However, an expedition went out and fought to get at the treasure, but the depth was too great, and at last the salvors withdrew from the spot. Four years passed and there came to the underwriters another offer to attempt to salve the silver. The salvage vessel anchored off the fringe of the reef that had stripped the bottom out of the _Skyro_, and the diver slid down the shot-rope to try to find out how the wreck was lying and if possible to bring out the precious bars. Before he could do anything of importance, however, bad weather set in and drove the salvors back to harbour. But the lesson learned from that attempt was that, if the treasure were to be recovered, more powerful diving gear would have to be used. The winter months were spent in obtaining much more powerful gear from England, and the following season, directly the fine weather set in, the treasure-hunters repaired to the Mexiddo reef to try once more to achieve the impossible. The diver feared nothing. Brave as a lion, he took the shot-rope in his hands and slid straight down to the deck of the _Skyro_, which was 171 feet below the surface. Carefully and quietly he surveyed the ship, seeking the cabin in which the silver was stored. The deck had collapsed on top of it, and the only way of getting to the treasure was through the deck. Angel Erostarbe, the diver, came to the surface and reported what he had seen. Difficult as was the task, it seemed to him by no means impossible. So he dropped down the shot-rope again and again. Gradually and with infinite patience he blasted away the deck, fixing his charges and withdrawing while they exploded. So exposed was the wreck that at times he could hardly keep his feet. Time after time dirty weather came and prevented him from working at all. The difficulties left him unmoved. He set his teeth and stuck to his task. He was working at a record depth, a depth which most experts considered was beyond the reach of a diver at all. The diver did not worry about this. All he thought about was getting at the treasure. To attain his end he practically blew the ship to pieces, and his marvellous feats of endurance were crowned by the recovery, in two seasons, of fifty-nine bars of silver worth £10,000. It was a stupendous feat which has never been equalled since. At times he was actually working in 183 feet of water, so it will be seen that he was an exceptional man. Toiling at this depth--where his body was subjected to the huge pressure of about 95 lb. to the square inch--left its mark on him, and he was never the same man again. His share of the treasure amounted to £500.