Cocos Island

Cocos Island, off the coast of Costa Rica, becomes the focus of Perry Smith’s grandest proposed escape from poverty: a buried fortune that might finance a new life. The island matters less as a destination actually reached than as a test of the future Perry imagines and of Dick’s fading willingness to believe in it.

The Island and the Treasure Claim

Perry presents Cocos Island as the site of a hoard buried in 1821: Peruvian bullion and jewelry, supposedly worth sixty million dollars. He insists that he has a map and the full history of the treasure, and argues that even finding only part of it would make the expedition worthwhile. The size and specificity of the claim give his dream the shape of a practical plan, though the account establishes it as Perry’s assertion, not as a verified discovery.

The island is one of several ventures Perry has proposed. His other schemes include prospecting for gold, searching for sunken treasure, running a deep-sea fishing boat for vacationers, and earning money by driving stolen cars across South American borders. The Cocos Island treasure stands out among these ideas as the one he presses on Dick when asked how they will make money in Mexico.

A Shared Dream Under Strain

Earlier, Dick had listened to Perry’s maps and treasure stories and encouraged him. When Perry returns to the Cocos Island fortune, he asks whether Dick is still with him. Dick answers playfully and reassures him, but Perry has begun to suspect that Dick may previously have been pretending to take the schemes seriously. The question exposes a fragile point in their partnership: the treasure is not only a possible source of money, but also a vision Perry wants Dick to share.

The Island as an Abandoned Prospect

In Mexico City, the practical circumstances turn against Perry’s expectations. Dick sells their car, and within three days the proceeds—slightly less than two hundred dollars—are mostly gone. After looking for work, he reports that even an expert mechanic earns only two dollars a day and insists that they must return to the United States. He dismisses the prospect of buried gold and sunken treasure, adding that Perry cannot even swim. Cocos Island remains unvisited; the dream that had supplied an answer to their financial difficulties now gives way to their departure from Mexico, with bus tickets taking them through San Diego toward Barstow.