The Welcome back, everyone to one thousand one stories for the road.

This is your host and storyteller, John Hagadorn, and I'd like to get you caught up on the Count of Monte Cristo.

We start today with Chapter 34, Part 2, and Chapter 34 was called the Coliseum, but we have some catching up to do.

Very important to know that in the 10 years that intervened between the events in Marseille and

the meeting between Franz and Dantes.

Dantes's rebirth as the mysterious count of Monte Cristo is complete.

We have as little knowledge of the events of this intervening decade as any character in the story.

And these lost years provide Monte Cristo with the requisite era of mystery.

We're given only tantalizing hints of his life during this period, but enough to know that

he has seen and experienced almost everything the world has to offer.

Dantes emerges from these ten mysterious years as an almost supernatural being.

He comes across as omniscient and omnipotent, possesses seemingly

all possible human knowledge and superhuman physical strength, and maintains a level of cunning

that gives him a nearly magical aura. His appearance is supernatural sometimes, sometimes compared

to that of a corpse, and other times to that of a vampire.

You'll see as we go forward. He bears virtually no resemblance to the Dantes we left in

chapter 30. Now Franz and Albert are at the Coliseum enjoying an opera. Franz's attention has been

riveted on the beautiful Greek lady in the box across from him

and the mysterious person who he thinks he knows or recognizes who is sitting near her.

And now we join our story, Chapter 34, second half.

Excited beyond his usual calm demeanor, Franz rose with the audience,

and was about to join the loud, enthusiastic applause that followed. But suddenly his purpose was

...