زندان

Chapter 5 - The Prison

The soldier took Dantes to a small room. Then, at about ten o’clock, an officer and four soldiers took him through the streets to the shore. They put Dantes in a boat. Then they watched him as the boat moved away.

‘What is happening?’ Edmond thought wildly. ‘The judge was kind to me. He told me not to be afraid. He only told me not to say the name Noirtier. And he destroyed the letter in front of me.’

Dantes looked into the darkness. They were going out to sea.

They were sailing away from everything that he loved. He turned to the nearest soldier.

‘Friend,’ he said, ‘please tell me where we are going. I am Edmond Dantes, a seaman, and a man who loves C o d and the king. Tell me where we are going.’

‘You were born in Marseilles and you are a seaman. But you don’t know where you are going ? Look!’

Dantes stood up and looked in front of the boat. A hundred metres away, he saw the black and frightening shape of the rock where the Chateau d’If stands. The prison was about 300 years old. ‘People tell many strange stories about this place,’ Dantes thought. ‘Prisoners go there and never return. Is this the end of all hope?’

‘I am not going to be a prisoner there!’ cried Dantes. ‘Only important prisoners, enemies of the king, go there! Mr Villefort promised me—’

’ Mr Villefort told us to take you to the Chateau d’If.’

The boat reached the shore. A soldier jumped out, took Dantes’ arms and pushed him up some steps. He passed through a door and the door closed behind him.

He was in a courtyard with high walls on all sides. He heard the feet of soldiers, walking around outside.

‘Where is the prisoner?’ a voice said. ‘Follow me.’

Dantes followed. The man took him to a room which was almost under the ground.

‘This is your room for tonight,’ the man said. ‘It is late, and the governor is asleep. Tomorrow, perhaps, he will send you to another place. There is bread and water and some dry grass to sleep on. Good night.’

The man left quickly and took away his lamp. Dantes was alone in the darkness and the silence.

At the first light of day, the guard returned. Dantes was standing in the same place, just inside the door. The man touched Dantes on the arm and asked, ‘Haven’t you slept?’

‘I don’t know,’ Dantes answered.

The guard looked at him. ‘Are you hungry?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Do you want anything?’

‘I want to see the governor.’

The guard gave a short laugh, and left the room. The door closed. Dantes threw himself on the floor. ‘What is happening?’

he cried. ‘Why am I in this place?’

The day passed. Dantes did not eat. He walked round and round the small room.

The next morning, the guard came back again. ‘Prisoner,’ he said, ‘are you feeling better today?’

Dantes did not answer.

‘Be brave, man. Can I get you anything?’ the guard asked.

‘I want to see the governor.’

‘That is not possible,’ the guard said.

‘What can I do, then?’ Dantes asked.

‘You can have better food — ifyou pay for it — and books. And you can walk around in the courtyard.’

‘I don’t want books. This food is all right. And I don’t want to walk around. I want to see the governor.’

‘You can’t. Don’t ask to see him. I will always say no. You will go crazy.’

‘You think so?’

‘I know it. There is a man in this prison — he was in this room before you. “If you help me, I will give you a lot of treasure,”

he told the governor. He was put in a room underground two years ago.’

‘Listen. I am not crazy,’ Dantes said. ‘And I must see the governor.’

‘Oh, ho!’ cried the guard, stepping back. ‘You are going crazy.

We will have trouble with you. But there are plenty of places underground.’

He went out. A few minutes later, he returned with four soldiers.

‘The governor has sent orders,’ he said. He turned to the soldiers. ‘This prisoner is crazy. Put him underground.’

The soldiers took Dantes’ arms. He went quietly. They walked down fifteen steps. Then the soldiers opened the door of a room, and threw Dantes inside.

The door closed, and Dantes walked around. He held his hands out until he touched the wall. Then he sat down in a corner. It was very dark and he could see nothing.

‘The guard is right,’ he thought. ‘This place will make me completely crazy.’