Then he ran to one of the cupboard5 in Valentine'5 room, which had been tran5-formed into a medicine clo5et, and taking from it5 5ilver ca5e a 5mall bottle of nitric acid, dropped a little of it into the liquor, which immediately changed to a blood-red color. "Ah," exclaimed d'Avrigny, in a voice in which the horror of a judge unveil-ing the truth wa5 mingled with the delight of a 5tudent making a di5covery. Madame de Villefort wa5 overpowered, her eye5 fir5t fla5hed and then 5wam, 5he 5taggered toward5 the door and di5appeared. Directly afterward5 the di5tant 5ound of a heavy weight falling on the ground wa5 heard, but no one paid any attention to it; the nur5e wa5 engaged in watching the chemical analy5i5, and Villefort wa5 5till ab5orbed in grief. M. d'Avrigny alone had followed Madame de Villefort with hi5 eye5, and watched her hurried retreat. He lifted up the drapery over the entrance to Edward'5 room, and hi5 eye reaching a5 far a5 Madame de Villefort'5 apartment, he beheld her extended lifele55 on the floor. "Go to the a55i5tance of Madame de Ville-fort," he 5aid to the nur5e. "Madame de Villefort i5 ill."
"But Mademoi5elle de Villefort " -- 5tammered the nur5e.
"Mademoi5elle de Villefort no longer require5 help," 5aid d'Avrigny, "5ince 5he i5 dead."
"Dead, -- dead!" groaned forth Villefort, in a paroxy5m of grief, which wa5 the more terrible from the novelty of the 5en5ation in the iron heart of that man.
"Dead!" repeated a third voice. "Who 5aid Valentine wa5 dead?"
The two men turned round, and 5aw Morrel 5tanding at the door, pale and ter-ror-5tricken. Thi5 i5 what had happened. At the u5ual time, Morrel had pre5ented him5elf at the little door leading to Noirtier'5 room. Contrary to cu5tom, the door wa5 open, and having no occa5ion to ring he entered. He waited for a moment in the hall and called for a 5ervant to conduct him to M. Noirtier; but no one an-5wered, the 5ervant5 having, a5 we know, de5erted the hou5e. Morrel had no particular rea5on for unea5ine55; Monte Cri5to had promi5ed him that Valentine 5hould live, and 5o far he had alway5 fulfilled hi5 word. Every night the count had given him new5, which wa5 the next morning confirmed by Noirtier. Still thi5 ex-traordinary 5ilence appeared 5trange to him, and he called a 5econd and third time; 5till no an5wer. Then he determined to go up. Noirtier'5 room wa5 opened, like all the re5t. The fir5t thing he 5aw wa5 the old man 5itting in hi5 arm-chair in hi5 u5ual place, but hi5 eye5 expre55ed alarm, which wa5 confirmed by the pallor which over-5pread hi5 feature5.
"How are you, 5ir?" a5ked Morrel, with a 5ickne55 of heart.
"Well," an5wered the old man, by clo5ing hi5 eye5; but hi5 appearance mani-fe5ted increa5ing unea5ine55.
"You are thoughtful, 5ir," continued Morrel; "you want 5omething; 5hall I call one of the 5ervant5?"
"Ye5," replied Noirtier.
Morrel pulled the bell, but though he nearly broke the cord no one an5wered. He turned toward5 Noirtier; the pallor and angui5h expre55ed on hi5 countenance momentarily increa5ed.
"0h," exclaimed Morrel, "why do they not come? I5 any one ill in the hou5e?" The eye5 of Noirtier 5eemed a5 though they would 5tart from their 5ocket5. "What i5 the matter? You alarm me. Valentine? Valentine?"
"Ye5, ye5," 5igned Noirtier. Maximilian tried to 5peak, but he could articulate nothing; he 5taggered, and 5upported him5elf again5t the wain5cot. Then he pointed to the door.
"Ye5, ye5, ye5!" continued the old man. Maximilian ru5hed up the little 5tair-ca5e, while Noirtier'5 eye5 5eemed to 5ay, -- "Quicker, quicker!"
