Chapter 30 Chapter 6 Apparition

Just before twelve o'clock at noon, the steamer, under the command of the captain Kostrik and the first mate Luigi Ferharto, drew anchor and set sail.There were only three passengers on board: the doctor, Pierre and Maria.If Madame Bathory was found and she could not be returned to Antekyte from Carthage at once, Maria would be in charge of her, and the doctor took Maria with her. Needless to say, everyone understood how anxious Pierre Bathory was.He learned of his mother's whereabouts and was about to reunite with her! ... But why did Bolic take her out of Lajuz in such a hurry?Why bring her so far away on the coast of Tunisia?His mother and Paulik, in what poverty they were looking forward to seeing them!

Maria listened to Pierre confiding his difficulties, listening to Pierre answering her with hopeful words, she thanked God over and over again, and she felt that it was God's blessing that the letter could reach the doctor. The steamer "Ferhato" was going at top speed.Under the action of the superheater, the average speed has exceeded 24 kilometers per hour.From the depths of the Gulf of Siirt to Adalbe at the northeast end of the Tunis Strait is only a thousand kilometers at most; from Adalbe to Goulet in the port of Tunis, it only takes one and a half hours by fast steamer.Unless encountering severe weather or accidents, the "Ferhato" can reach its destination after sailing continuously for thirty hours.

Outside the Gulf of Siirt, the sea is calm, but in the bay there is a northwesterly wind, although there is no sign of increasing wind strength at present.Captain Kostek ordered the steamer to move closer to Adalbe.In order to quickly approach the shore and find a shelter when the wind increases, since it is planned to sail as close to the shore as possible, there is no need to look for Banterella Island, which is located between Malta and Adalbe. The western coast outside the Gulf of Siirt forms a semicircle.It forms an arc with a long radius, leading westward to Gabe Bay between the island of Djerba and the city of Sfax.Starting from the city of Sfax, the coast is dismantled slightly to the east, extending towards the Cape of Dinia, forming the Hammamet Bay.At this time, the coast stretches from south to north, all the way to Adalbe.

The steamer "Ferhato" is heading towards Hammamet Bay.There it will first approach the coast, and sail along the coast as far as Gurrett. On November 3, the wind and waves increased significantly.Siirt Bay is a calm sea with three-foot waves.The waves here are turbulent, bringing together various mysterious currents in the Mediterranean Sea.But at about eight o'clock the next day, near the Mystic Cape of Dinia, land and some high coasts appeared in front of the "Ferhato", and the steamer sailed quickly and smoothly. The "Feihato" has been sailing in the sea less than two nautical miles from the shore, and the detailed situation on the shore can be clearly seen from the ship.After leaving the Hammamet Bay, at the same latitude as the city of Klia, the ship got closer to the coast.There is the small bay of Sidi Yusuf, with a long stretch of rocky coast to the north.

To the south of the bay is a beautiful large sandy beach. Behind the beach is a stretch of small hills covered with dwarf bushes.There are rocks everywhere and very little humus.In the distance, the high hills and the mountains in the interior are connected together.Abandoned hermit tombs can be seen everywhere, like white spots, hidden among the green grass and green trees on the top of the circular hill, the ruins of a small fortress stand in the distance, and a good fortress stands in a circular On the top of the hill, the northern part of the Sidi Yusuf Gulf is blocked. But this place is not desolate.Under the protection of the rocks, several three-masted small sailboats and three-masted merchant ships from the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea were moored at the half anchor chain offshore.The sea water here is turquoise and crystal clear, and you can clearly see the black rocks on the bottom of the sea and the sandy land with shallow grooves.

There is a small village at the foot of a hill covered with frankincense and tamarind trees by the beach.There are about twenty rough huts.And the faded canvas awning with its yellow stripes, like a great Arabian overcoat, has been flung indiscriminately on this shore.Beyond the folds of the "coat," sheep and goats graze in the distance, and a single shot will send them flying in fright.There were a dozen or so camels ruminating on the beach, some lying down, some standing still, in a daze. As the steamboat passed through Sidi Yusuf Bay, the doctor saw guns and ammunition being brought ashore, even a few small field guns.Due to the remote location of this area, far away from the border of the Tunisian Regency, it is most suitable for arms smuggling in this area.

