Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Blood Rain

"When the jeweler came back into the room, he looked round cautiously, but there was nothing suspicious in the room, and if he had suspected it at that moment, it could not have been established or proved. Yes. Caderousse's hands were still clutching his gold and banknotes, while the Caconte woman tried to put on a good-natured smile to her visitor. 'Ah!' said the jeweler, 'you are very concerned about money.' The number seems to be a little uneasy, but you have counted it after I go away." "No, no," replied Caderousse, "it's just that the money came so suddenly that we can hardly believe our good luck." , so we can only believe that we are not dreaming if we have the actual physical evidence in front of us.' The jeweler smiled. 'Are there any other guests in your house?' he asked. 'No,' Cadrou "We don't live here with tourists, and we're too close to town for anyone to think of lodging here," replied Stanley. "I'm afraid I'll bother you, then?" "Oh, dear, no! Not at all, sir," said the Carconte woman, "not at all, I assure you." "But where will you let me sleep?" "There is a room upstairs." Is there a room in the house?" "Don't worry! We have a bed in the back room." Caderousse looked at his wife with wonder." At this time, the woman Caconte had lit a fire in the fireplace. , so that the guests could dry their wet clothes, the jeweler turned his back to the fire to keep warm while humming a little tune.The Caconto woman spread out a napkin at one end of the table, and put the leftovers of their supper on it, and added three or four fresh eggs.Caderousse had now put his bills in his wallet, his gold in his purse, and all his treasures carefully locked in the box.Then he began to walk up and down the room with a sad and thoughtful face, glancing now and then at the jeweler, who was still standing before the fire, steaming from his body, drying one side, and turning to cook the other. one side. "'Here,' said the Carconte woman, bringing a bottle of wine and putting it on the table, 'the supper is ready for you any time you like.' 'Won't you sit down with me and have a little?' asked the jeweler. 'I won't eat tonight,' said Caderousse. 'We ate very late at lunch,' interposed the Caconte woman hastily. 'So it seems I shall eat alone?' Jewelry Shang said. 'Oh, we can sit with you.' The Kakant woman replied, with a very attentive attitude, which she doesn't often show even with paying guests."

"Cadrousse's piercing eyes shot at his wife from time to time, but only as briefly as a flash of lightning. The storm still roared. 'Here! here,' said the Caconte woman, 'do you hear that? In truth, you are right to come back.''But,' replied the jeweler, 'if the storm dies away after I have eaten, I shall try again, and see if I can complete my journey.'' Oh," said Caderousse, shaking his head, "the storm will never stop, and the wind is blowing from the northwest, and it will certainly not stop until tomorrow morning," said Caderousse with a heavy sigh.''Alas. ’ said the jeweler, sitting down at the table, ‘it’s all bad luck, after all, for those who are on board.’ They are bitter enough.'" The jeweler began to eat, and the Carconte woman continued to pay him little attentions, like a careful housewife.She was usually so eccentric and awkward, but this time she became a caring, polite and model housewife.Had the jeweler been with her before, he would have expressed surprise at such a marked change in her, and must have had some doubts about it.Meanwhile Caderousse continued walking up and down the room, as if unwilling to see his visitor, and as soon as the stranger had finished his meal, he went to the door and opened it. 'The storm seems to have passed. ' he said.But it seemed as if the heavens wanted to refute his words on purpose. At this moment, a loud thunderbolt was struck, which almost seemed to uproot the house. The lamp in hand.Caderousse hastily closed the door, and returned to his guest, while the Cacontes lit a candle over the dying coals in the fireplace. 'You must be very tired,' she said to the jeweler, 'for I have made white sheets on your bed.You go to your bedroom and rest, good night! ’” The jeweler waited a little longer to see if the storm had subsided, but he saw the thunder and rain increasing, so he bade his hosts good night, and went upstairs. He was passing over my head at that time, and I heard the creak of the stairs as he stepped up the stairs. The woman of Caconte followed him with anxious eyes, while Caderousse, on the contrary, did not even look at him. Neither looked in that direction.

