Chapter 17 Chapter 8: A Chance Encounter on Stratton Street

The news of Pierre's death caused a stir, but no one could guess the real reason for his suicide, let alone the role of Saccani and Silas Dronta in this tragedy. On the next day, on July 6th, Sawa Doronta will hold a wedding with Sakani. Due to Silas Doronta and Sakani's strict precautions and tight-lipped, Mrs. Doronta and her daughter have not yet heard the news of Pierre's suicide. It had been agreed that the wedding ceremony would be simplified, and the excuse given was that the mourning period for the Saccani family had not yet expired.This is undoubtedly not in line with the extravagant habit of the Duolongta family, but under the current circumstances, he thinks it is best to do things quietly.It is said that the newlyweds will only stay in Rajuz for a few days before leaving for Tripoli, Sarkani's usual residence.Therefore, at that time, only the certificate of inheritance of Savoy will be read out, and a religious ceremony will be held in the Franciscan church after the wedding, and no wedding banquet will be held at the Stratton Mansion to entertain guests before and after the ceremony.

On this day, the final preparations for the wedding were going on at the Stratton House.On the other side of Stratton Avenue, there were two people walking and chatting all the way, they were Burscade and Matiff. When Dr. Antekite returned to Laguz, Martief also came with him, because he was no longer needed in Cattaro.And so the two friends, "the two twins," in Boscuard's words, met again, and were almost beyond words. As for the doctor, as soon as he arrived in Raguez, he went to the house in the Marinella alley, and then quietly settled in an ordinary hotel on the outskirts of Plos, where he waited for the wedding of Saccani and Sawa to be completed. , in order to proceed with his plan.

The next day, the doctor sent Boscade and Martief to monitor Stratton Avenue, but he visited Mrs. Bathory again, personally helped to examine Pierre's body, and then returned to the hotel. Although Boscade saw all directions and heard all directions, it did not prevent him from chatting with Matiff. "I think you've gained weight, Matiff!" He said as he tiptoed to pat Hercules' chest. "Yeah...it's still solid!" "You are really blessed, I found out when you hugged me." "But how did that play you told me about go?" asked Matiff, who cherished his part.

"Good acting, good acting!... Do you understand, the plot is quite complicated!" "complex?" "Yes!... This is not a comedy, it is a tragedy, and it is exciting from the beginning!" Boscade stopped abruptly.A carriage came galloping and stopped in front of the Stratton mansion. The gate opened immediately, let the carriage in, and closed it again.Boscade had already seen that it was Saccani in the car. "Yes . "So, what about the traitor?..." Matiff asked, as if he was more interested in this character. "A traitor...he has succeeded for the time being, it will always be written like this in a well-conceived play...don't worry, just wait and see how the play ends!"

"At Cattaro," said Matif, "I thought I was going to..." "Is it coming soon?" "Yes, Boscade, it is so!" So Matif told what had happened in the market outside Cattaro, that he was ready to catch, but failed to do so. "Okay! It's just a little too early!" said Boscade, who kept looking around, "Maybe you won't come in until the fourth or fifth act, my friend." Matiff!...Maybe, we will wait until the last scene!...But don't worry!...As soon as you appear on the stage, the effect will be amazing...Don't worry about that!"

At this moment, on Stratton Avenue, from the corner of Marinella Alley, there was a sound of wailing. Boscade interrupted the conversation and walked a few steps towards the right side of the Duolongta mansion. A funeral procession came out of Marinella Alley and onto Stratton Avenue towards the Franciscan Church, where the funeral service would be held. There were very few people attending the funeral, and the funeral ceremony was very simple and unobtrusive—only a few people carried a simple coffin covered with a black cloth. The funeral procession moved forward slowly.Suddenly, Boscade grabbed Matiff's arm and nearly cried out.

"What's the matter with you?" Mattif asked. "It's nothing!...I'll talk to you later!" He recognized Mrs. Bathory, who wanted to go to her son's funeral. The church did not refuse to pray for a man who died of despair.The priest was waiting for Madame Bathory in the Franciscan chapel in order to lead the dead to the cemetery. Mrs. Bathory followed closely behind the coffin.She no longer had the strength to cry, her eyes were dazed, she looked sideways, and stared straight at the black cloth, where her son's body was wrapped. The old man Polik followed her closely, his appearance really made people feel pitiful.