Lu Ji reminded the doctor that someone was unloading weapons on the pier. "Yes, Luigi," replied the doctor, "if I'm not mistaken, the Arabs are drawing up arms. Are these weapons going to be sent to those mountain men to deal with the French troops who have just landed in Tunisia? I can't figure it out yet! But now there's a lot of Sanusi admonitions—bandits by land and sea are gathering in Cyrenaica, are these weapons going to them? But I can see that these Arabs, To say they are from the Tunisian province is better to say that they are from the interior of Africa."

"But," Luigi asked, "the Tunisian authorities, or at least the French ones, why don't they think of a way to stop it?" "In Tunisia, people don't know what's going on behind Cape Adalbe," the doctor replied. "Once the French are masters of all Tunisia, I am afraid that the whole of the eastern mountainous country will be out of control for a long time. In any case, I think the matter of unarming is very suspicious. If our steamer is not fast attack us with hesitation." If this is the case, there is nothing to fear if the Arabs think so.The steamer passed the small anchorage in Sidi Youssef Bay in less than half an hour, and after reaching Adalbe, which stretches out to sea on the Tunisian plateau, it quickly circled the lighthouse that illuminates the northern end.The entire northern end is lined with rocks and the scenery is spectacular.

The steamer "Ferchato" sailed at full speed through the Gulf of Tunis between Cape Adalbe and Cape Carthage.On the left, Bangyikaning Mountain, Rosa Mountain and Zakuan Mountain pass by in succession, and several villages are hidden in the mountain pass.On the right, the Arabian palace is resplendent and magnificent, and the holy city of Sidi Bou Said is dazzling.There, it is likely to be a suburb of the ancient city of Carthage.Behind it is the city of Tunisia, which is white under the sunlight, standing on the lake of Baiha, and the port of Gullet is not far in front of the city of Tunisia.All tourists disembarking from European cruise ships land here.

Two or three nautical miles away from the port, there is a French fleet, and nearer there are several merchant ships, lined up, swaying with the waves.The flags of various colors are hung on the ship, which adds a lot of scenery to the anchorage. It was already one o'clock in the afternoon when the "Feihato" moored at the third anchor chain outside Gullet Harbor.After completing the customs and quarantine procedures, the passengers on the steamer can move freely.Doctor Anteget, Pierre, Luigi, and his sister disembarked from the steamboat and boarded the boat.The boat left the steamer, rounded the breakwater, entered the narrow canal lined with boats, and came out in front of a ragged square.The square, at the entrance to the main street of Goulet, surrounded by trees, villas, offices, cafes, was crowded with Maltese, Jews, Arabs, French soldiers and locals.

