World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 56 The Roman Bandit (1)
The next morning Franz woke up first and rang the bell as soon as he woke up. Master Pastrini came himself without waiting for the bell to finish ringing.

"Oh!" said the landlord triumphantly before Franz could ask, "I expected it yesterday, sir, so I dare not promise you. It is too late for you to hire carriages in Rome, of course. , these are the last three days of the festival."

"Well," said Franz, "that is, the three days when the car is most needed."

"What is it?" asked Albert, coming in. "Can't get a carriage?"

"Exactly, my dear friend," replied Franz, "you guessed it right at once."

"Ha, your ancient city is really wonderful."

"I mean, sir," said Pastrini, eager to maintain a certain dignity in the Christian capital before his guests, "that is, there are no cars from Sunday morning until Tuesday evening, but before Sunday, You want 50 of them."

"Oh, that's all right," said Albert. "It's Thursday, and who knows what will change before Sunday?"

"There will be 10000 to 12000 tourists," Franz replied, "and carriages are even harder to rent."

"My friend," said Moserf, "play now, and don't worry about later!"

"Then at least," asked Franz, "we can get a window?"

"Where is it going?"

"Of course the one towards Kool Street!

"Yes, rent a window!" Pastrini exclaimed, "impossible, absolutely impossible! There was originally a window left on the sixth floor of the Doria Palace, but it was also rented by a Russian prince." Yes, 20 Xikun ancient Venetian gold coins a day."

The two young men looked at each other dumbfounded.

"Then, dear friend," said Franz to Albert, "you know what our best course of action is? To go to Venice for the Carnival, where we can at least get a boat if we can't hire a carriage. "

"Oh, absolutely not," cried Albert; "since I have decided to come to Rome to see the carnival, I must see it, even on stilts."

"Oh!" cried Franz, "that's a wonderful idea, and it would be even better if all the candles that were burning were blown out, and we could dress up as humpbacked vampires or Landes .Man, must be very good."

"Will your Excellencies want another carriage before Sunday?"

"Ah," said Albert, "do you think we shall walk about the streets of Rome on foot like clerks?"

"Your Excellency's instruction, I will do it immediately," Boss Pastrini said, "but I have to explain to you first that it costs you 6 piastres a day to hire a car."

"And I, my dear Monsieur Pastrini," said Franz, "I, though not a millionaire like our neighbor, must first make it clear to you that this is my fourth Come to Rome, and know the rent of carriages, on ordinary days, on Sundays and holidays. Today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, I will give you twelve piastres in total, so that you can still make a good profit."

"But, sir..." Pastrini still wanted to argue.

"Go, my dear boss," said Franz, "or I will go and negotiate with your partner. He is also my partner, we are old friends, and he has never lost money on me all his life. He still wants to get my money, so the price he is asking must be lower than what I am giving you now, and you will not get the kickback, so you can blame yourself."

"Don't dare to trouble me, Your Excellency," said Boss Pastrini with a slight smile, like the Italian speculators when they admit defeat, "I will try my best to do it, and I hope you will be satisfied."

"Very well, this is what it looks like to talk."

"When do you want the car?"

"In an hour."

"The car will be waiting at the door in an hour."

An hour later, the carriage was indeed waiting for the two young men.It was a crappy rental carriage, which had increased in value during the grand festival, and was used as an open four-wheeled carriage. Although the appearance of the carriage was very poor, the two young people thought that it could be used in the last three days before the carnival. God was very lucky to have such a carriage.

"Your Excellency," cried the coachman, seeing Franz looking at the window, "would you like the limousine to come closer to the palace?"

Although Franz had long been used to the exaggerated characteristics of Italians, his first reaction was to look around, and it turned out that the words were meant for him.Franz is "Your Excellency", the cab is "saloon", and the London Hotel is "Prince's Palace". This simple sentence contains all the ingenuity and wisdom of the Italian nation.Franz and Albert went downstairs, the car drove to the edge of the palace, the two gentlemen sat down on the benches in the car, and the coachman jumped into the back seat.

"Where are you two going?"

"Go to St. Pierre's Church first, and then go to the Colosseum (an ancient Roman building, built in the 1st century AD.)." Albert said with an authentic Parisian demeanor.But Albert didn't know that it took a day to take a quick look at St. Pierre's Church, but it took a month to study it carefully, so this day was just a tour of St. Pierre's Church.

Suddenly the two good friends noticed that the sky was beginning to darken.Franz took out his watch and saw that it was already 04:30, so they immediately set off on their way back to the hotel.At the door of the hotel Franz told the coachman to wait for them at eight o'clock.He wanted to accompany Albert to visit St. Pierre Church during the day, and take him to see the arena under the moonlight at night.A man who shows a friend a tour of a city he has already visited takes the same pride as showing off his former mistress.Therefore, Franz explained the route to the coachman again. He should first go out of the Popolo Gate, then walk along the outer city wall and enter the San Giovani Gate.In this way, before they arrived at the arena, they could not see the arena at all in advance, and they did not pass through the Temple of Jupiter, the Forum Square (the square where the assembly was held in the ancient Roman city.), Septimis Gate, Antoninus - Sanctuary of Faustine and Via Sacra, so as not to dwarf the Arena.

