Monte Cristo’s Master Stroke
After leaving the Danglars home, Monte Cristo reflects that the horse incident has placed the domestic peace of the Danglars family firmly in his control, and he plans to use this leverage to win the favor of both Baron and Baroness Danglars. He notes that he has not yet had the chance to meet their daughter Eugénie, but decides he has plenty of time in Paris to do so later. He then returns to his own residence.
Ali Stops the Runaway Carriage
The following afternoon, Monte Cristo tasks his Nubian servant Ali, a highly skilled lasso thrower who has previously hunted and captured lions, with stopping a runaway carriage drawn by the pair of dappled gray horses when it passes their home. Ali marks a straight line on the pavement directly in front of the house to mark his intended stopping point, then sits on a nearby stone smoking a chibouque while Monte Cristo anxiously watches from inside, waiting for the carriage to arrive.
Saving the Woman and Child
A carriage drawn by the wild, ungovernable dappled grays comes speeding down the street, with a terrified coachman unable to control the horses’ furious pace. Inside the carriage, a young woman and her 7 or 8 year old child clutch each other in terror, too frightened to even cry out. The carriage rattles over rough stones, with even a small obstacle under the wheels likely to cause fatal disaster. Ali throws his lasso skillfully to catch the forelegs of the near horse, lets himself be dragged a few steps by the force of the impact, then pulls the horse down, causing the carriage pole to snap and stopping the second horse from continuing forward. Ali then seizes the second horse’s nostrils to hold it in place. Servants from a nearby house rush to assist, and Monte Cristo carries the unconscious child and distraught woman into his salon, reassuring them the child is only unconscious from fear and not physically injured. The desperate woman begs Monte Cristo to send for a physician, offering all her fortune to save her son.
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