Paulik's letter came from Carthage.The name Carthage and the remains of its monuments are all that remains of Hannibal. Between the port of Gullet and Tunisia, there is a small Italian railway that bypasses Lake Baija.But to go to Carthage Beach, you don't have to take the train.People either walk along the seashore, all the way is fine sand, hard texture, which is especially suitable for walking; or they walk across the plain, along a dusty road.It is also easily accessible.On the way around a small hill, there are St. Louis Church and the Algerian Missionary Monastery on the hill. When the doctor and his companions landed, several carts with ponies parked in the square.Immediately they boarded a carriage and ordered the driver to make a hasty advance to Carthage.The carriage galloped on the main street of Gulet, passed through the luxurious villas where Tunisian merchants lived, and passed between the Keledi Palace and the Mustafa Palace.These palaces stood on the shores of Carthage's ancient harbor.More than 2,000 years ago, Carthage was a strong enemy of Rome, and they occupied the entire coast from Goleth to Cape Carthage. The St. Louis Chapel stands on a hill about 60 meters high. It is said that the French king died here in 1270.The church was in the middle of an enclosure.In this enclosure there are many remains of ancient buildings: ancient statues, vessels, staves, columns, steles.These residues are everywhere, far more numerous than the trees and shrubs in the enclosure.Behind the church is the Missionary Monastery, where the archaeologist Father Delater is the current dean.On this hill, you can have a panoramic view of the buildings and beaches from the Cape of Carthage to the port of Gullet. At the foot of the mountain, there are several Arab-style palaces and English-style piers, which clearly show berms in the sea, which can be used for small boats to dock.Outside the pier is a beautiful bay. Although there are no ruins to be found on every headland and hill, there is at least one ancient site. There are also some palaces and villas stretching to the shore of the ancient military port and the former site of the commercial port. In the ravines, among the collapsed rocks, on the light gray land that is almost impossible to cultivate, there are simple huts where the local poor live.Most of these poor people have no occupations, and they only make a living by searching for ancient relics left over from the Carthaginian era.They searched for clocks and watches, bronzes, gems, pottery, holy cards, and coins of the year on the ground or in the shallow layers of the land, and sold them to the monastery.The monastery acquires these things to fill its antiquities showroom—not so much out of necessity as out of pity. Some of the huts had only two or three walls of drywall left, like deserted hermit's tombs, white on this sunny shore. It's a pity that the doctor and his companions have no time to take care of all this beauty.They were looking for Mrs. Bathory's residence, thinking only of Mrs. Bathory's painful suffering. The carriage suddenly stopped in front of a broken wall: the door was just a hole in the wall, half of which was covered by weeds. An old woman was sitting in front of the door, wearing a short light black cloak. Pierre recognized her! ... cried Pierre! ... This is his mother! ...He ran forward, knelt down in front of her, and hugged her in his arms! ...But she didn't respond, she didn't seem to recognize her son! "Mother! . . . Mother!" cried Pierre.The doctor, Luigi and Maria also surrounded the old woman. At this time, an old man walked out from a corner of the broken wall, it was Paulic. He recognized Dr. Antekit first, and immediately fell to his knees.He caught a glimpse of Pierre again, and saw the people for whom he was mourning! ……what!Pierre, he accompanied his coffin to the Laguiz cemetery! ... He thought it was incredible!He fell to the ground, motionless.Unknowingly said this sentence: "She is insane." In this way, Pierre found his mother, but the mother was already insane and became a dementia!Although she thought that her son who had already left her appeared in front of her eyes, it still couldn't arouse her memories of the past! Madame Bathory stood up slowly.She was in a trance, her eyes still fixed.She didn't seem to see anything.Without saying a word, she returned to the hermit's tomb, the doctor made a gesture, and Maria followed. Pierre stood in front of the door, he dared not and could not move a step. Under the doctor's treatment, Paulik quickly regained consciousness.He shouted: "You, Monsieur Pierre! . . . you! . . . alive!" "Yes!" replied Pierre, "yes! . . . alive! . . . I wasn't dead when that fellow wished me dead!" With a few words, the doctor told Paulik what happened in Raguza, and then the old servant also told the doctor about his poor life in the past two months. "But," asked the doctor, "has Madame Bathory lost her mind by the loss of her son?" "No, sir, it's not!" replied Paulik.Then he told what happened. Madame Bathory was alone.Unaccompanied, wanting to leave Laguz.So she moved into the village of Vanticello, where she had several old families.She was busy selling what little she had in her humble house, which she no longer wanted to live in. Six weeks later, she returned to Laguze, accompanied by Paulic.When she returned to her house in Mavanella Lane to finish the sale, she found a letter in the mailbox. After reading the letter, she seemed to be greatly stimulated by something. She yelled and rushed out of the door, ran to Stratton Street, crossed the street, ran to the door of the Duolong Tower Mansion, and the door opened . "Doron Tower Mansion?" Pierre asked loudly. "Yes!" Paulik replied. "When I caught up with Mrs. Bathory, she no longer recognized me!... Her spirit has..." "But why does my mother go to the