Gail was treading water twenty yards away. She saw him coming and said, “You okay?”
“Yeah. You?”
“I don’t know. I can’t move one of my arms.”
He helped her to shore, and they staggered out of the water. The beach looked like an endless field, the elevator a mile away.
They turned and looked back at the water. There was a new gap in the reef line, and pieces of flotsam were washing up in the waves. Otherwise, the sea was unchanged.
Leaning against each other, they walked toward the base of the cliff, where a crowd was already beginning to gather.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. But while it is true that none of the characters bears any intentional resemblance to anyone living or dead, many of the facts about Bermuda, about shipwrecks, and about the Spanish trade with the New World were gleaned from historical sources.
It would be impractical to list all the reference works consulted, but a few were of particular help: Pieces of Eight,
by Kip Wagner, as told to L. B. Taylor, Jr.;
The Treasure Diver’s Guide,
by John S. Potter, Jr.;
Marine Salvage,
by Joseph N. Gores;
Diving for Sunken Treasure,
by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Philippe Diole;
Treasures of the Armada,
by Robert Stenuit;
Port Royal Rediscovered,
by Robert F. Marx; and
Diving to a Flash of Gold,
by Martin Meylach, in collaboration with Charles Whited.
Finally, I am deeply indebted to a friend, mentor, and walking encyclopedia—Teddy Tucker.
Books by Peter Benchley
Copyright
DOUBLEDAY and COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
All of the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
ISBN: 0-385-04742-8
Library of congress catalog card number 75-445 21
Copyright © 1976 by Peter Benchley. All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America first edition.
