"No! you will lose it, for you are going to alter the sign of your correspondent."
"Oh, sir, what are you proposing?"
"Sir, unless you force me—"
"I think I can effectually force you;" and Monte Cristo drew another packet from his pocket. "Here are ten thousand more francs," he said; "with the fifteen thousand already in your pocket, they will make twenty-five thousand. With five thousand you can buy a pretty little house with two acres of land; the remaining twenty thousand will bring you in a thousand francs a year."
"A garden with two acres of land!"
"And a thousand francs a year."
"Oh heavens!"
"Come, take them!" and Monte Cristo forced the bank-notes into his hand.
"What am I to do?"