Fifteen

THE ISLAND OF TIBOULEN

Dantes was wise enough not to fight for air: he kept his mouth shut. In his right hand he still held the knife. He quickly cut open the bag, got his arm out, and then his body. But he could not free himself from the stone; it was pulling him down and down. Then he reached down and cut the stone free, just as he felt that he was at the end of his strength. He rose quickly to the top of the water, while the stone bore down to the bottom of the sea the bag which had almost become his grave-cloth indeed.

Dantes drew in the night air. Then he began to swim under the water so that he might not be seen.

When he came up a second time he was nearly a hundred yards from the place where he had first touched the sea. He saw above him a black and stormy sky over which the wind was driving the hurrying clouds. In front of him lay the great ocean, black, fearful. Behind him, blacker than the sea, blacker than the sky, rose the Chateau d'If, like a giant of stone, its rocks, like arms held out to seize him; and, on the highest rock, was a lamp that lighted the forms of two men. He thought that they were looking at the sea; perhaps they had heard his cry. Dantes went down again under the water and remained there a long time. This was easy to him; he had often gathered a crowd of onlookers in the bay at Marseilles by such swimming, and people had often said that Dantes was the best swimmer in the place.

When he came up again, the light had gone.

It was necessary to swim out to sea. Ratonneau and Pomegues are the nearest islands of all those lying round Chateau d'If. But there were people living on them; so also on the Island of Daume. Tiboulen or Maire would be the safest. They were about three miles from Chateau d'If, but Dantes decided to swim towards them. In the distance he could see a light; that would be Planier. If he kept this light on his right, Tiboulen would be a little to his left.

As he began to swim he found that prison had taken away nothing of his strength; he was still master of the water in which he had so often played as a boy.

Fear still followed behind him. Every wave seemed to be a boat coming after him. He tried to go faster, so as to get farther away from Chateau d'If; but this tired him. He continued more quietly. Now the prison was hidden in the darkness: he could no longer see it, but he felt that it was there. An hour passed, and still he continued to swim.

"Let me see," he said; "I have been going for more than an hour. The wind is against me; so that has kept me back a little. Yet, if I have not made a mistake, I must be close to the Island of Tiboulen. But, if I am mistaken? I will swim on until I have no strength left, and then I shall go down, and that will finish it."

Suddenly the sky seemed to become darker; the heavy clouds seemed lower. Then he felt a sudden pain in his knee. He thought it might be a shot; but he had heard nothing. He put down his feet, and felt the land! And then he knew what it was that had seemed to him like a low dark cloud; before him rose a mass of strangely-formed rocks, shaped just like a great fire turned to stone; it was the Island of Tiboulen.

Dantes rose, and went forward a few steps. He said a prayer of thanks to God; then he lay down on the stones, which were softer to him than the softest bed. The wind and the rain were as nothing to him: he fell into the deep sweet sleep of those who are completely tired out.

At the end of an hour the storm awoke Edmond. The noise was fearful. Dantes had made no mistake; he had reached the first of the two islands, which was Tiboulen. He knew that there was no house on it, no place in which he could hide from the storm. But, when the sea was quiet again, he meant to swim to Maire. Maire also was desert, but it was larger, and so a better hiding-place.

Edmond lay under an overhanging rock while the storm continued. So fearful were the waves that they seemed as if they would break the island to pieces, or pull it up from the bottom and carry it off, like a ship, into the middle of the ocean.

He remembered that he had not eaten or drunk anything for twenty-four hour. He held out his hands and caught the rain-water and drank it.

Then suddenly, in the light of the storm, he saw a fishing-boat being driven on to the rocks by the force of the wind and the waves. A minute later he saw it again, nearer. Dantes shouted at the top of his voice to tell them of their danger; but they saw it for themselves. Then he saw five men holding on to the boat. They saw him, no doubt, for their cries were carried to him by the wind. Then there was a fearful sound, followed by cries of fear and pain. The boat was in pieces; the seamen were in the water. Dantes ran down to the rocks, in no small danger of being killed himself. He listened; but he heard and saw nothing. All cries had stopped. The storm continued.

