Chapter 23 Chapter 6 in the suburbs of Catania

If the earth is made by humans on machine tools, it must be as round and smooth as a billiard ball, without any wrinkles.However, the earth is one of the Creator's works.So on the coast of Sicily, between Archie-Real and Catania, capes, reefs, caves, and cliffs abound. The beginning of the Strait of Messina lies on this coast of the Tyrrhenian Coast.The Calabria Mountains line the coastline across the strait.As early as the Homer era, overlooking the straits, sea rocks and mountains from the top of Mount Etna was magnificent, and it is still the case today. The forest where Ashmenids were sheltered in the Iliad no longer exists. , but the caves of Kalatae, Polyphemos, and the islets inhabited by the Cyclopes, and a little further north, Calabdis and the Sia reef, have remained in place, and people can still visit them in those days. Landed where the Trojan heroes had built their kingdom.

It should be admitted that Polyphemus bravely won the three armies, and his name was passed on to later generations, and the Hercules Matif was far behind.But Matif was still alive, which was out of reach of Polyphemus.Although Odysseus mentioned Polyphemus, even if he existed, he would have been dead for three thousand years.Erice Lecreus pointed out that the famous Cyclops Polyphemus is probably the legendary Mount Etna. When it erupted, the crater shone like a giant eye on the top of the mountain. In the light of the fire, boulders fell from the cliffs into the sea, forming countless islets and reefs like Farraglioni.

The small islands of Faragrioni, hundreds of meters away from the coast and the road of Catania, may have been the small islands inhabited by the Cyclopes.Now the railway from Cuza to Messina in Greece runs parallel to the Catania road, and the Polyphemus cave is not far from it, and along this coast, the sea water crashes against the basalt caves, making a deafening roar. It was between these rocks that two people, indifferent to good history, met here on the night of August 29th.Some of the things they talked about might interest the Sicilian gendarmes. One of them had been waiting there for quite some time, waiting for the arrival of the other.The one who was waiting was Zirona, and the other, who had just appeared on the Via Catania, was Carpena.

"You're here at last!" Zirona yelled impatiently. "You're too late! I thought Malta had sunk like its old neighbor Giulia, and you, of course, became a whale and a whale at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea." Feed for tuna!" It was seen that although fifteen years had passed due to the passage of time, Sarkani's partner was still the same, a scoundrel, maintaining his old natural temperament.He wore a hat, drooping ears, a short ecru cloak, leggings tied up to the knees, and he was dressed like a seasoned thief. "I can't come back sooner," replied Carpena, "I just got off the ferry from Catania this morning."

"Did the man you recruited come with you?" "They're all here." "how many?" "twelve." "Only twelve?..." "Yes. However, all of them are doing well!" "Mandracho's people?" "Everywhere, mostly Maltese." "The recruits are pretty good, but maybe not enough," Zirona said, "because our business has become more and more difficult and expensive for months! Gendarmes are all over Sicily now, and they will be denser soon. Like the stars! However, if the goods you make are of good quality..."

"I think it's a good one, Zirona," replied Carpena, "you'll see if you try it. Also, I've brought back a handsome young man who used to be a juggler at the fair, clever and cunning. If you want If so, let him disguise himself as a woman, I think he will do his best for us." "What is he doing in Malta?" "He sells watches when he has the opportunity, and if he can't get a watch, he sells handkerchiefs." "what is his name?" "Bai Jiaduoer." "Okay!" Zirona replied. "His ingenuity will come in handy. Where have you taken these people?"

"The Sanda Gloda Inn above the town of Nicolosi." "Are you going to be the innkeeper there again?" "It starts tomorrow..." "No, it will start tonight," Zirona said. "As soon as I get new instructions, you will hurry back. I will wait for the train here, and when the train to Messina passes in a while, I will start from the last section. A letter will be thrown to me in the compartment." "Who... whose letter?" "It's . ?” At this moment, from the direction of Catania came a rumbling sound quite different from the roar of the waves.Apparently, the train that Zirona was waiting for came.Carpena climbed the rock with him, walked for a while, and stopped by the railway.There were no fences preventing them from approaching the railway.

