Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1921-04-16


was a man Of the .worid-educated
cynical.
One night he heard a cry of anguish
Hurriedly he rolled aside the great
stone that concealed the tunnel open
inc, crawled swiftly to his neighbours
cell He found him writing in agony.
AT dawn he was dead.
That night Edmond carried the
corpse to his own cell and laid it on
his own bed face TO the wall. so that
the iailer would think it Edmond
asleep Secreting a crude knife with
which to effect an escape. he Their
sewed himself into the coarse sack liz
/ whicD the ialers had put the body
/ Two men later bore out the supposed
/ corpse. weighted the legs with a great
iron bah. and swung the sack power
/ fully Edmond suddenly realized that
lie was falling from a great height. He
had been flung from the chateau roof
/ into the sea.
He screamed aloud as he struck the
water and then the weight dragged him
into the ice-cold depths He ripped
/ open the sack. convulsively cut the
rope that was knotted TO the shot, and
rose to the surface He had not for
gotten how TO swim. He struck out
4 IN the hlackncss for an islet Just as
he was losing hope. his knee struck
rock. He staggered to his feet and
above him rose a gloomy mass, his
goal.
At daybreak he flung himself into
the sen and was pulled aboard an out
ward-bound bark. Each moment Mar
settles receded further into the dis
lance He learned from his shipmates
that if was f hruary 2S, 1929 He had
/ been shut away from the world for IA
years He wondered what had become
of Mercedes. Then he thought of
Danglars. Fernand and ViHefort. a
baleful light flickerad In his hard eyes
Edmond had fallen in with a band
of smugglers On one of their voy-
ages, he gazed eagerly at a granite
mass rOse-hued in the dawn. 1t was
Monte Cristo. A few weeks later
.
None of his comrades suspected the
/ leaping thoughts THAI thronged I'm Ed
mond'S mind. They were simple folk
easily deceived. Edmond fell from
rock and complained that he was SC
hurt that he could not move He was
confident, he insisted, that he tould
cure himself If he were left here. Al
last they sailed away, When the boat
was out Of sight, he leaped 10 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 veg
citation. He slashed at the edges with
his picl5ax and made a hole. With his
horn Of powder, he easily blasted the
rock away. Before him was an iron
ring embedded in a fagstone. He
raised it and saw a flight of stairs
With hope mingled with a strange mis-
giving he descended, broke open .
passage into an inner cave, and dua
away the earth over an oak Golfer
bound with iron. He burst it open
and there bazed gold coins. bars Of
gold diamonds, rubies and pearls that
glitfered in glorious prolusion
When Edmond came hack TO France
it was as the count Of Monte Cristo-
fabulously wealthy, romantic in ap
pearancp, performer of miracles His
betrayers had risen to heights Of fame
and afTluence Dauelars was q
wealthy banker: Fenaud nm honoreC
warrior: ViHcfort high in office. Mer
cedes. believing Edmond dead, hae
yielded to Fernand's importunatt
pleadings and had married him
Zeaiously did the count Of Monte
Cristo devote his days and nights Il
ruin these three. Usually It was IN
his own unrecognized personality tina
he lazzled Paris with his feasts. hi
extravagances. his prodigal OUTLAWS
Everyone paid court to this mysteri
Gus stranger who rained gold about
him. Sometimes he disguised himself
now as the Able Busoni, now as the
italian Zazzone. now as the Enelisl
Lord Wimore, now as slnhad the
sailor
re tortured Danglars Fenand
Vilefort. methodically and yet 50
skHfuny that they did not know the
hand that directed the blows that fell
upon them Piece by piece DaugIars
fortune was Topped away At last M
was beggared. the btterest blow that
could have bcfaren him Fenald. en
meshed slowly in revelations OF his
guilty past finally New out his brains
ViHefort. his crimes dragged into the
light Of day. went ravlug mad Mer
cedes. made poor but happy IN the
love Of her devoted son, lived ou, pen
itent
Yet were there those whom Monte
! Cristo rewarded The mobile Marrt
/ his former employer was saved from
bankruptcy by mysterious English
man who presented him with notes Dec
could not meet And on the dninhah.t
"a island of Monte Cr'ea Morra'e
son true ard tried SIS hf- father
. learned that EiHeear' daughter the