第11章

acquaintance。Ifeltthathehadtakenalikingtome，and，inspiteofwhatIhadheardabouthisbehaviortoMissElmslie，inspiteofthesuspicionswhichthehistoryofhisfamilyandhisownconducthadarrayedagainsthim，Ibegantolike"MadMonkton"asmuchashelikedme。Wetookmanyaquietridetogetherinthecountry，andsailedoftenalongtheshoresoftheBayoneitherside。Butfortwoeccentricitiesinhisconduct，whichIcouldnotatallunderstand，Ishouldsoonhavefeltasmuchatmyeaseinhissocietyasifhehadbeenmyownbrother。

ThefirstoftheseeccentricitiesconsistedinthereappearanceonseveraloccasionsoftheoddexpressioninhiseyeswhichI

hadfirstseenwhenheaskedmewhetherIknewanythingabouttheduel。Nomatterwhatweweretalkingabout，orwherewehappenedtobe，thereweretimeswhenhewouldsuddenlylookawayfrommyface，nowononesideofme，nowontheother，butalwayswheretherewasnothingtosee，andalwayswiththesameintensityandfiercenessinhiseyes。Thislookedsolikemadness——orhypochondriaattheleast——thatIfeltafraidtoaskhimaboutit，andalwayspretendednottoobservehim。

Thesecondpeculiarityinhisconductwasthatheneverreferred，whileinmycompany，tothereportsabouthiserrandatNaples，andneveroncespokeofMissElmslie，orofhislifeatWincotAbbey。Thisnotonlyastonishedme，butamazedthosewhohadnoticedourintimacy，andwhohadmadesurethatImustbethedepositaryofallhissecrets。Butthetimewasnearathandwhenthismystery，andsomeothermysteriesofwhichIhadnosuspicionatthatperiod，werealltoberevealed。

Imethimonenightatalargeball，givenbyaRussiannobleman，whosenameIcouldnotpronouncethen，andcannotremembernow。I

hadwanderedawayfromreception—room，ballroom，andcardroom，toasmallapartmentatoneextremityofthepalace，whichwashalfconservatory，halfboudoir，andwhichhadbeenprettilyilluminatedfortheoccasionwithChineselanterns。NobodywasintheroomwhenIgotthere。TheviewovertheMediterranean，bathedinthebrightsoftnessofItalianmoonlight，wassolovelythatIremainedforalongtimeatthewindow，lookingout，andlisteningtothedance—musicwhichfaintlyreachedmefromtheballroom。MythoughtswerefarawaywiththerelationsIhadleftinEngland，whenIwasstartledoutofthembyhearingmynamesoftlypronounced。

Ilookedrounddirectly，andsawMonktonstandingintheroom。A

lividpalenessoverspreadhisface，andhiseyeswereturnedawayfrommewiththesameextraordinaryexpressioninthemtowhichI

havealreadyalluded。

"Doyoumindleavingtheballearlyto—night？"heasked，stillnotlookingatme。

"Notatall，"saidI。"CanIdoanythingforyou？Areyouill？"

"No——atleastnothingtospeakof。Willyoucometomyrooms？"

"Atonce，ifyoulike。"

"No，notatonce。_I_mustgohomedirectly；butdon’tyoucometomeforhalfanhouryet。Youhavenotbeenatmyroomsbefore，Iknow，butyouwilleasilyfindthemout；theyarecloseby。

Thereisacardwithmyaddress。I_must_speaktoyouto—night；

mylifedependsonit。Praycome！forGod’ssake，comewhenthehalfhourisup！"

Ipromisedtobepunctual，andheleftmedirectly。

MostpeoplewillbeeasilyabletoimaginethestateofnervousimpatienceandvagueexpectationinwhichIpassedtheallottedperiodofdelay，afterhearingsuchwordsasthoseMonktonhadspokentome。BeforethehalfhourhadquiteexpiredIbegantomakemywayoutthroughtheballroom。