"All this, while it has stuck in my mind ever since, didn't make much of an impression on me at the time. Indeed, all that happened (except for the diamond story which sounded a little It all seemed natural. Although I was very tired, I still wanted to wait for the storm to stop and continue on the road, so I decided to use the quieter time to sleep for a few hours to restore my energy. strength and energy. The jeweler's room was just above my head, and I could tell his every move. He first arranged it as best he could, prepared to spend the night in comfort, and then threw himself on the bed. I heard the creak of the bed under his weight. My eyelids became heavy unconsciously, and I was so sleepy that I didn't suspect anything was going to happen, so I didn't know what was going on. I didn't want to shake off sleepiness. When I looked into the room for the last time, Caderousse and his wife were already seated, the former sitting on a wooden ottoman, one of those low stools. It's often used as a chair in the country. His back is towards me so I can't see the expression on his face, but even if he sits the other way I can't see it because he's burying his head between his hands The Caconto woman looked at him silently for a while with contempt in her eyes, then shrugged her shoulders, and sat down opposite him. A fire spewed out again in the fireplace, and the flames illuminated everything in the room for a moment. The Caconto woman's eyes were still on her husband, and since he did not change his posture, she stretched out her The bony, hard hand tapped on his forehead.

"Cadrousse shuddered violently. The woman's mouth seemed to move, as if she were speaking, but I don't know whether it was because her voice was too low, or because my hearing had been dulled by drowsiness. I was dull, and I couldn't hear a word she said. Even what I saw was like a thick fog, and I didn't know whether I was awake or dreaming. Finally, I closed the I lost my eyes and lost consciousness. I don't know how long I slept in this unconscious state, but I was suddenly awakened by a gunshot and a terrible scream. There was a sound on the floor of the room. Staggering footsteps, and then a heavy sound on the stairs, as if something heavy was falling feebly. Before I was fully conscious, I heard moans and half-suffocated shouts It was mixed together, as if someone was struggling to the death. The last cry dragged on for a long time, then became weaker and weaker, and gradually turned into a moan. Awakened from a state of lethargy. I hurriedly propped myself up on one arm, looked around, but saw that it was dark all around, and I felt as if the rain had penetrated the floor of the upstairs room above my head, because there was something damp. It was falling on my forehead drop by drop, and I wiped it with my hand, and it did feel wet and sticky.

"After that terrible noise there was a deathly silence save for the sound of a man walking above me. The stairs creaked under his feet. The man went to the downstairs room He approached the fire, and lit a candle. It was Caderousse, his face pale, his shirt red with blood. Having lit the lamp, he hurried upstairs again. gone, and his restless step was heard again in the room above my head. Presently he came down with the little shark-skin box in his hand, opened it, and saw that the diamond was indeed still in it, Then, as if hesitating, as to which pocket to hide it in, as if neither pocket was safe enough for him, at last he tucked it in a red handkerchief, which he wrapped carefully around him. Then he took banknotes and gold from the cupboard, stuffed one bag into his trousers pocket and the other into his vest pocket, and hastily took two or three pieces of underwear and tied them into a Unpacking a small bundle, he rushed to the door and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

"It was all clear to me then. I blamed myself for what had just happened, as if I had committed the crime myself. I thought I heard a faint moan, and I thought that the unfortunate jewel Shang was still alive, so I decided to save him, hoping to atone for my sin a little bit, not for the sin I committed, but for the sin I didn't try to stop just now. Thinking in my heart, I So I used all my strength to crash into the next room from the place where I was crouching. There was an uneven board between me and the room inside. After I hit hard, the board fell down. I realized that I had entered the house. I quickly grabbed the lighted candle and hurried up the stairs. When I was halfway up, I stepped on a person lying on the stairs and almost fell. It was the body of the Caconte woman! The shot I heard was undoubtedly aimed at the unfortunate woman, and the bullet horribly tore her throat, leaving a gaping wound from which , from her mouth, blood gushed out like a fountain. Seeing that the poor man was beyond saving, I stepped over and walked into the bedroom. The bedroom was in a mess, and the desperate struggle It was here, no doubt, that the furniture was thrown to one side, and the sheets dragged across the floor, no doubt caused by the unfortunate jeweler clinging to it. The victim was lying on the floor, with his head resting on the The wall, covered in blood, spurted from three wounds on his chest. In the fourth wound, a kitchen knife was inserted, only the handle of the knife was still exposed.

"My foot stepped on a pistol. This pistol has never been used, probably because the gunpowder is wet. I walked towards the jeweler. Before he finally died, my footsteps were also creaking, Hearing my footsteps, he opened his eyes, stared at me for a while, moved his lips a few times, as if trying to say something, but died immediately. This miserable scene almost made me lose consciousness, since There was nothing I could do to anyone in the house, and my only thought was to escape, and I rushed to the top of the stairs, clasping my burning temples with both hands, and screaming in terror, as soon as I reached the downstairs room I saw five or six customs officers and two or three gendarmes already there. They caught me at once, and I didn't even want to resist because I was out of my mind and I I wanted to speak, but I could only make some indistinct sounds. I saw a few of them pointing at me, so I looked down and found that I was covered in blood. It turned out that the drop that leaked on me from the crack in the stairs The drops of warm rain were the blood of the Carconte woman. I pointed to the place where I had been hiding. 'What does he mean?' asked a gendarme. A tax collector came to the place I pointed to.' He I mean,' he said when he came back, 'he came in through this hole,' pointing to the place where I broke through the board.

