When the young man on board saw this person approach, he left his station by the pilot, and, hat in hand, leaned over the ship's bulwarks. He was a fine, tall, slim young fellow of eighteen or twenty, with black eyes, and hair as dark as a raven's wing; and his whole appearance bespoke that calmness and resolution peculiar to men accustomed from their cradle to contend with danger."Ah, is it you, Dant?" cried the man in the skiff. "What's the matter? and why have you such an air of sadness aboard?""A great misfortune, M Morrel," replied the young man, "a great misfortune, for me especially! Off Civita Vecchia we lost our brave Captain Leclere.""And the cargo?" inquired the owner, eagerly."Is all safe, M Morrel; and I think you will be satisfied on that head. But poor Captain Leclere...""What happened to him?" asked the owner, with an air of resignation."He died.""Fell into the sea?""No, sir, he died of brain-fever in dreadful agony." Then turning to the crew, he said, "Bear a hand there, to take in sail!"All hands obeyed, and at once the eight or ten seamen who composed the crew, sprang to their respective stations at the spanker brails and outhaul, topsail sheets and halyards, the jib downhaul, and the topsail clewlines and buntlines. The young sailor gave a look to see that his orders were promptly and accurately obeyed, and then turned again to the owner."And how did this misfortune occur?" inquired the latter, resuming the interrupted conversation."Alas, sir, in the most unexpected manner.

After speaking at length with the harbour master, Captain Leclere left Naples greatly disturbed in mind. In 24 hours he was attacked by a fever, and died three days afterwards. We performed the usual burial service, and he is at his rest, sewn up in his hammock with a 36lb shot at his head and his heels, off El Giglio island ... "Then, as they were just passing the Round Tower, the young man shouted: "Stand by there to lower the topsails and jib; brail up the spanker!"The order was executed as promptly as it would have been on board a man-of-war. "Let go and clew up!" At this last command all the sails were lowered, and the vessel moved almost imperceptibly onwards.Where the story beginsEdmond Dant?is betrayed by the men he thought were his friends in Marseilles, France's oldest city.

Dumas described Marseilles as "the meeting place of the whole world" and it continues to be a cultural and religious melting pot.As Europe's second largest port, where boats have docked for 26 centuries, it has been the final destination for immigrants from around the world who have made their home in its sprawling neighbourhoods. Visit Le Panier, the oldest part of the city and a maze of streets that date back to sixth century BC.In 1943 Marseilles was occupied by German forces who believed this quarter to be a haven for communists, Jews and the Resistance. Giving residents only one day's notice, the Nazis blew up everything that lay between the Vieux Port and the Rue Caissi? and you can now see the monument that stands to the victims of this tragedy in Marseilles's old quarter. One of the few buildings left standing was Marseilles's oldest remaining house, the H? de Cabre, built in 1535, which can be seen on the Grand' Rue. Under the rubble of the Nazi attack, archaeologists discovered a first-century Roman quay, which can be seen at the Mus?des Docks Romains, 2 Place Vivaux (00 33 4 91 91 24 64).Visit Dant? prison"Blacker than the sea, blacker than the sky, rose like a phantom the giant of granite whose projecting crags seem like arms extended to seize their prey." Edmond Dant?escapes from the Ch?au d'If after 14 years to reinvent himself as the Count of Monte Cristo. Built by Fran?s I in 1524 to defend the city from attack, this 16th-century fortress became a state prison during the 19th century.