Boscade was full of tears.yes!If this honest young man hadn't been tasked, he would have joined the funeral procession without hesitation, and together with the friends and neighbors of the Bathory family, paid tribute to the deceased. Just as the funeral procession was about to pass in front of the Duolongta mansion, the gate of the mansion opened suddenly, and two carriages were waiting to set off under the steps in the courtyard. The first car came out of the gate and was turning the corner down Stratton Street. In the car, Boscade saw, were Silas Dronta and his wife and daughter.

Mrs. Doronta was in great pain, exhausted physically and mentally, and sat beside Sharapova.Sharapova was paler than the white wedding veil. Accompanied by several relatives and friends, Sarkani rode in the second carriage. A wedding is no more luxurious than a funeral.Two lines of queues, the same misery - really touching! Suddenly, as the first carriage drove out, a heart-piercing cry was heard. Mrs. Bathory stood there, pointing at Sawa, and cursing the girl! It was Sharapova who uttered this scream!She saw the mother in mourning!She understands everything people keep from her! ...Pierre died, he was killed by her, he died for her, and what passed in front of her wedding car was his funeral procession!

Sawa passed out.Mrs. Duolongta panicked, trying to wake her up...it didn't work! ... She is dying! Silas Doronta couldn't help but look angry, but Sakani forced himself to be calm. Under such circumstances, it was impossible to go to the marriage registration office to perform the formalities, and it was necessary to get a carriage to return home as soon as possible.The gate of the courtyard was closed in an uproar. Sharapova was carried into her boudoir and put on the bed, still unconscious.Her mother was lying beside her bed.A doctor was hastily called in.At the same time, Pierre's funeral procession continued to the Franciscan church, where after the service was held, it went to the Laguez cemetery.

