The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1919-08-28

he gazed eagerly at granite mass
rose-hued in the dawn. 1t was Monte
Cristo. A few weeks later chance
brought him to the island. None of
his comrades suspected the leapipg
thoughts that thronged in Edmonds
mind. They were simple folk, easily
deceived. Edmond fell from a rock
and complained that he was SO hurt
that he could not move. He was conf
dent, he insisted that he could cure
himself If he were left here. At last
they sailed away. When the boat was
out of sight, he leaped to his feet,
seized his pickax, and cried open,
Sesame!" He was alone on Monte
Cristo.
. Following the clues Of the Abbe's
ancient manuscript. he located the
great slab Of rock, overgrown with
vegetation. He slashed at the edges
with his pickax and made hole. With
his horn of powder, he easily blasted
the rock away. Before him was an
iron ring embedded in flagstone. He
| raised it and saw a flight of stairs.
With hope mingled with strange mis-
giving, he descended, broke open
passage into an inner cave, and dug
away the earth over an oak Golfer
bound with iron. He burst it open and
there blazed gold coins, bars of gold,
diamonds, rubies and pearls that gilt
! tered in glorious profusion.
! When Edmond came back to France.
it was as the Count of Monte Cristo,
-fabulously wealthy, romantic in ap
pearance, a performer of miracles. His
betrayers had risen to heights of fame
and affluence. Danglars was wealthy
banker; Fernand an honored warrior;
Villefort high in office. Mercedes, be-
lieving Edmond dead, had yielded to
| Fernand's importune pleadings and
had married him.
| Zealously did the Count of Monte
Cristo devote his days and nights to
ruin these three. Usually it was in
his own unrecognized personality that
he dazzled Paris with his feasts, his
extravagances, his prodigal outlays.
Everyone paid court to this mysterious
stranger who rained gold about him.
Sometimes he disguised himself,-noW
as the Able Busoni, now as the Italian
Zazzone, now as the English Lord Will
more, now as Sinbad, the Sailor.
He tortured Danglars, Fernand,
Villefort, methodically and yet 50
skilfuly that they did not know the
hand that directed the blows that fell
upon them. Piece by piece Danglars' S
fortune was Topped away. At last lie
was beggared. the bitterest blow that
could have befallen him. Fernand, en-,
meshed slowly in revelations of his
guilty past, finally blew out his
brains; Villefort. his crimes dragged
into the light of day, went raving mad
Mercedes, made poor but happy in the
love of her devoted son, lived on
penitent.
Yet were there those whom Monte
Cristo rewarded. The noble Morrel
his former employer, who saved from
bankruptcy by a mysterious English
man who presented him with notes he
> could not meet. And on the uninhabit
ed island of Monte Cristo, Morrel:
son, true and tried as his father
learned that Villefort's daughter, the
girl who had remained fine through
all vicissitudes, still lived. She stoot
beside him on the pinnacle of the is
land and they looked with blurred eye!
into the distance, where each momen
, ship grew fainter and fainter. !
was bearing from their sight the mai
who had once been Edmond. Dantes
With him was the radiant Haydee, th'
mysterious princess whose beauty ha'
=. outshone all the beauties of Paris. II
her love Edmond had at last forgotten
all that he did not now want t.
remember.
. Copyright. 1919, by the Post Publish
Ing Co. tThe Boston PosO. Copyrigh
, in the United Kingdom. the Domnions
, its Colonies and dependencies. unde
. . the copyright act, blythe Post Publish
ing Co, Boston. Mass, U. s. A. AL
rights reserved.
l published by special arrangement
, with the Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate
All rights reserved)
:; Henry Esmond," by Thackeray
= will be printed tomorrow.