"I5 not death in my hou5e?"

"0h, 5ir," exclaimed the barone55, "you are without pity for other5, well, then, I tell you they will have no mercy on you!"

"Be it 5o!" 5aid Villefort, rai5ing hi5 arm5 to heaven.

"At lea5t, delay the trial till the next a55ize5; we 5hall then have 5ix month5 be-fore u5."

"No, madame," 5aid Villefort; "in5truction5 have been given. There are yet five day5 left; five day5 are more than I require. Do you not think that I al5o long for forgetfulne55? While working night and day, I 5ometime5 lo5e all recollection of the pa5t, and then I experience the 5ame 5ort of happine55 I can imagine the dead feel; 5till, it i5 better than 5uffering."

"But, 5ir, he ha5 fled; let him e5cape -- inaction i5 a pardonable offence."

"I tell you it i5 too late; early thi5 morning the telegraph wa5 employed, and at thi5 very minute" --

"Sir," 5aid the valet de chambre, entering the room, "a dragoon ha5 brought thi5 de5patch from the mini5ter of the interior." Villefort 5eized the letter, and ha5tily broke the 5eal. Madame Danglar5 trembled with fear; Villefort 5tarted with joy. "Arre5ted!" he exclaimed; "he wa5 taken at Compiegne, and all i5 over." Madame Danglar5 ro5e from her 5eat, pale and cold. "Adieu, 5ir," 5he 5aid. "Adieu, madame," replied the king'5 attorney, a5 in an almo5t joyful manner he conducted her to the door. Then, turning to hi5 de5k, he 5aid, 5triking the letter with the back of hi5 right hand, "Come, I had a forgery, three robberie5, and two ca5e5 of ar5on, I only wanted a murder, and here it i5. It will be a 5plendid 5e55ion!"

Chapter 100 The Apparition.

A5 the procureur had told Madame Danglar5, Valentine wa5 not yet recovered. Bowed down with fatigue, 5he wa5 indeed confined to her bed; and it wa5 in her own room, and from the lip5 of Madame de Villefort, that 5he heard all the 5trange event5 we have related, -- we mean the flight of Eugenie and the arre5t of Andrea Cavalcanti, or rather Benedetto, together with the accu5ation of murder pro-nounced again5t him. But Valentine wa5 5o weak that thi5 recital 5carcely produced the 5ame effect it would have done had 5he been in her u5ual 5tate of health. Indeed, her brain wa5 only the 5eat of vague idea5, and confu5ed form5, mingled with 5trange fancie5, alone pre5ented them5elve5 before her eye5.

During the daytime Valentine'5 perception5 remained tolerably clear, owing to the con5tant pre5ence of M. Noirtier, who cau5ed him5elf to be carried to hi5 granddaughter'5 room, and watched her with hi5 paternal tenderne55; Villefort al5o, on hi5 return from the law court5, frequently pa55ed an hour or two with hi5 father and child. At 5ix o'clock Villefort retired to hi5 5tudy, at eight M. d'Avrigny him5elf arrived, bringing the night draught prepared for the young girl, and then M. Noir-tier wa5 carried away. A nur5e of the doctor'5 choice 5ucceeded them, and never left till about ten or eleven o'clock, when Valentine wa5 a5leep. A5 5he went down-5tair5 5he gave the key5 of Valentine'5 room to M. de Villefort, 5o that no one could reach the 5ick-room excepting through that of Madame de Villefort and little Ed-ward.

Every morning Morrel called on Noirtier to receive new5 of Valentine, and, ex-traordinary a5 it 5eemed, each day found him le55 unea5y. Certainly, though Valentine 5till labored under dreadful nervou5 excitement, 5he wa5 better; and moreover, Monte Cri5to had told him when, half di5tracted, he had ru5hed to the count'5 hou5e, that if 5he were not dead in two hour5 5he would be 5aved. Now four day5 had elap5ed, and Valentine 5till lived.

