World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 34 The Graveyard of the Château d'If
There was a thick fog outside the window, and through the dim light coming in through the window hole, one could see a rough linen bag standing upright on the bed, and the wide folds on the bag vaguely indicated that there was a long and stiff thing inside.This sack was Faria's shroud. According to the guard, such a shroud was not worth a lot of money.Now that everything is a foregone conclusion, a physical separation has been established between Dantès and his aged friend, and he will never see those eyes that are still wide open, as if they can see things other than death. Can't hold tightly the delicate hands that once lifted the veil for him to discern the truth.Faria, the mentor and friend whom he had tried so hard to emulate, now lived only in his heart.He sat down before the dreadful bed, feeling very desolate and melancholy.

Alone!He was alone again!He fell into desolate silence again, facing the emptiness again.

Alone!The only person who made him miss his life took away his sight and his voice.Wouldn't it be better if he could, like Faria, venture through the dark door of pain to ask God the mystery of life?Thoughts of suicide, once dispelled by his friends and repelled by the company of friends, now haunted Faria's body like a ghost. "If I can die," he said, "I will go where he goes, and I will find him. But how to die? It's not difficult," he continued with a smile, "I'll stay here, As long as someone comes in, I will pounce on him and jam him to death, and they will definitely send me to the guillotine."

However, people in extreme grief are often like being in a huge storm, and the abyss is caught between the crests of the waves. Dantès bounced back from the shameful thought of death, and his disappointment suddenly turned into a strong desire for life and freedom. "Death, oh no!" he cried. "After living so many years and suffering so much, it's not worth it to die now! I made up my mind a few years ago. Forget it, but dying now is too cheap for my unfortunate experience in this life. No, I want to live, and I want to fight to the end. No, I want to take back the happiness that was stolen from me! If I want to die, I must first win Let me forget that the executioner who framed me will be punished. Perhaps, who knows, there will be a few friends to repay. But now I am forgotten here, and I can only leave this prison like Faria."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped still, his eyes were blank, as if he had an idea suddenly, and it was a very amazing idea.He stood up abruptly, as if dizzy, put his hands on his forehead, turned around in the cell two or three times, then returned to the bed and stood still... "Oh, oh," he murmured , "Who made me think this way? Is it you, my God? Since only the dead are free to leave the dungeon, I will replace the dead."

Without giving himself time to change his mind, and without thinking of rescinding this hopeless determination, he immediately bent over the dreadful sack, cut open it with the Faria knife, dragged He took out the corpse, carried it to his cell, put it on his bed, wrapped the head of the corpse with a piece of rag he usually used to wrap his head, and then covered his quilt, kissed the cold forehead for the last time, and he Several attempts were made to close the open eyes, but at last the dreadful, mindless eyes remained open, and he turned his head to face the wall, so that when the guards brought the meals at night, they would Thought he was still asleep.This is often the case.Then he went back to the secret passage, pulled the bed back against the wall, and then he went back to Faria's cell, took the needle and thread from the dark hole in the fireplace, and took off the rags he was wearing, which made people feel numb. The skin and flesh were indeed exposed underneath, and then they got into the sack with the slit open, lay down as the corpse had originally laid out, and finally sewed the sack to death from the inside.

If by chance someone came in at this time, he would definitely hear his heart beating.Dantès could have waited until the evening to check the prison before acting, but he was afraid that the commander would change his decision and remove the corpse in advance.If so, his last hope would be lost.No matter what, now he has made up his mind and will do it to the end.

Dantès made a plan like this: If on the way out, if the gravediggers find that what they are carrying is not a dead body but a living person, Dantès will use a knife to cut the sack from top to bottom before they have time to recognize him. Slash open, and then take advantage of their panic to escape immediately.If they wanted to catch up, he would use a knife.If they carried him to the cemetery, and put him in the pit, he let them bury him, for at night, as soon as the gravediggers turned around, he could squeeze a crack in the soft earth and escape.He hoped that the buried soil would not be too heavy, otherwise he would not be able to resist.If, contrary to what he had estimated, the earth was packed very heavily, he would suffocate and die, and that would be fine, and it would be over.

Dantès didn't eat last night, and he didn't think about eating this morning, so he doesn't feel hungry yet.His situation can be described as changing rapidly now, which does not allow him time to think about other things.The first danger that Dantès faced was whether the guards came to deliver his meals at 7 o'clock in the evening, would they find out about his bag-changing plan.Fortunately, he was bored or tired before, and many times when the guards came to the cell, he was still lying on the bed. At such times, the guards would put the bread and soup on the table, then turn around and leave. Ignore him.But today the guard may have changed his old habit of reticence and wanted to talk to Dantès. Seeing that he didn't answer, he went to the bedside to have a look, so everything could not be concealed.

