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The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but
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when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know
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the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance
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to a threat. _At length_ I would be avenged; this was a point definitely
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settled--but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved,
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precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with
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impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its
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redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make
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himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.
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It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given
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Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to
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smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile _now_ was at
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the thought of his immolation.
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He had a weak point--this Fortunato--although in other regards he was a
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man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his
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connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit.
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For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and
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opportunity--to practise imposture upon the British and Austrian
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_millionaires_. In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen,
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was a quack--but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this
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respect I did not differ from him materially: I was skillful in the
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Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could.
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It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the
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carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with
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excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley.
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He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was
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surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him,
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that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.
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I said to him--"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably
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well you are looking to-day! But I have received a pipe of what passes
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for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."
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"How?" said he. "Amontillado? A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle
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of the carnival!"
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"I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full
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Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to
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be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain."
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"Amontillado!"
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"I have my doubts."
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"Amontillado!"
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"And I must satisfy them."
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"Amontillado!"
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"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If any one has a
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critical turn, it is he. He will tell me--"
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"Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry."
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"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your
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own."
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"Come, let us go."
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"Whither?"
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"To your vaults."
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"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive
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you have an engagement. Luchesi--"
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"I have no engagement;--come."
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"My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with
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which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp.
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They are encrusted with nitre."
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"Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado!
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You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish
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Sherry from Amontillado."
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Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm. Putting on a mask
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of black silk, and drawing a _roquelaire_ closely about my person, I
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suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.
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There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in
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honour of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the
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morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house.
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These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate
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disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.
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I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato,
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bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into
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the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him
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to be cautious as he followed. We came at length to the foot of the
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descent, and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the
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Montresors.
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The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled
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as he strode.
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