of vessels of gold and silver,
and of all kinds of beautiful things. These, however, attracted
little attention from the English, although Ned and his young
comrades marveled much. Never had they seen, in England, anything
approaching to the wealth and beauty of this furnishing. It seemed
to them, indeed, as if they had entered one of the houses of the
magicians and enchanters, of whom they had read in books during
their childhood.

Captain Drake, however, passed through these gorgeous rooms with
scarce a glance and, led by the Spaniards, descended some steps
into a vast cellar.

A cry of astonishment and admiration burst from the whole party, as
they entered this treasury. Here, piled up twelve feet high, lay a
mighty mass of bars of silver, carefully packed. This heap was no
less than 70 feet long and 10 feet wide, and the bars each weighed
from 35 to 40 pounds.

"My lads," Captain Drake said, "here is money enough to make us all
rich for our lives; but we must leave it for the present, and make
for the Treasury House, which is as full of gold and of precious
stones as this is of silver."

The men followed Captain Drake and his brother, feeling quite
astonished, and almost stupefied at the sight of this pile of
silver; but they felt, moreover, the impossibility of their
carrying off so vast a weight, unless the town were completely in
their hands.

This, indeed, was very far from being the case, for the whole town
was now rising. The troops, who had at the first panic fled, were
now being brought forward; and as the day lightened, the Spaniards,
sorely ashamed that so small a body of men should have made
themselves masters of so great and rich a city, were plucking up
heart and preparing to attack them.

Ill was it, then, for the success of the adventure, that Captain
Francis had suffered so heavy a wound in the marketplace. Up to
this time he had kept bravely on, and none except Ned, all being
full of the prospect of vast plunder, had noticed his pale face, or
seen the blood which streamed down from him, and marked every
footstep as he went; but nature could now do no more and, with his
body well nigh drained of all its blood, he suddenly fell down
fainting.

Great was the cry that rose from the men, as they saw the admiral
thus fall. Hastily gathering round him, they lifted his body from
the ground, and shuddered at seeing how great a pool of blood was
gathered where he had been standing. It seemed almos