THE BANDITS' REPRISALS.
Monte-Cristo was astounded when he saw Luigi Vampa arrested by the Roman
policeman and his squad; his first thought was that Peppino, unwilling
to let slip so fair an opportunity to obtain vengeance, had betrayed the
brigand chief to the authorities; this idea was apparently confirmed by
the part the two ex-bandits had taken in their former leader's capture;
hence after the officers and their prisoner had departed, he turned
fiercely upon Peppino and said, in a tone of anger:
"This is fine work for one of my servants to do, especially one so
trusted as you!"
"Signor Count," answered Peppino, humbly, "you are mistaken. I had no
hand in it whatever save obeying the order of the officer in command of
the police."
"Indeed!" cried the Count, incredulously.
"Yes," continued Peppino, in the same humble voice, "and Beppo here is
equally innocent. The officer tracked Vampa to the hotel and was
informed that I had conducted him into your presence. He thereupon sent
for me, directing me without further ado to take Beppo, who chanced to
be in my company, and seize the chief, who was personally unknown to
him, the instant he quitted your salon. I trust your Excellency will
pardon us, as we could do nothing but obey."
"In that case," said Monte-Cristo, "no blame attaches to either of you,
but, nevertheless, Vampa's arrest at this critical juncture will
seriously interfere with my projected operations."
The police had conducted matters very quietly; still, the tramp of many
feet in the corridor had awakened the Viscount and filled him with
terror. Knowing the unparalleled audacity of the bandits, he at once
jumped to the conclusion that a body of them had entered Rome and taken
possession of the Hotel de France with the object of seizing upon him as
the murderer of old Pasquale Solara, who, he did not doubt, was dead.
When the tramping feet, which the Count and Vampa were too much
engrossed to hear, paused in front of his very door he became fixed in
this conclusion and sprang from his bed in wild alarm. He looked hastily
around him for some avenue of escape, but there was none. If the
brigands were without he was trapped and would speedily be in their
hands. He listened with the utmost anxiety, expecting every instant that
his door would be forced and his relentless foes come thronging into the
chamber. No such movement, however, was made. A deathlike silence
prevailed. What was the meaning of all this? What was taking place or
about to occur? If the men in the corridor were not Luigi Vampa's
bandits, who were they? The Viscount lost himself in a bewildering maze
of conjectures. Make a personal examination and satisfy himself he dare
not. In the midst of his conjectures he heard a door open directly
across the corridor and knew it was Monte-Cristo's. Then a voice of
stern command broke the silence, but what was uttered he could not
distinguish, though he fancied he made out the ominous word "arrest,"
which was almost immediately succeeded by a renewal of the tramping of
feet. This sound speedily died away and silence again prevailed. Young
Massetti was more perplexed than ever. He could make nothing out of the
knotty problem presented to him for solution. Suddenly a thought struck
him that brought beads of cold perspiration out upon his forehead.
Monte-Cristo had been arrested and carried off to a Roman prison! Then
he heard the Count's well-known voice angrily addressing some one and
this alarming thought vanished as quickly as it had come to him. The
party arrested, if an arrest had been made, was, therefore, not
Monte-Cristo but some one else, some one who had come from the Count's
salon. Who could it possibly be? Maximilian Morrel? No, the idea was
absurd, for what had the young Frenchman done to provoke arrest?
Finally, unable longer to endure the uncertainty and suspense, the
Viscount cautiously opened his door and glanced out into the corridor.
His eyes rested upon Monte-Cristo, Peppino and Beppo. The former saw him
and at once came to him.
"What has happened?" demanded Massetti, eagerly.
"Luigi Vampa was here and has been taken away a prisoner by the police,"
answered the Count.
"Luigi Vampa!" cried the young Italian, in amazement.
"Yes, Luigi Tampa," returned Monte-Cristo, his brow clouding.
"What brought him to the Hotel de France?"
"He came to complain of you!"
"Of me?"
"I have said so."
"And you caused him to be arrested?"
"I did not. His arrest was due entirely to his own rashness. The police
tracked him hither and apprehended him as he quitted my apartment."
While speaking Monte-Cristo made his way into Giovanni's chamber.