"It wasn't until then that I understood that they thought I was a murderer. Now my voice and strength are back. I struggled to get rid of the two men who grabbed me, and shouted, 'I didn't kill it. I didn't kill it!' Two gendarmes put the muzzles of their carbine against my chest. 'One more move,' they said, 'and I'll kill you!' 'Why do you threaten me with death,' I cried, 'Didn't I already say I was innocent?' 'Go to Nîmes and tell the judge your little story. Now come with us, we can give you The best advice is not to resist.' Resisting never occurred to me. I was so terrified that without a word I was handcuffed and tied to a horse's tail, and It was in this situation that we arrived at Nîmes.

"According to the situation at that time, there must have been an official who followed me all the time. He lost my track when he followed me near the inn. He thought that I must be planning to spend the night there, so he went back and summoned his people. When they arrived , happened to hear the shot, and caught me in such a well-documented situation, that I knew at once that it would be difficult to prove my innocence. My only hope was to ask my interrogator A judge could inquire about a priest named Busoni, who had been at the Pont de Dougal Inn the morning before the murder. If the story about the diamonds was indeed made up by Caderousse himself. , and there is no such person as the Abbe Busoni in the world, then I am hopeless, unless I can catch Caderousse himself and make him confess everything.

"After two months like this, I should thank the judge for sending people everywhere looking for the man I want to see. I have given up all hope. Caderousse was not caught, and the autumn trial is day by day. Suddenly, on September 8th, that is to say, exactly three months and five days after the incident, the Abbe Busoni, whom I thought I had no hope of seeing again, came to the prison of his own accord. said he knew a prisoner who wanted to speak to him. He said he had heard about it when he was at Marseilles, and had come to fulfill my wish. You can easily imagine how grateful I was. I welcomed him with all my heart, and I told him all I had seen and heard. When I spoke about diamonds, I was a little apprehensive, but to my great surprise he confirmed it, thinking that It was true, and I was equally astonished that he seemed to believe everything I said. Then I was moved by his kindness, and seeing that he was familiar with all the customs and customs of my native country, I thought, I The only real sin is the one for which strong forgiveness can be found only from the lips of such a merciful and philanthropic man, and I begged him to accept my confession, and under the seal of the confession I gave Abdul I told the story in detail from the beginning to the end. Although I did this because my conscience found a momentary impulse, the consequences were the same as my actions after calm thinking. I voluntarily confessed the assassination of Abdul Proved that I did not commit a crime this time. When he left me, he told me not to be discouraged, and he would try to convince the judge that I was innocent.

