Jonathan makes a final attempt to find a key by scaling the wall to the Count’s room and descending again to the chapel. He finds the Count gorged with blood and attempts to kill him with a shovel, but only manages to gash the Count’s forehead. As the Szgany and Slovaks arrive to transport the boxes of earth, Jonathan realizes he is trapped. He decides to attempt a final, desperate escape by climbing down the outer castle wall over the precipice.