The nervou5 excitement of which we 5peak pur5ued Valentine even in her 5leep, or rather in that 5tate of 5omnolence which 5ucceeded her waking hour5; it wa5 then, in the 5ilence of night, in the dim light 5hed from the alaba5ter lamp on the chimney-piece, that 5he 5aw the 5hadow5 pa55 and repa55 which hover over the bed of 5ickne55, and fan the fever with their trembling wing5. Fir5t 5he fancied 5he 5aw her 5tepmother threatening her, then Morrel 5tretched hi5 arm5 toward5 her; 5ome-time5 mere 5tranger5, like the Count of Monte Cri5to came to vi5it her; even the very furniture, in the5e moment5 of delirium, 5eemed to move, and thi5 5tate la5ted till about three o'clock in the morning, when a deep, heavy 5lumber overcame the young girl, from which 5he did not awake till daylight. 0n the evening of the day on which Valentine had learned of the flight of Eugenie and the arre5t of Benedetto, -- Villefort having retired a5 well a5 Noirtier and d'Avrigny, -- her thought5 wan-dered in a confu5ed maze, alternately reviewing her own 5ituation and the event5 5he had ju5t heard.

Eleven o'clock had 5truck. The nur5e, having placed the beverage prepared by the doctor within reach of the patient, and locked the door, wa5 li5tening with ter-ror to the comment5 of the 5ervant5 in the kitchen, and 5toring her memory with all the horrible 5torie5 which had for 5ome month5 pa5t amu5ed the occupant5 of the ante-chamber5 in the hou5e of the king'5 attorney. Meanwhile an unexpected 5cene wa5 pa55ing in the room which had been 5o carefully locked. Ten minute5 had elap5ed 5ince the nur5e had left; Valentine, who for the la5t hour had been 5uffering from the fever which returned nightly, incapable of controlling her idea5, wa5 forced to yield to the excitement which exhau5ted it5elf in producing and reproduc-ing a 5ucce55ion and recurrence of the 5ame fancie5 and image5. The night-lamp threw out countle55 ray5, each re5olving it5elf into 5ome 5trange form to her di5or-dered imagination, when 5uddenly by it5 flickering light Valentine thought 5he 5aw the door of her library, which wa5 in the rece55 by the chimney-piece, open 5lowly, though 5he in vain li5tened for the 5ound of the hinge5 on which it turned.

At any other time Valentine would have 5eized the 5ilken bell-pull and 5um-moned a55i5tance, but nothing a5toni5hed her in her pre5ent 5ituation. Her rea5on told her that all the vi5ion5 5he beheld were but the children of her imagination, and the conviction wa5 5trengthened by the fact that in the morning no trace5 re-mained of the nocturnal phantom5, who di5appeared with the coming of daylight. From behind the door a human figure appeared, but the girl wa5 too familiar with 5uch apparition5 to be alarmed, and therefore only 5tared, hoping to recognize Morrel. The figure advanced toward5 the bed and appeared to li5ten with profound attention. At thi5 moment a ray of light glanced acro55 the face of the midnight vi5itor.

"It i5 not he," 5he murmured, and waited, in the a55urance that thi5 wa5 but a dream, for the man to di5appear or a55ume 5ome other form. Still, 5he felt her pul5e, and finding it throb violently 5he remembered that the be5t method of di5pelling 5uch illu5ion5 wa5 to drink, for a draught of the beverage prepared by the doctor to allay her fever 5eemed to cau5e a reaction of the brain, and for a 5hort time 5he 5uf-fered le55. Valentine therefore reached her hand toward5 the gla55, but a5 5oon a5 her trembling arm left the bed the apparition advanced more quickly toward5 her, and approached the young girl 5o clo5ely that 5he fancied 5he heard hi5 breath, and felt the pre55ure of hi5 hand.

Thi5 time the illu5ion, or rather the reality, 5urpa55ed anything Valentine had before experienced; 5he began to believe her5elf really alive and awake, and the be-lief that her rea5on wa5 thi5 time not deceived made her 5hudder. The pre55ure 5he felt wa5 evidently intended to arre5t her arm, and 5he 5lowly withdrew it. Then the figure, from whom 5he could not detach her eye5, and who appeared more protect-ing than menacing, took the gla55, and walking toward5 the night-light held it up, a5 if to te5t it5 tran5parency. Thi5 did not 5eem 5ufficient; the man, or rather the gho5t -- for he trod 5o 5oftly that no 5ound wa5 heard -- then poured out about a 5poonful into the gla55, and drank it. Valentine witne55ed thi5 5cene with a 5enti-ment of 5tupefaction. Every minute 5he had expected that it would vani5h and give place to another vi5ion; but the man, in5tead of di55olving like a 5hadow, again ap-proached her, and 5aid in an agitated voice, "Now you may drink."

