The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II

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The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II (of 2), by

Alexandre Dumas père
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Title: The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II (of 2)
Author: Alexandre Dumas père

Release Date: July 16, 2007 [eBook #22086]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SON OF MONTE-CRISTO, VOLUME II (OF 2)***
E-text prepared by Juergen Lohnert, Martin Pettit, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)

Transcriber's Note:
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, and inconsistent spelling has been made consistent.
This volume does not have any illustrations.

The Works of Alexandre Dumas in Thirty Volumes
THE SON OF MONTE-CRISTO
VOLUME TWO
Illustrated with Drawings on Wood by Eminent French and American Artists

[Illustration: Publisher's logo]
New York P. F. Collier and Son MCMIV

CONTENTS
I. FANFARO'S ADVENTURES 3
II. THE GOLDEN SUN 7
III. OLD AND NEW ACQUAINTANCES 16
IV. BROTHER AND SISTER 23
V. MASTER AND SERVANT 31
VI. THE PERFORMANCE 41
VII. PIERRE LABARRE 49
VIII. A MEETING 59
IX. THE GRATITUDE OF A NOBLEMAN 64
X. ESCAPED 73
XI. IN PARIS 79
XII. THE "MARQUIS" 92
XIII. THE PURSUIT 113
XIV. LOUISE 123
XV. SWINDLED 128
XVI. MACHIAVELLI AND COMPANY 134
XVII. LOUISON 139
XVIII. THE CANAL 143
XIX. SPLENDOR 147
XX. IN LEIGOUTTE 154
XXI. EXCITED 163
XXII. THE TRIAL 177
XXIII. THE CRISIS 180
XXIV. THE AUTOPSY 192
XXV. FROM SCYLLA TO CHARYBDIS 198
XXVI. MISTAKEN 204
XXVII. FREEDOM--BENEDETTO'S REVENGE 207
XXVIII. SPERO 215
XXIX. FORWARD, MARCH 221
XXX. JANE ZILD 228
XXXI. A THUNDERBOLT 240
XXXII. OLD ACQUAINTANCES 246
XXXIII. THE CATASTROPHE 252
XXXIV. A SHOT 262
XXXV. WILL SHE LIVE? 267
XXXVI. MELOSAN'S SECRET 271
XXXVII. CARMEN 287
XXXVIII. RECOLLECTIONS 297
XXXIX. DISAPPEARED 302
XL. A CONFESSION 311
XLI. ON THE TRAIL 318
XLII. THE TRAP 323
XLIII. THE PATH OF THORNS 326
XLIV. THE PASHA 330
XLV. HOW CARMEN KEEPS HER WORD 333
XLVI. IN COURBEVOIE 338
XLVII. THE DEVOTED 341
XLVIII. UNITED IN DEATH 344
XLIX. THE SPECTRE 347
L. 349
EPILOGUE--THE ABBE DANTES 351

THE SON OF MONTE-CRISTO
CHAPTER I
FANFARO'S ADVENTURES
Spero, the son of Monte-Cristo, was peacefully sleeping in another room, while, gathered around the table in the dining-room of Fanfaro's house, were Monte-Cristo, Miss Clary, Madame Caraman, Coucou, and Albert de Morcerf, ready to listen to the story of Fanfaro's adventures, which, as narrated at the close of the preceding volume, he was about to begin.
The following is Fanfaro's narrative:
It was about the middle of December, 1813, that a solitary horseman was pursuing the road which leads through the Black Forest from Breisach to Freiburg. The rider was a man in the prime of life. He wore a long brown overcoat, reaching to his knees, and shoes fastened with steel buckles. His powdered hair was combed back and tied with a black band, while his head was covered with a cap that had a projecting peak. The evening came, and darkness spread over the valley: the Black Forest had not received its name in vain. A few miles from Freiburg there stands a lonely hill, named the Emperor's Chair. Dark masses of basalt form the steps of this natural throne; tall evergreens stretch their branches protectingly over the hill. A fresh mountain air is cast about by the big trees, and the north wind is in eternal battle with this giant, which it bends but can never break.
Pierre Labarre, the solitary horseman, was the confidential servant of the Marquis de Fougereuse, and the darker the road became the more uncomfortable he felt. He continually spurred on his horse, but the tired animal at every stride struck against tree roots which lined the narrow path.
"Quick, Margotte," said Pierre to the animal, "you know how anxiously we are awaited, and besides we are the bearers of good news."
The animal appeared to understand the words, began to trot again at a smart pace, and for a time all went well.
Darker and darker grew the night, the storm raged fiercer and fiercer, and the roar of the distant river sounded like the tolling of church-bells.
Pierre had now reached a hill, upon which century-old lindens stretched their leafless branches toward heaven; the road parted at this point, and the rider suddenly reined in his horse. One of the paths led to Breisach, the other to Gundebfingen. Pierre rose in the stirrups and cautiously glanced about, but then he shook his head and muttered:
"Curious, I can discover nothing, and yet I thought I heard the clatter of a horse's hoofs."
He mechanically put his hand in his breast-pocket and nodded his head in a satisfied way.
"The portfolio is still in the right place," he whispered. "Forward, Margotte--we must get under shelter."
But just as the steed was about to start, the rider again heard the sound of a horse's hoofs on the frozen ground, and in a twinkling a horse bounded past Pierre like the wind. It was the second rider who had rushed past the servant at such a rapid gait.
Pierre