Two sirens blew at the entrance of a small tunnel, announcing that it was approaching at low speed; the roar of the locomotive grew louder; It shines brightly. Zirona was intently watching the train, which passed three paces in front of him. As the last car was about to pass him, the glass of the window was thrown open, a woman poked her head out, and as soon as she saw the Sicilian standing there, she quickly tossed an orange.The orange fell and rolled on the road ten paces from Zirona. That woman is Namir, Sarkani's secret agent.A few seconds later, she followed the train and disappeared in the direction of Archie-Real.

Zirona went over and picked up the "orange", or rather the peel of the two halves sewn together.Carpena and Zirona went back to hide behind a huge rock.Zirona lit a small lamp, tore open the orange, and took out a little note, on which he wrote: "He hopes to see you in the town of Nicolosi in five or six days. Be especially wary of a man named Dr. Antekit!" Evidently, Saccani's suspicions were aroused by the knowledge in Laguze of the mysterious person who had twice visited Madame Bathory's house and who had aroused great public curiosity.Sarkani is a suspicious person, so he even passes the note through Namir instead of handing it to his partner Zirona through the post office.

Zirona put the note in his pocket, turned off the light, and asked Carpena: "Have you ever heard of a man named Dr. Antekit?" "No," answered the Spaniard, "but the little Bajador may know him. The eager young man knows everything." "Okay, let's ask him." Zirona asked again: "Carpena, we are not afraid of walking at night, are we?" "Bolder to walk at night than by day, Zirona!" "Yes, those gendarmes are so fierce during the day! Let's go! We must be at the Sanda Gloda Inn by three o'clock!" Crossing the railway, they ran on Zirona's well-known trails.These trails lead through the small ridges of Mount Etna to the Mesozoic strata.

