Page:The Count of Monte-Cristo (1887 Volume 2).djvu/70

50 giant Adamastor, rose threateningly above the bark, from which it shaded the sun that gilded its upper parts. By degrees the shadow rose from the sea, and seemed to drive before it the last rays of the expiring day. At last the reflection rested on the summit of the mountain, where it paused an instant, like the fiery crest of a volcano; then the shadow, slowly rising, gradually covered the summit as it had covered the base, and the isle now only appeared to be a gray mountain that grew continually darker; half an hour after, and the night was quite dark.

Fortunately the mariners were used to these latitudes, and knew every rock in the Tuscan Archipelago; for in the midst of this obscurity Franz was not without uneasiness. Corsica had long since disappeared, and Monte-Cristo itself was invisible; but the sailors seemed, like the lynx, to see in the dark, and the pilot who steered did not evince the slightest hesitation.

An hour had passed since the sun had set, when Franz fancied he saw, at a quarter of a mile to the left, a dark mass, but it was impossible to make out what it was, and fearing to excite the mirth of the sailors, by mistaking a floating cloud for land, he remained silent. Suddenly a great light appeared on the strand; land might resemble a cloud, but the fire was not a meteor.

"What is this light?" asked he.

"Silence!" said the captain; "it is a fire."

"But you told me the isle was uninhabited."

"I said there were no fixed habitations on it; but I said also that it served sometimes as a harbor for smugglers."

"And for pirates?"

"And for pirates," returned Graetano, repeating Franz's words. "It is for that reason I have given orders to pass the isle, for, as you see, the fire is behind us."

"But this fire!" continued Franz. "It seems to me rather to assure than alarm us: men who did not wish to be seen would not light a fire."

"Oh, that goes for nothing," said Graetano. "If you can guess the position of the isle in the darkness, you will see that the fire cannot be seen from the side, or from Pianosa, but only from the open sea."

"You think, then, that this fire announces unwelcome neighbors!"

"That is what we must ascertain," returned Graetano, fixing his eye on this terrestrial star.

"How can you ascertain?"

"You shall see."

Graetano consulted with his companions, and after five minutes' discussion, a manoeuvre was executed which caused the vessel to tack about; they returned the way they had come, and in a few minutes the