The loss of life, the destruction of the ship, the sinking of the treasure, all were bitter blows. The gallant sailors were beyond recall, the ship was sunk for ever. As for the treasure, it was down in 120 feet of water, on a coast so fully exposed to the Atlantic gales that its recovery was an open question. Prospecting for gold in the desert places of the earth has its difficulties and its disappointments, but what are these compared with the problems that confront the men who seek to wrest from the mighty ocean the gold it has swallowed? Unexpected dangers often confront those who seek the precious metals in the wild places of the earth, but the dangers of the diver are continuous. He trusts his life to a frail rubber pipe and a rubber suit, and directly the metal helmet is screwed round his neck, and he sinks into the depths, death starts to stalk him and does not give up the chase until the diver is once more aboard the salvage ship. Some of the finest divers in the British Navy were told off for the treasure-hunt. They were eventually placed under the command of Commander Damant, who had played so important a part in the diving experiments carried out by the Admiralty a few years ago, and who had himself attained the record depth of 210 feet in August, 1906. The fact that the cleverest diving expert in the British Navy was detailed for the operation is proof that the Admiralty realized that the recovery of the treasure would prove no easy task. No one knew at the moment exactly how strenuous the fight was going to be. The first salvage craft, which was later replaced by the _Racer_, went off to the Donegal coast and swept the area in which the _Laurentic_ had disappeared. The salvors found the wreck in due course, and they had the satisfaction of knowing that they were within 120 feet of a stupendous fortune of about £5,000,000. A bare depth of 120 feet of water separated them from the greatest treasure-trove of modern times, but the treasure could not have been more secure had it been resting beneath 120 feet of solid steel. Indeed, had the treasure been so buried, instead of underneath 120 feet of water, it would probably have been recovered very much sooner. Despite difficult conditions, a certain optimism prevailed that the treasure would soon be brought to the surface. But the optimists reckoned without the enemy. Somehow the Germans managed to find out where the _Laurentic_ was wrecked, and their submarines quietly waited their opportunity and began to make things hot for those engaged in the treasure-hunt. One enemy submarine haunting the vicinity discreetly vanished as a British torpedo boat came on the scene. A day or two passed, and the torpedo boat was called for urgent duty elsewhere. Meantime, there had not been the slightest sign of the enemy underwater craft, which had apparently recognized that that particular spot was rather unhealthy and therefore to be avoided.