About eighteen years ago, in Sicily, and especially in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, there was a terrible gang of villains.The gang numbered several thousand, and they were connected with each other through the Masonic liturgy.Stealing and defrauding are in every possible way, and this has become their motto.Many industrialists and merchants pay a kind of poll-tax every year, in order not to have too much trouble in the industry or commerce they carry on. Both Saccani and Chirona at the time—that was before the Trieste uprising—were the main members of the secret gang, and their activities were rampant. However, with the development of various situations and the improvement of urban management (rural areas are still relatively poor), the activities of this secret gang have encountered many difficulties.The poll tax and annuity received gradually decreased.Therefore, most of the members parted ways, went their separate ways, and took up the most profitable business of robbery. At this time, Italy was unified and the political system had just changed.Sicily, like the other provinces, had to accept a common fate and submit to the new laws, especially the order of conscripts.Therefore, rebels who did not want to obey the law, evaders who refused to perform military service, and many other unscrupulous "secret gang members" or others, began to run rampant in the countryside in gangs. Zirona is the leader of a gang of robbers.After squandering the snitch bounty that fell into Saccagni's hands--that is, Count Sandorf's half of the fortune--they returned to Sicily to resume their old business and hope for a good chance to make a fortune again. Here's your chance: Sakani and Silas Dronta's daughter is getting married.It is known under what circumstances in the past that Sarkani's marriage has never been consummated. Sicily has been favorable to robbers since ancient times, and it is, and still is!This ancient Tetanakaya Island has a circumference of 720 kilometers and is triangular in shape.Its northeast end is Cape Faro, the west end is Marsala Point, and the southeast end is Corenti Island Point.The island has the Pelod Mountains, the Nebrod Mountains, and the Etna Volcanic Group: the Giarella River, the Cantara River, and the Platani River; there are rapids, valleys, and plains; some cities have very difficult traffic; Some market towns are very isolated, some villages are hidden on cliffs that are difficult to climb, and some monasteries are located on passes or on mountain ridges.In short, there are countless escape routes, and a large number of coves to escape from.Here is a microcosm of the earth.In this land of Sicily, everything on the land is omnipresent: mountains, volcanoes, valleys, plains, rivers, lakes, rapids, cities, villages and villages, ports, coves, capes, hidden reefs, open reefs, this Everything is exploited by the Sicilians.There are nearly two million inhabitants on the island, spread over an area of ​​26,000 square kilometers. Could there be a better place for robbers than here?So, although robberies are on the decline, although Sicilian bandits seem to be more honest, although gangs are outlawed—at least in modern literature—in general, although people are looking for more lucrative jobs than robbery, travel But it is better to be careful not to venture into this place that Gargus likes and Mergus praises. In recent years, however, the Sicilian gendarmes have remained vigilant, on alert, ready for action, and have carried out several fruitful raids in the eastern provinces.Several gangs of robbers were ambushed and part of them were wiped out.Among them, Zirona's group only has about 30 people left.Many of the Mandracho houses he frequented in the old days were men he thought would make bandits.Therefore, Carpena went to Valletta. Although only twelve people were recruited, they were all carefully selected and all of them were of extraordinary skill. This Spaniard is so loyal to Zirona, no one will be surprised!He is very suitable for this line of work.But he was cowardly by nature, and when he went out to rob, he was afraid of gunshots and always hid at the end.He was content to prepare for the robbery, make plans, and be the proprietor of the Sanda Gloda Inn.Sanda Gloda is a bandit-infested area. Bandits hide on the slopes of the lower part of the volcano, elusive and sensational. It goes without saying that Saccani and Zirona knew everything in Milpera's life that had anything to do with the case of Andrea Ferjato, while Carpena knew nothing about the case of Trieste. Know.Carpena only thinks that the people connected with him are loyal robbers, those who have been "doing business" in the Sicilian mountains for many years. Zirona and Carpena walked the thirteen kilometers from Polyphemus Rock to Nicolosi without encountering a single gendarme.They walked steep hills through fields of grapes, olives, oranges, lemons, and thickets of hazelnuts, cork trees, and banyans.Sometimes they climb mountains along dry riverbeds.After they had passed the villages of San Giovanni and de la Megeri, they reached the top of a very high mountain.At half past ten, they arrived in the town of Nicolosi.The town lies in a large circular valley, shielded to the north and west by the conical volcanic skins of Piri, Rossi, Serra-Pisuta. The town has ten churches, a monastery built by San Nicolo Dahl, and two small hotels.It can be seen from these that this is not an ordinary town.But neither Zirona nor Carpena lodged in either of these hotels.The Sanda Gloda Inn in the darkest gorge of Etna was waiting for them, and in another hour, that is to say, they would be in Sanda Gloda before midnight. . Here, people are not asleep.While eating supper, they shouted and cursed.The twelve newly recruited by Carpena were also among them.An old man of the gang named Benito—perhaps with ambivalent feelings—was hospitable to the newcomer.The rest, about forty mountain men and draft dodgers, were