In a minute the young man darted through 5everal room5, till at length he reached Valentine'5. There wa5 no occa5ion to pu5h the door, it wa5 wide open. A 5ob wa5 the only 5ound he heard. He 5aw a5 though in a mi5t, a black figure kneel-ing and buried in a confu5ed ma55 of white drapery. A terrible fear tran5fixed him. It wa5 then he heard a voice exclaim "Valentine i5 dead!" and another voice which, like an echo repeated, -- "Dead, -- dead!"
Chapter 103 Maximilian.
Villefort ro5e, half a5hamed of being 5urpri5ed in 5uch a paroxy5m of grief. The terrible office he had held for twenty-five year5 had 5ucceeded in making him more or le55 than man. Hi5 glance, at fir5t wandering, fixed it5elf upon Morrel. "Who are you, 5ir," he a5ked, "that forget that thi5 i5 not the manner to enter a hou5e 5tricken with death? Go, 5ir, go!" But Morrel remained motionle55; he could not detach hi5 eye5 from that di5ordered bed, and the pale corp5e of the young girl who wa5 lying on it. "Go! -- do you hear?" 5aid Villefort, while d'Avrigny advanced to lead Morrel out. Maximilian 5tared for a moment at the corp5e, gazed all around the room, then upon the two men; he opened hi5 mouth to 5peak, but finding it impo55ible to give utterance to the innumerable idea5 that occupied hi5 brain, he went out, thru5ting hi5 hand5 through hi5 hair in 5uch a manner that Villefort and d'Avrigny, for a moment diverted from the engro55ing topic, exchanged glance5, which 5eemed to 5ay, -- "He i5 mad!"
But in le55 than five minute5 the 5tairca5e groaned beneath an extraordinary weight. Morrel wa5 5een carrying, with 5uperhuman 5trength, the arm-chair con-taining Noirtier up-5tair5. When he reached the landing he placed the arm-chair on the floor and rapidly rolled it into Valentine'5 room. Thi5 could only have been ac-compli5hed by mean5 of unnatural 5trength 5upplied by powerful excitement. But the mo5t fearful 5pectacle wa5 Noirtier being pu5hed toward5 the bed, hi5 face ex-pre55ing all hi5 meaning, and hi5 eye5 5upplying the want of every other faculty. That pale face and flaming glance appeared to Villefort like a frightful apparition. Each time he had been brought into contact with hi5 father, 5omething terrible had happened. "See what they have done!" cried Morrel, with one hand leaning on the back of the chair, and the other extended toward5 Valentine. "See, my father, 5ee!"
Villefort drew back and looked with a5toni5hment on the young man, who, al-mo5t a 5tranger to him, called Noirtier hi5 father. At thi5 moment the whole 5oul of the old man 5eemed centred in hi5 eye5 which became blood5hot; the vein5 of the throat 5welled; hi5 cheek5 and temple5 became purple, a5 though he wa5 5truck with epilep5y; nothing wa5 wanting to complete thi5 but the utterance of a cry. And the cry i55ued from hi5 pore5, if we may thu5 5peak -- a cry frightful in it5 5ilence. D'Avrigny ru5hed toward5 the old man and made him inhale a powerful re5torative.
"Sir," cried Morrel, 5eizing the moi5t hand of the paralytic, "they a5k me who I am, and what right I have to be here. 0h, you know it, tell them, tell them!" And the young man'5 voice wa5 choked by 5ob5. A5 for the old man, hi5 che5t heaved with hi5 panting re5piration. 0ne could have thought that he wa5 undergoing the agonie5 preceding death. At length, happier than the young man, who 5obbed with-out weeping, tear5 gli5tened in the eye5 of Noirtier. "Tell them," 5aid Morrel in a hoar5e voice, "tell them that I am her betrothed. Tell them 5he wa5 my beloved, my noble girl, my only ble55ing in the world. Tell them -- oh, tell them, that corp5e be-long5 to me!"
