"Yes," replied Monte-Cristo, who was standing beside her, "it does, indeed, look beautiful from here, but a closer view will dispel the charm for the island is nothing but a barren waste."
"What! Is it a desert?" asked Zuleika, in surprise.
"A perfect desert, my child," answered the Count, "uncultivated and uninhabited."
"Uninhabited!" cried Zuleika, gazing intently at the shore. "I certainly see life there! Look! What was that?"
"A wild goat leaping from one rock to another," returned Monte-Cristo, smiling. "The island is full of them. When I said it was uninhabited I meant by human beings."
The Haydée by this time had approached as near the island as possible; she was therefore anchored. The Count then ordered a boat lowered, into which he descended with Zuleika and Ali. A stout sailor took the rudder, two others grasped the oars, and, in a few minutes, a little cove was gained and the disembarkation effected.
"Men," said the Count, addressing the sailors, "you can now row back to the yacht. When you see me come upon the beach and wave my handkerchief thrice, return for us."
"Aye, aye, Signor Count," answered the coxswain for the boat's crew. His words were accompanied by the fall of the oars and the boat shot off towards the Haydée.
"You are now on the Isle of Monte-Cristo," said the Count to Zuleika as he took her hand to lead her forward. "Prepare to see what you have termed its wonders!"
"They will, no doubt, prove wonders to me, at any rate," returned the girl, smiling.