looting behind the volcano more than twenty kilometers to the west.We'll be here soon too.So in Sanda Gloda, now only the twelve Maltese recruited by Carpena remained.Among these people, Bajador--in other words, Boscade--was rightly yelling and bragging along with this group of gangsters.But he was listening attentively, observing, memorizing, not letting go of anything useful.Shortly before Carpena and Zirona came here, he remembered a sentence that Benito said when he stopped the noise of the guests: "Stop making trouble! You group of devil kings in Malta, stop yelling! You yelling like this, the commissioner of the Central Committee, the gendarmerie squad sent to Casona by the provincial police officers heard you!" This is a threatening joke. In fact, Casona Village is still far away from here!But the new robbers still believed that the gendarmes would hear their uproar, and immediately lowered their uproar.And drank even more heartily, draining the Etna wine that Benito himself had poured for them.They were all drunk to varying degrees when the inn was opened. "A bunch of good lads!" cried Zirona as he came in. "Carpena has a chance to win, and I think Benito has done a good job!" "These warriors are dying of thirst!" replied Benito. "It would be worse for them than death if there was no wine!" said Zirona with a smile. "You have drunk them all! Good! Let them sleep now! We will get to know each other tomorrow!" "Why wait until tomorrow?" asked a newly recruited bandit. "Because you are all so drunk that you can't understand things and listen to my orders!" Zirona replied. "Drunk...drunk...just with your bottles of local wine? We're used to the gin and whiskey at Mandracho's!" "Hello! Who is this man?" Zirona asked. "Short Burskard." "Hey! Who's this guy?" Pascade asked, pointing to the Sicilian. "He's Zirona," the Spaniard replied. Zirona watched carefully the young bandit who had been praised by Carpena but spoke so lightly.Needless to say, he thought the lad had a clever and brave face, for he nodded approvingly, and then he asked Boscade: "Did you drink like everyone else?" "Drink more than anyone else!" "Are you still in your head?" "Ah! Such a little wine is nothing!" "Tell me, little guy," Zirona continued, "Kalpena told me that you can provide me with the information I need!" "Don't say it in vain?..." "Want to hit me?" So Zirona threw a half-piastre silver coin over, and immediately, Boscade put the silver coin into his coat pocket like a professional player about to play. "The little guy is smart!" said Zirona. "Very shrewd!" replied Boscade. "What do you want to know?" "Are you familiar with Malta?" "Not only Malta, but also Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, and the Adriatic Sea!" Boscade replied. "you've been to?" "Very often. However, I always pay for it myself!" "I don't think you're traveling at public expense, because if the government pays for it..." "That would be too expensive!" replied Boscade. "Look at what you said!" retorted Zirona, who admired his new partner and had already chatted with him. "And what else?" asked the clever boy again. "And, yes! Boscade, in all your travels, have you ever heard of a Doctor Antegitus?" For all his ingenuity, "the question" was something he never expected. However, he tried his best to control himself, so as not to show the slightest panic. Zirona, how did he hear of the doctor and know his name, since he had not been in Laguz when the Sanarena was moored, nor had he been in Malta when the Ferjato was moored? At this moment, Boscade realized decisively that it is better to answer than to avoid.So he blurted out: "Doctor Antekit? Oh! I know very well... His reputation in the Mediterranean is great!" "Have you seen him?" "there has never been." "But do you know what kind of person this doctor is?" "It is said that he is both a billionaire and a wretch. Every time he travels, he must carry a million in his jacket pocket, and he has at least six pockets! He is very unfortunate. Due to his lack of ambition, he only He can do some medicine in his spare time, sometimes he rides a yacht, sometimes he takes a motorboat, and he brings special medicines that can cure 22,000 kinds of diseases, including almost all human diseases!" Boscade, the former street performer, is doing it again!He made fun of it, much to the amazement of Carpena and Zirona.Carpena seems to be saying: "Hey! The people I recruited are not bad, are they?" Boscade lit a cigarette, and the smoke seemed to come out of his nose, eyes, and even ears all at once. "You say this doctor is rich?" Zirona asked. "Rich enough to buy Sicily and turn it into an English garden!" replied Boscade. Then, he felt that the time had come, so he deliberately whetted Qirona's appetite: "Indeed," he said, "Captain Zirona, though I have not seen Doctor Antegitus, I have seen at least one of his yachts. I hear he has a small fleet of ships for his excursions!" "Have you seen one of his yachts?" "Yes, one called 'Ferjato'! It's magnificent, and it would be great if you could take one or two beautiful princesses and take him to Naples for fun!" "Where did you see this yacht?" "Malta." "when?" "The night before yesterday, at Valletta! The yacht was in the naval port when Captain Carpena came on board with us! But I've heard it's going to set sail twenty-four hours after we've left! " "Set sail to..." "Hey! It happens to be Sicily, and the destination is Catania." "It's Catania?" Zirona asked in surprise. Dr. Antekit's departure coincided with Zirona's notification from Sakkani to beware of the doctor, which could not but arouse the suspicion of Sakkani's partner. Boscard knew that there was a secret hidden in Zirona's mind.But what is it?Unable to find out, Boscade resolved to push him to speak out. So he asked: "What is the doctor doing in Sicily? And what is he going to do in Catania?" "Ah! Our Lady Agathe is here, and he came to visit the city! He came to climb Mount Etna! He came to visit