non. Must be several hundred years old." The two men 

 again disappeared beneath the surface, and their bubbles 

 trailed across the water toward the spot where they had 

 been digging. 



Ethel and I looked at each other in great excitement. 

 Had they really come across some early treasure? Perhaps 

 the magnetometer was worth all the time and trouble. 



A little later Bill came up again to see if we could 

 find him some gloves. His hands were raw and bleeding. 



"We're having a devil of a time digging out that bar," 

 he said. "But it looks promising." His eyes beamed happily 

 at us as he sank once more beneath the surface. 



Some time later, when both men appeared at the foot 

 of the ladder and handed up a metal bar, about 12 by 4 

 by 1% inches, into our waiting hands, we were as excited 

 as they. The bar was extremely heavy for its size and black 

 with corrosion. When Bill knocked off a quarter inch of 

 the crumbling outer layer from one side, a silver-gray 

 metal was revealed which appeared to be hand-hammered. 

 It gave a sohd ring when struck. 



The four of us examined it minutely, passing it froni 

 hand to hand. Then Ed brought a magnet from the engine 

 room. With great ceremony he held it over the bar. It was 

 attracted to the magnet. Our hopes faded, for silver would 

 not respond to such a test. Soon after, the section of silvery 

 metal which was exposed to the air began to turn a red- 

 brown. Yes, it was iron, and it wasn't very old. 



The iron bar remained a puzzle for some time to come. 

 How had it arrived in the location where they had found 

 it, deep beneath a cannon which must have lain there 

 close to three hundred years? Some time later. Bill ascer- 

 tained that metal plates of similar size had been used in 

 the construction of the Overseas highway bridges. Per- 

 haps some fisherman had used the bar as an anchor for a 

 crawfish trap, and it had hooked under the cannon and 



The Florida Keys 73 



