He questioned Jacopo.

"Where shall we pass the night ?" he inquired.
"Why, on board the tartan," replied the sailor.
"Should we not do better in the grottos ?" "What grottos ?" "Why, the grottos--caves of the island." "I do not know of any grottos," replied Jacopo.

The cold sweat sprang forth on Dantes' brow.
"What, are there no grottos at Monte Cristo ?" he asked.
"None." For a moment Dantes was speechless; then he remembered that these caves might have been filled up by some accident, or even stopped up, for the sake of greater security, by Cardinal Spada.

The point was, then, to discover the hidden entrance.

It was useless to search at night, and Dantes therefore delayed all investigation until the morning.