Chapter 20 Chapter Four

These days, both the barge captain and Jewell were used to all sorts of troubles.However, I never expected to encounter such a thing.Although Master Antifair is a bachelor, he is indeed a tough guy, but now he has been forced to such a point that he has to get married, otherwise he will lose a huge inheritance! Jewele asked his uncle to explain the incident in detail, and the uncle recounted it again, and there was another burst of cursing, and the foul language burst out like a cannonball—unfortunately, these shells could not hit the man who was hiding in Malta. The guy from the district house.

You see, if a 46-year-old old bachelor marries a 47-year-old spinster, wouldn't he become an oriental man similar to the Governor-General of Antifel? Gilda and Jewell looked at each other dumbfounded.Perhaps the same thought crossed their minds: "A wealth of tens of millions is worth it!" the barge captain thought in his mind. "This will add more trouble to our marriage!" Jewell thought. It is absolutely impossible for Antifel to meet Zambugo's request and agree to be his brother-in-law.Even with a dowry of 1 billion francs, he will not submit. The St. Malo man paced up and down the room, going here and there.Suddenly, he stopped and sat down.Then he walked over to his nephew and his friend Tregoman, fixed his eyes on them, and then looked away.In fact, his eyes could see nothing.If his friend had ever thought that Antiphere would go mad, it was at this moment.Since then, they have been silent, avoiding provoking him no matter what he says.After a while, this unbalanced mental state will recover.

At last he spoke again, in fits of rage, and in fits and starts: "The damned scoundrel is stubborn... a hundred million francs have been lost! Poison him... hang him... shoot him... put him on the stake... ...If I don't marry...he won't give me the latitude to marry this Maltese female monkey...not even a male monkey!...I will be Talisma's husband? ..." Absolutely not!It is unbelievable that there is such a sister-in-law and an aunt in the respected Antiphere's family. Will his friends still come to see him! "What do you say, Captain Barge? . . . " "my friend……"

"Do you have the right to bury the one hundred million francs that are about to come into your hands?" "I really don't know how to answer..." the kind Tregoman said vaguely. "You are noncommittal!" cried Antiphere, throwing his hat into a corner. "Well! . . . Can you answer another question?" "what is the problem?" "If someone gives you a cargo ship—let's say a barge—such as the 'Lovely Amelie'..." Old Gilda realized at once that the "Lovely Amelie" was about to be hit by a storm. "Suppose, for example, that this old ship is loaded with gold worth a hundred million francs ... and then he publicly announces that he is going to capsize the ship and sink the fortune into the sea, do you think the authorities will let him do that? ... Then ……What do you think!"

"I don't think it will be allowed, my friend." "That's what that devil Zambugo has in mind! . . . He only needs to say a word, and his own fortune and mine will be in his hands, but he won't let go!" "I have never seen such a hateful rascal!" Tregoman was also angry. "What do you think, Jewell?" "uncle……" "Report him to the authorities?" "This is a bad idea..." "Yes! . . . the authorities can stop a man from doing what he is not allowed to do . . . point out the seriousness of the problem to him, and bring him into submission . . . put him on a warm fire, torture him, and make him obediently agree! "

"That's a good idea, uncle." "Excellent, Jewell, in order to subdue this profiteer, I would rather sacrifice my share and give it to the public..." "That's wonderful, noble and generous!" exclaimed the captain of the barge. "As expected of a Frenchman, a Saint-Malo, a veritable Antifel..." He may have gone too far in making this suggestion, and he gave Tregoman such a hard look that the earnest fellow immediately stopped praising him. "One hundred million... one hundred million francs!" repeated Antiphere, "damn Zambugo... I'm going to kill you..."

"uncle!" "my friend!" Seriously, the Saint-Malo man was capable of anything, judging by the desperate state he was in right now.Besides, he is not responsible even if he kills him, because he already suffers from severe schizophrenia. When Gilda and Jewell tried to calm him down, he pushed them away, and scolded them for being with the enemy, for defending Zambugo instead of helping him fight the crook. "Leave me alone, leave me alone!" he yelled. He picked up his hat, slammed the door, and walked away. The two guessed that he was going to find the banker, so they decided to follow him just in case.Fortunately, seeing him go up the stairs and going back to his room, and hearing him close the door, both of them were relieved.

"It's best for him," said the barge captain, shaking his head. After this turmoil, they both lost their appetites, and they ate very little for dinner. After dinner, the old and young friends left the hotel, wanting to go for a walk by the Baila Lake and breathe some fresh air.As soon as I went out, I ran into Bo Omar and Najim.Is it appropriate to tell Najim what happened just now? ...No, definitely not.If Najim had known the conditions imposed on Maester Antiphere by the banker, he would have cried out: "He should marry Miss Zambugo! He has no right to refuse...no, he has no right to do so!"

