The Night Landing
Evening comes and Edmond sees the island tinged with twilight, then disappear into darkness from all eyes but his own, for he with vision accustomed to the gloom of a prison continues to behold it last of all, remaining alone upon deck. The next morning breaks off the coast of Aleria; all day they coast, and in the evening fires appear on land—signals for landing. A ship’s lantern replaces the streamer at the mast-head, and they come within a gunshot of the shore. The captain has mounted two small culverins as precaution. On this occasion the precaution proves superfluous; everything proceeds with utmost smoothness and politeness. Four shallops come alongside with very little noise, and the five boats work so well that by two o’clock in the morning all the cargo is out of La Jeune Amélie and on terra firma.
Dividing the Profits
The same night, such a man of regularity is the patron of La Jeune Amélie, that the profits are divided. Each man receives a hundred Tuscan livres, or about eighty francs.
Second Voyage
The voyage is not ended. They turn the bowsprit toward Sardinia to take in a cargo replacing what was discharged. The second operation proves as successful as the first—La Jeune Amélie is in luck. This new cargo, destined for the coast of the Duchy of Lucca, consists almost entirely of Havana cigars, sherry, and Malaga wines.
The Customs Skirmish
There they have a bit of a skirmish in getting rid of the duties, for the excise remains the everlasting enemy of the patron of La Jeune Amélie. A customs officer is laid low, and two sailors are wounded—Dantès among them, a ball having touched him in the left shoulder.
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