wishing for that death which to-day you so much dread!' Then, whispering
to Selim, she asked what were her master's orders. 'If he send me
his poniard, it will signify that the emperor's intentions are not
favorable, and I am to set fire to the powder; if, on the contrary, he
send me his ring, it will be a sign that the emperor pardons him, and
I am to extinguish the match and leave the magazine untouched.'--'My
friend,' said my mother, 'when your master's orders arrive, if it is the
poniard which he sends, instead of despatching us by that horrible death
which we both so much dread, you will mercifully kill us with this same
poniard, will you not?'--'Yes, Vasiliki,' replied Selim tranquilly.
"Suddenly we heard loud cries; and, listening, discerned that they
were cries of joy. The name of the French officer who had been sent
to Constantinople resounded on all sides amongst our Palikares; it
was evident that he brought the answer of the emperor, and that it was
favorable."
"And do you not remember the Frenchman's name?" said Morcerf, quite
ready to aid the memory of the narrator. Monte Cristo made a sign to him
to be silent.
"I do not recollect it," said Haidee.
"The noise increased; steps were heard approaching nearer and nearer:
they were descending the steps leading to the cavern. Selim made ready
his lance. Soon a figure appeared in the gray twilight at the entrance
of the cave, formed by the reflection of the few rays of daylight which
had found their way into this gloomy retreat. 'Who are you?' cried
Selim. 'But whoever you may be, I charge you not to advance another
step.'--'Long live the emperor!' said the figure. 'He grants a full
pardon to the Vizier Ali, and not only gives him his life, but restores
to him his fortune and his possessions.' My mother uttered a cry of joy,
and clasped me to her bosom. 'Stop,' said Selim, seeing that she was
about to go out; 'you see I have not yet received the ring,'--'True,'
said my mother. And she fell on her knees, at the same time holding me
up towards heaven, as if she desired, while praying to God in my behalf,
to raise me actually to his presence."
And for the second time Haidee stopped, overcome by such violent emotion
that the perspiration stood upon her pale brow, and her stifled voice
seemed hardly able to find utterance, so parched and dry were her throat
and lips. Monte Cristo poured a little iced water into a glass, and
presented it to her, saying with a mildness in which was also a shade of
command,--"Courage."
Haidee dried her eyes, and continued: "By this time our eyes, habituated
to the darkness, had recognized the messenger of the pasha,--it was
a friend. Selim had also recognized him, but the brave young man only
acknowledged one duty, which was to obey. 'In whose name do you come?'
said he to him. 'I come in the name of our master, Ali Tepelini.'--'If
you come from Ali himself,' said Selim, 'you know what you were charged
to remit to me?'--'Yes,' said the messenger, 'and I bring you his ring.'
At these words he raised his hand above his head, to show the token;
but it was too far off, and there was not light enough to enable Selim,
where he was standing, to distinguish and recognize the object presented
to his view. 'I do not see what you have in your hand,' said Selim.
'Approach then,' said the messenger, 'or I will come nearer to you, if
you prefer it.'--'I will agree to neither one nor the other,' replied
the young soldier; 'place the object which I desire to see in the ray of
light which shines there, and retire while I examine it.'--'Be it so,'
said the envoy; and he retired, after having first deposited the token
agreed on in the place pointed out to him by Selim.
"Oh, how our hearts palpitated; for it did, indeed, seem to be a ring
which was placed there. But was it my father's ring? that was the
question. Selim, still holding in his hand the lighted match, walked
towards the opening in the cavern, and, aided by the faint light which
streamed in through the mouth of the cave, picked up the token.
"'It is well,' said he, kissing it; 'it is my master's ring!' And
throwing the match on the ground, he trampled on it and extinguished it.
The messenger uttered a cry of joy and clapped his hands. At this signal
four soldiers of the Serasker Koorshid suddenly appeared, and Selim
fell, pierced by five blows. Each man had stabbed him separately, and,
intoxicated by their crime, though still pale with fear, they sought all
over the cavern to discover if there was any fear of fire, after which
they amused themselves by rolling on the bags of gold. At this moment
my mother seized me in her arms, and hurrying noiselessly along numerous
turnings and windings known only to ourselves, she arrived at a private
staircase of the kiosk, where was a scene of frightful tumult and
confusion. The lower rooms were entirely filled with Koorshid's troops;
that is to say, with our enemies. Just as my mother was on the point of
pushing open a small door, we heard the voice of the pasha sounding in
a loud and threatening tone. My mother applied her eye to the crack
between the boards; I luckily found a small opening which afforded me a
view of the apartment and what was passing within. 'What do you want?'
said my father to some people who were holding a paper inscribed with
characters of gold. 'What we want,' replied one, 'is to communicate to
you the will of his highness. Do you see this firman?'--'I do,' said my
father. 'Well, read it; he demands your head.'
"My father answered with a loud laugh, which was more frightful than
even threats would have been, and he had not ceased when two reports of
a pistol were heard; he had fired them himself, and had killed two men.
The Palikares, who were prostrated at my father's feet, now sprang up
and fired, and the room was filled with fire and smoke. At the same
instant the firing began on the other side, and the balls penetrated the
boards all round us. Oh, how noble did the grand vizier my father look
at that moment, in the midst of the flying bullets, his scimitar in his
hand, and his face blackened with the powder of his enemies! and how he
terrified them, even then, and made them fly before him! 'Selim, Selim!'
cried he, 'guardian of the fire, do your duty!'--'Selim is dead,'
replied a voice which seemed to come from the depths of the earth, 'and
you are lost, Ali!' At the same moment an explosion was heard, and the
flooring of the room in which my father was sitting was suddenly torn up
and shivered to atoms--the troops were firing from underneath. Three or
four Palikares fell with their bodies literally ploughed with wounds.
