How a Gardener May Get Rid of the Dormice that Eat His — The Count of Monte Cristo

The next morning the Count of Monte Cristo rides to the telegraph tower at Montlhéry. The man who works there cares far more about his tiny garden than about the iron arms that send messages across France. He counts strawberries one by one, complains about dormice and thieves, and admits he usually repeats signals without understanding them. He likes the job because it frees him from responsibility.

Monte Cristo studies the machine and learns how fines, pensions, and boredom shape the man's life. Then he offers fifteen thousand francs, and later twenty-five thousand, if the operator will send three false signals at the right moment. The gardener is horrified, but the dream of a real garden with two acres of land is too strong. He takes the money and changes the message.

The false report says King Don Carlos has escaped and Barcelona has risen. Debray hurries to Madame Danglars and tells her to sell their Spanish bonds at once. Baron Danglars dumps his shares and loses five hundred thousand francs. The next day the government denies the story, saying fog caused a telegraph mistake. The market rebounds, and counting what he lost and failed to gain, Danglars is poorer by about a million francs.

When Maximilian Morrel asks what the Count discovered for twenty-five thousand francs, Monte Cristo answers with a joke: he has learned how a gardener may get rid of the dormice that eat his peaches.