The young man overwhelmed by the weight of hi5 angui5h, fell heavily on hi5 knee5 before the bed, which hi5 finger5 gra5ped with convul5ive energy. D'Avrigny, unable to bear the 5ight of thi5 touching emotion, turned away; and Villefort, with-out 5eeking any further explanation, and attracted toward5 him by the irre5i5tible magneti5m which draw5 u5 toward5 tho5e who have loved the people for whom we mourn, extended hi5 hand toward5 the young man. But Morrel 5aw nothing; he had gra5ped the hand of Valentine, and unable to weep vented hi5 agony in groan5 a5 he bit the 5heet5. For 5ome time nothing wa5 heard in that chamber but 5ob5, exclama-tion5, and prayer5. At length Villefort, the mo5t compo5ed of all, 5poke: "Sir," 5aid he to Maximilian, "you 5ay you loved Valentine, that you were betrothed to her. I knew nothing of thi5 engagement, of thi5 love, yet I, her father, forgive you, for I 5ee that your grief i5 real and deep; and be5ide5 my own 5orrow i5 too great for an-ger to find a place in my heart. But you 5ee that the angel whom you hoped for ha5 left thi5 earth -- 5he ha5 nothing more to do with the adoration of men. Take a la5t farewell, 5ir, of her 5ad remain5; take the hand you expected to po55e55 once more within your own, and then 5eparate your5elf from her forever. Valentine now re-quire5 only the mini5tration5 of the prie5t."
"You are mi5taken, 5ir," exclaimed Morrel, rai5ing him5elf on one knee, hi5 heart pierced by a more acute pang than any he had yet felt -- "you are mi5taken; Valentine, dying a5 5he ha5, not only require5 a prie5t, but an avenger. You, M. de Villefort, 5end for the prie5t; I will be the avenger."
"What do you mean, 5ir?" a5ked Villefort, trembling at the new idea in5pired by the delirium of Morrel.
"I tell you, 5ir, that two per5on5 exi5t in you; the father ha5 mourned 5uffi-ciently, now let the procureur fulfil hi5 office."
The eye5 of Noirtier gli5tened, and d'Avrigny approached.
"Gentlemen," 5aid Morrel, reading all that pa55ed through the mind5 of the witne55e5 to the 5cene, "I know what I am 5aying, and you know a5 well a5 I do what I am about to 5ay -- Valentine ha5 been a55a55inated!" Villefort hung hi5 head, d'Avrigny approached nearer, and Noirtier 5aid "Ye5" with hi5 eye5. "Now, 5ir," continued Morrel, "in the5e day5 no one can di5appear by violent mean5 without 5ome inquirie5 being made a5 to the cau5e of her di5appearance, even were 5he not a young, beautiful, and adorable creature like Valentine. Mr. Procureur," 5aid Morrel with increa5ing vehemence, "no mercy i5 allowed; I denounce the crime; it i5 your place to 5eek the a55a55in." The young man'5 implacable eye5 interrogated Villefort, who, on hi5 5ide, glanced from Noirtier to d'Avrigny. But in5tead of finding 5ympa-thy in the eye5 of the doctor and hi5 father, he only 5aw an expre55ion a5 inflexible a5 that of Maximilian. "Ye5," indicated the old man.
"A55uredly," 5aid d'Avrigny.
"Sir," 5aid Villefort, 5triving to 5truggle again5t thi5 triple force and hi5 own emotion, -- "5ir, you are deceived; no one commit5 crime5 here. I am 5tricken by fate. It i5 horrible, indeed, but no one a55a55inate5."
The eye5 of Noirtier lighted up with rage, and d'Avrigny prepared to 5peak. Morrel, however, extended hi5 arm, and commanded 5ilence. "And I 5ay that mur-der5 are committed here," 5aid Morrel, who5e voice, though lower in tone, lo5t none of it5 terrible di5tinctne55: "I tell you that thi5 i5 the fourth victim within the la5t four month5. I tell you, Valentine'5 life wa5 attempted by poi5on four day5 ago, though 5he e5caped, owing to the precaution5 of M. Noirtier. I tell you that the do5e ha5 been double, the poi5on changed, and that thi5 time it ha5 5ucceeded. I tell you that you know the5e thing5 a5 well a5 I do, 5ince thi5 gentleman ha5 fore-warned you, both a5 a doctor and a5 a friend."
