Boarding La Jeune Amélie
Edmond Dantès boards the Genoese tartan La Jeune Amélie and quickly perceives that he has joined a smuggler’s crew. The captain is remarkably multilingual, conversant in tongues from Arabic to Provençal—a skill that spares him reliance on interpreters and facilitates communication with vessels at sea, coastal boats, and the nameless figures who haunt seaport quays. Edmond recognizes that he is on board a smuggling vessel, though he keeps his own identity concealed.
The Captain’s Distrust
The captain receives Dantès with initial suspicion, knowing him well to the customs officers along the coast. Between the smugglers and these “industrious guardians of rights and duties,” a perpetual battle of wits ensues. The captain suspects Dantès might be an emissary of the customs service, perhaps sent to extract trade secrets through some ingenious ruse. Dantès’s skilled handling of the lugger begins to reassure the captain, but deeper confidence must still be earned.
Winning Trust
When Dantès observes the distant report and plume of smoke from the Château d’If without alarm, the captain interprets this as evidence that he harbors a man whose comings and goings are significant enough to warrant artillery salutes. This discovery eases the captain’s concern further. Dantès maintains perfect tranquility throughout, and when the crew attempts to pump him for information, he gives only accurate descriptions of Naples and Malta—places he knows as well as Marseille—and holds firmly to his first story. The Genoese captain, though subtle, is ultimately duped by Edmond’s mild demeanor, nautical skill, and admirable dissimulation.
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