At last Ed and I were on our way to the 

 Silver shoals, mecca of every treasure hunter for the past 

 three hundred years. The greatest treasure hunt of our 

 lives had begun. 



Silver shoals! The very name was enough to send 

 thrills of excitement up and down the spines of everyone 

 aboard Sea Diver. 



Ever since our first diving expedition to the Florida 

 keys five years before, when we had heard of the Silver 

 shoals during night-long bull sessions with the other divers, 

 Ed and I had read and talked about these far-off reefs, 

 where, more than three centuries ago, a Spanish galleon 

 had gone down with millions in gold, silver and precious 

 jewels. We had speculated constantly on our chances of 

 seeking and finding the remains of this fortune, for there 

 is not a chart in existence which correctly portrays the 

 extent of these banks and the exact locations of the thou- 

 sands of dangerous reef formations which are scattered 

 over them. 



The Silver Shoals 231 



