第209章

"`Oh,' returned she, `it was a gift of heaven.My husband was a great friend, in 1814 or 1815, of a sailor named Edmond Dantes.This poor fellow, whom Caderousse had forgotten, had not forgotten him, and at his death he bequeathed this diamond to him.' -- `But how did he obtain it?' asked the jeweller; `had he it before he was imprisoned?' -- `No, monsieur; but it appears that in prison he made the acquaintance of a rich Englishman, and as in prison he fell sick, and Dantes took the same care of him as if he had been his brother, the Englishman, when he was set free, gave this stone to Dantes, who, less fortunate, died, and, in his turn, left it to us, and charged the excellent abbe, who was here this morning, to deliver it.' -- `The same story,' muttered the jeweller; `and improbable as it seemed at first, it may be true.There's only the price we are not agreed about.' -- `How not agreed about?' said Caderousse.`I thought we agreed for the price I asked.' --`That is,' replied the jeweller, `I offered 40,000 francs.'

-- `Forty thousand,' cried La Carconte; `we will not part with it for that sum.The abbe told us it was worth 50,000without the setting.'

"`What was the abbe's name?' asked the indefatigable questioner.-- `The Abbe Busoni,' said La Carconte.-- `He was a foreigner?' -- `An Italian, from the neighborhood of Mantua, I believe.' -- `Let me see this diamond again,'

replied the jeweller; `the first time you are often mistaken as to the value of a stone.' Caderousse took from his pocket a small case of black shagreen, opened, and gave it to the jeweller.At the sight of the diamond, which was as large as a hazel-nut, La Carconte's eyes sparkled with cupidity.""And what did you think of this fine story, eavesdropper?"said Monte Cristo; "did you credit it?"

"Yes, your excellency.I did not look on Caderousse as a bad man, and I thought him incapable of committing a crime, or even a theft.""That did more honor to your heart than to your experience, M.Bertuccio.Had you known this Edmond Dantes, of whom they spoke?""No, your excellency, I had never heard of him before, and never but once afterwards, and that was from the Abbe Busoni himself, when I saw him in the prison at Nimes.""Go on."

"The jeweller took the ring, and drawing from his pocket a pair of steel pliers and a small set of copper scales, he took the stone out of its setting, and weighed it carefully.

`I will give you 45,000,' said he, `but not a sou more;besides, as that is the exact value of the stone, I brought just that sum with me.' -- `Oh, that's no matter,' replied Caderousse, `I will go back with you to fetch the other 5,000 francs.' -- `No,' returned the jeweller, giving back the diamond and the ring to Caderousse -- `no, it is worth no more, and I am sorry I offered so much, for the stone has a flaw in it, which I had not seen.However, I will not go back on my word, and I will give 45,000.' -- `At least, replace the diamond in the ring,' said La Carconte sharply.

-- `Ah, true,' replied the jeweller, and he reset the stone.

-- `No matter,' observed Caderousse, replacing the box in his pocket, `some one else will purchase it.' -- `Yes,'

continued the jeweller; `but some one else will not be so easy as I am, or content himself with the same story.It is not natural that a man like you should possess such a diamond.He will inform against you.You will have to find the Abbe Busoni; and abbes who give diamonds worth two thousand louis are rare.The law would seize it, and put you in prison; if at the end of three or four months you are set at liberty, the ring will be lost, or a false stone, worth three francs, will be given you, instead of a diamond worth 50,000 or perhaps 55,000 francs; from which you must allow that one runs considerable risk in purchasing.' Caderousse and his wife looked eagerly at each other.-- `No,' said Caderousse, `we are not rich enough to lose 5,000 francs.'

-- `As you please, my dear sir,' said the, jeweller; `I had, however, as you see, brought you the money in bright coin.'

And he drew from his pocket a handful of gold, and held it sparkling before the dazzled eyes of the innkeeper, and in the other hand he held a packet of bank-notes.

"There was evidently a severe struggle in the mind of Caderousse; it was plain that the small shagreen case, which he turned over and over in his hand, did not seem to him commensurate in value to the enormous sum which fascinated his gaze.He turned towards his wife.`What do you think of this?' he asked in a low voice.-- `Let him have it -- let him have it,' she said.`If he returns to Beaucaire without the diamond, he will inform against us, and, as he says, who knows if we shall ever again see the Abbe Busoni? -- in all probability we shall never see him.' -- `Well, then, so Iwill!' said Caderousse; `so you may have the diamond for 45,000 francs.But my wife wants a gold chain, and I want a pair of silver buckles.' The jeweller drew from his pocket a long flat box, which contained several samples of the articles demanded.`Here,' he said, `I am very straightforward in my dealings -- take your choice.' The woman selected a gold chain worth about five louis, and the husband a pair of buckles.worth perhaps fifteen francs.--`I hope you will not complain now?' said the jeweller.

"`The abbe told me it was worth 50,000 francs,' muttered Caderousse.`Come, come -- give it to me! What a strange fellow you are,' said the jeweller, taking the diamond from his hand.`I give you 45,000 francs -- that is, 2,500 livres of income, -- a fortune such as I wish I had myself, and you are not satisfied!' -- `And the five and forty thousand francs,' inquired Caderousse in a hoarse voice, `where are they? Come -- let us see them.' -- `Here they are,' replied the jeweller, and he counted out upon the table 15,000francs in gold, and 30,000 francs in bank-notes.