Attheheadofthestaircasemyfriend，the_attache，_metme。

"What！goingawayalready？"Saidhe。

"Yes；andonaverycuriousexpedition。IamgoingtoMonkton’srooms，byhisowninvitation。"

"Youdon’tmeanit！Uponmyhonor，you’reaboldfellowtotrustyourselfalonewith’MadMonkton’whenthemoonisatthefull。"

"Heisill，poorfellow。Besides，Idon’tthinkhimhalfasmadasyoudo。"

"Wewon’tdisputeaboutthat；butmarkmywords，hehasnotaskedyoutogowherenovisitorhaseverbeenadmittedbeforewithoutaspecialpurpose。Ipredictthatyouwillseeorhearsomethingto—nightwhichyouwillrememberfortherestofyourlife。"

Weparted。WhenIknockedatthecourtyardgateofthehousewhereMonktonlived，myfriend’slastwordsonthepalacestaircaserecurredtome，and，thoughIhadlaughedathimwhenhespokethem，Ibegantosuspecteventhenthathispredictionwouldbefulfilled。

CHAPTERIII。

THEporterwholetmeintothehousewhereMonktonliveddirectedmetotheflooronwhichhisroomsweresituated。Ongettingupstairs，Ifoundhisdooronthelandingajar。Heheardmyfootsteps，Isuppose，forhecalledtometocomeinbeforeI

couldknock。

Ientered，andfoundhimsittingbythetable，withsomelooselettersinhishand，whichhewasjusttyingtogetherintoapacket。Inoticed，asheaskedmetositdown，thathisexpressionlookedmorecomposed，thoughthepalenesshadnotyetlefthisface。Hethankedmeforcoming；repeatedthathehadsomethingveryimportanttosaytome；andthenstoppedshort，apparentlytoomuchembarrassedtoproceed。Itriedtosethimathiseasebyassuringhimthat，ifmyassistanceoradvicecouldbeofanyuse，Iwasreadytoplacemyselfandmytimeheartilyandunreservedlyathisservice。

AsIsaidthisIsawhiseyesbeginningtowanderawayfrommyface——towanderslowly，inchbyinch，asitwere，untiltheystoppedatacertainpoint，withthesamefixedstareintovacancywhichhadsooftenstartledmeonformeroccasions。ThewholeexpressionofhisfacealteredasIhadneveryetseenitalter；hesatbeforemelookinglikeamaninadeath—trance。

"Youareverykind，"hesaid，slowlyandfaintly，speaking，nottome，butinthedirectioninwhichhiseyeswerestillfixed。

"Iknowyoucanhelpme；but——"

Hestopped；hisfacewhitenedhorribly，andtheperspirationbrokeoutalloverit。Hetriedtocontinue——saidawordortwo——thenstoppedagain。Seriouslyalarmedabouthim，IrosefrommychairwiththeintentionofgettinghimsomewaterfromajugwhichIsawstandingonaside—table。

Hesprangupatthesamemoment。AllthesuspicionsIhadeverheardwhisperedagainsthissanityflashedovermymindinaninstant，andIinvoluntarilysteppedbackapaceortwo。

"Stop，"hesaid，seatinghimselfagain；"don’tmindme；anddon’tleaveyourchair。Iwant——Iwish，ifyouplease，tomakealittlealteration，beforewesayanythingmore。Doyoumindsittinginastronglight？"

"Notintheleast。"

Ihadhithertobeenseatedintheshadeofhisreading—lamp，theonlylightintheroom。

AsIansweredhimheroseagain，and，goingintoanotherapartment，returnedwithalargelampinhishand；thentooktwocandlesfromtheside—table，andtwoothersfromthechimneypiece；placedthemall，tomyamazement，together，soastostandexactlybetweenus，andthentriedtolightthem。Hishandtrembledsothathewasobligedtogiveuptheattempt，andallowmetocometohisassistance。Byhisdirection，Itooktheshadeoffthereading—lampafterIhadlittheotherlampandthefourcandles。Whenwesatdownagain，withthisconcentrationoflightbetweenus，hisbetterandgentlermannerbegantoreturn，andwhilehenowaddressedmehespokewithouttheslightesthesitation。