"I soon felt that the good priest's efforts for me had paid off, because the strict supervision on me in the prison had been gradually relaxed. They told me that my trial had been postponed and I would not participate in the grand trial that was held at that time. and postponed until the next Assize, during which time, by the grace of God, Caderousse was finally caught, and they found him far away abroad, and brought him back to France, where he confessed all, and excused that it was his wife's idea and incitement to do it. He was sentenced to life in a slave ship [a kind of sail and oar ship, the hard labor on board were prisoners, chained together, in the cabin I rowed a boat at the bottom.—Annotation] went up to be a hard laborer, and I was released immediately." "After that, I think," said Monte Cristo, "you came to me with that letter of recommendation from the Abbe Busoni, didn't you?" "Yes, my lord, the good priest is evidently interested in all my affairs. 'You are a smuggler,' he said to me one day, 'if you keep at it, some day you will Destroy yourself, I advise you, after you get out of prison, choose a safer and more respectable industry to work in.''But', I asked, 'how can I support myself and my poor Where is the sister-in-law?" "There is a man whose confessor I am," he replied, "who respects me so much that he asked me not long ago to find him a trustworthy servant. Will you go? If so, I will I can write you a letter of recommendation and go to my friend.''Oh, priest,' I exclaimed, 'that would be great!' 'But you must swear to me that you will never regret it in the future. My recommendation this time.' I was about to throw my hands up. 'No,' he said, 'I know and love Corsicans, I rely on that! Here, take this Go,' said he, after writing a few lines quickly. So I brought the letter to your excellency, and when you received it, you accepted me, and now I venture to ask your excellency, what do you think? Is there anything I didn't do well?" "On the contrary, Bertuccio, I have always felt that you are loyal, honest, and competent. I only find that you have one shortcoming, that is, you do not trust me enough." "Really, my lord, I don't understand what you mean by that!" "I mean: if you have a sister-in-law and a stepson, why have you never mentioned them to me?" "Ah! I have to go back to the most painful period of my life. As you can imagine, when I got out of prison, I was anxious to visit and comfort my dear sister-in-law, so I wasted no more time and went back to Corsica. , but when I arrived in Logriano, I found that there was a funeral in that house, and that there had been a scene so terrible that the neighbors still remember it and talk about it to this day. The poor sister-in-law, acting on my advice, refused to comply with Benedetto's unreasonable demands, but he kept pressing her and asking her for money as long as he believed that she had a penny left. One morning he asked She asked for money, and threatened her with dire consequences if she did not give him the amount he asked for, and then he went away and did not come back all day, leaving the good-natured Assute Go alone to mourn and suffer. Ai Sutai loves him sincerely, just like his own child. Thinking of his behavior, I can't help but cry a lot. Seeing that he hasn't come back, I can't help crying , night came, but she still missed him there with a mother's heart, waiting patiently for his return. "The clock struck eleven, and he returned at last with two companions who had traveled with him. When poor Assute got up and was about to embrace her prodigal son, the three thugs caught She, one of them, or maybe that bastard, I can't remember now with horror, exclaimed, 'Let's make her suffer so she'll tell us where the money is.'" Unfortunately Our neighbor Vassilio happened to be in Bastia at that time, leaving only his wife at home, and no one else could see or hear anything that happened in our house except her.Those two cruel companions of Benedetto seized poor Assute, who never thought they would do her any harm, and smiled at the men who were soon to be her murderers.The other villain began to block the doors and windows, and then returned to his shameless accomplice, and the three joined forces to gag Essutai, and the poor woman cried out at the sight of the dreadful spectacle.When this was done, they burned Aisutai's feet with a brazier, thinking that by doing so they would compel her to reveal where our little savings were hidden.My poor sister-in-law caught fire while struggling and they had to let her go in order to save their own lives.Ai Sutai was on fire, and she rushed to the door frantically, but the door was locked behind her.She ran to the window again, but the window was also blocked.Then her neighbors heard the terrible cries that it was Aisutai calling for help.But then her voice was choked, her cries gradually died down into moans, and the next morning, after a night of anxiety and terror, Vasilio's wife finally found the courage to venture out and call the local authorities. The door of our house came and opened, and Aisutai, though burnt to pieces, was still alive.Every drawer and cupboard in the house had been pried open, and everything worth taking was looted.Benedetto was never seen at Logriano again, and I never saw him or heard anything about him. "After these dreadful events, I came to serve your lord, and I thought it foolish to mention them to your lord, since there is no trace of Benedetto, and my sister-in-law is dead." "What do you think of that?" asked Monte Cristo. "It is a punishment for a crime I have committed," replied Bertuccio. "Oh, the whole family of Villefort must be damned!" "I believe so," murmured the count in a melancholy tone. "Now," continued Bertuccio, "perhaps your lord understands that I have killed a man in this garden, and I have come back to this place, and I am in such a bad mood that I will trouble you. Ask why. For, in short, I am not sure that M. de Villefort lies at my feet in the very grave he has dug for his own child." "Indeed, everything is possible," said Monte Cristo, getting up from the bench on which he was sitting, "even," he continued in a low voice, "perhaps the prosecutor is not dead. The Abbe Busoni said Yes, you ought to have told me your history, for it will save me from misunderstood you in the future. As for Benedetto, since he is so guilty, have you ever tried to inquire afterward that he Where have you been and what are you doing?" "No! If I knew where he was, instead of looking