Chapters 21-25 Summary
Dantes struggles to cut himself free of the burial sack in which he was thrown into the sea; he nearly drowns, but he finally succeeds. He swims toward a deserted island but is unsure whether he has enough strength to do so. He is determined to get as far away from the prison as possible. A storm comes up and pushes him to the rocky shore. During the night, he sees a small fishing boat capsize, its crew lost to the strong seas.
In the morning light, he sees another ship approaching. He finds a sailor’s red cap floating in the water and dons it. Then he grabs some of the wreckage of the fishing boat and swims out to the second ship. Again he almost drowns before he is pulled by the hair onto the Italian ship.
Once Dantes catches his breath, he convinces the crew and the captain that he is the lone survivor of the small fishing boat that was lost in the storm. He also proves himself to be a good sailor when he demonstrates a more efficient way of taking the Italian boat through a channel. After he demonstrates his skills, the captain agrees to allow Dantes to sail with them. As they pass islands familiar to Dantes from his previous sea-going ventures, he reflects on how long it has been since he had been arrested—fourteen years.
After spending more time on the Italian ship, Dantes realizes he is in the company of smugglers. This does not matter to him. He makes himself useful for whatever must be done. He teaches one of the men, Jacopo, how to read the stars, and he continues to demonstrate his excellent sailing skills. At the first stop, Dantes has his hair trimmed and his beard shaved off. Then he purchases a sailor’s outfit. When he looks into a mirror, he does not recognize himself. He is now thirty-three years old. He was still a teen when he had last seen a reflection of his image.
As he sails with the smugglers, he passes the island of Monte Cristo and dreams of a time when he will be free to explore it and discover his treasure. But he has learned patience from all his years in prison. He can wait for the right time. He does not want to draw attention to himself or to his fortune.
One day, the captain visits with other smugglers and plans a great scheme. They need a safe haven, and the captain suggests they use the deserted island of Monte Cristo. When he hears this, Dantes becomes very excited. Finally he will become a rich man. But he will have to find a way to explore the island without rousing suspicion from any of the smugglers.
Once on the island of Monte Cristo, Dantes offers to hunt the island for goats. He takes Jacopo with him. After killing a goat, Dantes tells Jacopo to take the animal back to the ship so it can be cooked. Dantes says he wants to hunt for more food and will return soon.
After Jacopo is gone, Dantes begins his search. Faria had told him the treasure was hidden in a cave, but Dantes cannot find one. Then he notices that what might have once been a cave structure has been filled with rocks. He senses that this is where the treasure was hidden. However, he cannot start digging with smugglers on the island.
When he hears a gunshot, signaling that it is time for him to return to his boat to eat, Dantes runs along a cliff of rocks and slips. It is not clear if he does this on purpose, but the end result is that he is hurt. When Jacopo returns to help him to his feet, Dantes groans and begs the mate not to move him. He would rather stay on the island and recuperate until the boat returns. The captain is reluctant to leave him but eventually gives in.
Dantes waits until the smugglers’ boats are barely visible on the horizon. Then he heads for the cave. He follows markings on the rocks along a creek and stops in front of a huge stone that fits snuggly against a hillside. Upon closer inspection, the cracks between the stone and the hillside appear to have been filled in with soil that has been cemented in place over the years. This must be the place, Dantes thinks.
After climbing to the top of the tallest rock hill to make sure that he is the sole resident of the island, other than the goats and birds, Dantes returns to the stone and begins to loosen it from the hillside. For the final step, Dantes must use gunpowder to blow the stone away from the opening of the hidden cave.
After crawling inside, Dantes remembers that the map Faria showed him indicated that the treasure was hidden not in the first cave but in a second one inside it. Dantes examines the cave and discovers a hollow-sounding wall and uses his axe to dismantle it. The wall disintegrates and exposes an interior room with an earthen floor. Without wasting much time, Dantes begins digging. His axe eventually crashes down on something solid. Soon Dantes sees the top of a chest made of wood and iron. Once the chest is completely cleared of dirt, Dantes attempts to lift it. This proves impossible. Instead, he works at the lid and opens it. It takes several minutes for Dantes to become fully aware of his prize. He has found the treasure, and it is enormous. The trunk is filled with thousands of ingots of gold and jewels such as pearls and diamonds.
The smugglers’ boat returns, picks up Dantes, and travels back to the Italian mainland. Dantes buys two ships. The larger ship is for him and the smaller one is for Jacopo. Dantes tells Jacopo that he has inherited a large sum of money from a deceased uncle and wants Jacopo to work for him. After Jacopo agrees, Dantes tells him to sail to Marseilles, where he is to find out the welfare of the senior Dantes (though Dantes does not inform Jacopo that this is his father) and Mercedes. Meanwhile, Dantes takes the other ship back to Monte Cristo, where he will wait for Jacopo’s return.
When Jacopo comes back, he brings sad news. Dantes’ father is dead and Mercedes could not be found. Dantes decides his appearance has changed so much in the past decade that no one will recognize him, so he will go to Marseilles himself. Upon arriving, he buys the building where his father once lived. Then he searches for Mercedes but does not find her.
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