buoy they had placed to mark the spot was tossing about 

 in the breakers on the outer side of the reef, and it ap- 

 peared extremely hazardous to take Reef Diver there in 

 the breaking seas. 



Instead, we anchored the two boats as close as pos- 

 sible to the spot, but on the inside of the reef. Barney 

 thought that by wearing a mask with the air hose connect- 

 ing him to the compressor on Reef Diver, he might be able 

 to reach this location with the metal detector to see if he 

 could pick up any signs of wreckage, for once beneath 

 the surface he would be relatively free of turbulence. 



He started out across the reef, Jane following him on 

 the surface, guarding his air hose to keep it from getting 

 entangled in the bladelike millepores coral which came 

 almost to the top in many places. This broad, flat reef 

 could very well be the one on which the survivors of the 

 galleon's shipwreck had placed the chests of valuables for 

 the admiral; the very one to which they had clung as 

 they fabricated the crude rafts which were to carry some 

 of them to safety. 



Disappointment came when Barney and the metal 

 detector were brought up short just a few feet from the goal. 

 He had come to the end of his air hose. This is one of the 

 handicaps of using a compressor and connecting line. 

 However, he had chosen it in this instance in preference to 

 the clumsy air tanks of the self-contained equipment be- 

 cause he could maneuver the metal detector and himself 

 more easily around the uneven coral formations close to 

 the surface. 



The wind continued to blow harder, and it now be- 

 came impossible to accompHsh anything around the reefs. 

 We went back to Sea Diver and, after a late lunch, decided 

 that we would try to locate the half moon where Captain 

 Phips had mentioned anchoring his ship, the James and 

 Mary. If we could find it, it might provide the perfect 



The Silver Shoals 267 