When it was almost seven o'clock, Dantès was really anxious.He pressed his chest with one hand, trying to stop the violent heartbeat, and kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead and temples with the other hand.His whole body trembled from time to time, and his heart was tightly grasped, as if being pinched by a pair of cold pliers. At this time, he felt that he was about to die.Hours passed without a sound in the Château d'If.Dantès knew that the first danger was over, which was a good omen.Finally, near the time appointed by the commander, there was a sound of footsteps on the stairs, and Edmund knew that the time had come.He summoned up all his courage and held his breath. It would be even more fortunate if he could control his violently beating pulse at this time.

The visitor stopped at the prison door, and the footsteps sounded like two people. Dantès guessed that they were the two gravediggers who came to carry him.Then he heard the sound of a stretcher being lowered, and his guess turned into a certainty.The cell door opened, and Dantès saw a dim light.Through the sack wrapped around him, he saw two black figures walking towards the bed where he was lying.There was a third figure at the door, holding a lantern in his hand.The two men approaching the bed grabbed each end of the sack.

"This skinny old man is really heavy!" said the man who raised his head.

"I heard that people's bones grow by half a catty every year," said the person who lifted the foot.

"Have you tied the knot yet?" the first person asked.

"I'm not that stupid, why bother lifting those useless weights," replied the second man, "we'll fight when we get there."

"That's right, let's go then."

"What kind of knot?" Dantès asked inwardly.

They lifted the so-called corpse from the bed onto the stretcher, and Edmund stretched himself upright, trying to look dead as best he could.They put him on a stretcher, and the man with the lantern led the way, and the two mourners followed up the stairs.Suddenly a fresh and cold night wind came towards Dantès, which he knew to be the dry and cold northwest wind blowing from the Mediterranean.He was immediately happy and anxious when he breathed in this cool air.The two people carrying the stretcher stopped after walking more than 20 steps, and then put the stretcher on the ground. One of them walked to the side again, and Edmund heard the man's leather shoes thumping on the stone road.

"Where am I?" he thought to himself.

"Do you know that this fellow is not light at all!" said the man who remained beside Dantès, sitting down on the edge of the stretcher.

At this moment Dantès suddenly thought of running away, but fortunately he held back and did not move.

"Light it up for me, beast," said the one who went away, "I won't be able to find that thing if you light it like this."

It was a very rude thing to say, but the man with the lantern obeyed.

"What is he looking for?" thought Dantès, "a shovel, perhaps."

There came a cry of satisfaction, and by that sound the gravediggers had found what they were looking for.

"Man," said the man next to the stretcher, "that's a lot of work."

"That's right," said the man who was looking for it, "but he didn't wait in vain," he said, returning to Edmund.At this moment Edmund heard something heavy befallen beside him, and his feet were painfully bound by a rope.

"Hey, is the knot tied?" asked the gravedigger who had been idle.

"It's done," said the other, "you don't worry."

"Okay, let's go."

They picked up the stretcher and walked on. After walking about fifty steps, they stopped, opened a door, and walked on again.As they walked forward, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below the Château d'If reached Dantès' ears more and more clearly.

"It's terrible weather," said one of the two men carrying the stretcher. "It's not comfortable to be at sea to-night."

"No, the elder must be a drowned rat." said the other, and they both burst out laughing.Dantès could not guess what they meant by the joke, but his hair was standing on end.

"Well, here we are," said one.

"Go farther, go farther," said the other, "you know, last time the guy just threw it halfway and fell on the rock, and the next day the commander called us useless."

They took another four or five steps upwards, and then Dantès felt that one of them was holding his head and the other his feet, and they were beginning to swing him back and forth.

"One..." The two gravediggers shouted in unison, "Two, three!" Immediately, Dantès felt that he was thrown out, and he was thrown into the vast space, like a wounded bird, wearing He was so frightened that his heart went cold as he fell down through the atmosphere.Something heavy pulled him down, and he fell very fast, but it seemed to him that he had been falling for 100 years.At last, with a terrible noise, he plunged like a flying arrow into the icy water, which made him cry out, but in an instant he sank into the water, and his cry was drowned out.

Dantès was thrown into the sea, and the 36-jin iron ball tied to his feet dragged him down rapidly.The sea is the cemetery of the Château d'If.

(End of this chapter)