Chapter 21: The Isle of Tiboulen
Dantès manages to cut himself loose from the shroud and
swims in the direction of an uninhabited island he remembers from
his sailing days. When he feels that he cannot swim any longer,
he washes up on the jagged rocks of the island. A storm erupts,
and Dantès watches helplessly as a small boat crashes against the
rocks, killing all the men on board. He then sees a Genoese ship
in the distance and realizes that this ship is his one chance to
finalize his escape. He takes the cap of one of the dead sailors
off the point of a rock and makes his way to the ship, using a piece
of driftwood from the destroyed boat as a float. Dantès tells the
men on the ship that he was the lone survivor among the sailors
who crashed on the rocks during the storm. His long hair and beard
arouse the men’s suspicion, but Dantès passes his shagginess off
as a religious pledge made to God in a time of danger. The men believe
his story and offer to take him on as one of their crew.
Chapter 22: The Smugglers
Dantès quickly realizes that the men on the ship are smugglers,
but he makes himself useful to them, and they all grow to love him.
He patiently waits for a chance to land on the island of Monte Cristo. This
chance finally presents itself when the ship’s captain decides to use
the deserted island as the site for an illegal transaction.
Chapter 23: The Isle of Monte Cristo
While on the island, Dantès pretends to injure himself
and claims that he cannot be moved. He urges the men to leave him
behind and return for him after a week. Dantès’s best friend among
the crew, Jacopo, offers to stay behind, forgoing his share of the
profits from the smuggling operation. Dantès is moved by this selfless
display, but refuses the offer.
Chapter 24: The Search
Once the men are gone, Dantès begins searching for Faria’s
treasure. He uses his enormous ingenuity to uncover the fortune,
which is even greater than he had imagined. Dantès falls on his
knees and utters a prayer to God, to whom he attributes this windfall.
Chapter 25: At Marseilles Again
Dantès fills his pockets with a few precious stones from
his trove and waits for the sailors to return. He then sails with
them to Leghorn, where he sells the four smallest diamonds for five
thousand francs each. The following day, Dantès buys a small ship
and crew for Jacopo in order to reward his friend’s kindness. His
one condition for the gift is that Jacopo sail to Marseilles and
ask for news of a man named Louis Dantès and a woman named Mercédès.
Dantès takes his leave of the smugglers and buys a yacht
with a secret compartment. He sails the yacht back to Monte Cristo
and transfers the remainder of the treasure to the secret compartment
of the yacht. Jacopo arrives on the island several days later with
sad news: Louis Dantès is dead and Mercédès has disappeared. Dantès tries
to hide his extreme emotion and sails for Marseilles.