At last the wind died down. Great grey clouds moved towards the west. The sky was seen, jewelled with bright stars. A red line appeared at the edge of the sea; the waves became white; a light played over them and touched their heads with gold. It was day.

Dantes stood, silently watching this wonderful sight, for, since he had been in prison, he had forgotten it. He turned towards the Chateau d'If, and looked at the sea and the land. The solemn mass of it rose from out of the waves, as a king among his people: it seemed to watch, and to command.

The time was now five; the sea continued to become quieter.

"In two or three hours," thought Dantes, "the keeper will enter my room, find the body of my poor friend, know it for what it is, look for me, but not find me, call for help. Then the underground way will be discovered. The men who threw me into the sea, and who must have heard my cry, will be questioned. Boats filled with soldiers will be sent out after the escaped prisoner. The great bell will sound, and all will be on the look-out for a man wandering about without clothes, trying to find food. Soldiers will be on the watch in Marseilles, while the Governor seeks for me on the sea. I am cold; I am hungry. I have lost even the knife which saved my life. Oh, my God, I have suffered enough, surely. Look upon me, and do for me what I am unable to do for myself."

As Dantes said this prayer (his eyes being turned towards the Chateau d'If) he saw a little ship appear at the end of the Island of Pomegues. The eye of the seaman saw that this ship was going to Italy. It was coming out from Marseilles and was moving quickly out to sea.

"Oh," cried Edmond, "to think that in half an hour I could join that ship, if I did not fear being questioned, discovered, and taken back to Marseilles. What can I do? What story can I tell them? I cannot wait, for I must have food.—I can pass as one of the seamen on the boat which was destroyed last night! That story will be believed, for there is no one left to say that it is not true."

As he spoke Dantes looked towards the place where the fishing-boat had run on to the rocks. The red cap of one of the sailors was hanging on a point of the rock, and some pieces of the boat lay at the foot.

Dantes' plan was formed. He set out to swim to the rock. There he seized the cap and put it on his head. Then he took one of the pieces of the boat, and set out in such a way as to cross the course of the ship.

"I am saved," he said; and this brought him strength.

He saw that this ship, like most ships which are going to Italy, wished to pass between the islands of Jarros and Caleseragne.

It drew near to him. He rose up on the waves and shouted and waved his hand. No one noticed him, and the ship seemed to be turning away from him.

It was then that he was glad he had brought the piece of wood, for without it he might have been unable to reach the ship, and he would certainly have been unable to get back to the shore if he did not make them see him.

The ship was again coming towards him. He half rose out of the water, waving his cap and shouting loudly.

This time he was both seen and heard. The ship turned towards him, and a boat was let down.

Soon after this a boat, with two men in it, came quickly towards him. Dantes now left the piece of wood and began to swim to meet it. But his strength was less than he had thought. There was no power in his arms, and his legs would not move. He gave a cry. The men in the boat hurried, and one of them cried out, "Keep up! We are coming!

The words reached his ear as a wave passed over him. He came up again, and gave another cry. Then he felt himself go down as if the stone were still tied to his feet.

The water passed over his head. The sky seemed to be red. Then someone seized him by the hair and pulled him up. And after that he saw and heard nothing.

When Dantes opened his eyes he found that he was on board the ship. The first thing he did was to look and see where the ship was going. They were quickly leaving Chateau d'If behind. He gave a weak cry of joy.

A seaman was rubbing his arms and legs with a dry cloth. Another held a cup of liquid to his mouth: it was the man who had called "Keep up." A third man, an old seaman, captain of the ship, stood looking on.

The liquid seemed to give Dantes strength.

"Who are you?" said the Captain.

"I am from Malta," said Dantes. "We were coming from Syracuse, carrying a load of grain. The storm of last night came on us at Cape Morgen, and our ship was destroyed on those rocks."