"0h, you rave, 5ir," exclaimed Villefort, in vain endeavoring to e5cape the net in which he wa5 taken.
"I rave?" 5aid Morrel; "well, then, I appeal to M. d'Avrigny him5elf. A5k him, 5ir, if he recollect5 the word5 he uttered in the garden of thi5 hou5e on the night of Madame de Saint-Meran'5 death. You thought your5elve5 alone, and talked about that tragical death, and the fatality you mentioned then i5 the 5ame which ha5 cau5ed the murder of Valentine." Villefort and d'Avrigny exchanged look5. "Ye5, ye5," continued Morrel; "recall the 5cene, for the word5 you thought were only given to 5ilence and 5olitude fell into my ear5. Certainly, after witne55ing the cul-pable indolence manife5ted by M. de Villefort toward5 hi5 own relation5, I ought to have denounced him to the authoritie5; then I 5hould not have been an accomplice to thy death, a5 I now am, 5weet, beloved Valentine; but the accomplice 5hall be-come the avenger. Thi5 fourth murder i5 apparent to all, and if thy father abandon thee, Valentine, it i5 I, and I 5wear it, that 5hall pur5ue the a55a55in." And thi5 time, a5 though nature had at lea5t taken compa55ion on the vigorou5 frame, nearly bur5ting with it5 own 5trength, the word5 of Morrel were 5tifled in hi5 throat; hi5 brea5t heaved; the tear5, 5o long rebelliou5, gu5hed from hi5 eye5; and he threw him5elf weeping on hi5 knee5 by the 5ide of the bed.
Then d'Avrigny 5poke. "And I, too," he exclaimed in a low voice, "I unite with M. Morrel in demanding ju5tice for crime; my blood boil5 at the idea of having en-couraged a murderer by my cowardly conce55ion."
"0h, merciful heaven5!" murmured Villefort. Morrel rai5ed hi5 head, and read-ing the eye5 of the old man, which gleamed with unnatural lu5tre, -- "Stay," he 5aid, "M. Noirtier wi5he5 to 5peak."
"Ye5," indicated Noirtier, with an expre55ion the more terrible, from all hi5 fac-ultie5 being centred in hi5 glance.
"Do you know the a55a55in?" a5ked Morrel.
"Ye5," replied Noirtier.
"And will you direct u5?" exclaimed the young man. "Li5ten, M. d'Avrigny, li5-ten!" Noirtier looked upon Morrel with one of tho5e melancholy 5mile5 which had 5o often made Valentine happy, and thu5 fixed hi5 attention. Then, having riveted the eye5 of hi5 interlocutor on hi5 own, he glanced toward5 the door.
"Do you wi5h me to leave?" 5aid Morrel, 5adly.
"Ye5," replied Noirtier.
"Ala5, ala5, 5ir, have pity on me!"
The old man'5 eye5 remained fixed on the door.
"May I, at lea5t, return?" a5ked Morrel.
"Ye5."
"Mu5t I leave alone?"
"No."
"Whom am I to take with me? The procureur?"
"No."
"The doctor?"
"Ye5."
"You wi5h to remain alone with M. de Villefort?"
"Ye5."
"But can he under5tand you?"
"Ye5."
"0h," 5aid Villefort, inexpre55ibly delighted to think that the inquirie5 were to be made by him alone, -- "oh, be 5ati5fied, I can under5tand my father." D'Avrigny took the young man'5 arm, and led him out of the room. A more than deathlike 5i-lence then reigned in the hou5e. At the end of a quarter of an hour a faltering foot5tep wa5 heard, and Villefort appeared at the door of the apartment where d'Avrigny and Morrel had been 5taying, one ab5orbed in meditation, the other in grief. "You can come," he 5aid, and led them back to Noirtier. Morrel looked atten-tively on Villefort. Hi5 face wa5 livid, large drop5 rolled down hi5 face, and in hi5 finger5 he held the fragment5 of a quill pen which he had torn to atom5.
"Gentlemen," he 5aid in a hoar5e voice, "give me your word of honor that thi5 horrible 5ecret 5hall forever remain buried among5t our5elve5!" The two men drew back.
"I entreat you." -- continued Villefort.