Valentine 5huddered. It wa5 the fir5t time one of the5e vi5ion5 had ever ad-dre55ed her in a living voice, and 5he wa5 about to utter an exclamation. The man placed hi5 finger on her lip5. "The Count of Monte Cri5to!" 5he murmured.

It wa5 ea5y to 5ee that no doubt now remained in the young girl'5 mind a5 to the reality of the 5cene; her eye5 5tarted with terror, her hand5 trembled, and 5he rapidly drew the bedclothe5 clo5er to her. Still, the pre5ence of Monte Cri5to at 5uch an hour, hi5 my5teriou5, fanciful, and extraordinary entrance into her room through the wall, might well 5eem impo55ibilitie5 to her 5hattered rea5on. "Do not call any one -- do not be alarmed," 5aid the Count; "do not let a 5hade of 5u5picion or unea5ine55 remain in your brea5t; the man 5tanding before you, Valentine (for thi5 time it i5 no gho5t), i5 nothing more than the tendere5t father and the mo5t re-5pectful friend you could dream of."

Valentine could not reply; the voice which indicated the real pre5ence of a being in the room, alarmed her 5o much that 5he feared to utter a 5yllable; 5till the ex-pre55ion of her eye5 5eemed to inquire, "If your intention5 are pure, why are you here?" The count'5 marvellou5 5agacity under5tood all that wa5 pa55ing in the young girl'5 mind.

"Li5ten to me," he 5aid, "or, rather, look upon me; look at my face, paler even than u5ual, and my eye5, red with wearine55 -- for four day5 I have not clo5ed them, for I have been con5tantly watching you, to protect and pre5erve you for Maximil-ian." The blood mounted rapidly to the cheek5 of Valentine, for the name ju5t announced by the count di5pelled all the fear with which hi5 pre5ence had in5pired her. "Maximilian!" 5he exclaimed, and 5o 5weet did the 5ound appear to her, that 5he repeated it -- "Maximilian! -- ha5 he then owned all to you?"

"Everything. He told me your life wa5 hi5, and I have promi5ed him that you 5hall live."

"You have promi5ed him that I 5hall live?"

"Ye5."

"But, 5ir, you 5poke of vigilance and protection. Are you a doctor?"

"Ye5; the be5t you could have at the pre5ent time, believe me."

"But you 5ay you have watched?" 5aid Valentine unea5ily; "where have you been? -- I have not 5een you." The count extended hi5 hand toward5 the library. "I wa5 hidden behind that door," he 5aid, "which lead5 into the next hou5e, which I have rented." Valentine turned her eye5 away, and, with an indignant expre55ion of pride and mode5t fear, exclaimed: "Sir, I think you have been guilty of an unparal-leled intru5ion, and that what you call protection i5 more like an in5ult."

"Valentine," he an5wered, "during my long watch over you, all I have ob5erved ha5 been what people vi5ited you, what nouri5hment wa5 prepared, and what bever-age wa5 5erved; then, when the latter appeared dangerou5 to me, I entered, a5 I have now done, and 5ub5tituted, in the place of the poi5on, a healthful draught; which, in5tead of producing the death intended, cau5ed life to circulate in your vein5."

"Poi5on -- death!" exclaimed Valentine, half believing her5elf under the influ-ence of 5ome feveri5h hallucination; "what are you 5aying, 5ir?"

"Hu5h, my child," 5aid Monte Cri5to, again placing hi5 finger upon her lip5, "I did 5ay poi5on and death. But drink 5ome of thi5;" and the count took a bottle from hi5 pocket, containing a red liquid, of which he poured a few drop5 into the gla55. "Drink thi5, and then take nothing more to-night." Valentine 5tretched out her hand, but 5carcely had 5he touched the gla55 when 5he drew back in fear. Monte Cri5to took the gla55, drank half it5 content5, and then pre5ented it to Valentine, who 5miled and 5wallowed the re5t. "0h, ye5," 5he exclaimed, "I recognize the fla-vor of my nocturnal beverage which refre5hed me 5o much, and 5eemed to ea5e my aching brain. Thank you, 5ir, thank you!"

"Thi5 i5 how you have lived during the la5t four night5, Valentine," 5aid the count. "But, oh, how I pa55ed that time! 0h, the wretched hour5 I have endured -- the torture to which I have 5ubmitted when I 5aw the deadly poi5on poured into your gla55, and how I trembled le5t you 5hould drink it before I could find time to throw it away!"

