Excerpt adapted from The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexander Dumas
The dock was soon covered with the usual crowd of curious
onlookers, as the arrival of a ship is always a great event in the
town of Marseilles. This was especially true when, like the
Pharaon, it has been built in the city and belongs to a local
shipowner.
Meanwhile the vessel was approaching the harbor, but so
slowly and with such an air of melancholy that the onlookers,
sensing misfortune, began to wonder if an accident happened
on board. However, the experienced seamen among them saw
that if there had been an accident, it could not have happened
to the ship herself, for she had every appearance of being
under perfect control. Standing beside the pilot, who was
preparing to steer the ship through the narrow harbor, was a
young man. With vigilant eyes and rapid gestures, he watched
every movement of the ship and repeated each of the pilot's
orders.
The vague anxiety hovering over the crowd affected one man
so much that he could not wait until the ship entered the
harbor. This man leaped into a small boat and ordered the
boatman to row him out to meet the Pharaon.