The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1921-04-15

jerked from the gayety Of a marriage
feast 70 the gloom Of n dungeon he
was a man Of the wOnd-edueated.
cynical. gaE
One night he heard a cry OF anguish
Hurriedly he rolled aside the grea'
stone that concealed the tunnel open
Ing. crawled swiftly 20 his neighbors
cell. He found him writing In agony.
At dawn he was dead
That night Edmond carried the
corpse 20 his own cell and laid II on
his own bed, fnce 20 the wall. so that
the jailer would think IL Edmond
asleep. Secreting a crude knife with
which to effect an escape, he then
sewed himself into the coarse sack In
which the jailers had put the body.
Two men later bore out the supposed
corpse, weighted the legs with a great
iron ball, and swung the sack power
fully. Edmond suddenly realized that
he was falling from 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
omen 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 ous
In the blackness for an islet. Just as
he was losing hope, his knee struck
rock. He staggered TO his feet and
above him rose gloomy mass, his
goal.
At daybreak he flung himself into
the sea 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 It was February %, 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 Villefort. A
baleful light fiickered in his hard eyes.
Edmond had fallen in with band
of smugglers. On one Of their voy-
ages, 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
leaping thoughts that thronged In Ed
mond's 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
confident, 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 veg
citation. 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 1t and saw flight Of stairs.
With hope mingled with strange mis-
giving, he descended, broke open a
passage into an inner cave, and dug
away the earth over an oak Golfer
bound with iron. He burst 1t open
and there blazed gold coins, bars of
gold, diamonds, rubies and pearls that
glittered in glorious profusiGn.
When Edmond came back to France,
1t was as the count of Monte Cristo-
fabulously wealthy, romantic in APP
! pearance. performer of miracles. His
| betrayers had risen to heights of fame
and affluence. Danglars was a
wealthy banker; Fernand an honorec
| warrior; Villefort high in Office. Mer
cedes. believing Edmond dead, hat
yielded to Fernand's importunatt
pleadings and had married HIN.
| Zealously did the count of Monte
Crlsto devote his days and nights tt
ruin these three. Usually 1t was II
. his own unrecognized personality tina
he dazzled Paris with his feasts, hi
extravagances, his prodigal OUTLAWS
, Everyone paid court to this mysterl
GUS stranger who rained gold abou
him. Sometimes he disguised himsel
, now as the Able Busoni, now as tn
, Italian Zazzone, now as the Englis
[ Lord Wilmore, now as Slnbad tn
! sailor.
He tortured Danglars. Fernant
villefort, methodically and yet 9
skilfully that they did not know tn
I hand that directed the blows that fe
d upon them. Piece by piece Danglar
:. fortune was Topped away. At last h
!, was beggared. the bitterest blow tbs
n could have befallen him. Fernald, Ell
s meshed slowly in revelations of HI
4 guilty past, finally blew out his brains
:. villefort, his crimes dragged into tn
n light Of day, went raving mad. Me
Is cedes, made poor, but happy In II
4. love Of her devoted son, lived on. PEI
n itent.
D Yet were there those whom Mon
Cristo rewarded. The noble More
r his former employer, was saved fro
Ell bankruptcy by a mysterious Englis
,e man who presented him with notes