The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume I | Page 4

fallen upon two policemen who leaned against
the doors with their guns in their hands. His first thoughts were that he
was followed and was lost. He quickly collected himself, suppressed
his excitement, and seizing a piece of paper, scribbled these words on it
with a lead pencil:
"I have no money, but do not desire to owe anything. The inclosed
diamond pin will fully pay for my bill. I was ashamed to acknowledge
this, and therefore left at five o'clock."
After he had attached the pin to the paper, he opened the door and
crawled up the chimney with the agility of a chimney-sweep. Here,
however, the difficulty was to continue his way without being
perceived by any one. He therefore returned and entered another
chimney, intending to wait there until all danger was over. He already

began to think himself saved, when he lost his balance and crashed
with a loud noise through the opening and into a room which was
occupied, as was betrayed by a sudden scream.
A young man and a lady were in the room. The latter had uttered the
cry, while the former pulled vigorously at the bell-rope.
"Rescue me--hide me!" were the first words the villain spoke. He was
about to say more, but the words stuck in his throat, for he had
recognized the young man as Eugenie Danglars.
"Andrea, the murderer!" exclaimed the two women.
"Have mercy! rescue me!" implored Benedetto.
"It is too late," replied Eugenie, "the door is being opened."
At the same moment, the policemen, followed by the whole inn staff,
entered the room. Benedetto saw he was lost. He pulled out a dagger, as
if he wished to attack his captors, but desisted when he saw it would be
fruitless.
"Kill yourself!" exclaimed Eugenie, with the accent of a tragedy queen.
"Bah!" replied Benedetto, "it is too early yet; the whole thing is a
misunderstanding, and I have friends."
With great coolness he held out his hands to the policemen, who put
handcuffs on them.
"Give my regards to your father, Mademoiselle Danglars, and do not be
ashamed. You are my bride, and we ought to have been man and wife
to-day," said Benedetto, sarcastically, as he left the room with the
policemen, leaving Eugenie exposed to the curious and contemptuous
glances of the waiters.
CHAPTER III

A FAMILY TRAGEDY
The procureur du roi, Villefort, was one of the most respected and
influential men in Paris, and his reputation as district-attorney was
spotless. Married the second time to a handsome and refined lady,
Monsieur de Villefort spent his leisure time in the society of his wife, a
grown daughter by his first marriage, named Valentine, his little son,
Edouard, presented to him by his second wife, and his old father,
Noirtier de Villefort, in an elegant mansion in the Faubourg St. Honore.
The only grief he had was the condition of his father, who had been
stricken with paralysis, which had not only robbed him of the use of his
limbs, but of his speech too. The old man could only make himself
understood by his beloved grandchild Valentine, and by a faithful
servant named Barrois, by the rising and falling of his eyelids.
In the house of this immensely respected man, certain things had
happened within a few months which attracted general attention,
though no one could explain them. The parents of the deceased
Madame de Villefort, who had been staying at their son-in-law's house
on a visit, had died suddenly one after the other, the doctors being
unable to assign any other cause for their deaths than apoplexy. These
facts would not have caused any talk, since the two persons who had
died were both very old, had they not been followed almost
immediately by the deaths of the old servant of Monsieur Noirtier and
of Valentine, the blooming daughter of the procureur du roi, and the
bride of a young officer named Morrel, under circumstances which
looked very much like poisoning.
It was a terrible time for Monsieur de Villefort, who saw himself
obliged, in his official capacity, to investigate his own household. After
long observation, he had a terrible suspicion, which was confirmed by a
hundred little things, that his own wife was the four-times murderess!
The reasons which actuated her to commit these terrible crimes were
very clear. Valentine, the step-daughter, possessed a large fortune
which she had inherited from her dead mother; she was the sole heiress
of the grandparents who had died so suddenly; upon the death of
Valentine all her wealth would revert to Monsieur de Villefort, and his

sole heir would be his son.
Villefort, the husband, struggled terribly with Villefort, the
district-attorney; he tried to ward off the guilt from his wife, but his
efforts were fruitless. It was