stant adversary, the wind, we did not figure. We could 

 only hope. 



As we pulled away from Retriever the next morning 

 on our way to Fort Lauderdale, Ed shouted to Robby 

 above the sound of the wind, "Have that junk boat ready 

 to pull up the brass cannon when we find them." For 

 Robby planned to stay on the job at Tavemier until he 

 received a message from us to proceed to West End. 



We had hoped to spend some time searching for two 

 wreck sites off Key Largo on our way north, but the steady 

 vidnds had made tlie seas too rough to spot anything on 

 the bottom. We cruised over the streak of pale water 

 which was White bank toward the outer reefs and the 

 lighthouse tower on the Elbow, several miles beyond. This 

 dangerous spot had received its name because here the 

 reefs angle out into an unexpectedly sharp bend, which, 

 in the days before navigational aids, was responsible for 

 many a wreck. 



Recently, at a salvage dock in Miami, Ed had seen an 

 old anchor and some cannon which had been removed 

 from this location. Like Webby and Robby, these sal- 

 vagers had had no interest in what else might lie buried 

 in the sand and coral close to the cannon. They had merely 

 jerked up the guns and the anchor, leaving no visible evi- 

 dence to mark the spot. We were in hopes that the wash of 

 the heavy seas might have uncovered some other signs of 

 the wreck that would betray its location, but we found 

 the water too rough to do any searching in the small 

 boat. 



Interestingly, some of the cannon found on this site 

 had borne markings similar to one found on the wreck at 

 Delta shoal — the insignia of a tower, mark of the Amster- 

 dam arsenal from which the Spanish purchased guns. 

 Could this ship have been one of the same Spanish fleet 



The Florida Keys 41 



