He was alone in the darkness with sailors whom he did not know, and who had no reason to be devoted to him; who knew that he had in his belt several thousand francs, and who had often examined his guns,—which were very fine,—if not with envy, at least with curiosity. On the other hand, he was about to land, without any other escort than those men, on an island whose name was religious but which did not seem to Franz likely to afford him much Christian hospitality thanks to the smugglers and bandits.
[W]hat astonished Franz, who had treated Gaetano’s description as an invention, was the splendor of the place in which he found himself. The entire chamber was lined with crimson brocade, worked with flowers of gold. In a recess was a kind of divan, surmounted with a stand of Arabian swords in silver scabbards, and the handles resplendent with gems; from the ceiling hung a lamp of Venetian glass, of beautiful shape and colour, whilst the feet rested on a Turkey carpet, in which they sank to the instep . . . The host gave Franz time for his surprise[.]
It was perfectly clear that Signor Sinbad, Franz’s host, had the honour of being on excellent terms with the smugglers and bandits along the whole coast of the Mediterranean, which placed him in a most singular position. As to Franz, he had no longer any inducement to remain at Monte Cristo, for he had lost all hope of detecting the secret of the grotto. He therefore despatched his breakfast, and, his bark being ready, he hastened on board, and soon the vessel was under way.
He cast his eyes around him, and saw a man carrying off Teresa . . . Vampa measured the distance, the man was at least two hundred paces ahead of him, and there was not a chance of overtaking him. The young shepherd stopped, as if his feet had been rooted to the ground; then put the butt of his carbine to his shoulder, took aim at the ravisher, followed him for a second on his track, and then, fired. The ravisher stopped suddenly, his knees bent under him, and he fell with Teresa in his arms. She rose instantly but the man lay on the earth struggling in the agonies of death.
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