"My father howled aloud, plunged his fingers into the holes which the
balls had made, and tore up one of the planks entire. But immediately
through this opening twenty more shots were fired, and the flame,
rushing up like fire from the crater of a volcano, soon reached the
tapestry, which it quickly devoured. In the midst of all this frightful
tumult and these terrific cries, two reports, fearfully distinct,
followed by two shrieks more heartrending than all, froze me with
terror. These two shots had mortally wounded my father, and it was he
who had given utterance to these frightful cries. However, he remained
standing, clinging to a window. My mother tried to force the door, that
she might go and die with him, but it was fastened on the inside. All
around him were lying the Palikares, writhing in convulsive agonies,
while two or three who were only slightly wounded were trying to
escape by springing from the windows. At this crisis the whole flooring
suddenly gave way, my father fell on one knee, and at the same moment
twenty hands were thrust forth, armed with sabres, pistols, and
poniards--twenty blows were instantaneously directed against one man,
and my father disappeared in a whirlwind of fire and smoke kindled by
these demons, and which seemed like hell itself opening beneath his
feet. I felt myself fall to the ground, my mother had fainted."
Haidee's arms fell by her side, and she uttered a deep groan, at the
same time looking towards the count as if to ask if he were satisfied
with her obedience to his commands. Monte Cristo arose and approached
her, took her hand, and said to her in Romaic, "Calm yourself, my dear
child, and take courage in remembering that there is a God who will
punish traitors."
"It is a frightful story, count," said Albert, terrified at the paleness
of Haidee's countenance, "and I reproach myself now for having been so
cruel and thoughtless in my request."
"Oh, it is nothing," said Monte Cristo. Then, patting the young girl on
the head, he continued, "Haidee is very courageous, and she sometimes
even finds consolation in the recital of her misfortunes."
"Because, my lord," said Haidee eagerly, "my miseries recall to me the
remembrance of your goodness."
Albert looked at her with curiosity, for she had not yet related what he
most desired to know,--how she had become the slave of the count. Haidee
saw at a glance the same expression pervading the countenances of her
two auditors; she exclaimed, 'When my mother recovered her senses we
were before the serasker. 'Kill,' said she, 'but spare the honor of the
widow of Ali.'--'It is not to me to whom you must address yourself,'
said Koorshid.
"'To whom, then?'--'To your new master.'
"'Who and where is he?'--'He is here.'
"And Koorshid pointed out one who had more than any contributed to the
death of my father," said Haidee, in a tone of chastened anger. "Then,"
said Albert, "you became the property of this man?"
"No," replied Haidee, "he did not dare to keep us, so we were sold to
some slave-merchants who were going to Constantinople. We traversed
Greece, and arrived half dead at the imperial gates. They were
surrounded by a crowd of people, who opened a way for us to pass,
when suddenly my mother, having looked closely at an object which was
attracting their attention, uttered a piercing cry and fell to the
ground, pointing as she did so to a head which was placed over the
gates, and beneath which were inscribed these words:
"'This is the head of Ali Tepelini Pasha of Yanina.' I cried bitterly,
and tried to raise my mother from the earth, but she was dead! I was
taken to the slave-market, and was purchased by a rich Armenian. He
caused me to be instructed, gave me masters, and when I was thirteen
years of age he sold me to the Sultan Mahmood."
"Of whom I bought her," said Monte Cristo, "as I told you, Albert, with
the emerald which formed a match to the one I had made into a box for
the purpose of holding my hashish pills."
"Oh, you are good, you are great, my lord!" said Haidee, kissing the
count's hand, "and I am very fortunate in belonging to such a master!"
Albert remained quite bewildered with all that he had seen and heard.
"Come, finish your cup of coffee," said Monte Cristo; "the history is
ended."
Chapter 78. We hear From Yanina.
If Valentine could have seen the trembling step and agitated countenance
of Franz when he quitted the chamber of M. Noirtier, even she would have
been constrained to pity him. Villefort had only just given utterance
to a few incoherent sentences, and then retired to his study, where he
received about two hours afterwards the following letter:--
"After all the disclosures which were made this morning, M. Noirtier de
Villefort must see the utter impossibility of any alliance being formed
between his family and that of M. Franz d'Epinay. M. d'Epinay must say
that he is shocked and astonished that M. de Villefort, who appeared to
be aware of all the circumstances detailed this morning, should not have
anticipated him in this announcement."
No one who had seen the magistrate at this moment, so thoroughly
unnerved by the recent inauspicious combination of circumstances, would
have supposed for an instant that he had anticipated the annoyance;
although it certainly never had occurred to him that his father would
carry candor, or rather rudeness, so far as to relate such a history.
And in justice to Villefort, it must be understood that M. Noirtier,
who never cared for the opinion of his son on any subject, had always
omitted to explain the affair to Villefort, so that he had all his life
entertained the belief that General de Quesnel, or the Baron d'Epinay,
as he was alternately styled, according as the speaker wished to
identify him by his own family name, or by the title which had been
conferred on him, fell the victim of assassination, and not that he was
killed fairly in a duel. This harsh letter, coming as it did from a man
generally so polite and respectful, struck a mortal blow at the pride
of Villefort. Hardly had he read the letter, when his wife entered. The
sudden departure of Franz, after being summoned by M. Noirtier, had so
much astonished every one, that the position of Madame de Villefort,
left alone with the notary and the witnesses, became every moment more
embarrassing. Determined to bear it no longer, she arose and left the
room; saying she would go and make some inquiries into the cause of his
sudden disappearance.
M. de Villefort's communications on the subject were very limited and
concise; he told her, in fact, that an explanation had taken place
between M. Noirtier, M. d'Epinay, and himself, and that the marriage
of Valentine and Franz would consequently be broken off. This was