That's what Sawuk meant too.If marriage would bring him such a dowry, he would immediately agree to it without hesitation. Gilda and Jewele turned away, thinking about the problem, and walked toward Marino Avenue. It was a beautiful night, the sea breeze was blowing, and the air was exceptionally fresh.Tunisian citizens are also walking.The young skipper and bargeman strolled up to the city wall, passed through the gate, paced leisurely up and down the waterfront, and then sat down at a table in the Café Weina.They talked freely about the situation at hand.From their point of view, things couldn't be simpler.Master Antifel will never yield to the wishes of the banker...As a result, he will inevitably give up the search for the second island-leave the port of Tunis on the off-duty cruise ship, and finally, take a shortcut and return to France, everyone is happy.

Obviously, this is the only way to solve the problem.It would be no misfortune to return to Saint-Malo without Camilque's pocket of gold, so why should our lord take such pains? At nearly nine o'clock, Gilda Tregman and Jewell returned to the hotel, stopped for a while in front of Maester Antifel's door, and were about to go back to their rooms.The Saint-Malo man wasn't asleep, he wasn't in bed at all.The hurried footsteps walked up and down, panting, and kept muttering: "Ten millions, tens of millions, tens of millions of francs!" The captain of the barge signaled that he was out of his wits and confused.They bade each other good-night, and parted anxiously, and went to their rooms.

