“And with few exceptions there is every reason to believe that the valuables were hidden by their lawful owners or were lost or accidentally buried. For example, there was the man Gayney, who was drowned in Darien and who had three hundred pieces of eight on his person. Any one might find that and think it was buried treasure and never imagine it was the loot carried on a man’s back. At other times, boats loaded with valuables were wrecked or sunk and the treasure lost. Then, years later, it is found in the sand of the shore and the finders think of it as buried treasure. Moreover, wherever the pirates foregathered they naturally lost more or less money and if, by chance, some one picks up a few doubloons or pieces of eight in such places it always starts a tale of buried loot. At Anegada, St. John, St. Martin and, in fact, every other buccaneers’ old haunt, pieces of money are picked up from time to time and from these finds the tales of buried treasure have originated. In all the reliable histories and chronicles of the buccaneers and pirates I have never found any statement or hint that would lead one to think that it was customary for the corsairs to bury or hide their loot. All the tales of pirate captains burying treasure at dead of night and shooting the men who dug the holes are pure fiction with no fact on which to base them. “But there is no question that vast amounts of treasure lie at the bottom of the sea in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Port Royal, Jamaica, slipped bodily into the sea with all its treasure—and there was undoubtedly vast sums in money and jewels in the place—and not a cent has ever been salvaged. Jamestown, in Nevis, was also submerged by an earthquake and all the riches it contained still lie at the bottom of the sea. Countless ships, attacked by the buccaneers, sank before the pirates could loot them and went to the bottom with their valuables, and many a buccaneers’ and pirates’ vessel was lost with thousands of dollars worth of treasure. The floor of the Caribbean is dotted with such wrecks. In some cases the men escaped and told of the loss, and the places where the ships went down are known, but in many cases the vessels with all their treasure and crew merely disappeared and no one knows their fate. It was thus with Grammont, a famous French buccaneer, who, in 1686, plundered and burnt Campeche and secured a vast treasure. But he and his ship were never heard from and beyond a doubt the immense fortune in gold, silver and precious stones lies somewhere among the rotted timbers of his ship at the bottom of the Caribbean.” “Well, it doesn’t sound as if treasure hunting would be very profitable,” remarked Jack.