Armed with carbine and hatchet, the mute Ali helps his master lie in wait for the burglar, obeying every silent signal, and rushes out at the victim's dying cry.
Ali, the mute Nubian slave of the Count of Monte Cristo (Edmond Dantès), is his master's single companion through the ambush at the Champs-Élysées house. He fetches the count's carbine and double-barrelled pistols, stands ready with a small Arabian hatchet, and—his wild senses piercing the darkness—first spots the second man keeping watch in the street. When Caderousse enters and the count recognizes him, Ali raises his hatchet to strike but stays his hand at his master's whispered order, fetching instead the cassock and hat for the count's Abbé Busoni disguise.
Bidden to remain hidden and stir only if called, he waits in perfect obedience through the long confrontation. At Caderousse's dying cry from the wall, Ali and the count are instantly on the spot with lights. Wordless and fearless, he is again the iron instrument of the count's designs, trusting his master's judgment even when his own hand is stayed.
A powerfully built Nubian black as ebony, grave and watchful, dressed in white, moving in silence through the dark house, hatchet in hand.
The count's mute, armed servant through the night ambush, obedient to every silent sign.