“Open Sesame!” (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23 – Part 8)

The ruse complete, Dantès watches the smugglers sail away—his feigned weakness leaving him “abandoned” on Monte Cristo. Alone at last, he lets slip a smile: among hardened men of contraband, he has found loyalty and kindness. But the charade is over. Rising with sudden strength, more agile than a wild kid leaping among the myrtles, he seizes his gun and pickaxe and hurries to the rock where the mysterious marks had led him.

Recalling the Arabian tale told by Faria, Edmond faces the stone that may guard his fate. With a cry that bridges legend and reality, he invokes the magic words: “Now, Open Sesame!”

The treasure hunt truly begins.

 

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The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.