"Where have you come from?

"From those rocks. I reached them and held on there while our captain and all the others were lost. I was afraid of being left on a desert island to die. So, when I saw your ship, I came on a broken piece of our boat to try to reach you. You have saved my life, and I thank you," continued Dantes. "I was lost, when one of your men caught hold of my hair."

"It was I," said a big, nice-looking fellow; "and it was time, for you were going down."

"Yes," replied Dantes, holding out his hand. "I thank you again."

"But I had some doubt about it," said the seaman. "You looked more like a thief than a good seaman, with your beard six inches, and your hair a foot, long."

Dantes remembered that his hair and his beard had not been cut all the time he had been at Chateau d'If.

"Yes," said Dantes. "At a time of great danger I said that, if I were saved, I would not cut my hair for a number of years. The time is finished today."

"Now what are we to do with you?" said the Captain.

"Anything you like. My captain is dead, and I have only just escaped with my life. But I am a good seaman. Leave me at the first place you stop at: I shall easily find work."

"Do you know these seas?"

"I have sailed them ever since I was a child. I know every cape and bay on the coast of France and Italy."

"I say, Captain," said the man who had shouted 'Keep up,' "if what he says is true, why should he not stay with us?"

"If what he says is true," said the Captain, doubting. "But in his present condition he will promise anything, and take his chance of keeping his promise after."

"I will do more than I promise," said Dantes.

"We shall see," replied the other with a laugh.

"Where are you going?" asked Dantes.

"To Leghorn."

"Then why do you not sail nearer in to the wind?"

"Because we should run straight on to the Island of Riou."

"You would miss it by a hundred feet."

"You shall do it then."

Dantes gave a quick order. The sails were changed. The ship changed its course. It seemed to feel the hand of a master guiding it. A dancing stream of sea-water, white as snow, hurried past her sides. The Captain stood watching.

For a minute fear entered his heart, and then the ship passed the island, leaving it, as Dantes had said, just a hundred feet away on the right.

"Good!" said the Captain.

"Well done!" cried the men.

They all looked with wonder at the strength and power of this man, who, only an hour before, had been lying as if dead at their feet.

"You see," said Dantes, coming forward again, "I shall at least be of some use to you during the journey. If you do not want me at Leghorn, you can leave me there, and I will pay you, out of the first money I get, for my food and the clothes which you give me"

"Oh," said the Captain. "I'll pay you—if you don't ask too much."

"Pay me what you pay the others," replied Dantes.

"That's not fair," said the seaman who had saved Dantes, "for you know more than we do."

"What is that to you, Jacopo?" answered the Captain. "Everyone is free to ask what he likes."

"That's true," replied Jacopo. "I only said what I thought."

"Well, you would do much better if you would give him some clothes to wear."

"I can do that," said Jacopo, and he soon returned with the clothing which Edmond wanted.

"Now, do you want anything else?" said the Captain.

"Some bread, and something to drink. I have not eaten nor drunk for a long time."

He had not tasted food for forty-eight hours.

A piece of bread was brought and a glass.

The deep sound of a bell rang across the waters.

"Hey! What's that!" cried the Captain.

Dantes turned his head as he raised the glass to his mouth.

"What does that mean?" said the Captain.

"A prisoner has escaped from the Chateau d'If," replied Dantes.

The Captain looked at him; but he had lifted the glass and was drinking as if he cared nothing about the matter; and the Captain's fears, if he had any, died away.

"Well, even if it is," said the Captain to himself, "he'll be of great use to us."

Dantes sat down beside Jacopo.

"What day of the month is it?" he asked ...  "In what year? ... "

"Did you ask what year?" said Jacopo.

"Yes."

A sad look passed over Edmond's face. Was his father alive still? What had happened to Mercedes? Did she believe him dead? Had she ... ?

With every sail set the little ship was flying on, away from Marseilles, to Leghorn.