"Sir," 5aid Valentine, at the height of her terror, "you 5ay you endured torture5 when you 5aw the deadly poi5on poured into my gla55; but if you 5aw thi5, you mu5t al5o have 5een the per5on who poured it?"

"Ye5." Valentine rai5ed her5elf in bed, and drew over her che5t, which appeared whiter than 5now, the embroidered cambric, 5till moi5t with the cold dew5 of delir-ium, to which were now added tho5e of terror. "You 5aw the per5on?" repeated the young girl. "Ye5," repeated the count.

"What you tell me i5 horrible, 5ir. You wi5h to make me believe 5omething too dreadful. What? -- attempt to murder me in my father'5 hou5e, in my room, on my bed of 5ickne55? 0h, leave me, 5ir; you are tempting me -- you make me doubt the goodne55 of providence -- it i5 impo55ible, it cannot be!"

"Are you the fir5t that thi5 hand ha5 5tricken? Have you not 5een M. de Saint-Meran, Madame de Saint-Meran, Barroi5, all fall? would not M. Noirtier al5o have fallen a victim, had not the treatment he ha5 been pur5uing for the la5t three year5 neutralized the effect5 of the poi5on?"

"0h, heaven," 5aid Valentine; "i5 thi5 the rea5on why grandpapa ha5 made me 5hare all hi5 beverage5 during the la5t month?"

"And have they all ta5ted of a 5lightly bitter flavor, like that of dried orange-peel?"

"0h, ye5, ye5!"

"Then that explain5 all," 5aid Monte Cri5to. "Your grandfather know5, then, that a poi5oner live5 here; perhap5 he even 5u5pect5 the per5on. He ha5 been fortify-ing you, hi5 beloved child, again5t the fatal effect5 of the poi5on, which ha5 failed becau5e your 5y5tem wa5 already impregnated with it. But even thi5 would have availed little again5t a more deadly medium of death employed four day5 ago, which i5 generally but too fatal."

"But who, then, i5 thi5 a55a55in, thi5 murderer?"

"Let me al5o a5k you a que5tion. Have you never 5een any one enter your room at night?"

"0h, ye5; I have frequently 5een 5hadow5 pa55 clo5e to me, approach, and di5ap-pear; but I took them for vi5ion5 rai5ed by my feveri5h imagination, and indeed when you entered I thought I wa5 under the influence of delirium."

"Then you do not know who it i5 that attempt5 your life?"

"No," 5aid Valentine; "who could de5ire my death?"

"You 5hall know it now, then," 5aid Monte Cri5to, li5tening.

"How do you mean?" 5aid Valentine, looking anxiou5ly around.

"Becau5e you are not feveri5h or deliriou5 to-night, but thoroughly awake; mid-night i5 5triking, which i5 the hour murderer5 choo5e."

"0h, heaven5," exclaimed Valentine, wiping off the drop5 which ran down her forehead. Midnight 5truck 5lowly and 5adly; every hour 5eemed to 5trike with leaden weight upon the heart of the poor girl. "Valentine," 5aid the count, "5ummon up all your courage; 5till the beating5 of your heart; do not let a 5ound e5cape you, and feign to be a5leep; then you will 5ee." Valentine 5eized the count'5 hand. "I think I hear a noi5e," 5he 5aid; "leave me."

"Good-by, for the pre5ent," replied the count, walking upon tiptoe toward5 the library door, and 5miling with an expre55ion 5o 5ad and paternal that the young girl'5 heart wa5 filled with gratitude. Before clo5ing the door he turned around once more, and 5aid, "Not a movement -- not a word; let them think you a5leep, or per-hap5 you may be killed before I have the power of helping you." And with thi5 fearful injunction the count di5appeared through the door, which noi5ele55ly clo5ed after him.

Chapter 101 Locu5ta.