They sat down to dinner, and Master Pastrini had promised to prepare a good dinner for the two guests, but what he served was a so-so meal, and that was all.When they finished their dinner, Pastrini himself came to see them. At first Franz thought he wanted to hear a compliment about the meal, and was about to say a few words to him, but at the beginning of the conversation, Pasterini Johnny interrupted Franz. "Your Excellency," he said, "I appreciate your compliments, but that's not what I've come for."

"Have you come to tell us that the carriage has been found?" asked Albert, lighting a cigar.

"Not to mention, my lord, you'd better stop thinking about the carriage, and give up your mind. In Rome, if something works, it can't be done. If you can't do something, it's okay There is nothing more to say."

"It's much easier to do in Paris. If you can't do something, as long as you pay double the money, you can do whatever you want."

"That's what I hear from the French," Pastrini said, a little offended, "so I don't know what they're doing when they travel."

"But," said Albert, puffing on the ceiling with an air of indifference, leaning back and swinging his body on the back legs of his chair, "those who travel are as mad as we are. , idiot. A wise man never leaves the mansions of the Rue Erede, the Boulevard Ghent, and the Café de Paris." It goes without saying that Albert lived in the Rue Erede, and took a very nice stroll every day, and as for the meals, I only know one coffee shop where I always go to eat, and the waiters are quite friendly.Boss Pastrini was silent for a while. Obviously, he was thinking about what Albert meant, and he felt that he didn't quite understand.

"But," said Franz, and this time it was his turn to interrupt the innkeeper's thoughts, "you are here on business, so tell us why you are here."

"Ah, yes, that's what happened. You ordered the carriage to pick you up at 8 o'clock?"

"Yes."

"You want to play in the amphitheater?"

"You mean the arena?"

"It's the same."

"Ok."

"You told the coachman to leave the city through Porta Popolo, go around the wall, and then enter Porta San Giovanni?"

"That's what I said."

"Oh, I can't go this way."

"Can't go?"

"It's very dangerous, to say the least."

"Dangerous, why?"

"Because of the famous Luri Wangpa."

"In the first place, my dear master, who is this famous Luge Wampa?" asked Albert; "he may be famous in Rome, but I tell you he is unknown in Paris. "

"What, you don't know him?"

"I don't have that privilege."

"You never heard his name?"

"there has never been."

"Oh, he's a bandit, and Desseraris and Gasparone's gang are choir boys by comparison."

"Be careful, Albert," cried Franz, "the robber is at last here."

"I tell you, my dear master, I will not believe a word of what you want to tell us. We have to talk first, and then you can say what you like, and I will listen to you:' Once upon a time... 'Well, go on!"

Boss Pastrini turned to Franz. He felt that Franz was the more sensible of the two.We should do justice to the good man Pastrini, who has received many Frenchmen in his life, but these Frenchmen have certain ideas, and he has never been able to understand why. "Your Excellency," said he very gravely, as we have already explained, and he was addressing Franz, "if you think I am lying, I will say nothing, but I must give you Make it clear that this is for the good of both of you."

"Albert did not say that you were lying, my dear Monsieur Pastrini," continued Franz; "he meant nothing more than that he did not believe you. But I do, and you will Don't worry about it."

"But, sir, you should understand that if anyone suspects that I am dishonest..."

"My dear friend," Franz continued, "you are more thoughtful than Gassandra, the goddess who can predict the future in ancient Greek mythology. No one would listen to Gassandra, but she still does her You can rest assured that at least half of the people are willing to listen to you, come, please sit down and tell us who this Mr. Wampa is."

"I have told you, sir, that he is a bandit. I have not seen a bandit like him since the one from Mastria."

"What does it have to do with the robber that I ordered the coachman to leave the city through the Porta Popolo and enter through the Porta San Giovanni?"

"The thing is," replied Master Pastrini, "that you can leave the city by any door, but I am afraid that you will not be able to enter by the other."

"Why?" asked Franz.

"Because once it gets dark, it's hard to be safe if you go 50 steps out of the city gate."

"Is that true?" cried Albert.

"Monsieur Viscount," said Master Pastrini, who was always displeased at seeing Albert doubt whether he was telling the truth, "I am not speaking to you, but to your companion, who Knowing Rome, knowing that you can't joke around in this kind of thing."

"My dear friend," said Albert to Franz, "this is a wonderful, and an adventurous opportunity at hand, and we shall fill our carriage with pistols, muskets, and muskets." Luge Wampa came to capture us, so we caught him and brought him back to Rome to present to His Majesty the Pope. The Pope said we had done a great job, and asked us what kind of reward we wanted. We can honestly ask the Pope to leave He gave us a limousine and two horses from his stable, so we could watch the carnival in a carriage. As for the Roman people, probably out of gratitude, they celebrated us at the Temple of Jupiter and honored us as treasury Tees is as much a national defense hero as Cocles."

