ile De
Boville seated himself in a corner, and began to read his newspaper. The
Englishman easily found the entries relative to the Abbe Faria; but it
seemed that the history which the inspector had related interested him
greatly, for after having perused the first documents he turned over the
leaves until he reached the deposition respecting Edmond Dantes. There
he found everything arranged in due order,--the accusation, examination,
Morrel's petition, M. de Villefort's marginal notes. He folded up
the accusation quietly, and put it as quietly in his pocket; read the
examination, and saw that the name of Noirtier was not mentioned in it;
perused, too, the application dated 10th April, 1815, in which Morrel,
by the deputy procureur's advice, exaggerated with the best intentions
(for Napoleon was then on the throne) the services Dantes had rendered
to the imperial cause--services which Villefort's certificates rendered
indispensable. Then he saw through the whole thing. This petition
to Napoleon, kept back by Villefort, had become, under the second
restoration, a terrible weapon against him in the hands of the king's
attorney. He was no longer astonished when he searched on to find in the
register this note, placed in a bracket against his name:--

Edmond Dantes.

An inveterate Bonapartist; took an active part in the return from the
Island of Elba.

To be kept in strict solitary confinement, and to be closely watched and
guarded.

Beneath these lines was written in another hand: "See note
above--nothing can be done." He compared the writing in the bracket with
the writing of the certificate placed beneath Morrel's petition, and
discovered that the note in the bracket was the same writing as the
certificate--that is to say, was in Villefort's handwriting. As to the
note which accompanied this, the Englishman understood that it might
have been added by some inspector who had taken a momentary interest in
Dantes' situation, but who had, from the remarks we have quoted, found
it impossible to give any effect to the interest he had felt.

As we have said, the inspector, from discretion, and that he might not
disturb the Abbe Faria's pupil in his researches, had seated himself
in a corner, and was reading Le Drapeau Blanc. He did not see the
Englishman fold up and place in his pocket the accusation written by
Danglars under the arbor of La Reserve, and which had the postmark,
"Marseilles, 27th Feb., delivery 6 o'clock, P