Mr. Brett had received some important intelligence
from the prisoners, which he endeavoured to acquaint the Commodore with
immediately. The first person he received it from (though upon further
examination it was confirmed by the other prisoners) was one John
Williams, an Irishman, whom he found on board the Spanish vessel.
Williams was a Papist, who worked his passage from Cadiz, and had
travelled over all the kingdom of Mexico as a pedlar. He pretended that
by this business he got 4,000 or 5,000 dollars; but that he was
embarrassed by the priests, who knew he had money, and was at last
stripped of all he had. He was, indeed, at present all in rags, being but
just got out of Paita gaol, where he had been confined for some
misdemeanour; he expressed great joy upon seeing his countrymen, and
immediately informed them that a few days before a vessel came into
Paita, where the master of her informed the Governor that he had been
chased in the offing by a very large ship, which, from her size and the
colour of her sails, he was persuaded must be one of the English
squadron. This we then conjectured to have been the Gloucester, as we
afterwards found it was. The Governor, upon examining the master, was
fully satisfied of his relation, and immediately sent away an express to
Lima to acquaint the Viceroy therewith; and the royal officer residing at
Paita, being apprehensive of a visit from the English, was busily
employed in removing the King's treasure and his own to Piura, a town
within land about fourteen leagues distant. We further learned from our
prisoners that there was a very considerable sum of money, belonging to
some merchants at Lima, that was now lodged at the custom-house at Paita;
and that this was intended to be shipped on board a vessel which was then
in the port of Paita, and was preparing to sail with the utmost
expedition, being bound for the Bay of Sonsonnate, on the coast of
Mexico, in order to purchase a part of the cargo of the Manila ship.*
This vessel at Paita was esteemed a prime sailer, and had just received a
new coat of tallow on her bottom; and, in the opinion of the prisoners,
she might be able to sail the succeeding morning.

(*Note. A full account of the Manila ship will be found in Chapter 22
below.)

The character they gave us of this vessel, on which the money was to be
shipped, left us little reason to believe that our ship, which had been
in the water near two years, could have any chan