Duolongta mansion? . . . Yes! . . . Why?" Pierre repeated, looking at the old servant, as if he could not understand it at all. "She might want to talk to Mr. Doronta." Paulik replied, "But it has been two days since Mr. Doronta left the mansion with his daughter, and no one knows where they are going." "Where's the girl? . . . the letter? . . . " "I could have found the letter, Monsieur Pierre," replied the old man. "Perhaps Madame Bathory has lost it. Perhaps someone has snatched it. I have not been able to understand its contents!" What exactly was written in the letter?It's a mystery.The doctor was silent after hearing this, unable to understand Mrs. Bathory's actions.What caused her to rush to Stratton House with such impatience?She must hate this place with gnashing teeth!Why was she so shaken by the news of Silas Dronta's disappearance that she lost her mind? The old servant's narrative ended.He did not spread the word about Madame Bathory's insanity.He hastily sold what little property he had left.The poor widow, mad as she was, was quiet and gentle enough to enable Bolick to act without arousing any suspicion.Leaving Laguiz, wherever you flee, just stay away from this damned city.A few days later, he took Mrs. Bathory on a liner along the Mediterranean Sea, and they wandered to Tunisia, more precisely, to Gourette.He made up his mind to live here. In this unguarded hermit's tomb, the old servant tried his best to take care of Madame Bathory, who was mad and dumb.But there was not much money left in his hand, and the two of them were about to starve. At this time, the old servant thought of Dr. Antekit, and remembered that the doctor had always been very concerned about the Bathory family.He wanted to write a letter, but he didn't know the doctor's address.He still wrote the desperate call for help to the doctor, and asked God to pass it on.As if God was really merciful, the letter was actually sent to the doctor! It is now clear what to do.Mrs. Bathory was obediently helped into the carriage.There were also Pierre, Paulik, and Maria in the car.Maria was going to take care of his wife from now on, the carriage drove back to the main road back to Gulet, and the doctor and Luigi walked back along the path by the sea. An hour later, everyone boarded the steamer waiting for departure, and the steamer "Ferhato" immediately pulled anchor and set sail.After the steamer rounded Cape Adalbe, we saw the lighthouse on Banterella Island.In the early morning of the third day, the steamer "Ferhato" returned to the port of Antakit. Immediately after Madame Bathory came ashore, she was led to Atenac and settled in a house in the town hall.Maria also moved in with Madame Bathory. And what a pain this was for Pierre Bathory!His mother was insane, insane, and the cause of her illness was not clear for a while!If we can understand the cause, we may be able to carry out effective treatment!But I don't know anything about the cause, and I can't know anything about it! "She must be cured!...Yes!...She must be cured!" The doctor muttered silently.He will go all out to complete this task. However, this task is too arduous, because Mrs. Bathory has been in a state of complete unconsciousness, she is not aware of her actions at all, and she can't recall the past events at all. But the doctor has a high degree of suggestive ability.The effect is beyond doubt, so it can be verified on Mrs. Bathory to cure her mental illness?Wouldn't it be possible to use magnetic induction, and apply it continuously, to awaken her sanity and bring her back to normal? Pierre Bathory begged the doctor to use this method and try to restore his mother to normal. "No. This method is very inappropriate," replied the doctor. "Suggestion methods cannot be successful! This kind of suggestion is completely ineffective for psychopaths! Pierre, you need you to accept this effect." Mother must have her own will first, then my will can work, otherwise, I will tell you again, it will be useless!" "No! . . . I don't think so!" said Pierre, still dissatisfied. "Although my mother thinks I'm dead, let her recognize her son someday!" "Yes! . . . she thinks you're dead!" said the doctor, "but let her think you're alive . . . or take her to your grave . . . and let her see you come out of it . . . " The doctor was thinking like this, creating a similar environment to shake her spirit, wouldn't it be good for Mrs. Bathory's recovery?why not? "I must try!" said the doctor. He hoped to pass this experiment; to be able to cure Pierre's mother.When he told Pierre this idea, Pierre threw himself into his arms with excitement. In order to make this test a success, from this day on, they started various preparations.Everything revolves around getting Madame Bathory out of her current state of unconsciousness so that she can recall memories of the past.Only by vividly and authentically reproducing the original burial ceremony can she arouse an effective spiritual response. So the doctor asked Paulic and Boscard to help him reproduce the Lajuz cemetery and the graves of the Bathory family as vividly as possible. The cemetery on the island is built in the countryside one kilometer from Atnak.Under a green tree, a chapel was built, which was exactly the same style as the chapel in the Laguez cemetery.After careful arrangement, the two tombs are also very similar.Then, on the wall inside the chapel, a black marble slab was inlaid with the name of Étienne Bathory and the year of his death: 1857. On November 3rd, the time for the preliminary experiment had come: to use an unconscious and gradual method to awaken Madame Bathory's reason. Around seven o'clock in the evening, accompanied by Paulik, Maria helped Mrs. Bathory out of the town hall. They walked across the countryside to the cemetery. When they arrived at the cemetery, Mrs. Bathory stopped