"Nothing has been touched since I was here last," said he, as if to himself; then, turning to Ali, he added: "Unmask the entrance to the grottoes!"
The Nubian produced a rusty crowbar from some nook where he had evidently concealed it in the past, thrusting the point beneath the bowlder; then he exerted a strong, steady pressure upon the crowbar and the great rock slowly moved aside, disclosing a circular opening in the midst of which was a square flagstone bearing in its centre an iron ring. Into this ring Ali inserted his crowbar and with a mighty effort raised the flagstone from its place. A stairway descending apparently to the bowels of the earth was disclosed, and from the sombre depths escaped a flow of damp, mephitic air.
Zuleika drew back in affright. All that had passed since they came to the bowlder was strange, bewildering and terrifying to her. Had the days of enchantment returned? Was Ali some potent wizard like Aladdin's pretended uncle in the old Arabian tale or was she simply under the dominion of some disordered dream? Her knees trembled beneath her and she moved as if to flee, but her father caught her by the arm and his smiling countenance reassured her.
"Fear nothing, Zuleika," he said, soothingly. "We are about to visit my subterranean palace. That is all."
By this time the atmosphere of the stairway had become purified and Monte-Cristo said to Ali: "Descend and light up the grottoes. When all is ready give the usual signal."
The faithful servant entered the opening and vanished down the stairway. Soon a delicious oriental perfume ascended. This was followed by a vivid illumination of the gaping chasm and then came a long, reverberating whistle.
"Ali notifies us that all is prepared for our reception," said Monte-Cristo to Zuleika. "Come, my daughter!"
He descended the stairway first, Zuleika following him in a state of mind difficult to describe. She was not afraid now, but her sensations were of an exceedingly peculiar nature. The novelty and singularity of the adventure rather attracted her, though, at the same time, she felt a sort of reluctance to attempt it. However the opening was now as light as day, and as they descended the intoxicating perfume increased in intensity until it was almost as if acres of tube-roses had suddenly bloomed and filled the caverns with their heavy fragrance.
At the bottom of the stairway Ali received them, conducting them into a vast chamber that had evidently once possessed great splendor, but was at present dingy and dust-covered as if it had been long deserted. It was the apartment in which Monte-Cristo as Sinbad the Sailor had welcomed the Baron Franz d' Epinay years before, but the crimson brocade, worked with flowers of gold, though it still lined the chamber as it did then, was now faded and moth-eaten, while the Turkey carpet in which the Baron's feet had sunk to the instep, as well as the tapestry hanging in front of the doors, was in the same condition. The divan in the recess had been riddled by worms and the silver scabbards of the stand of Arabian swords that surmounted it were tarnished, the gems in the handles of the weapons alone retaining their brilliancy. The once beautiful lamp of Venice glass hanging from the ceiling, which Ali had filled and lighted, was also tarnished and its delicately shaped globe was cracked from top to bottom. Monte-Cristo sadly contemplated this scene of ruin and decay, but he contemplated it only for a moment. Then he turned to Zuleika and said: "My child, this was once my salon and its beauty riveted the eyes of all who saw it, but I deserted it and time has done its work, aided by neglect--its beauty is no more! Shall I raise another ghost of the past and show you its former occupant?"