as a rich traveler!" "Boscade," said Zirona, of whom he occasionally had doubts. "It looks like you know him well!" "I'll learn more if I get the chance!" replied Boscade. "What do you mean by that?" "I mean, if Dr. Antaikit visits our land, he'll have to leave us a lot of road money!" "real?" "It's cheap for him to pay him one or two million, right?" "You have a good idea!" "How could Zirona and his friends miss such a great opportunity! Could it be that they are fools!" "Okay!" Zirona said with a smile, "Just based on your words, you can go to bed!" "Yes, Captain," replied Boscade, "I think I shall have a good dream to-night." "What dream?" "Doctor Antekit's several million...golden dreams, how about it!" Boscade exhaled the last puff of smoke, and then went to the warehouse of the inn to find his accomplices, while Carpena went back to the house. At this time, the brave young man did not fall asleep, but reviewed his words and deeds just now. Unexpectedly, Zirona talked about Dr. Antekit. Has Boscard done what he was entrusted to do?have no idea. The doctor said that when he came to Sicily, he hoped to find Saccani, and if Dorronta was with him, he could also find Dorronta-this was possible, because they both left Raguza.If Sakani cannot be caught, he intends to shift the target, try to catch Sakaba's accomplice Qirona, and then use both soft and hard tactics to force him to tell the whereabouts of Sakani and Duolongta.This is the doctor's plan, and the following are the steps for him to carry out the plan. In his youth, the doctor visited Sicily, especially the province of Etna, on several occasions.He is familiar with all the climbing paths, one of which passes under a house and is the most traveled by people.Built at the foot of the main peak of Mount Etna, the house is known as the "Little Englishman's House". It was certain that the arrival of the illustrious Doctor Antegitus, who had deliberately let the story of his ascent of Mount Etna spread, would have caused as much repercussions in Catania as his arrival anywhere.Obviously, Zirona was about to inquire about the doctor's whereabouts through Puwante Boscade, so Boscade acted on his own and revealed the news to him. This is the trap set by the doctor for Zirona, and Zirona will be caught in nine out of ten cases. The day before the doctor climbed the volcano, the twelve sailors of the "Feichato" in full armor ran quietly towards the small house of the Englishman.The next day Pierre and a guide will leave Catania with the doctor and follow the road to the English cottage in order to arrive before eight o'clock in the evening and spend the night there.Tourists who want to watch the sunrise on Mount Etna in the Calabrian mountains often plan their trips this way. Zirona, instigated by Boscard, was determined to capture Dr. Antekyte, and he believed that he had nothing to do but the doctor and his two companions.However, when he reached the English house, he faced the sailors of the Ferharto, and any resistance he made would be in vain. Boscade knew the plan in advance, so he cleverly used the opportunity to instill in Zirona the idea of ​​​​catching the rich doctor Antajit.After catching the doctor, Zirona was able to blackmail and blackmail unscrupulously, but at the same time earnestly carried out the instructions he received.Besides, since Zirona should be wary of this person, isn't the best way to act first, even if it is worth the passing money of the doctor.Therefore, while waiting for Sarkani's new instructions, Zirona made up his mind to do it.However, in the case of insufficient manpower, in order to ensure nothing goes wrong, he planned to use a group of people brought back from Malta by Carpena.Boscade was not worried about this, because these eleven scoundrels were no match for the crew of the "Ferhato". But Zirona never takes risks easily.Since, according to Bajador, the launch was due to arrive the next day, he left Sanda Gloda early in the morning and went down to Catania.Since no one recognized him, there was no danger for him to go to the city. The launch had been at anchor for several hours.It was moored not by the quays, which were crowded with ships, but deep in the outer harbour, between the North Causeway and the great grey-black mountain of lava that had been pushed into the sea by the eruption of the volcano in 1669. At dawn, Matiff and eleven sailors had already landed in Catania under the leadership of Luc.Then they split into several paths and ran straight to the Englishman's little house. Zirona knew nothing of their landing, and since the Ferrhato was moored a chain offshore, he could not observe what was happening on board. Just before six o'clock in the evening, a small boat brought to shore the two passengers of the motorboat, the doctor and Pierre Bathory.They walked through the Via Stesicoro, the Via Strada Etna, towards Villa Bellini, the public garden.Villa Bellini is a beautiful communal garden, with its hills of flowers, its grotesque balustrades, its shaded terraces of trees, and its gurgling water, perhaps the most beautiful garden in Europe. One of the gardens.The majestic Mount Etna, shrouded in mist, stands in the distance. Zirona followed the two passengers, not realizing that one of them was Dr. Antekit.The music of Villa Bellini captivated many.Zirona squeezed through the crowd, trying to get close to the two people, but failed.And his darting and stealthiness attracted the attention of the doctor and Pierre to this suspicious-looking, strange-behaved fellow.If he is that Zirona, this is a good opportunity to lure him into the bait. Therefore, towards eleven o'clock in the evening, when the two of them were about to leave the boat at the mouth of the garden, the doctor answered Pierre deliberately and loudly. "Well, it's settled! We'll start early tomorrow morning and spend the night at the Englishman's house." In the blink of an eye, Agent Zirona disappeared.Obviously, he's got what he wants to know.