He thanked him with grateful cordiality for his kindly welcome, although he must at that moment have been suffering bitterly to find another dungeon where he had fondly reckoned on discovering a means of regaining his liberty.
"Let us first see," said he, "whether it is possible to remove the traces of my entrance here--our future tranquillity depends upon our jailers being entirely ignorant of it." Advancing to the opening, he stooped and raised the stone easily in spite of its weight; then, fitting it into its place, he said,-- "You removed this stone very carelessly; but I suppose you had no tools to aid you." "Why," exclaimed Dantes, with astonishment, "do you possess any ?" "I made myself some; and with the exception of a file, I have all that are necessary,--a chisel, pincers, and lever." "Oh, how I should like to see these products of your industry and patience." "Well, in the first place, here is my chisel." So saying, he displayed a sharp strong blade, with a handle made of beechwood.
"And with what did you contrive to make that ?" inquired Dantes.
"With one of the clamps of my bedstead; and this very tool has sufficed me to hollow out the road by which I came hither, a distance of about fifty feet." "Fifty feet!" responded Dantes, almost terrified.
"Do not speak so loud, young man--don't speak so loud.

It frequently occurs in a state prison like this, that persons are stationed outside the doors of the cells purposely to overhear the conversation of the prisoners." "But they believe I am shut up alone here." "That makes no difference." "And you say that you dug your way a distance of fifty feet to get here ?" "I do; that is about the distance that separates your chamber from mine; only, unfortunately, I did not curve aright; for want of the necessary geometrical instruments to calculate my scale of proportion, instead of taking an ellipsis of forty feet, I made it fifty.

I expected, as I told you, to reach the outer wall, pierce through it, and throw myself into the sea; I have, however, kept along the corridor on which your chamber opens, instead of going beneath it.

My labor is all in vain, for I find that the corridor looks into a courtyard filled with soldiers." "That's true," said Dantes; "but the corridor you speak of only bounds one side of my cell; there are three others--do you know anything of their situation ?" "This one is built against the solid rock, and it would take ten experienced miners, duly furnished with the requisite tools, as many years to perforate it.

This adjoins the lower part of the governor's apartments, and were we to work our way through, we should only get into some lock-up cellars, where we must necessarily be recaptured.