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"That is not all, however," continued Peppino, after a slight pause to note the effect of his communication upon his auditor, "nor is it the worst! The unfortunate Viscount, upon being ignominiously expelled from the Palazzo Massetti by the old Count's orders, immediately lost his senses; he is now a raving maniac!" "Mon Dieu!
Morrel, of whose heroic exploit in the Colosseum and subsequent devotion to my son in his hour of mental darkness I have heard." Maximilian again bowed profoundly. Advancing to the Count of Monte-Cristo the elder Massetti said: "Now, your Excellency, it is your turn. Your name and deeds have long been familiar to me, but to whom are they not familiar!
When he concluded his narrative and quitted the witness stand he and Vampa exchanged glances of bitter and vindictive hate, and it required all the strength of the policemen in charge of the prisoner to keep him from leaping from the dock and attempting to take summary vengeance upon the fearless and outspoken witness. The Viscount Massetti now took the stand.
She looked at Monte-Cristo doubtingly and then at Mme. de Rancogne, who was smiling upon her encouragingly. "As God is my judge," said she, solemnly, "I believe Giovanni Massetti to have been my abductor!" "Of course," returned Monte-Cristo, "but you are in error!" "I saw his face! Surely I ought to have been able to recognize that!"
In pursuit of his plan Monte-Cristo at once communicated with Mme. de Rancogne at the Refuge in Civita Vecchia, begging her to bring Annunziata to Rome without an instant's delay. She promptly responded by appearing at the Hôtel de France with her protégée and the Count arranged an interview between the latter and young Massetti in his salon.
"Hush!" returned the latter, in a guarded undertone. "Do not betray yourself! She will never recognize us, disguised as we are! Besides, our guide's suspicions must not be aroused! He might yet refuse us shelter!" "You are right, as you always are," answered Massetti. "We must maintain our incognito, at least until we are sure of our ground."
The health of the Viscount Massetti and his charming bride was drunk thousands of times amid acclamations of delight, but throughout the whole colossal assemblage perfect order was preserved, the military police on duty finding their occupation a sinecure. Immediately in front of the Palazzo Massetti a triumphal arch had been erected.
He seemed to be their chief. He expressed pity for me, and told me that my abductor was not a peasant, but a young Roman nobleman, the Viscount Giovanni Massetti. I cared nothing for this revelation. I had no thought of vengeance; my sole desire was to hide myself from the gaze of the world, to avoid the pitiless finger of scorn. Eventually the bandit chief took me back to my home.
She repeated her sad story precisely as she had done before, entirely exonerating the bandit chief and throwing the whole weight of the crime upon the shoulders of the Viscount Massetti. This was the reverse of what the audience had expected and the murmur of surprise was universal. The prisoner glanced at Monte-Cristo and Massetti with a radiant look of triumph.
At last, steadying and controlling himself by a supreme effort, he read the missive from which he had feared such terrible consequences. Pasquale Solara's daughter, Annunziata, was abducted, from her father's peasant-home by Giovanni Massetti, known as the Viscount Massetti, who is, no doubt, the person to whom you allude as now in Paris, for he has disappeared from Rome.
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