settled; only it will be an infamous shame;" and he
stretched out his hand to reach the letter.

"Yes," said Danglars, taking it from beyond his reach; "and
as what I say and do is merely in jest, and I, amongst the
first and foremost, should be sorry if anything happened to
Dantes -- the worthy Dantes -- look here!" And taking the
letter, he squeezed it up in his hands and threw it into a
corner of the arbor.

"All right!" said Caderousse. "Dantes is my friend, and I
won't have him ill-used."

"And who thinks of using him ill? Certainly neither I nor
Fernand," said Danglars, rising and looking at the young
man, who still remained seated, but whose eye was fixed on
the denunciatory sheet of paper flung into the corner.

"In this case," replied Caderousse, "let's have some more
wine. I wish to drink to the health of Edmond and the lovely
Mercedes."

"You have had too much already, drunkard," said Danglars;
"and if you continue, you will be compelled to sleep here,
because unable to stand on your legs."

"I?" said Caderousse, rising with all the offended dignity
of a drunken man, "I can't keep on my legs? Why, I'll wager
I can go up into the belfry of the Accoules, and without
staggering, too!"