The Count of Monte Cristo

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floating above the bastion of the Chateau d'If, and heard the distant
report, he was instantly struck with the idea that he had on board his
vessel one whose coming and going, like that of kings, was accompanied
with salutes of artillery. This made him less uneasy, it must be owned,
than if the new-comer had proved to be a customs officer; but this
supposition also disappeared like the first, when he beheld the perfect
tranquillity of his recruit.

Edmond thus had the advantage of knowing what the owner was, without the
owner knowing who he was; and however the old sailor and his crew tried
to "pump" him, they extracted nothing more from him; he gave accurate
descriptions of Naples and Malta, which he knew as well as Marseilles,
and held stoutly to his first story. Thus the Genoese, subtle as he
was, was duped by Edmond, in whose favor his mild demeanor, his nautical
skill, and his admirable dissimulation, pleaded. Moreover, it is
possible that the Genoese was one of those shrewd persons who know
nothing but what they should know, and believe nothing but what they