"Itisuselesstoaskwhetheryouhaveheardthereportsaboutme，"hesaid；"Iknowthatyouhave。Mypurposeto—nightistogiveyousomereasonableexplanationoftheconductwhichhasproducedthosereports。Mysecrethasbeenhithertoconfidedtoonepersononly；Iamnowabouttotrustittoyourkeeping，withaspecialobjectwhichwillappearasIgoon。First，however，I

mustbeginbytellingyouexactlywhatthegreatdifficultyiswhichobligesmetobestillabsentfromEngland。Iwantyouradviceandyourhelp；and，toconcealnothingfromyou，Iwantalsototestyourforbearanceandyourfriendlysympathy，beforeIcanventureonthrustingmymiserablesecretintoyourkeeping。

Willyoupardonthisapparentdistrustofyourfrankandopencharacter——thisapparentingratitudeforyourkindnesstowardmeeversincewefirstmet？"

Ibeggedhimnottospeakofthesethings，buttogoon。

"Youknow，"heproceeded，"thatIamheretorecoverthebodyofmyUncleStephen，andtocarryitbackwithmetoourfamilyburial—placeinEngland，andyoumustalsobeawarethatIhavenotyetsucceededindiscoveringhisremains。Trytopassover，forthepresent，whatevermayseemextraordinaryandincomprehensibleinsuchapurposeasmineis，andreadthisnewspaperarticlewheretheink—lineistraced。Itistheonlyevidencehithertoobtainedonthesubjectofthefatalduelinwhichmyunclefell，andIwanttohearwhatcourseofproceedingtheperusalofitmaysuggesttoyouaslikelytobebestonmypart。"

HehandedmeanoldFrenchnewspaper。ThesubstanceofwhatI

readthereisstillsofirmlyimpressedonmymemorythatIamcertainofbeingabletorepeatcorrectlyatthisdistanceoftimeallthefactswhichitisnecessaryformetocommunicatetothereader。

Thearticlebegan，Iremember，witheditorialremarksonthegreatcuriositythenfeltinregardtothefatalduelbetweentheCountSt。LoandMr。StephenMonkton，anEnglishgentleman。Thewriterproceededtodwellatgreatlengthontheextraordinarysecrecyinwhichthewholeaffairhadbeeninvolvedfromfirsttolast，andtoexpressahopethatthepublicationofacertainmanuscript，towhichhisintroductoryobservationsreferred，mightleadtotheproductionoffreshevidencefromotherandbetter—informedquarters。ThemanuscripthadbeenfoundamongthepapersofMonsieurFoulon，Mr。Monkton’ssecond，whohaddiedatParisofarapiddeclineshortlyafterreturningtohishomeinthatcityfromthesceneoftheduel。Thedocumentwasunfinished，havingbeenleftincompleteattheveryplacewherethereaderwouldmostwishtofinditcontinued。Noreasoncouldbediscoveredforthis，andnosecondmanuscriptbearingontheall—importantsubjecthadbeenfound，afterthestrictestsearchamongthepapersleftbythedeceased。

Thedocumentitselfthenfollowed。

ItpurportedtobeanagreementprivatelydrawnupbetweenMr。

Monkton’ssecond，MonsieurFoulon，andtheCountSt。Lo’ssecond，MonsieurDalville，andcontainedastatementofallthearrangementsforconductingtheduel。Thepaperwasdated"Naples，February22d，"andwasdividedintosomesevenoreightclauses。Thefirstclausedescribedtheoriginandnatureofthequarrel——averydisgracefulaffaironbothsides，worthneitherrememberingnorrepeating。Thesecondclausestatedthat，thechallengedmanhavingchosenthepistolashisweapon，andthechallenger（anexcellentswordsman），having，onhisside，thereuponinsistedthattheduelshouldbefoughtinsuchamannerastomakethefirstfiredecisiveinitsresults，theseconds，seeingthatfatalconsequencesmustinevitablyfollowthehostilemeeting，determined，firstofall，thattheduelshouldbekeptaprofoundsecretfromeverybody，andthattheplacewhereitwastobefoughtshouldnotbemadeknownbeforehand，eventotheprincipalsthemselves。ItwasaddedthatthisexcessofprecautionhadbeenrenderedabsolutelynecessaryinconsequenceofarecentaddressfromthePopetotherulingpowersinItalycommentingonthescandalousfrequencyofthepracticeofdueling，andurgentlydesiringthatthelawsagainstduelistsshouldbeenforcedforthefuturewiththeutmostrigor。

