neglect we shall find it at present in a
most deplorable condition."

Zuleika's curiosity was now considerably excited. What could this
mysterious residence, or, as her father quaintly styled it, this
substitute for a mansion be like? What knowledge she possessed of the
Isle of Monte-Cristo had been derived from fragmentary recitals made to
her by Mercedes and her son Albert de Morcerf, but as neither of these
informants had ever set foot upon the island their information was
necessarily very vague, though it made up in the marvellous what it
lacked in distinctness.

At length, towards afternoon, the rocky shore of the Isle of
Monte-Cristo became visible. The Count's visage brightened as he saw it
and a thrill of pleasure passed through him. Though the Haydee was yet
at a considerable distance he could plainly descry the lofty peak upon
which he had stood and watched the smugglers depart in their tartane, La
Jeune Amelie, on that eventful morning when, with his gun and pickaxe,
he had started out to prosecute his search destined to be fraught with
so much excitement and to be crowned with such a glorious, dazzling
result. The golden sunlight fell full upon this peak and the surrounding
masses of stone, making them glitter as if encrusted with sparkling
diamonds of great price. Here and there grew olive trees and stunted
shrubs that stood out distinctly against the blue, cloudless sky; as the
yacht drew nearer their green tints formed a striking contrast with the
prevailing hue of the rocks, adding vastly to the picturesqueness of the
wild and romantic scene presented.

"How beautiful the island looks!" exclaimed Zuleika, enthusiastically,
as she leaned against the bulwarks of the vessel and gazed out over the
sea.

"Yes," replied Monte-Cristo, who was standing beside her, "it does,
indeed, look beautiful from here, but a closer view will dispel the
charm for the island is nothing but a barren waste."

"What! Is it a desert?" asked Zuleika, in surprise.

"A perfect desert, my child," answered the Count, "uncultivated and
uninhabited."

"Uninhabited!" cried Zuleika, gazing intently at the shore. "I
certainly see life there! Look! What was that?"

"A wild goat leaping from one rock to another," returned Monte-Cristo,
smiling. "The island is full of them. When I said it was uninhabited I
meant by human beings."

The Haydee by this time had approached as near the island as possible;
she was therefore anchored. Th