at the door of the chapel.There was only one light in the church, and she could still see the name of Étienne Bathory engraved on the marble, but she was as usual, silent and lifeless, just as Maria and the old servant Paulik knelt on the steps Suddenly, a ray of light flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared immediately. An hour later, Mrs. Bathory was sent back to her residence. In the first experiment, all the people who accompanied her to the cemetery stood near or far away, carefully observing Mrs. Bathory's every move. In the next few days, the same experiment was repeated continuously, but there was no effect.Pierre, who observed the series of experiments with excitement, never saw any unusual reaction from his mother.Although the doctor repeatedly emphasized that it will take a long time to observe slowly, and the effect will be seen, but he was a little disappointed because the experiment was ineffective.The doctor believed that it would be most appropriate for Pierre to appear on stage only when Mrs. Bathory was mentally prepared enough to withstand the violent shock of recognizing her son. It is undeniable that every visit to the cemetery caused some psychological shocks in Madame Bathory.One night, when Paulik and Maria were kneeling at the door of the chapel again, Mrs. Bathory, who was standing behind, approached the door slowly and put her hands on the iron fence. When she saw the marble on the inner wall of the church under the light , she stepped back in a hurry. Maria hurried over to help her, and suddenly heard her talking to herself, chanting a name incessantly. For a long time, this is the first time Mrs. Bathory has spoken! It was astonishing,--really astonishing,--and all who heard it were stupefied... She spoke neither of her son's name nor of Pierre's!What she said was Sharapova's name! Pierre was also extremely excited at this moment.But who can describe the doctor's mood when he unexpectedly heard her say the name Sawa Doronta?But he remained silent, not letting his feelings show in the slightest. The next night, continue the experiment.This time, as if being led by an invisible hand, Mrs. Bathory walked to the door of the chapel and knelt down.She lowered her head, sighed again and again, and tears fell like broken beads.But she didn't say any name that night, maybe she forgot Sharapova's name again. Back at City Hall, Mrs. Bathory appeared distraught and restless.This is something she has never had since she became ill.Quiet.What had always been characteristic of her psychosis was now replaced by a strange state of excitement.Apparently, it's her brain recovering, and it looks like a cure for her illness is promising. Sure enough, Mrs. Bathory was not very peaceful that night.Maria seemed to hear Mrs. Bathory utter some vague words several times.It was certain she was dreaming.If she is really dreaming, it means that she has begun to regain her sanity, and it also means that her sanity has awakened. It seems that her mental illness is about to be cured! So the doctor decided to make a new attempt the next day, directing a more moving and realistic scene. All day long on the 18th, Mrs. Bathory was in a state of excitement, which surprised Maria very much.Pierre was at his mother's side almost all day long.He had a premonition that this was the most auspicious sign. On this low-latitude island of Antakit, after a hot day, night has fallen, and the night is dark, and there is no wind around.At about half past eight in the evening, accompanied by Paulic and Maria, Mrs. Bathory left the residence and came to the chapel.The doctor, Luigi and Boscard followed behind, keeping a little distance from them. All over the small immigrant island the people were anxiously looking forward to a possible miracle.Around the chapel, under some big trees, several torches were emitting black smoke, and the flames were flickering. In the distance, the bells of Atenac Church could be heard from time to time, like a death knell. A group of people walked slowly across the countryside towards the cemetery.Pierre Bathory was not among them, he had already gone to the chapel in advance, and he could only appear at the end of this last trial. At about nine o'clock Mrs. Bathory arrived at the cemetery.Suddenly, Mrs. Bathory broke free from Maria's arm and walked quickly to the chapel. A new feeling suddenly seemed to take over her completely.Maria let her move freely. The death-like silence of the cemetery was only broken by the bells that came from time to time.Madame Bathory stopped suddenly and stood motionless.Then she knelt on the first step and bent down.Everyone heard her soft crying... At this time, the fence of the chapel slowly opened, and Pierre, wearing a white shroud, appeared under the flickering lights as if he had just stepped out of the grave... "My child! . . . Ah! . . . my child! . . . " cried Madame Bathory.She really wanted to go up and hug him, but she fell to the ground and passed out. Passing out is not scary!Because she just recovered her memory and thinking!She revealed that she is a mother!She recognized her son! The doctor gave emergency treatment immediately, and Mrs. Bathory came to life immediately, and her eyes and her son's eyes couldn't help but meet together: "Alive! . . . my Pierre . . . you are alive! . . . " she murmured. "Yes! ... Live, for you, mother! Live to love you! Also to love her, she..." "she?" "Yes, she! . . . Sawa! . . . " "Sawa Doronta?..." added the doctor. "No! . . . Sawa Sandov!" At the same time, Mrs. Bathory took out a crumpled letter from her pocket and handed it to the doctor.These are the last words left by Mrs. Duolongta before she died. In just a few words, it accurately tells Sharapova's origin! ...Sawa, the child who was abducted in Attenac Castle! ...Sawa is the daughter of Count Matthias Sanddorf!