Thethirdclausedetailedthemannerinwhichithadbeenarrangedthattheduelshouldbefought。

Thepistolshavingbeenloadedbythesecondsontheground，thecombatantsweretobeplacedthirtypacesapart，andweretotossupforthefirstfire。Themanwhowonwastoadvancetenpacesmarkedoutforhimbeforehand——andwasthentodischargehispistol。Ifhemissed，orfailedtodisablehisopponent，thelatterwasfreetoadvance，ifhechose，thewholeremainingtwentypacesbeforehefiredinhisturn。Thisarrangementinsuredthedecisiveterminationoftheduelatthefirstdischargeofthepistols，andbothprincipalsandsecondspledgedthemselvesoneithersidetoabidebyit。

ThefourthclausestatedthatthesecondshadagreedthattheduelshouldbefoughtoutoftheNeapolitanStates，butleftthemselvestobeguidedbycircumstancesastotheexactlocalityinwhichitshouldtakeplace。Theremainingclauses，sofarasI

rememberthem，weredevotedtodetailingthedifferentprecautionstobeadoptedforavoidingdiscovery。TheduelistsandtheirsecondsweretoleaveNaplesinseparateparties；weretochangecarriagesseveraltimes；weretomeetatacertaintown，or，failingthat，atacertainpost—houseonthehighroadfromNaplestoRome；weretocarrydrawing—books，colorboxes，andcamp—stools，asiftheyhadbeenartistsoutonasketching—tour；andweretoproceedtotheplaceoftheduelonfoot，employingnoguides，forfearoftreachery。Suchgeneralarrangementsasthese，andothersforfacilitatingtheflightofthesurvivorsaftertheaffairwasover，formedtheconclusionofthisextraordinarydocument，whichwassigned，ininitialsonly，byboththeseconds。

Justbelowtheinitialsappearedthebeginningofanarrative，dated"Paris，"andevidentlyintendedtodescribetheduelitselfwithextrememinuteness。Thehand—writingwasthatofthedeceasedsecond。

MonsieurFoulon，tiregentlemaninquestion，statedhisbeliefthatcircumstancesmighttranspirewhichwouldrenderanaccountbyaneyewitnessofthehostilemeetingbetweenSt。LoandMr。

Monktonanimportantdocument。Heproposed，therefore，asoneoftheseconds，totestifythattheduelhadbeenfoughtinexactaccordancewiththetermsoftheagreement，boththeprincipalsconductingthemselveslikemenofgallantryandhonor（！）。Andhefurtherannouncedthat，inordernottocompromiseanyone，heshouldplacethepapercontaininghistestimonyinsafehands，withstrictdirectionsthatitwasonnoaccounttobeopenedexceptinacaseofthelastemergency。

Afterthuspreamble，MonsieurFoulonrelatedthattheduelhadbeenfoughttwodaysafterthedrawingupoftheagreement，inalocalitytowhichaccidenthadconductedtheduelingparty。（Thenameoftheplacewasnotmentioned，noreventheneighborhoodinwhichitwassituated。）Themenhavingbeenplacedaccordingtopreviousarrangement，theCountSt。Lohadwonthetossforthefirstfire，hadadvancedhistenpaces，andhadshothisopponentinthebody。Mr。Monktondidnotimmediatelyfall，butstaggeredforwardsomesixorsevenpaces，dischargedhispistolineffectuallyatthecount，anddroppedtothegroundadeadman。