for him, I'd run away as if I'd seen a monster. I never heard his name mentioned, and I hope he's dead." "Don't hope so much, Bertuccio," said the count. "The wicked don't just die like that, because God seems to care about them, and he wants to use them as instruments of his vengeance." "I hope so," said Bertuccio. "I only hope that I shall never see him again in this world. My lord," said the butler, bowing humbly forward, "you now know everything. The Almighty is my judge in heaven, and you are my judge." Magistrate on the ground. Won't you say a few words of comfort to me?" "My good friend, I can tell you as much as the Abbe Busoni can tell you. The man you killed, Villefort, deserves the punishment that you have punished him, and it is just. , because he should not have treated you that way, and perhaps he has committed other crimes. Benedetto, if he had lived, would have become an instrument of divine retribution in some way, and he too would have been punished. As for you, I think you are really guilty in one point. Ask yourself why you did not return the baby to its mother after you rescued him from the grave where he was buried alive. It is sin Ah, Bertuccio." "Yes, my lord, in this, as you say, I have done very wrongly, and in this I seem like a coward. After I have saved the child, it is my duty to bring him to life immediately. Returned to his mother, but in doing so, I would be subject to careful questioning, and if questioned, I would probably be caught myself. And I wanted to live very much, partly because of my sister-in-law Half of it is due to the inherent arrogance in my heart. After I have succeeded in revenge, I always hope to get away clean. Perhaps, it is also the instinct of greed for life and fear of death that makes me want to avoid taking risks. Oh! I really don’t My poor brother was brave." Bertuccio covered his face with his hands as he uttered these words, while Monte Cristo gazed at him with an indescribable look.The count was silent for a while, and this brief silence made the surrounding atmosphere more serious, especially at such a time and such a place.After a while, he said in a tone quite different from his usual melancholy: "This is the end of our excursion today, and in order to formally conclude this conversation, I can quote a few words that Father Busoni himself said to me. The words are repeated to you: 'There are but two medicines for all evil—time and silence.' Now, Monsieur Bertuccio, let me take a walk in this garden alone. You were an actor in that terrible scene , revisiting the old place will bring back painful memories, but I am almost glad that the property has increased in value. You know, Mr. Bertuccio, the reason why the year of the tree is lovely is because They make shade, and shade is lovely because it's so fantastical. I bought a garden here, thinking it was just a place with walls on all sides, but now this The place suddenly turned into a haunted garden, and it was never mentioned in the deed. I like ghosts, and I have never heard that the dead can do more evil in six thousand years than the living in one day. sins committed within. Go to rest, Bertuccio, and go to sleep. If your confessor is not as tolerant as the Abbe Busoni at your deathbed, you can send for me if I live. I, I can find words to comfort your soul and make you feel at ease on the rough journey of 'eternity'." Bertuccio bowed respectfully, then turned and left with a sigh.When he was out of sight, Monte Cristo stood up, took a few steps forward, and said softly: "Here, under this plane tree, is the baby's grave. That is the little gate that leads into the garden." This corner is the secret staircase leading to the bedroom. I don't need to record these plots in the notebook, because they are right in front of my eyes, right under my feet, right around me, and all kinds of living facts have been drawn out for me. an outline." The count made another round of the garden, and then boarded his carriage again, and Bertuccio, seeing the pensive expression on his master's face, went and sat down beside the coachman in silence.The carriage drove swiftly to Paris. That evening, having arrived at his apartment on the Champs-Elysées, the Count of Monte Cristo went round the house, looking as if he knew every twist and turn.Although he led the way, he never touched a wrong door, took a wrong corridor or staircase, and he always got to the place or room he wanted to see without fail.Ali accompanied him on this night inspection.The count first gave instructions to Bertuccio, telling him how to improve and change the room, then he took out his watch and looked at it, and said to the black slave waiting by the side: "It's already half past eleven. Haidee will be here soon. Have you notified the French maids?" Ali pointed to the few rooms reserved for the Greek beauties. Those rooms can be said to be isolated from other rooms in the house. There is also a living room and two rooms in that place.After pointing to the room, Ali stretched out three fingers of his left hand, then put his hands under his head, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep. "I see," said Monte Cristo, who knew Ali's gestures well; "you mean to tell me that three maids are waiting in the bedroom." Ali nodded repeatedly. "Madame must be very tired to-night," continued Monte Cristo, "and she will want to rest as soon as she arrives. Tell the French maids not to disturb her with inquiries here and there, and withdraw after asking them to say hello. You should also be careful not to let those Greek maids have any contact with these French maids." Ali bowed.Just then, they heard a voice calling to the porter.The gate opened, and a carriage drove into the drive and stopped at the porch steps.The count went down the steps to the open door.He held out his hand to a young woman.The young woman, all wrapped up in a green cloak embroidered with gold, put the count's hand to her lips, and kissed it with love and reverence.They exchanged a few more words in the sonorous language of Homer's epic poems. The woman's expression was very kind when she spoke, and the count's expression was very gentle and dignified when he answered.This woman was none other than the lovely Greek woman who had accompanied Monte Cristo in Italy.Ali led the way, with a rose-coloured candle in his hand, and led her to her chamber, while the count retired to his own to rest.An hour later, every light in the house was extinguished, and probably everyone in the house was asleep.