he cell and the poste, after having
thanked the chief for his courtesy. He drove without delay to the office
of the Procureur de la Republique in the Palais de Justice, and it was
not long before he had matters satisfactorily arranged. The Procureur
cheerfully agreed not to push the charge against the Italians on
condition that Monte-Cristo pledged himself they should leave Paris
immediately after the Juge d' Instruction had discharged them. This
pledge the Count made without the slightest hesitation, and it was
decided that the Juge d' Instruction should hold his formal examination
at the poste that afternoon, when the Procureur would appear through his
Deputy and order the cessation of the proceedings for full and
sufficient reasons. The Procureur agreed to notify the Count of the
exact hour of the examination that he might be present and ready to
execute his share of the compact.

As Monte-Cristo drove back to the mansion of the Rue du Helder he could
not help feeling considerably agitated. What was he about to learn from
Peppino, and how would the Italian's disclosures affect Massetti? These
were problems that the next few hours were destined to solve.

CHAPTER XVI.

AMID THE COLOSSEUM'S RUINS.

One of the first things Maximilian Morrel did, after he and his wife
were comfortably installed at the Hotel de France in Rome, was to make a
formal call at the Palazzo Massetti and present his letters of
introduction to the aged Count, Giovanni's father.

The old nobleman, who was at least seventy and very patriarchal in
appearance because of his flowing white locks and long snowy beard,
received the young Frenchman with great urbanity and condescension in a
sumptuously furnished salon full of rare art treasures and dazzling with
gold and satin. He met him with outstretched hand and said, warmly, at
the same time glancing at the Captain's card as if to refresh his
memory:

"I am delighted to have the honor of welcoming so distinguished a
visitor as Captain Maximilian Morrel to the Palazzo Massetti. Pray be
seated, Captain, and consider my residence as yours."

The Count spoke French fluently, without even the faintest trace of a
foreign accent, and this fact as well as his charmingly cordial manner
caused the young soldier immediately to feel at ease in his presence.

"I assure you, Count," returned Maximilian, bowing and then seating
himself, "that the pleasure is mutual."

The aged nobleman also took a