MonsieurFoulonthenstatedthathetorealeaffromhispocketbook，wroteonitabriefdescriptionofthemannerinwhichMr。Monktonhaddied，andpinnedthepapertohisclothes；

thisproceedinghavingbeenrenderednecessarybythepeculiarnatureoftheplanorganizedonthespotforsafelydisposingofthedeadbody。Whatthisplanwas，orwhatwasdonewiththecorpse，didnotappear，foratthisimportantpointthenarrativeabruptlybrokeoff。

Afoot—noteinthenewspapermerelystatedthemannerinwhichthedocumenthadbeenobtainedforpublication，andrepeatedtheannouncementcontainedintheeditor’sintroductoryremarks，thatnocontinuationhadbeenfoundbythepersonsintrustedwiththecareofMonsieurFoulon’spapers。IhavenowgiventhewholesubstanceofwhatIread，andhavementionedallthatwasthenknownofMr。StephenMonkton’sdeath。

WhenIgavethenewspaperbacktoAlfredhewastoomuchagitatedtospeak，butheremindedmebyasignthathewasanxiouslywaitingtohearwhatIhadtosay。Mypositionwasaverytryingandaverypainfulone。Icouldhardlytellwhatconsequencesmightnotfollowanywantofcautiononmypart，andcouldthinkatfirstofnosaferplanthanquestioninghimcarefullybeforeI

committedmyselfeitheronewayortheother。

"WillyouexcusemeifIaskyouaquestionortwobeforeIgiveyoumyadvice？"saidI。

Henoddedimpatiently。

"Yes，yes——anyquestionsyoulike。"

"Wereyouatanytimeinthehabitofseeingyourunclefrequently？"

"Ineversawhimmorethantwiceinmylife——oneachoccasionwhenIwasamerechild。"

"Thenyoucouldhavehadnoverystrongpersonalregardforhim？"

’Regardforhim！Ishouldhavebeenashamedtofeelanyregardforhim。Hedisgraceduswhereverhewent。"

"MayIaskifanyfamilymotiveisinvolvedinyouranxietytorecoverhisremains？"

"Familymotivesmayenterintoitamongothers——butwhydoyouask？"

"Because，havingheardthatyouemploythepolicetoassistyoursearch，Iwasanxioustoknowwhetheryouhadstimulatedtheirsuperiorstomakethemdotheirbestinyourservicebygivingsomestrongpersonalreasonsatheadquartersfortheveryunusualprojectwhichhasbroughtyouhere。"

"Igivenoreasons。IpayfortheworkIwantdone，and，inreturnformyliberality，Iamtreatedwiththemostinfamousindifferenceonallsides。Astrangerinthecountry，andbadlyacquaintedwiththelanguage，Icandonothingtohelpmyself。

Theauthorities，bothatRomeandinthisplace，pretendtoassistme，pretendtosearchandinquireasIwouldhavethemsearchandinquire，anddonothingmore。Iaminsulted，laughedat，almosttomyface。"

"Doyounotthinkitpossible——mind，Ihavenowishtoexcusethemisconductoftheauthorities，anddonotshareinanysuchopinionmyself——butdoyounotthinkitlikelythatthepolicemaydoubtwhetheryouareinearnest？"

"Notinearnest！"hecried，startingupandconfrontingmefiercely，withwildeyesandquickenedbreath。"Notinearnest！

_You_thinkI’mnotinearnesttoo。Iknowyouthinkit，thoughyoutellmeyoudon’t。Stop；beforewesayanotherword，yourowneyesshallconvinceyou。Comehere——onlyforaminute——onlyforoneminute！"

Ifollowedhimintohisbedroom，whichopenedoutofthesitting—room。Atonesideofhisbedstoodalargepacking—caseofplainwood，upwardofsevenfeetinlength。

"Openthelidandlookin，"hesaid，"whileIholdthecandlesothatyoucansee。"

