One month after Ralegh's release Sarmiento wrote to the King of Spain warning him that another company was being prepared "for Guiana and the river Orinoco, which is near Trinidad, the prime promoter and originator of which is Sir Walter Ralegh, a great seaman.... I am informed that he will sail in the month of October with six or eight ships of 200 to 500 tons, some belonging to himself, some to his companions, all well provided. He will also take with him launches in which to ascend the Orinoco, and he is trying to get two ships of very light draught to take them as high up the river as possible. He has already been in the country and assures people here that he knows of a mine that will swell all England with gold." He urges the King of Spain to increase the navy and not to allow any merchant to sail without a proper convoy; and assures him that he in England will do all in his power to prevent the expedition. Sarmiento's power was very great. Sir Ralph Winwood, the Secretary of State, was the only man in authority who was not in favour of a Spanish alliance. The King, as Major Martin Hume points out, "was besotted with Gondomar and the Spanish power; Digby and Cottington were humbly negotiating in Madrid for the marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Infanta, and greedy Buckingham was bribed by the Spaniards to his heart's content." King James played with Ralegh. The King wanted money, and wanted the friendship of Spain. There was a remote chance that Ralegh might obtain the money. In that case the money would be useful and Ralegh could be disposed of at his convenience, as an atonement to Spain. On the other hand, if the expedition failed, Ralegh could even more easily be disposed of, and his sacrifice would strengthen the tie between Spain and England. In either case James saw carefully to it that he should lose nothing and Ralegh everything. The King's treatment of Ralegh is absolutely typical of him, and illustrates his treacherous weak nature with decision. Men did not believe that Guiana was the object of Ralegh's journey. The whole scheme seemed incredible as affairs then stood. The general opinion was that the mine was the merest blind; for how could a sane man give, or a sane man accept, the conditions under which the search was to be carried out? Some thought that Ralegh was taking any opportunity that might lead to his freedom; that once he found the wide sea round him he would not again return to England where he had been so badly handled. Some thought that the expedition was intended not for Guiana but for a sudden raid on Genoa; others thought that Ralegh was going to succour the Huguenots at the King's wish. All the foreign ambassadors were uneasy as to the real intent of the voyage, and had long conferences with Ralegh and wrote long letters to their powers at home. Ralegh alone, loyal to his traditions of Elizabeth, remained steadfast in his purpose.