“But beneath my fingers, as if by magic, in proportion as the fire ascended, I saw yellowish characters appear on the paper. I grasped it in my hand, put out the flame as quickly as I could, lighted my taper in the fire itself, and opened the crumpled paper with inexpressible emotion, recognizing, when I had done so, that these characters had been traced in mysterious and sympathetic ink, only appearing when exposed to the fire; nearly one-third of the paper had been consumed by the flame. It was that paper you read this morning; read it again, Dantes, and then I will complete for you the incomplete words and unconnected sense.”
Faria, with an air of triumph, offered the paper to Dantes, who this time read the following words, traced with an ink of a reddish color resembling rust: —
“This 25th day of April, 1498, be… Alexander VI., and fearing that not… he may desire to become my heir, and re… and Bentivoglio, who were poisoned,… my sole heir, that I have bu… and has visited with me, that is, in… Island of Monte Cristo, all I poss… jewels, diamonds, gems; that I alone… may amount to nearly two mil… will find on raising the twentieth ro… creek to the east in a right line. Two open… in these caves; the treasure is in the furthest a… which treasure I bequeath and leave en… as my sole heir. “25th April, 1498. “Caes…
“And now,” said the abbe, “read this other paper;” and he presented to Dantes a second leaf with fragments of lines written on it, which Edmond read as follows: —
“…ing invited to dine by his Holiness
…content with making me pay for my hat,
…serves for me the fate of Cardinals Caprara
…I declare to my nephew, Guido Spada
…ried in a place he knows
…the caves of the small
…essed of ingots, gold, money,
…know of the existence of this treasure, which
…lions of Roman crowns, and which he
…ck from the small
…ings have been made
…ngle in the second;
…tire to him
…ar Spada.”
Faria followed him with an excited look. “and now,” he said, when he saw that Dantes had read the last line, “put the two fragments together, and judge for yourself.” Dantes obeyed, and the conjointed pieces gave the following: —
“This 25th day of April, 1498, be…ing invited to dine by his Holiness Alexander VI., and fearing that not…content with making me pay for my hat, he may desire to become my heir, and re…serves for me the fate of Cardinals Caprara and Bentivoglio, who were poisoned…I declare to my nephew, Guido Spada, my sole heir, that I have bu…ried in a place he knows and has visited with me, that is, in…the caves of the small Island of Monte Cristo all I poss…ssed of ingots, gold, money, jewels, diamonds, gems; that I alone…know of the existence of this treasure, which may amount to nearly two mil…lions of Roman crowns, and which he will find on raising the twentieth ro…ck from the small creek to the east in a right line. Two open…ings have been made in these caves; the treasure is in the furthest a…ngle in the second; which treasure I bequeath and leave en…tire to him as my sole heir. “25th April, 1498. “Caes…ar Spada.”
“Well, do you comprehend now?” inquired Faria.
“It is the declaration of Cardinal Spada, and the will so long sought for,” replied Edmond, still incredulous.
“Yes; a thousand times, yes!”
“And who completed it as it now is?”
“I did. Aided by the remaining fragment, I guessed the rest; measuring the length of the lines by those of the paper, and divining the hidden meaning by means of what was in part revealed, as we are guided in a cavern by the small ray of light above us.”
“And what did you do when you arrived at this conclusion?”
“I resolved to set out, and did set out at that very instant, carrying with me the beginning of my great work, the unity of the Italian kingdom; but for some time the imperial police (who at this period, quite contrary to what Napoleon desired so soon as he had a son born to him, wished for a partition of provinces) had their eyes on me; and my hasty departure, the cause of which they were unable to guess, having aroused their suspicions, I was arrested at the very moment I was leaving Piombino.