After the reinforcement of Captains Whitney and Wollaston, Captain Keymis took two boats further up the Orinoco in search of the mine, leaving the remainder of the company near St. Thomas. Their destination was Seiba, a village on the banks of the river within a two hours' march of the mine. The party made their way without mishap to the creek by the landing-place. But there, too, the Spaniards were in readiness. As the first boat neared the shore, a volley was fired, and nearly all the men in the boat were hit. His force thus enfeebled, Captain Keymis decided to return to St. Thomas for fresh soldiers. He found the company at St. Thomas harassed by sickness and continual attacks of the Spaniards; but they still had spirit enough to make one further effort. This time George Ralegh with three boats made his way right up the Orinoco to inspect the country from the point of view of colonization. He, too, was struck by its richness and beauty. He returned and found the company still more weakened by sickness and assault. The Spaniards made an attempt to burn the English camp. This so infuriated the men that they set upon St. Thomas and razed it to the ground. Captain Keymis discovered from the Indians that in the neighbourhood of St. Thomas also there were rich mines, which lack of labour alone prevented the Spaniards from working; but no other attempt was made to locate them or to test their richness. Then the whole expedition returned. The one actual sign of their toils which they brought, were papers taken from the governor at the sack of St. Thomas, and these papers were documents from Madrid, proving how falsely King James had dealt with Ralegh. Such was the report which Keymis gave to Ralegh. Ralegh was silent as he listened to the account of the overthrow of all his hopes. When the sad tale was finished, he asked Keymis why he had not obeyed his instructions, why he had not opened the mine and brought back some visible sign of its existence. Keymis gave his reasons at full length. There were not enough men to hold the mine; young Ralegh was dead; his master was ill, dying, nay, for all Keymis knew, he was dead. Why should the mine be opened that others might reap the benefit? But still Ralegh insisted, unwavering in dreadful firmness, on his question, Why had not instructions been obeyed? There were many interviews; there were long discussions that day and the next. Still Ralegh answered, "You should have obeyed instructions." "When I was resolved to write unto your Honour (wrote Ralegh to Sir Ralph Winwood, not knowing that his friend, the Secretary of State, had been dead for five months) he prayed me to joyne with him in excusing his not going to the mine. I answered him, I would not doe it; that if himself could satisfy the King and the State that he had reason not to open it, I should be glad of it; but for my part, I must avow it that he knew it and that he might with little losse have done it; other excuse I would not frame."