cried Caderousse, “ah, sir, do not jest with me!”
“This diamond was to have been shared among his friends. Edmond had one friend only, and thus it cannot be divided. Take the diamond, then, and sell it; it is worth fifty thousand francs, and I repeat my wish that this sum may suffice to release you from your wretchedness.”
“Oh, sir,” said Caderousse, putting out one hand timidly, and with the other wiping away the perspiration which bedewed his brow, — “Oh, sir, do not make a jest of the happiness or despair of a man.”
“I know what happiness and what despair are, and I never make a jest of such feelings. Take it, then, but in exchange — “
Caderousse, who touched the diamond, withdrew his hand. The abbe smiled. “In exchange,” he continued, “give me the red silk purse that M. Morrel left on old Dantes’ chimney-piece, and which you tell me is still in your hands.” Caderousse, more and more astonished, went toward a large oaken cupboard, opened it, and gave the abbe a long purse of faded red silk, round which were two copper runners that had once been gilt. The abbe took it, and in return gave Caderousse the diamond.
“Oh, you are a man of God, sir,” cried Caderousse; “for no one knew that Edmond had given you this diamond, and you might have kept it.”
“Which,” said the abbe to himself, “you would have done.” The abbe rose, took his hat and gloves. “Well,” he said, “all you have told me is perfectly true, then, and I may believe it in every particular.”
“See, sir,” replied Caderousse, “in this corner is a crucifix in holy wood — here on this shelf is my wife’s testament; open this book, and I will swear upon it with my hand on the crucifix. I will swear to you by my soul’s salvation, my faith as a Christian, I have told everything to you as it occurred, and as the recording angel will tell it to the ear of God at the day of the last judgment!”
“‘Tis well,” said the abbe, convinced by his manner and tone that Caderousse spoke the truth. “‘Tis well, and may this money profit you! Adieu; I go far from men who thus so bitterly injure each other.” The abbe with difficulty got away from the enthusiastic thanks of Caderousse, opened the door himself, got out and mounted his horse, once more saluted the innkeeper, who kept uttering his loud farewells, and then returned by the road he had travelled in coming. When Caderousse turned around, he saw behind him La Carconte, paler and trembling more than ever. “Is, then, all that I have heard really true?” she inquired.
“What? That he has given the diamond to us only?” inquired Caderousse, half bewildered with joy; “yes, nothing more true! See, here it is.” The woman gazed at it a moment, and then said, in a gloomy voice, “Suppose it’s false?” Caderousse started and turned pale. “False!” he muttered. “False! Why should that man give me a false diamond?”
“To get your secret without paying for it, you blockhead!”
Caderousse remained for a moment aghast under the weight of such an idea. “Oh!” he said, taking up his hat, which he placed on the red handkerchief tied round his head, “we will soon find out.”
“In what way?”
“Why, the fair is on at Beaucaire, there are always jewellers from Paris there, and I will show it to them. Look after the house, wife, and I shall be back in two hours,” and Caderousse left the house in haste, and ran rapidly in the direction opposite to that which the priest had taken. “Fifty thousand francs!” muttered La Carconte when left alone; “it is a large sum of money, but it is not a fortune.”
Chapter 28 The Prison Register.
The day after that in which the scene we have just described had taken place on the road between Bellegarde and Beaucaire, a man of about thirty or two and thirty, dressed in a bright blue frock coat, nankeen trousers, and a white waistcoat, having the appearance and accent of an Englishman, presented himself before the mayor of Marseilles. “Sir,” said he, “I am chief clerk of the house of Thomson & French, of Rome. We are, and have been these ten years, connected with the house of Morrel & Son, of Marseilles. We have a hundred thousand francs or thereabouts loaned on their securities, and we are a little uneasy at reports that have reached us that the firm is on the brink of ruin. I have come, therefore, express from Rome, to ask you for information.”
“Sir,” replied the mayor. “I know very well that during the last four or five years misfortune has seemed to pursue M. Morrel. He has lost four or five vessels, and suffered by three or four bankruptcies; but it is not for me, although I am a creditor myself to the amount of ten thousand francs, to give any information as to the state of his finances. Ask of me, as mayor, what is my opinion of M. Morrel, and I shall say that he is a man honorable to the last degree, and who has up to this time fulfilled every engagement with scrupulous punctuality. This is all I can say, sir; if you wish to learn more, address yourself to M. de Boville, the inspector of prisons, No. 15, Rue de Nouailles; he has, I believe, two hundred thousand francs in Morrel’s hands, and if there be any grounds for apprehension, as this is a greater amount than mine, you will most probably find him better informed than myself.”
The Englishman seemed to appreciate this extreme delicacy, made his bow and went away, proceeding with a characteristic British stride towards the street mentioned. M. de Boville was in his private room, and the Englishman, on perceiving him, made a gesture of surprise, which seemed to indicate that it was not the first time he had been in his presence. As to M. de Boville, he was in such a state of despair, that it was evident all the faculties of his mind, absorbed in the thought which occupied him at the moment, did not allow either his memory or his imagination to stray to the past. The Englishman, with the coolness of his nation, addressed him in terms nearly similar to those with which he had accosted the mayor of Marseilles. “Oh, sir,” exclaimed M. de Boville, “your fears are unfortunately but too well founded, and you see before you a man in despair. I had two hundred thousand francs placed in the hands of Morrel & Son; these two hundred thousand francs were the dowry of my daughter, who was to be married in a fortnight, and these two hundred thousand francs were payable, half on the 15th of this month, and the other half on the 15th of next month. I had informed M. Morrel of my desire to have these payments punctually, and he has been here within the last half-hour to tell me that if his ship, the Pharaon, did not come into port on the 15th, he would be wholly unable to make this payment.”
“But,” said the Englishman, “this looks very much like a suspension of payment.”
“It looks more like bankruptcy!” exclaimed M. de Boville despairingly.
The Englishman appeared to reflect a moment, and then said, — “From which it would appear, sir, that this credit inspires you with considerable apprehension?”
“To tell you the truth, I consider it lost.”
“Well, then, I will buy it of you!”
“You?”
“Yes, I!”
“But at a tremendous discount, of course?”
“No, for two hundred thousand francs. Our house,” added the Englishman with a laugh, “does not do things in that way.”
“And you will pay” —
“Ready money.” And the Englishman drew from his pocket a bundle of banknotes, which might have been twice the sum M. de Boville feared to lose. A ray of joy passed across M. de Boville’s countenance, yet he made an effort
