vercome by the terrible
excitement and mental strain through which he had passed. M. Dantes
forced him to swallow a glass of wine that partially restored him; then,
turning to M. Lamartine, who had been an astonished spectator of this
strange and to him incomprehensible family scene, he said:

"My dear friend, you are amazed, and you have a right to be. This letter
that has caused my son and daughter so much emotion comes from a Roman
brigand chief, no other than Luigi Vampa, whose name is notorious
throughout Europe. You will understand its importance when I inform you
that it conclusively clears my son of an exceedingly grave charge."

M. Lamartine arose and took Esperance by the hand.

"I heartily congratulate you," said he.

"And Giovanni Massetti?" asked Zuleika, in a tremulous voice.

"Giovanni Massetti is unworthy of my daughter's hand!" replied M.
Dantes.

"Let me see that letter," said Zuleika, her cheek growing paler and her
heart beating tumultuously.

Her father gave it to her. She took it and read each line with an
intensity of interest that was painful to behold. When she had reached
the end, her eyes suddenly lighted up and the color came rushing back to
her pallid cheeks.

"Esperance," she said, facing her brother with an air of resolution
beneath which he quailed, "Luigi Vampa has not told all! Something he
has kept back, and that something you know. What is it? Speak!"

"Luigi Vampa has told the truth!" replied the young man, doggedly.

"Yes, but not the whole truth. What has he kept back?"

Esperance shook his head.

"He has told the truth!" he repeated.

"Did the Viscount Massetti administer the oath of silence to you?"

"He did."

"Then who administered that oath to Giovanni?"

The young man did not answer.

"There is some mystery about this complicated affair yet unexplained,
and until it is explained I cannot believe Giovanni Massetti guilty!"

"Come, come, my daughter," said M. Dantes, soothingly, "your heart
speaks and not your mind."

"My heart and mind both speak, papa," replied Zuleika, "and both say
that Giovanni Massetti is innocent."

"Let him prove it then."

"I feel certain that he can and will."

"Well, well, child, go to Madame Dantes and take counsel of her. Only a
woman can heal a young girl's love wounds."

Zuleika quitted the salle-a-manger, her countenance yet bearing the
stamp of an inflexible belief and a fixed determination.

"Esperance," said M.