The Count of Monte Cristo

Cavalcanti Leaves Danglars’ Evening Gathering

After the evening gathering at Danglars’s house, M. Cavalcanti remains in the drawing-room with the ladies and is the last to leave the banker’s home. Danglars holds a long conference with several friends before retiring.

Danglars Reads the Yanina Newspaper Article

The next morning, Danglars asks for newspapers and selects l’Impartial, the paper edited by Beauchamp. He hastily scans past the Parisian items and stops with a malicious smile at a miscellaneous paragraph headed “We hear from Yanina.” Danglars notes with satisfaction that this article about Colonel Fernand would render any explanation the Comte de Morcerf had previously required of him unnecessary.

Albert Confronts Monte Cristo Over the Slander

At nine o’clock the same morning, Albert de Morcerf, dressed in a black coat buttoned to his chin, walks with an agitated step toward Monte Cristo’s house in the Champs-Élysées. The porter informs him that the count left about half an hour earlier. After speaking with the valet Baptistin, who confirms the count is out and not expected until ten for breakfast, Albert decides to walk in the Champs-Élysées until the appointed hour, asking Baptistin to ensure the count does not leave again without seeing him. While passing the Allée des Veuves, Albert spots the count’s carriage at Gosset’s shooting-gallery, enters, and is told the count prefers to practice alone. When Albert identifies himself as a friend, Philip announces him, and Monte Cristo appears.

Monte Cristo Demonstrates Marksmanship

Albert explains he followed Monte Cristo here and intended to wait for him at home. When Albert reveals he has come to fight that day for the sake of honor and asks the count to be his second, Monte Cristo insists they discuss the matter at home rather than in the gallery. Before leaving, Philip invites Albert in to see something “droll”: playing cards are pinned to the wall in place of the usual target, and Monte Cristo’s shots have pierced the cards so precisely that the bullet holes align with the positions where the painted values would be, completing a full suit from the ace through the ten. The count’s shots have also struck down two or three swallows flying through the gallery. After this display, both men enter Monte Cristo’s carriage and ride to No. 30.