At dawn the next day, Tregman and Jewel got up.It's not their duty to go to Master Antiphere, is it?Study a little more and make countermeasures for what happened because of Zambugo's refusal.This is urgent.Couldn't this last resolution be to pack up and leave Tunisia.According to the news received by Joelle, the cruise ship moored in the port of Goulet will break anchor that night and sail to Marseilles.Jewel wished that his uncle was already on board, locked up in his cabin, twenty miles off the coast of Africa. The captain of the barge and he walked along the corridor to Antipher's room. They knock on the door.No one answered. Jewell knocked hard again... still nothing. Could it be that uncle is sleeping so soundly that he can't even be woken up by the blast of a cannon?Fever perhaps, utter despair, had he...? Jewele took two steps at a time, walked down the stairs, and came to the gatehouse in a blink of an eye.The captain of the barge felt his legs go weak, and he held on to the ladder to keep from rolling down the stairs. "Where is Maester Antiphere? . . . " "Going out early in the morning," replied the porter. "Where did he say he went?" "No." "Did you go to that bastard's house again?" Jewell shouted.He hurriedly dragged Tregoman towards Marino Square. "If he is really there, it means that he has agreed..." the captain of the barge said to himself with his hands up. "Impossible!" cried Jewell. "How could he carry Talisma Zambugo back to St. Malo, to his home in the Rue de la Résidence? How could he bring a Maltese to our little Enocat?" Where's my aunt!" "A female monkey, that's what my uncle said!" In their anxiety, they sat down in a café opposite the Hotel de France, from where he could be seen when he returned. It is often said that a good plan comes out of a quiet night.But it is also true that night is often a bad omen.At dawn, our Saint-Malo native headed for the Maltese district, as if a pack of mad dogs were chasing him... A few minutes later, we arrived at Zambugo's house. Zambogo always rises at dawn, goes to bed at sunset, and runs with the sun during the day.One day, when Master Antiphere appeared in front of him, he was sitting on a sofa chair with a desk in front and a safe behind. "Hi," he said, straightening his glasses to better see his visitor through them. "You still have that opinion?" Antifil asked immediately, bringing out the other party's topic. "It's still that opinion." "I do not agree to marry your sister, so you refuse to give me the governor's letter?" "yes." "Then, I agree to marry." "I knew you would agree to it. Being Talisma's husband and Rothschild's son is also what I wish for, and I will bring you a dowry of 50 million francs!" "Well... I'm so lucky!" Antiphere replied unabashedly with a grimace. "Come, my brother-in-law," Zambugo replied. He stood up!Seems to be going upstairs. "Here she is!" cried Antiphere. His facial expression resembled that of a prisoner who had just been woken up and told by the jailer, "Go, take courage...to execute today." "She's in Malta, you forgot, be patient, lover," replied the banker. "Where are we going now?" Antiphere asked with a sigh of relief. "Go send a telegram." "Announce the news to her?" "Yes, tell her to come to me..." "You want to tell her the news, yes, Monsieur Zambugo, but I remind you that I cannot... wait for my... fiancée in Tunis." "why?" "Because you and I can't delay for a moment! Isn't it a top priority to start looking for the island immediately and determine its position?..." "Hey! Sister-in-law, what's the point? The fastest is to wait for 8 days, and the slowest is to wait for 8 days." "This is very important to the notary. You should be as anxious as I am. You must hurry up and take possession of Kamilke's estate!" Yes, the banker is at least as impatient as he is. He is a miser who is jealous of money. He pretends to be indifferent on the surface, but in fact he is already very anxious, wishing to lock billions of dollars in his safe immediately.Therefore, he decided to comply with the wishes of his opponent. "Well," he said, "I fully respect your opinion. . . I'll have my sister here again when we get back . . . but I must tell her first." "Yes... happiness awaits her!" replied Pierre.However, he did not explain what kind of happiness it would bring to the woman who had dreamed of finding a husband for many years! "However," said Zambugo, "I need assurances of compliance." "Write it, I'll sign it." "Agreed, how much is the deposit?" "That's what you're going to get, fifty million francs..." "It's a deal... let's do it!" Antiphere replied.He had no choice but to be Miss Zambugo's husband, since he was destined to have this inescapable happiness. The banker picked up a blank sheet of paper, and wrote a contract in bold letters, carefully crafting the words, in full compliance with legal formalities.The contract stated that if Antifil refused to formally marry Miss Talisma as his wife within 15 days after the treasure was discovered, then the fiancé's share of Governor Kamilk's inheritance must belong to the fiancée. Pierre Servan Marlowe put his angry and garish signature on the deed.The banker locked it in a locket in the safe. At the same time, he took out a piece of yellowed paper from it... This was the letter Kamilk sent 20 years ago. Antiphere took out the briefcase from his pocket, and took out a piece of paper...it has turned yellow with age...this is the letter he found on the first island. Look, the two heirs are like two duelists, looking at each other, slowly stretching out their arms, their fingers trembling as soon as they touch the paper.Do you feel sorry for handing over the letter to the other party? ... What a thrilling scene!With just one action, hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth flowed into a family. "Where's your letter? . . . " asked Antiphere. "And yours?" asked the banker. The exchange is complete.The beating of the two people increased, and it seemed that they were about to explode. The longitude mentioned in the letter which was supposed to have been delivered by Antifel of Saint-Malo to a man named Zambugo in Tunis was: 7 degrees 23 minutes east of the Paris meridian. In the letter telling Zambugo in Tunisia that one day she will receive a St. Marksman——Antifeel, the latitude mentioned is: 3 degrees 17 minutes south latitude. Now, just cross the latitude and longitude lines to find the location of the second islet on the map. "Have you got an atlas?" asked the banker. "There is one, and a nephew," replied Maester Antiphere. "nephew?" "An oceangoing captain, he is in charge of observation." "Where is he now?" "At the Hotel de France." "Go and see, my brother-in-law!" said the banker, putting on his old wide-brimmed hat. "Go!" said Antiphere. The two walked towards Marino Square.At the gate of the post office, Zambugo said he was going to send a telegram to Malta. Antiphere did not object.Because, it was nothing more than telling Miss Talisma Zambugo that a French officer had proposed to her, that the marriage was a good marriage, and that he had agreed. After writing the telegram and sending it out, the two came to the square again.When Gilda Tregoman and Jewell saw them, they hurried over. Antiphere saw them coming, and turned his head away.But he tried his best to straighten his body, so that no one could see his weakness at this time, and made an introduction in a somewhat proud tone: "Zambogo the Banker." The banker gave them a blank glance. Anticipation then said to Zambugo: "My nephew Jewell, my friend Gilda Tregoman." At a gesture from Antiphere, everyone followed him to the hotel, avoiding Bo Omar and Najem as much as possible, as if they didn't know them.Then they went up the stairs and into the locked room of the Saint-Malo man. Antiffire took out the atlas from the luggage bag, turned to the page of the world division map, turned around, and said to Juelle: "East longitude 7 degrees 23 minutes, south latitude 3 degrees 17 minutes." Jewell looked impatient.south latitude? ...Hasn't Governor Kamilk sent them south of the equator? ……what!Poor little Anokat!Tregoman hardly dared to look at him. "Hey... what are you waiting for?" His uncle asked the young captain in a commanding tone, and he had to obey. The two-legged compass he picked up slid along the 7th meridian, 23 minutes further away, and entered the equatorial circle. Then, draw along the latitude 3 degrees 17 minutes south until you come to the intersection with this line. "How is it?" Antiphere repeatedly urged, "Where are we?" "In the Gulf of Guinea." "Be more precise..." "On the coast." "Be more precise..." "In Gulf waters..." "To-morrow morning," said Maester Antiphere, "we will take the carriage to Oran." All this is like discovering the enemy and giving orders to the captain directing the naval battle. Then he said to the banker: "You also accompanied us there?" "of course." "Accompany you all the way to the Gulf of Guinea?" "I can accompany you to the ends of the earth, if necessary." "Okay, get ready to go..." "Get ready now, brother-in-law." Gilda Tregman could not help exclaiming "Alas!", almost stunned at the new address, and did not even answer the banker's comical salute as he left. When there were only three St. Malos left in the room, Gilda Tregoman asked: "So... you agreed?" "Yes... Captain Barge... What else?" What else? ...no comments whatsoever.Tregman and Jewell thought it best not to say anything. Two hours later the banker received a telegram from Malta. Talisma Zambugo felt that she was the happiest girl, and in a few days, she would become the happiest wife when she married her son-in-law.