No words can describe the expression on the face of the boss Pastrini when Albert was talking big.

"First of all," said Franz to Albert, "where can you get these pistols, muskets, and double-guns that you intend to pack in your carriage?"

"Of course not from my armory," said Albert, "for even my dagger was stolen from me at Terrasine. How are you?"

"Me, what happened to me in Aguapondante was exactly the same as yours."

"Ah, my dear master," said Albert, lighting a second cigar by the end of the first, "do you know that it is so convenient for thieves that I think they may It's half and half."

Boss Pastrini must have felt that this joke was too unfair, because he only answered halfway, and he said it to Franz, but now only Franz is wiser and can listen what he said.

"Your Excellency, you also know that when you are attacked by robbers, you generally don't resist."

"What?" cried Albert, who, by virtue of his audacity, would never have been submissively robbed. "What? Ordinary resistance?"

"Don't resist, because it's useless to resist. What do you think, if a dozen robbers emerge from a ditch, a dilapidated house or an aqueduct at once, and they all point their guns at you?"

"Damn it! I'll just let them kill it." Albert said loudly.

The proprietor turned to Franz with an air which seemed to say: "Your Excellency, your friend must be mad."

"My dear Albert," Franz went on, "you have answered very noble indeed. There is Corneille (1606-1684), the French poet and dramatist, and Aurès is the protagonist in his poetic drama of the same name. The old man The boldness of saying 'Let him die'. It's just that when Auras answered like this, it was necessary for the survival of Rome. But we, please be careful, are just playing casually. , risking our lives just for fun, it would be absurd."

"Oh, that's great," cried Boss Pastrini, "that's a good word."

Albert poured himself a glass of Muscat wine, and while sipping slowly, he muttered to himself, not knowing what to say.

"Well, Monsieur Pastrini," continued Franz, "now that my friend has calmed down, and you can see that I have always been calm, just say, this Monsieur Luge Wampa is a What kind of character? A shepherd or a nobleman? A young man or an old man? A small man or a tall man? Describe it for us, in case in this world we are like Jean Sbogar or Lela Byron A character in the poetic drama of the same name. If we meet him like a robber, we will know who it is."

"You can only know the truth if you ask me, sir, no one else can tell. I have known Luge Wampa since he was a child. One day I went from Frontino to Araratly, The road fell into his hands, but luckily he still remembered our previous friendship, not only did he let me go without a ransom, but also gave me a very beautiful watch, and told me about his life experience.”

"Let us see the watch," said Albert.

Pastrini took out a very luxurious Breguet Swiss watch family from the small purse on the waistband of his trousers.A pocket watch with the maker's name engraved on it, a map of Paris with a diadem and a Piaget wreath. "That's it," he said.

"Well," said Albert, "I congratulate you, I have a watch that is almost the same..." He took it out of his vest pocket. "It cost me 3000 francs."

"Tell me the story," said Franz, drawing up a chair, and beckoning Master Pastrini to sit down.

"Your Excellency, will you let me sit?" the boss asked.

"Sit down!" said Albert. "My dear friend, you have not come to preach, and you must speak standing up."

The proprietor of the restaurant bowed respectfully to both of them, and then sat down, expressing his willingness to tell them what they wanted to know about Luge Wampa. "By the way," Boss Pastrini was about to speak, but Franz said first, "You just said that when you met Luge Wampa, he was still a child, so he was still young? "

"What's the matter? I think he's just a young man! He's only 22 years old. Oh, this guy will have a bright future, don't worry, both of you."

"What do you think of it, Albert? It's good to be famous at twenty-two."

"Very good, Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon who are somewhat famous in the world are not as good as him at his age."

"Well," continued Franz to his boss, "the main character of the story you are going to tell is only twenty-two years old."

"Just full, I have the honor to tell you."

"Is he tall or small?"

"Medium stature, about the same stature as your Excellency." The boss said, pointing to Albert.

"Thank you for the comparison." Albert said with a bow.

"Go on, Monsieur Pastrini," continued Franz, smiling at his friend's suspicion, "what class is he?"

"He was a shepherd boy on the estate of the Count of San Ferris, between Palestrina and Lake Gabri. He was born in Pampinara and began working for the Count at the age of five. His father was also a shepherd, In Anani, he had a small flock of sheep that belonged to him. After shearing and milking the sheep, they brought them to Rome and sold them to make a living. Although Wampa was young, his ambition was extraordinary. He was 7 years old One day that year, he went to the priest of Palestrina and asked him to teach him to read. It was not easy, because he had to herd the sheep and could not leave the flock. But the good priest went to a small and Mass is held in a town that is so poor that even a priest can’t afford it. This town has no proper name, so it’s called a small town. The priest thought of a way. Every day when he came back from the town, Wampa went to wait for him on the road. This would allow for some lessons, and the priest explained to Wampa that each lesson was short and he had to work hard to learn it. The boy agreed happily.

(End of this chapter)