Boscade knew that the doctor had not expected this incident, and that it must be reported to him as soon as possible.He then told Mattif: "Stay here and watch carefully!" Then he ran like a gust of wind to the outskirts of Pros. The doctor listened to Boscade's hasty account of what had happened, and fell silent. "Have I exceeded my authority?" he asked himself. "No! . . . Have I hurt an innocent girl? . . . Of course I have! But she is Silas Dronta's daughter!" Then he asked Burscade: "Where's Mattif?" "In front of Stratton House." "I need you two tonight." "What time." "Nine o'clock." "Where are we waiting for you?" "In front of the cemetery!" Boscade immediately ran to find Mattif who was standing still. Night fell.About eight o'clock, the doctor, wearing a large cloak, walked towards Laguiz.At the left turn of the ramparts, he passed a corner and came to the shore of a small bay.The harbor is just like a crescent moon, hidden among the cliffs towering over the harbor. The place is desolate, with no houses or ships.The fishermen never brought their boats in because they were afraid of hitting the rocks.The doctor stopped, looked around, and whistled.Almost at the same moment a sailor came up to him and said: "At your command, master." "Is the boat here, Basel?" "Yes, behind the rock." "Are all your men here?" "It's all there." "What about the Electric Power?" "Farther, stop outside the northern harbor, three chains from here." The sailor pointed to a distant object that looked like a spinning spindle.It was dark all around, and it was impossible to see clearly without the fire. "When did it leave Cattaro?" asked the doctor. "Almost an hour ago." "Didn't you find it on the road?" "Certainly not. We'll walk between the reefs and no one will see us." "Basel, tell everyone that no one is allowed to leave their posts without authorization, and if necessary, wait for me all night." "Yes, Master!" The sailor turned and walked towards the boat on the beach.At this time, the rocks and boats on the seaside have melted into one color. Dr. Antekit remained a while longer on the coast.No doubt he wanted to wait for the night to get darker.Now and then he strode up and down, and then stopped again, arms folded, without making a sound or moving.He stared at the surface of the Adriatic Sea, as if he wanted to reveal the secret in his heart to the sea. There was no moon and no stars that night.The night wind blowing gently made people feel cool, and after a few hours, the wind died down.Several groups of dense dark clouds covered the entire sky, and the last mist in the western sky had just been swallowed by dark clouds. "Let's begin!" said the doctor. He returned to the city along the base of the city wall and walked towards the cemetery. Boscade and Matif squatted behind a big tree in front of the cemetery, waiting for the doctor. By this time the cemetery was closed.The last light in the caretaker's room had been extinguished.No one will come before dawn. Undoubtedly, the doctor knew the topography of the cemetery like the back of his hand, and he didn't want to go in through the gate-what he wanted to do here was absolutely confidential. "Follow me!" he said to Boscade and his companions, who came forward. The three of them started walking along the base of the wall.The terrain is undulating, and the higher you go, the more obvious the slope is formed. After walking for ten minutes, the doctor stopped, pointed to a gap in the wall that had collapsed, and said: "Let's go in." He passed through the gap, and Burscard and Matiff followed. The woods inside are thick, covering the cemetery, and it is getting more and more gloomy and dark.Without hesitation, the doctor stepped up a path, and then up a side passage leading to the upper part of the cemetery.When he passed by, a few night birds flew around.Here, apart from owls, there are no other animals around the scattered tombstones and in the grass. Soon, the group of three stopped in front of a simple tomb that resembled a chapel.The fence gate was not locked. The doctor pushed open the fence, and then pressed the button of the small electric light, and light came out from the inside, but there was no light outside the fence. "Go in," the doctor said to Matiff. Matiff entered the chapel-like cemetery, facing a wall with three marble slabs inlaid on it.On the slate in the middle it is written: Etienne Bathory 1867 The tablet on the left has no inscription, and the one on the right is about to be inscribed. "Remove this slab," said the doctor. The stone slab hadn't been fastened yet, so Matiff easily removed it and put it on the ground.At this time, a hole appeared in the wall, and in the hole was a coffin, in which Pierre's body lay. "Pull out the coffin," said the doctor. Despite the weight of the coffin, Matiff pulled it out of the tomb without Boscade's help, moved it outside the chapel, and placed it on the grass. "Take this thing," the doctor handed Boscard a screwdriver, "open the coffin lid." It's done in minutes. The doctor lifted the shroud with his hands, and put his head on the corpse's chest, as if to listen for a heartbeat.Then he stood up and said to Matiff: "Move him out." Matif obeyed, and neither he nor Burscade said a word, even though exhumation was illegal. Matiff put Pierre's body on the lawn, put the shroud back on, and the doctor put his cloak on it again.They put the lid on the coffin and put it back in the tomb in the hole in the wall, and put back the stone slab to block the hole. The doctor cut off the power, and the surroundings fell into darkness again. "Take him away," he said to Matiff. Matiff opened his thick arms, embraced the young man's body like a child, followed the doctor, and Burskard broke his back.They went back to the side lane, heading straight for the gap in the cemetery wall. Five minutes later, the three of them climbed over the wall from the gap and walked along the wall to the coast. The three of them didn't talk to each other, Matif was thinking like a machine, but Burscade was full of thoughts! On the way from the cemetery to the coast, the doctor and his two companions met no one.But when they came to the harbor where the boats were moored, they saw a customs officer walking up and down on the rocks by the sea. They ignored it and continued on their way with confidence. The doctor whistled and called out the leader of the boat who was hiding in the dark. The doctor made a gesture, and Matiff jumped over a few rocks and was about to step into the boat. At this time, the customs officer came forward, seeing that they were about to board the boat and leave the shore, he hurriedly asked: "Who are you?" "We people have two things for you to choose, either twenty florins, or a punch from this gentleman, both of which will be honored!" Boscard said, pointing to Matiff. Without hesitation the man asked for twenty florins. "Get on board!" the doctor ordered. After a while, the boat disappeared into the night.Five minutes later the skiff was on board the clipper, which was not at all visible from the shore. The dinghy was loaded onto the speedboat deck, and the Electric Power, equipped with a silent motor, blasted off into the open sea. Matiff carried Pierre into a narrow cabin and put him on a sofa.The windows of the cabin were covered tightly so that no light could come in. The doctor, left alone with Pierre, bent down and kissed Pierre's pale forehead with his mouth.He said: "Pierre, wake up! I want you to wake up!" Suddenly Pierre, as if awakened from a deathly lethargy, opened his eyes. He recognized Dr. Antekit, and a look of disgust filled his face. "It's you!..." He murmured, "You abandoned me!" "It's me, Pierre!" "Who the hell are you?" "A dead man... just like you!" "A dead person?..." "I am Count Matthias Sanddorf!"