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"I shouldn't need anything but the machete"

"You still have the smoke canisters?" Giordino asked

"Two of them clipped to my belt"

"Set one off soon as you hear us return"

"Never fear," Pitt said blithely "I' out of here"

"See you in two hours," said Gunn, his spirits bri

"Try to be on time"

In a different circuht have experienced a fit of depression as the sound of the McDonnell Douglas Explorer died away, leaving behind the heavy at that so, buried in the ancient pile of debris, was the key to a vast treasure He did not throw hi Instead, he sloalked through the scattered remains of the Concepcion and studied her final position and configuration He could alinal outline by the shape of the broken mounds of debris

The shaft and one fluke of an anchor that protruded from the humus beneath the more recently fallen leaves indicated the location of the bow He did not think that sailing o hold The fact that Drake intended it as a gift to the queen suggested that he kept it near hireat cabin in the stern occupied by the captain of the ship

As Pitt walked through the debris field, clearing away small areas with the machete, he found relics of the crew but no bones Most of them had been swept off the ship by the tidal wave He spied pairs of moldy leather shoes, hardened bone handles on knives whose blades had rusted away, cera pot Dread grew inside hian to fear the wreck ht have already been found and looted He removed a plastic packet from inside his shirt, opened one end and pulled out the illustrations and cutaway plans of a standard treasure galleon Perluide, he carefully measured off his steps until he estio would have been stored

Pitt went to work clearing what he thought was a heavy layer of compost It proved to be only 10

centimeters (4 inches) thick He had only to brush away the deco leaves with his hands to reveal several beautifully carved stone heads and full figures of various sizes He guessed they were religious ani that the wreck of the galleon was untouched

Scraping away a length of rotting vine that had fallen fros, three that were life-size In the ghostly light their green coating of rave A clutter of clay pots and effigies had not fared as well after the damp of four centuries Those that were relatively intact crumbled when touc

hed Of the textiles that had been part of the original treasure trove, all had rotted into a featches of black mold

Pitt eagerly dug deeper, ignoring torn fingernails and the sliantly ornate and painstakingly carved There were so many pieces he soon lost count