pirate's trove without any difficulty. He was most disap- 

 pointed when Ed told him that we were interested in in- 

 vestigating only underwater treasure. 



But then his face brightened. He lowered his voice 

 mysteriously. "I knows a wrack, sir, not very far from here. 

 They's always finding silver on the shore. I've even picked 

 up some myself." 



He went on to say that a pile of ballast lay in the water 

 a few hundred feet from land, and that many times fol- 

 lowing a storm tlie villagers had found pieces of eight on 

 the beach. This sounded most interesting and we ques- 

 tioned him eagerly. 



"They says it was a Spanish treasure ship, and those 

 brass guns at Government house was taken off it. I dunno, 

 sir. Maybe there's still silver there on the bottom." 



"Where is the ballast? How deep is the water? Can 

 you show us the spot?" 



Our questions came thick and fast. Perhaps at last we 

 would come upon a worth-while wreck. But when he said 

 Cay Gorda, our hopes were dashed. It had indeed been a 

 rich find. It was here that Art McKee and Charlie Brook- 

 field, several years before, had come upon three heavy 

 silver bars, two of which were now on display at Art's 

 museum. 



We had tliriUed at Art's story of their discovery — ^how 

 the two men had culled the leadlike bullion from a pile 

 of ballast rock which lay in a scattered heap near Cay 

 Gorda. Working from a small boat in heavy diving gear, 

 they had sorted over the ballast, which lay in water only 

 about ten feet deep. They had seen no other signs of the 

 ship, and it was their belief that after knocking out its 

 bottom in the shallow water, the hull had been carried 

 out to sea, where it had simk in the deeper water farther 

 offshore. 



We had headed eagerly for Cay Gorda on our first 



The Bahama Islands 133 