Closing the door behind him, he stood gazing at the Viscount with a
gloomy air.
"Giovanni Massetti," said he, in a slow, measured tone, "you have
disregarded my injunctions and by your impetuosity put all my plans in
jeopardy! You did wrong, very wrong, in attacking old Pasquale Solara
this morning!"
"I am keenly sensible of it now, after calm reflection," answered the
Viscount, penitently. "But still you must make some allowance for me. I
came suddenly upon the shepherd and my indignation and desire for
vengeance so mastered me at the sight of him that I could not control
myself. Nevertheless I gave him a chance for his life. We fought a
desperate duel and he was wounded, but whether mortally or not it is
impossible for me to say, as Vampa's men made their appearance
immediately after his fall, and I was forced into precipitate flight."
"Should Solara die," said Monte-Cristo, moodily, "you will have
deprived us of a most important witness, for I calculated upon
compelling him to speak, to disclose every detail of the infamous
conspiracy against you. But like you I do not know his present
condition, as Vampa did not vouchsafe me any information upon that head.
I can only hope that he is not seriously wounded and will recover."
"I am singularly unfortunate," said the Viscount, humbly. "Everything I
do seems to be wrong."
"Because you are governed by impulse alone and do not wait for your
calmer judgment to come to your aid," replied Monte-Cristo. Then he
added, firmly: "Giovanni Massetti, either you must submit wholly to me
for the future, be guided entirely by my wishes, or I will be compelled
to leave you to your fate! I need not say that I shall abandon you very
reluctantly, but abandon you I must unless you cease to trammel my
efforts in your behalf!"
The young Italian seized his benefactor's hand convulsively.
"Your Excellency," he exclaimed, supplicatingly, "do not abandon me, do
not leave me to my fate at this critical juncture! I will yield you
blind and implicit submission and obedience! For the future I will do
nothing, take not even the slightest, most unimportant step without your
direct authorization or express command!"
"It is well, Giovanni," said the Count, evidently much relieved to find
his ardent protege so tractable. "I will continue the work I have begun
and also endeavor to bring it to a speedy and successful conclusion.
The arrest of Vampa and the wounding of old Solara have complicated
matters to a certain extent, but a brief time, I trust, will suffice to
straighten out the complications and tangles, and then the result will
be happiness for all of us, the richest possible reward!"
"God grant it!" cried Massetti, fervently.
"Now," said the Count, "you must not quit the Hotel de France even for a
moment without my permission! Do you promise me that?"
"I not only promise it, I swear it!" exclaimed the Viscount, lifting his
eyes and his right hand towards Heaven.
"It is well," repeated Monte-Cristo, joyously, and turning he left
Massetti's chamber.
It had been planned that the Count should take Zuleika out riding the
following morning, but a desire to know what had become of Luigi Vampa
and what the authorities proposed to do in his case prevented
Monte-Cristo from fulfilling his promise to his daughter. He, however,
determined not to deprive Zuleika of the pleasure she anticipated from
her drive and, therefore, when the barouche and its spirited horses were
brought to the hotel door installed Peppino in the driver's seat with
the faithful Ali to act as an additional guard and protector.
Zuleika, after bidding her father a tender farewell, was assisted by him
into the elegant vehicle and Ali drove off, managing the prancing and
mettlesome steeds, with all the dash and skill of a veteran Paris
coachman.
They passed along the Corso, which as usual was crowded with splendid
equipages and gay promenaders, finally making their way to the vast and
beautiful Piazza del Popolo, which presented even a more animated and
enlivening scene than the Corso. The elegant equipages were there
supplemented by superbly mounted cavaliers and the various paths were
alive with handsome girls and their gallants, while interspersed amid
the better classes were gorgeously attired peasants of both sexes, some
simply idling about, others vending small wares and flowers.
Tiring at length of the ordinary sights of Rome, Zuleika directed Ali to
drive a short distance into the country. He obeyed with considerable
reluctance for he was well aware of the dangers to be encountered in the
environs of the city, and Peppino, on his side, was also uneasy, though
he did not venture to protest against what he considered a most
censurable caprice of his youthful mistress.
