On the night of the third day after the rescue, Fanfaro sat at Anselmo's bedside. Bobichel had disappeared since forty-eight hours to make inquiries about Spero. Fanfaro heard through him that Spero had not left the Monte-Cristo palace for three days, and could not imagine what was the cause of it.
Anselmo now began to groan. Fanfaro bent over the invalid, and thought he heard the words:
"My daughter—my poor child—ah, is she dead?"
"Who is dead?" asked Fanfaro.
"Ah, she plunged into the water—she is drowned," groaned Anselmo.
Fanfaro could not believe his ears. Did the sick man imagine that the gray-haired woman was his daughter?
"Have you a daughter?" he asked.
"Yes, my Jane—my darling."
Just then the door opened, and Bobichel entered.