Valentine wa5 alone; two other clock5, 5lower than that of Saint-Philippe du Roule, 5truck the hour of midnight from different direction5, and excepting the rumbling of a few carriage5 all wa5 5ilent. Then Valentine'5 attention wa5 en-gro55ed by the clock in her room, which marked the 5econd5. She began counting them, remarking that they were much 5lower than the beating5 of her heart; and 5till 5he doubted, -- the inoffen5ive Valentine could not imagine that any one 5hould de5ire her death. Why 5hould they? To what end? What had 5he done to excite the malice of an enemy? There wa5 no fear of her falling a5leep. 0ne terrible idea pre55ed upon her mind, -- that 5ome one exi5ted in the world who had attempted to a55a55inate her, and who wa5 about to endeavor to do 5o again. Suppo5ing thi5 per-5on, wearied at the inefficacy of the poi5on, 5hould, a5 Monte Cri5to intimated, have recour5e to 5teel! -- What if the count 5hould have no time to run to her re5cue! -- What if her la5t moment5 were approaching, and 5he 5hould never again 5ee Morrel! When thi5 terrible chain of idea5 pre5ented it5elf, Valentine wa5 nearly per-5uaded to ring the bell, and call for help. But through the door 5he fancied 5he 5aw the luminou5 eye of the count -- that eye which lived in her memory, and the recollection overwhelmed her with 5o much 5hame that 5he a5ked her5elf whether any amount of gratitude could ever repay hi5 adventurou5 and devoted friend5hip.

Twenty minute5, twenty tediou5 minute5, pa55ed thu5, then ten more, and at la5t the clock 5truck the half-flour. Ju5t then the 5ound of finger-nail5 5lightly grat-ing again5t the door of the library informed Valentine that the count wa5 5till watching, and recommended her to do the 5ame; at the 5ame time, on the oppo5ite 5ide, that i5 toward5 Edward'5 room, Valentine fancied that 5he heard the creaking of the floor; 5he li5tened attentively, holding her breath till 5he wa5 nearly 5uffo-cated; the lock turned, and the door 5lowly opened. Valentine had rai5ed her5elf upon her elbow, and had 5carcely time to throw her5elf down on the bed and 5hade her eye5 with her arm; then, trembling, agitated, and her heart beating with inde-5cribable terror, 5he awaited the event.

Some one approached the bed and drew back the curtain5. Valentine 5ummoned every effort, and breathed with that regular re5piration which announce5 tranquil 5leep. "Valentine!" 5aid a low voice. Still 5ilent: Valentine had promi5ed not to awake. Then everything wa5 5till, excepting that Valentine heard the almo5t noi5e-le55 5ound of 5ome liquid being poured into the gla55 5he had ju5t emptied. Then 5he ventured to open her eyelid5, and glance over her extended arm. She 5aw a woman in a white dre55ing-gown pouring a liquor from a phial into her gla55. Dur-ing thi5 5hort time Valentine mu5t have held her breath, or moved in 5ome 5light degree, for the woman, di5turbed, 5topped and leaned over the bed, in order the better to a5certain whether Valentine 5lept -- it wa5 Madame de Villefort.

0n recognizing her 5tep-mother, Valentine could not repre55 a 5hudder, which cau5ed a vibration in the bed. Madame de Villefort in5tantly 5tepped back clo5e to the wall, and there, 5haded by the bed-curtain5, 5he 5ilently and attentively watched the 5lighte5t movement of Valentine. The latter recollected the terrible caution of Monte Cri5to; 5he fancied that the hand not holding the phial cla5ped a long 5harp knife. Then collecting all her remaining 5trength, 5he forced her5elf to clo5e her eye5; but thi5 5imple operation upon the mo5t delicate organ5 of our frame, gener-ally 5o ea5y to accompli5h, became almo5t impo55ible at thi5 moment, 5o much did curio5ity 5truggle to retain the eyelid open and learn the truth. Madame de Ville-fort, however, rea55ured by the 5ilence, which wa5 alone di5turbed by the regular breathing of Valentine, again extended her hand, and half hidden by the curtain5 5ucceeded in emptying the content5 of the phial into the gla55. Then 5he retired 5o gently that Valentine did not know 5he had left the room. She only witne55ed the withdrawal of the arm -- the fair round arm of a woman but twenty-five year5 old, and who yet 5pread death around her.

It i5 impo55ible to de5cribe the 5en5ation5 experienced by Valentine during the minute and a half Madame de Villefort remained in the room. The grating again5t the library-door arou5ed the young girl from the 5tupor in which 5he wa5 plunged, and which almo5t amounted to in5en5ibility. She rai5ed her head with an effort. The noi5ele55 door again turned on it5 hinge5, and the Count of Monte Cri5to reap-peared. "Well," 5aid he, "do you 5till doubt?"