However, they drove along for several miles without the slightest
incident occurring to warrant the fears of Ali and Peppino or trouble
the serenity of Zuleika. The young girl enjoyed the open country, with
its stately trees, verdure and refreshing odors, immensely, and
internally congratulated herself on having varied her programme by
leaving dusty Rome behind her for a time.
Meanwhile Ali, with the habitual fatalism of his nation, had resigned
himself in advance to whatever might happen and drove straight onward
with his eyes impassibly fixed upon the horses. Not so with Peppino;
the wily and well-posted Italian was constantly on the alert, scanning
every thicket, clump of trees or turn of the road with a searching look
long before they came to it; although nothing suspicious had as yet met
his gaze, he was not by any means either satisfied or reassured.
Finally they approached a small roadside inn and Zuleika, complaining of
thirst, directed the barouche to be stopped and Peppino to dismount from
his seat, enter the inn and procure some wine for her. Peppino made a
grimace at this command, but had not the courage to explain to
Monte-Cristo's daughter that in obeying her he ran the risk of
encountering some of his old comrades who might prove too inquisitive.
He slowly clambered down from the barouche and with an exceedingly
rueful countenance made his way into the inn. He had not been gone an
instant when he suddenly reappeared, running towards the barouche and
uttering loud cries of alarm. Half a dozen rough-looking men pursued him
and before he could reach the vehicle he was caught. Simultaneously
another party of ruffians issued from the inn, catching the horses by
the bridle as Ali was about to drive off.
"Not so fast, my sable friend!" said one of the men. "We must make the
acquaintance of your beautiful young mistress!"
Zuleika sat speechless, frozen with terror. Ali raised his whip to
strike the ruffian who had spoken so flippantly of Monte-Cristo's
daughter, but the indignant mute was instantly overpowered and dragged
to the ground.
Meanwhile the men who held Peppino in their clutches were examining him
closely.
"I would swear," said one of them, "that this is our old comrade,
Peppino, who ran away from us so unceremoniously, taking with him all he
could lay his hands on!"
"It is Peppino," put in another. "I know him in spite of his stained
face and livery! By the Holy Virgin!" he added, "I know the livery, too!
It's Monte-Cristo's!"
"Then the barouche and horses are Monte-Cristo's also!" said the first
speaker. "No doubt, too, that young woman there is a member of the
Count's family. We followed Peppino for a little fun, comrades, but have
fallen upon a slice of rare luck! Monte-Cristo is responsible for
Vampa's arrest yesterday, for the chief was taken as he left his room
Now we can make reprisals!"
"Excellent!" cried another of the band. "We can make reprisals and
obtain at least one valuable hostage for Vampa's safety! Signora," he
said to the terrified Zuleika, "who are you?"
The poor girl, commanding her voice as best she could, replied, with
some dignity:
"I am Zuleika, daughter of the Count of Monte-Cristo! In his name I
demand that you instantly release us!"
"So!" said the man, turning to his delighted companions. "His daughter!
We can now count on Vampa's safety without the shadow of a doubt!"
The leader of the bandits now came from the inn; upon being informed of
the important capture his men had made he rubbed his hands in glee.
Turning to his lieutenants, he said:
"Have a guard placed in the barouche beside Monte-Cristo's daughter and
let another comrade drive the equipage to the rendezvous of the band. As
for the colored driver, let him go back to Rome on foot and carry the
news to his master with the compliments of Vampa's men!"
"What shall be done with Peppino?" asked one of the lieutenants.
"Hang him to the nearest tree!" answered the leader, but, immediately
taking a second thought, he added: "No. Keep him! Perhaps Monte-Cristo
places some value on the scoundrel and it might not be bad policy to
retain him as an additional hostage!"
Peppino who had been listening intently to the leader's words heaved a
deep sigh of relief. He would certainly experience rough treatment, but
at least his life was safe. He, therefore, submitted to be bound without
a murmur and even smiled as he was being led away.
The leader's commands regarding Zuleika and the equipage were promptly
obeyed, and soon Monte-Cristo's daughter was a close prisoner in a rocky
cell of the bandits' subterranean fastness.
Ali, as soon as set free, started for Rome to give the alarm.