling back to his shoulders, framing his whole face, so that the pair were already full of sly and naughty The vicious eyes are more alert and treacherous.His mouth was wide, with flat, thin lips that had just regained some color.The kid was only 8 years old, but he looked like he was at least 15 years old.As soon as he regained consciousness, he kicked and kicked, broke free from his mother's arms, and went to open the earl's little case containing the medicine bottle.Then, without asking permission, he uncorked the vials. It seemed that this was a willful child.

"You can't touch these, my child," the count said hastily. "There are several potions that are very dangerous. Don't talk about drinking them, but just smelling them will cause serious damage."

Madame de Villefort, pale with terror, seized the boy by the arm, and drew him back to her side.But just as she regained her composure, she couldn't help but cast a quick glance at the small box. Although it was only a quick glance, the expression was meaningful, and the earl just caught it without losing the opportunity.At this time Ali came in, and Madame de Villefort pulled the child closer to her with a smile. "Edward," she said, "you see, this servant is very good, he is very brave. The two horses just now With us running wildly, the carriage would be smashed to pieces, and he risked his life to hold the horse. You should thank him, because if he didn't come, neither of us would live at this time."

The child pursed his lips, turned his face aside haughtily and said, "He's so ugly."

The count smiled slightly, as if the child had fulfilled some of the count's expectations.Mrs. Villefort reprimanded the child a few words, but said it very gently. If Edward were Emile, obviously such gentleness is not the attitude of Jean-Jacques Rousseau when he wrote "Emile". French enlightenment thinker, philosopher, pedagogy He was a writer and writer (1712-1778), worked as a servant and tutor, and later became a contributor to the "Encyclopedia". "Emile" is a novel he created, which deals with children's education, also known as "On Education". In 1760, he was persecuted and left France for publishing "The Social Contract" and "Emile".

"You see," the count said to Ali in Arabic, "this lady asked her son to thank you for saving their lives, and the boy replied that you were too ugly."

The wise Ali turned his face away and looked at the child for a while. It seemed that Ali remained calm, but the count could see from his slightly trembling nose that the heart of the Nubian black man had been stabbed.

"Monsieur," asked Madame de Villefort, who was about to leave, rising, "do you always live here?"

"No, madam," replied the count, "this is a resting-place I have bought. I live at 30, the Champs-Elysées. I see that you have fully recovered and intend to return to your residence. I have ordered the two put a horse in my carriage, Ali, this ugly fellow," he smiled at the child, "and drive you home. Your coachman will stay here for now and take care of the carriage. Once the carriage is repaired, I will use my Madam Tangla's mansion directly."

"But," said Madame de Villefort, "I dare not go again in the carriage of these two horses."

"Oh, you will see in a moment, Madame," said Monte Cristo, "that they are as tame as lambs in Ali's hands."

At this moment Ali came to the side of the two horses, which were lifted up with great difficulty.Ali took a sponge soaked in balsamic vinegar and wiped it on the foamy and sweaty nose and forehead of the horse. The two horses gasped almost immediately, and the whole horse trembled for a few seconds. bell.A large group of people had gathered in front of the small building, some stopped when they saw the crashed carriage, and some came to see the excitement after hearing the sound.Among the crowd of onlookers, Ali harnessed the two horses to the earl's carriage, put the reins together, and got into the carriage and sat down.The onlookers were very surprised. Just now they saw the two horses galloping like a whirlwind, but now Ali had to whip his whip hard to drive them forward.Moreover, although they are still the two famous gray zebras, they are now stupid and staggering, and Ali just drives them to walk slowly with small steps. It took nearly two hours to get Will Mrs. Foo sent her to St. Honore, where she lived.

Madame de Villefort returned home, and the anxious family calmed down, so she immediately wrote a letter to Madame Tangra:

Deprecated Elmina:
Thanks to the Count of Monte Cristo, my son and I have just escaped miraculously from death.We talked a lot about the count last night, but I never thought I'd see him today.I laughed at your ignorance when you spoke of him with great interest yesterday, but today I have seen that your glowing introduction does not quite reflect the exciting qualities he possesses.When your two horses came to Lanella, they suddenly started galloping like crazy, and seeing that if we hit a tree by the roadside or a boundary stone of the village, poor Edward and I would most likely be smashed to pieces, at this moment, a Arabs, or black slaves, or Nubians, in short, a black man who was under the count's servant rushed up, and I think this was the count's order.It was indeed a miracle that the Negro, in spite of the danger of being crushed himself, caught the two galloping horses, and that he was not crushed.So the earl hurried over, carried me and Edward to his small building, and rescued my son to wake up.I ended up going home in his own carriage, and yours will be delivered to your house tomorrow.You will find that your horses have been much weaker and dulled by the accident, and you may almost say that they hate themselves for allowing them to be conquered by one man.Count asked me to tell you, let them rest on the bedding for two days, and feed them barley for two days, and they will regain their original majesty, that is to say, as scary as yesterday.

goodbye!I came back from my ride without thanking you, and on second thought, it would be ingratitude to hold a grudge against you for your horse's rampage.Moreover, it was through this rampage that I was able to meet the Count of Monte Cristo.I feel that this extraordinary foreigner, not only rich in millions, is a very wonderful and very interesting mystery, and I am ready to study it at any cost, even if I take your horse for another round of the Bois de Boulogne , I do not hesitate.

Edward was very brave when the accident happened. He finally passed out, but he never cried out before he fainted, and he didn't shed a tear after he woke up.You will say that I am blinded by maternal love, but in such a delicate and delicate body, there is indeed a steel-like soul.

My lovely Valentine sends her regards to your daughter Eugenie.I sincerely hug you.

Eloise Villefort

And again: Please try to get me to meet the Count of Monte Cristo at your residence, no matter what method you use, I must see him again.Besides, I have persuaded M. de Villefort to call on him, but I hope the count will deign to return.

The story of Auteuil was everywhere that evening, Albert related it to his mother, Chateau-Renoir related it at the Chevalier's Club, Debray described it in the minister's drawing room, Beauchamp himself. He wrote to support the earl, and published a 20-line social news in his newspaper, so this noble foreigner suddenly became a hero in the eyes of romantic ladies.Many people rushed to Madame de Villefort's place to sign appointments, hoping to visit in time to hear her own account of this interesting adventure.

As for M. de Villefort, as Heloise said, he put on a black coat and snow-white gloves, took a servant in a straight livery, got into a carriage, and arrived at No. 30 Champs-Elysées in the evening. mansion.

(End of this chapter)