Page:The Count of Monte-Cristo (1887 Volume 2).djvu/132

114 "Hall of the Gladiators," and the "State Box of the Emperor," he ascended a half-dilapidated staircase, and, leaving them to follow their monotonous round, seated himself at the foot of a column, and immediately opposite a large chasm, which permitted him to view the giant of granite in all its majestic dimensions.

Franz had remained for nearly a quarter of an hour hidden by the column but watching Albert and his guides, who, holding torches in their hands, had emerged from a vomitorium placed at the opposite extremity of the Colosseum, and then again disappeared, like shadows after an ignis fatuus, down the steps conducting to the seats reserved for the Vestal virgins, when all at once his ear caught a sound resembling that of a stone rolling down the staircase opposite the one by which he had himself ascended. There was nothing remarkable in the circumstance of a morsel of granite giving way and falling heavily below; but it seemed to him that the substance that fell gave way beneath a foot, and that the sound of feet was approaching him, although he that caused it was trying his best to deaden the sound.

In a few seconds the figure of a man was visible, gradually emerging from the staircase opposite, which was lighted by the moon, while the steps going down were plunged in darkness.

The stranger might be a person who, like Franz, preferred the enjoyment of solitude to the frivolous gabble of the guides, and then his appearance would have nothing extraordinary in it; but the hesitation with which he proceeded onward, stopping and listening with anxious attention at every step he took, convinced Franz he expected the arrival of some person.

By a sort of instinctive impulse, Franz withdrew as much as possible behind his pillar.

About ten feet from the spot where himself and the stranger were placed, the roof had given way, leaving a large round aperture, through which might be seen the sky thickly studded with stars.

Around this opening, which had, possibly, for ages permitted a free entrance to the moonbeams, grew a quantity of creeping plants, whose delicate green branches stood out in bold relief against the clear azure of the firmament, while large masses of creepers and strong shoots of ivy hung floating to and fro like so many waving strings.

The person whose mysterious arrival had attracted the attention of Franz stood in a kind of half-light, that rendered it impossible to distinguish his features, although his dress was easily made out. He wore a large brown mantle, one fold of which, thrown over his left shoulder, served likewise to mask the lower part of his countenance, while the upper part was completely hidden by his broad-brimmed hat The