The Count of Monte Cristo

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by the shadow of the vast column at whose base he had found a
resting-place, and from whence his eyes followed the motions of Albert
and his guides, who, holding torches in their hands, had emerged from
a vomitarium at the opposite extremity of the Colosseum, and then again
disappeared down the steps conducting to the seats reserved for the
Vestal virgins, resembling, as they glided along, some restless shades
following the flickering glare of so many ignes-fatui. All at once his
ear caught a sound resembling that of a stone rolling down the staircase
opposite the one by which he had himself ascended. There was nothing
remarkable in the circumstance of a fragment of granite giving way and
falling heavily below; but it seemed to him that the substance that fell
gave way beneath the pressure of a foot, and also that some one, who
endeavored as much as possible to prevent his footsteps from being
heard, was approaching the spot where he sat. Conjecture soon became
certainty, for the figure of a man was distinctly visible to Franz,
gradually emerging from the staircase opposite, upon which the moon was
at that moment pouring a full tide of silvery brightness.