"By Mr. Covell's observations we hoisted our pinnace. 

 Mr. Covell and Mr. Strong and two of our divers went in 

 to the wreck and just as day began to shut in they came 

 on board bringing with them out of the wreck 89 whole 

 dollars, 51 half dollars." So read the entry in Captain Phips's 

 log of the James and Mary on that historic day. 



They did not attempt to sail either of the ships near 

 the reefs where the wreck was located, but went back and 

 forth each day with the pinnace, the periagua and the 

 ships' boats. For nearly two months they worked the wreck 

 day after day, with the exception of Sundays, which Phips 

 insisted they should observe as a day of rest. At the end 

 of each day, Phips recorded in the ship's log fresh figures 

 of treasure removed from the wreck and stored aboard the 

 James and Mary. 



They had been on the spot less than a week when 

 they were astonished to see sails approaching. They were 

 soon joined by two smaller vessels, one under the command 

 of William Davis of Bermuda and the other under Abram 

 Atherley of Jamaica. Phips had become acquainted with 

 both men on his previous voyage, when he was search- 

 ing the wrecks on the Bahama banks. He soon made a deal 

 with them to work on half shares in return for the use of 

 their boats and divers. 



Several weeks later, Davis's sloop damaged a rudder 

 on one of the reefs and was forced to head for Jamaica for 

 repairs. Her captain promised to keep the discovery of the 

 treasure a secret and to return as speedily as possible. 



When the sloop did not return at the expected time, 

 Phips became worried that she might have been captured 

 by French pirates, who were known to be haunting the 

 waters in the vicinity of the island of Tortuga. He lived in 

 constant fear that word of their find might have leaked out, 

 and that pirates might suddenly descend upon them and 

 rob them of the treasure. 



The Silver Shoals 243 



