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"The ardener or devote hiainst so behind a wheelbarrow filled with leaves; the so an excla astrawberries, which he was placing upon grape leaves He had twelve leaves and about assuddenly, he let fall fro your crop, sir?" said Monte Cristo, s his hand to his cap; "I am not up there, I know, but I have only just co, ather your strawberries, if, indeed, there are any left"

"I have ten left," said the man, "for here are eleven, and I had twenty-one, fivehas been warm this year, and strawberries require heat, sir This is the reason that, instead of the sixteen I had last year, I have this year, you see, eleven, already plucked--twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen Ah, I ht, sir--I am sure they were here--I counted them It must be the Mere Si about here this arden--he does not knohere that ," said Monte Cristo, "but you should take into consideration the youth and greediness of the delinquent"

"Of course," said the gardener, "but that does notpardon; perhaps you are an officer that I alanced timidly at the count's blue coat

"Calm yourself, my friend," said the count, with the smile which he made at will either terrible or benevolent, and which now expressed only the kindliest feeling; "I aht here by a curiosity he half repents of, since he causes you to lose your time"

"Ah, my time is not valuable," replied the overn received the signal that I lanced at the sun-dial, for there was everything in the enclosure of Montlhery, even a sun-dial), "and having tenripe, when a day longer--by-the-by, sir, do you think dormice eat them?"