Iobeyedhisdirections，anddiscoveredtomyastonishmentthatthepacking—casecontainedaleadencoffin，magnificentlyemblazonedwiththearmsoftheMonktonfamily，andinscribedinold—fashionedletterswiththenameof"StephenMonkton，"hisageandthemannerofhisdeathbeingaddedunderneath。

"Ikeephiscoffinreadyforhim，"whisperedAlfred，closeatmyear。"Doesthatlooklikeearnest？"

Itlookedmorelikeinsanity——solikethatIshrankfromansweringhim。

"Yes！yes！Iseeyouareconvinced，"hecontinuedquickly；"wemaygobackintothenextroom，andmaytalkwithoutrestraintoneithersidenow。"

Onreturningtoourplaces，Imechanicallymovedmychairawayfromthetable。Mymindwasbythistimeinsuchastateofconfusionanduncertaintyaboutwhatitwouldbebestformetosayordonext，thatIforgotforthemomentthepositionhehadassignedtomewhenwelitthecandles。Heremindedmeofthisdirectly。

"Don’tmoveaway，"hesaid，veryearnestly；"keeponsittinginthelight；praydo！I’llsoontellyouwhyIamsoparticularaboutthat。Butfirstgivemeyouradvice；helpmeinmygreatdistressandsuspense。Remember，youpromisedmeyouwould。"

Imadeanefforttocollectmythoughts，andsucceeded。Itwasuselesstotreattheaffairotherwisethanseriouslyinhispresence；itwouldhavebeencruelnottohaveadvisedhimasI

bestcould。

"Youknow，"Isaid，"thattwodaysafterthedrawingupoftheagreementatNaples，theduelwasfoughtoutoftheNeapolitanStates。ThisfacthasofcourseledyoutotheconclusionthatallinquiriesaboutlocalitieshadbetterbeconfinedtotheRomanterritory？"

"Certainly；thesearch，suchasitis，hasbeenmadethere，andthereonly。IfIcanbelievethepolice，theyandtheiragentshaveinquiredfortheplacewheretheduelwasfought（offeringalargerewardinmynametothepersonwhocandiscoverit）allalongthehighroadfromNaplestoRome。Theyhavealsocirculated——atleastsotheytellme——descriptionsoftheduelistsandtheirseconds；haveleftanagenttosuperintendinvestigationsatthepost—house，andanotheratthetownmentionedasmeeting—pointsintheagreement；andhaveendeavored，bycorrespondencewithforeignauthorities，totracetheCountSt。LoandMonsieurDalvilletotheirplaceorplacesofrefuge。Alltheseefforts，supposingthemtohavebeenreallymade，havehithertoprovedutterlyfruitless。"

"Myimpressionis，"saidI，afteramoment’sconsideration，"thatallinquiriesmadealongthehighroad，oranywherenearRome，arelikelytobemadeinvain。Astothediscoveryofyouruncle’sremains，thatis，Ithink，identicalwiththediscoveryoftheplacewherehewasshot；forthoseengagedintheduelwouldcertainlynotriskdetectionbycarryingacorpseanydistancewiththemintheirflight。Theplace，then，isallthatwewanttofindout。Nowletusconsiderforamoment。Thedueling—partychangedcarriages；traveledseparately，twoandtwo；doubtlesstookroundaboutroads；stoppedatthepost—houseandthetownasablind；walked，perhaps，aconsiderabledistanceunguided。Dependuponit，suchprecautionsasthese（whichweknowtheymusthaveemployed）leftthemverylittletimeoutofthetwodays——thoughtheymightstartatsunriseandnotstopatnight—fall——forstraightforwardtraveling。Mybeliefthereforeis，thattheduelwasfoughtsomewhereneartheNeapolitanfrontier；and，ifIhadbeenthepoliceagentwhoconductedthesearch，Ishouldonlyhavepursueditparallelwiththefrontier，startingfromwesttoeasttillI

gotupamongthelonelyplacesinthemountains。Thatismyidea；

doyouthinkitworthanything？"